7.62 x 39 mm round

From The D Archives

The Soviet 7.62x39mm rifle cartridge was designed during World War II and first used in the SKS carbine. The cartridge was likely influenced by a variety of foreign developments, especially the pre-war German GeCo 7.75x39mm experimental round, and possibly by the late-war German 7.92 mm Kurz ("Kurz" meaning "short" in German). Shortly after the war the world's most recognized assault rifle was designed for this cartridge: the AK-47. The cartridge remained the standard Soviet load until the 1970s, and is still by far the most common intermediate rifle cartridge used around the world.] Its replacement, the 5.45×39 mm cartridge, is less powerful but longer ranged (due to its much higher velocity) and is more controllable in fully automatic fire (due to the lower recoil). The change was in part a response to NATO switching from the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge to 5.56x45mm NATO.