Headstamp Publishing has recently announced a new book called “Rifles on the Danube: Hungarian AK-Pattern Firearms”. This is the seventh book of this publisher, which specializes in producing authoritative books on arms, munitions, and military history.

Books @ TFB:

• New Book—Small Arms of WWII: Soviet Union
• Book on Beretta’s Submachineguns’ History Published in Italy
• New Book Incoming: Soviet Weapons of the Afghan War

Previously, they published Thorneycroft to SA80: British Bullpup Firearms, 1901–2020, written by Jonathan Ferguson of the UK’s Royal Armouries, Ian Maccolum’s book on French military rifles, and a few other unique books about firearms history.

This book, dedicated to Hungarian AK rifles is written by László Becz, who dedicated over 30 years of research to exploring Hungarian arms history. Here is the description of the book from the publisher:

In Rifles on the Danube: Hungarian AK-Pattern Firearms, 1959–2002, László Becz charts the course of the AK’s Hungarian history, from the first imports of Soviet rifles to the rifles of the new millennium. The book presents a general history of Hungarian arms production, with a particular focus on the complexities and nuances of manufacture under the Soviet system—something rarely found in English-language works. This story is told through the lens of the FÉG factory, and includes a number of short biographies of key design personnel.

Renowned Hungarian firearms researcher Zoltán Szőrös has called Rifles on the Danube “undeniably the most complete chronicle of the golden age of firearms production in twentieth-century Hungary”, and the book certainly delivers on this endorsement. In addition to the unique historical stories and geopolitical context presented herein, this book provides deep details about each Hungarian AK in terms of its production, manufacturing, and technical characteristics. Rifles on the Danube covers the following firearms in detail:

•    AK-55
•    AKM-63
•    AMD-65
•    AMP
•    AK-63
•    NGM & NGV
•    SA-85M, SA-85S & SA-2000M

Each chapter describes the conception, development, trial and testing, and intended role of one or more weapons. Essential technical aspects of design and operation are framed in their historical context and the whole is laid out in a clear, logical, and chronological manner. Additional sections of the book address magazines, accessories, rifle grenades, and markings.

Ian Maccolum, one of the founders of Headstamp Publishing also made a video talking about this book project.

If you are interested in this book, you can support it on Kickstarter. Every contributor will receive a copy of the book at a discounted price.