An unlikely debut for the AK-47

One of the little-known results of the tragic Hungarian Revolution in 1956 is the world’s first real look at the AK-47 assault rifle. Issued to both Hungarian security forces and Red Army soldiers, the Kalashnikov was used in combat for the first time as troops squashed efforts to overthrown communist rule in the East Bloc nation. However, revolutionaries who used captured Kalashnikovs were photographed by journalists whose publications carried the images around the world, introducing the public to a weapon that would soon become the symbol of guerrillas and insurgents. My story at We Are The Mighty outlines the circumstances behind this unlikely debut.