Simonov SKS-45 Type Carbines (1981) By Wyant Lamont & Stephen Fuller
 
Designed by Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov, the Russian SKS-45 (Ssamosarjadnyi Karabin Simonov--Self-loading Carbine Simonov, 1945) was designed from the very beginning as a semiautomatic-only weapon. The first production series rifle for the 7.62x39mm cartridge, the SKS is nothing more than a scaled-down version of Simonov's World War II PTRS caliber 14.5x114mm semiautomatic antitank rifle and a continuation of developmental work on the caliber 7.62x54R Model 1941 SKS.
 
 
The very first SKS-45 carbines produced were sent to troops fighting on the First Byelorussian Front and to the Vistrel officers-training academy. Simonov introduced a number of changes in the design based upon reports from the front, before its official adoption by the Red Army in 1949.

Production in the Soviet Union ceased in the mid-1950s, but as indicated above, the SKS was manufactured well after that time in East Germany (Karabiner-S or Karabiner Simonov), Yugoslavia, North Korea (Type 63), North Vietnam, Romania, Albania and the People's Republic of China (PRC). Known as the Type 56 Carbine in the PRC (People's Republic of China), it was one of the first Soviet weapons systems produced in Mainland China. Their total production likely exceeded that of all other countries combined.
 
Soft Cover
218 Pages
In Fair to Good Condition