Earlier, we have covered the first part of the video series published by Kalashnikov Media telling about the Hungarian AK rifles. The entire series is called “Kalashnikov: Around the World” and it tells about AKs produced in different countries of the world. In this article, we’ll take a look at the guns discussed in the second video dedicated to the Hungarian AKs.

As mentioned in our first article, in these videos Vladimir Onokoy, the technical consultant of the Kalashnikov Concern, interviews Pavel Pticin, the founder of AK-Info.ru website. To have a better idea about the storyline, you may probably want to take a look at Part 1, which you can do by clicking here. Without further ado, let’s take a look at two Hungarian AKs discussed in the Part 2 video.

AMD-65

If in the Soviet Union there was a requirement to develop and adopt both a fixed stock and folding stock versions of the assault rifle, Hungary initially opted not to make the folding stock version. Later, acknowledging the need for a more compact version of the rifle (for armored vehicle crews, paratroopers etc.), they started developing a version of the AKM-63 rifle with a folding stock. However, they didn’t just copy the underfolder stock of the AKMS but developed their own design. The AMD-65 stock was a wire style side folding one with a rubber buttpad. It folds to the right side of the weapon. When folded, the stock still allows access to the controls of the rifle (safety selector lever, magazine release lever and trigger) which was Hungarian military’s requirement. The right side folding stock doesn’t also interfere with the side scope mounting rail and makes it possible to have a scope mounted on the gun and at the same time retain the folding feature of the stock.

In many applications that a rifle with a folding stock is normally deployed, it is also useful to have a shorter overall length. That’s exactly what Hungarians did. Besides designing a folding stock, they have also shortened the barrel to 317mm (12.5″). With this barrel length, the front sight block is mounted right after the gas block. This configuration combined with the 20 round magazines (so-called “tanker” mags) which Hungary has already adopted, would make it a really compact package.

Note the distinctive AMD-65 muzzle brake and the front sight base mounted right next to the gas block

They have also designed a rather large muzzle brake, which reduces the felt recoil and makes the rifle quite controllable in full-auto mode. The absence of gas tube cover and the perforated forearm with a backward mounted pistol grip are similar to that of AKM-63, which we discussed in Part 1. The AMD-65 rifles were equipped either with wood grips, or the early polymer ones (which had poor quality) or with later developed higher quality polymer grips.

AMD-65 was adopted in 1966 (some sources say 1967) and produced up until the ’80s. It was spotted in some Middle East countries and as Vladimir Onokoy notes, today you can see these rifles in the armory of Afghan National Police which acquired about 40,000 AMD-65 rifles.

AMD-65 in the hands of Afghan National Police officers

Courtesy of AK-Info.ru website, we have also a copy of the original AMD-65 manual (in Hungarian) published in 1968. You can download it by clicking here.

AMP-69

In most cases, the governments announce solicitations or launch trials which result in the adoption of a weapon system. In the case of the AMP-69, it was the opposite. This rifle was designed by the manufacturer and offered to the Hungarian government for adoption.

AMP-69 is designed with a primary application of launching rifle grenades. However, it can be used as a normal rifle, too. In order to mitigate the harsh recoil of the rifle grenades, the AMP-69 has a spring loaded stock which absorbs some of the recoil energy. The handguard is also movable allowing the gun to recoil back while the shooter is firmly holding the handguard. To exclude the possibility of blowing out the top cover, its fixation latch was also redesigned to a more secure one.

Note the redesign dust cover retention mechanism

Another difference from the original AK rifles is the possibility to shut off the gas port via a switch located on the left side of the gas block. The muzzle of AMP-69 is also unusual lacking any threads or muzzle devices. It is designed so, to be able to accept the rifle grenades. These rifles were also equipped with a scope which could be pivoted on its mount to adjust the elevation.

Note the holes in the muzzle and absence of muzzle threads.

In order to shoot a grenade, one needs to slip it over the muzzle, close the gas port, load the gun with a blank cartridge and shoot. There were also special 5 and 10 round magazines developed for this rifle to use in the grenade launching configuration. The rifle is compatible with standard AK magazines, too.

They made a number of different rifle grenades for the AMP-69 including anti-tank, fragmentation, signal and gas grenades for riot control use. There was another interesting grenade which had a blank body with a provision to install some sort of tracing compound in the nose. It was designed to shoot along the bore of artillery guns allowing to sight them in without a need to fire real shells.

The special grenade designed to sight in artillery cannons

Earlier, Kalashnikov Media published a short video about the AMP-69, which we reported about, too. You can find that TFB article by clicking here.

If you understand Russian, you can watch the Kalashnikov Media video by clicking on the link embedded below. Hopefully, they will also publish the English version of the video. Once that happens, I’ll update this article with the link to the video in English.

https://kalashnikov.media/media/videolibrary/4516783

Sources:

“«Калашников: вокруг света». Венгерские АК. Часть 2”. (2017, December 18). Kalashnikov Media. Retrieved from: https://kalashnikov.media/media/videolibrary/4516783

Images from Kalashnikov.Media