This Soviet film, made for the indoctrination of Red Army infantry troops, highlights many aspects of marksmanship including the use of the standard issue Kalashnikov rifle AK-47, small arms, and the Kalashnikov machine gun.

Narration: This is our division. We’ve been doing marksmanship training for many days now. It is difficult. But as Suvorov said, “What is difficult in training will become easy in a battle.” (01.00)

I am satisfied with my men; the soldiers are good at shooting. Yuri Skvortsov, Oleg Pavlov, Garip Babayev, Nikolay Chislenko, Grisha Vekshin. Our division receives the highest marks, as each of them knows his weapon perfectly well. (02.39) The Kalashnikov assault rifle is the powerful and reliable service rifle of the Soviet military. Thanks to its design features, it outclasses the best small arms from any other country, including the US. The Kalashnikov works smoothly in any conditions: under the pouring rain, in cold temperatures, in dust. (03.12) Operational characteristics of the rifle: the maximum bullet range is 3,000 m; the casualty producing effect of the bullet is preserved for up to 1,500 m; the aiming range is 1,000m; the maximum effective range is 400m; a bullet pierces through a brick wall of up to 15 cm; the rate of fire is up to 600 shots a minute; the effective rate of burst fire is up to 100 shots a minute; the effective rate of fire at single-shot fire is up to 40 shots a minute. (03.58) The main parts of the rifle are the barrel with a receiver, a sight, and a stock. (04.20) Other parts are a receiver cover, a breechblock carrier with a breech plug, a breechblock, a recoil spring, a forearm with gas tube assembly, a trigger and firing mechanism, a foregrip, a magazine, a bayonet knife. (04.46)

The operating mechanism of the rifle is very simple, but one should be careful when handling it. What could be done to prevent stoppages? It took the men some time to realize that to be effective with a rifle during the battle, a soldier must know the firing techniques. Here are a few of them: firing from a prone position (06.05), from a kneeling position (07.15), from a standing position (07.35). I remember it from school. ‘You’re closing the wrong eye! Don’t breathe when you’re pulling the trigger! You’re a bad soldier, give the schoolkids a chance!’ (09.37) A soldier from our subdivision, Grisha Vekshin, proved to be a good machine gunner. The Kalashnikov hand-held machine gun is the most powerful squad automatic weapon. (12.26) Most of its parts are shared with the modernized variant of the AK-47 rifle. Grisha mastered the weapon perfectly. There are three stages of fire: getting into the position, firing, and ceasing fire. This is the instruction for firing from a prone position. (14.32) When it came to practice, Vekshin realized all the advantages of the Kalashnikov hand-held machine gun in real life. (14.46) Firing it on the move is easy thanks to the simplicity, mobility, and the light weight of the weapon. The next step was learning to find the right spot for firing, keeping watch, choosing an aim. The spot should conceal the soldier from the enemy and be suitable for applying firing techniques. (16.01) Keep an eye on the field, inspect the objects from right to left, first the closer objects than the further ones. It is important to search for targets and shoot quickly. First shoot the most dangerous and important target, then the one that is the closest to you and is the most vulnerable. A moving target should be shot considering the prediction interval, just like while firing at airspace targets. (18.06) Night firing is an ordeal. It is important to sight quickly and lock the target. (18.49) The guys did well, even though it took time to learn. (19.35)

Fragmentation hand grenades are used by the Soviet Army. Grenades can be of different types, depending on the fragment distribution range. (20.28) Here is the structure of RGD-5, RG-42, and F-1. There are a few positions for throwing a grenade: from a standing position, from a kneeling position, from a prone position. While throwing a grenade, it is important that the rifle is in the position that would provide the ability to grab it and fire immediately. (23.40) A hollow charge grenade RKG-3 is used to fight tanks and other armored targets. Its weight is 1,070 gr, its throwing range is 15-20 m. (24.22) Let’s see how such a grenade should be thrown according to the rules. (25.15). When one is targeting a moving tank, it is necessary to aim a few meters in front of it. (26.15) Not running away, not being afraid means surviving, it means winning against a tank. (26.46) Once the grenade is thrown, the soldier must hide. It is not easy to handle small arms, but as Suvorov said, “What is difficult in training will become easy in a battle.” Good luck with your infantry training, comrades.

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com