The Ak 4 (

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

: ''Automatkarbin 4'') is a Swedish-made version of the Heckler & Koch G3A3 battle rifle. It has been produced in several versions, with minor changes and upgrades. The original Ak 4 model (Ak 4A) featured a buttstock that is longer. The bolt carrier had a serrated thumb groove to aid in silent bolt closure and was fitted with a heavy buffer for higher number of rounds fired before failure. The Ak 4 iron sights feature extended sight adjustments in increments, because the hit probability met Swedish military doctrine. All Ak 4s are adapted to mount the M203 grenade launcher. Later versions have featured various new optics and adjustable stocks. The Ak 4 rifles were manufactured from 1965 to 1970 by both

Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori FFV-Carl Gustaf was a Swedish armaments firm, bought up and merged on several occasions. History ''Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori'' ("Rifle Factory of Carl Gustaf's Town") was founded in 1812 as a state arsenal. The name "Carl Gustaf's To ...

Eskilstuna Eskilstuna () is a city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden. The city of Eskilstuna had 67,359 inhabitants in 2015, with a total population of 100,092 inhabitants in Eskilstuna municipality (2014). Eskilstuna h ...

and Husqvarna Vapenfabrik in

Huskvarna Huskvarna (; formerly spelled ''Husqvarna'') constitutes the eastern part of Jönköping, a city in the Swedish province of Småland, and has a population of about 24,000. The distance to central Jönköping is about 5 km. The name Huskva ...

. From 1970 until the end of production in 1985, they were exclusively produced in

. From 1965 to 1985 the Ak 4 was the standard service rifle of the

Swedish military The Swedish Armed Forces ( sv, Försvarsmakten, "the Defense Force") is the government agency that forms the armed forces of Sweden, tasked with the defense of the country as well as with promoting Sweden's wider interests, supporting internati ...

. It continues to be in use by the

Swedish Home Guard The Home Guard – National Security Forces ( sv, Hemvärnet – Nationella skyddsstyrkorna) is a military reserve force of the Swedish Armed Forces. It was formally established on May 29, 1940, during World War II upon popular demand. While orig ...

and in specialist marksman roles in the regular armed forces.

History

The Ak 4 replaced the Automatgevär m/42 rifle and

Carl Gustaf m/45 The Kulsprutepistol m/45 (Kpist m/45), also known as the Carl Gustaf M/45 and the Swedish K SMG, is a 9×19mm Swedish submachine gun (SMG) designed by Gunnar Johansson, adopted in 1945 (hence the m/45 designation), and manufactured at the Carl ...

submachine gun in the 1960s. In order to replace the old weapons, Sweden held a trial of new weapons including: the Belgian FN FAL, the Swiss

SIG SG 510 The Sturmgewehr 57 is a selective fire battle rifle designed by Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (now SAN Swiss Arms) of Switzerland. It uses a roller-delayed blowback system similar to the H&K G3 and CETME rifles. The AM 55 entered service ...

, the Swedish Carl Gustaf GRAM 63, the American M14 and the German Heckler & Koch G3. After several different types of testing the FN FAL and Heckler & Koch G3 passed the tests. Due to its durability and lower price due to modern production methods the Ak 4 version of the Heckler & Koch G3 was selected as the new standard rifle in 1964. Sweden and Heckler & Koch agreed a 15,000 round service life. From 1965 to 1970 the Ak 4 was produced by Husqvarna and later changed to Carl Gustaf in Eskilstuna in 1970 until it was replaced by the

5.56×45mm NATO The 5.56×45mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 5.56 NATO, but often pronounced "five-five-six") is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, L110, an ...

chambered

Ak 5 The Ak 5 or ''Automatkarbin 5'' ("automatic carbine 5", "automatic carbine" being the Swedish term for assault rifle) is the Swedish version of the FN FNC assault rifle with certain modifications, mostly to adapt the weapon to the partially sub ...

(a version of the Belgian

FN FNC The FNC (french: Fabrique Nationale Carabine) is a 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifle developed by the Belgian arms manufacturer FN Herstal and introduced in the late 1970s. Development The FNC was developed between 1975–1977 for NATO standardiza ...

), but the Ak 4 is still used in the ''Hemvärnet-Nationella skyddsstyrkorna'' (

). Sweden has supplied unmodified Ak 4's to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In 1985 the Ak 4 was replaced by the Ak 5.

Variants

* Ak 4: Swedish-made version of the G3A3. Many Ak 4 rifles have a windage table on the right side of the butt stock for correctly adjusting a telescopic sight for and crosswinds from in increments. * Ak 4OR: ''Optiskt Riktmedel'', optical sight. This model is fitted with a

Hensoldt Hensoldt AG ''(HENSOLDT)'' is a multinational corporation headquartered in Germany which focuses on sensor technologies for protection and surveillance missions in the defence, security and aerospace sectors. The main product areas are radar, op ...

Fero Z24 4×24

telescopic sight A telescopic sight, commonly called a scope informally, is an optical sighting device based on a refracting telescope. It is equipped with some form of a referencing pattern – known as a '' reticle'' – mounted in a focally appropriate ...

mounted via a HK claw mount. During a few years it was not issued but it is now again in use by the ''Hemvärnet - Nationella skyddsstyrkorna'' (Swedish Home Guard). The Hensoldt Fero Z24 4×24 telescopic sight for G3 rifle and STANAG claw mount assembly were developed for designated marksman use. The Fero Z24 elevation knob features Bullet Drop Compensation (BDC) settings for in increments. * Ak 4B: In this updated version the iron sights have been removed and replaced with an

Aimpoint Aimpoint AB is a Swedish optics company based in Malmö, Sweden that manufactures red dot sights. Aimpoint is a contractor for the United States military and supplies the Aimpoint CompM2. Aimpoint products are used by various armed forces ...

CS red-dot reflex sight mounted on a Picatinny rail (MIL-STD-1913). The rail is welded onto the rifle. Used by ''Hemvärnet - Nationella skyddsstyrkorna'' (Swedish Home Guard).' * Ak 4C: An updated version of the Ak 4B with a 6-position adjustable-length buttstock with a cheek support comb optimized for aiming optics use designed and manufactured by the Swedish company Spuhr i Dalby AB. 5,000 Ak 4C began being fielded in 2017 by ''Hemvärnet - Nationella skyddsstyrkorna'' ("

"). * Ak 4D: An updated version of the Ak 4B with the adjustable-length buttstock of the Ak 4C but with the addition of a modular fore-end (also designed and manufactured by the Swedish company Spuhr i Dalby AB), a

bipod A bipod is a V-shaped portable attachment that helps support and steady a device, usually a weapon such as a long gun or a mortar. The term comes from the Latin prefix ''bi-'' and Greek root ''pod'', meaning "two" and "foot" respectively. Bip ...

and the Hensoldt Fero Z24 4×24 telescopic sight of the Ak 4OR mounted on a Picatinny rail (MIL-STD-1913). 400 Ak 4D will be used by the Swedish Army as a stop-gap

designated marksman rifle A designated marksman rifle (DMR) is a modern scoped high-precision rifle used by infantrymen in the designated marksman (DM) role. It generally fills the engagement range gap between a service rifle and a dedicated sniper rifle, at aroun ...

(DMR).

Users

* -

Estonian Defence League The Estonian Defence League ( et, Eesti Kaitseliit) is the name of the unified paramilitary armed forces of the Republic of Estonia. The Defence League is a paramilitary defence organization whose aim is to guarantee the preservation of the indep ...

uses the ''Ak4'' variant. * * - ''Ak4'' variant used by

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

. * - ''Ak4'' variant was used by the

Lithuanian Armed Forces The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Naval Force and the Lithuanian Air Force. In wartime, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service ( ...

. and

Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces The National Defence Volunteer Forces or NDVF ( lt, Krašto apsaugos savanorių pajėgos [], previously []) is a branch of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Volunteer forces were officially established on 17 January 1991 by the law of the Supreme Co ...

. * - Made by three manufacturers, Heckler & Koch in Germany, and under license by Husqvarna Vapenfabrik (1965–70) and Carl Gustaf Gevärsfaktori (1965–80) which was later renamed to ''Förenade Fabriksverken'' (FFV) as the ''Ak 4'' (''Automatkarbin 4''). Two sub-variants are known to exist, one equipped with a rail and

sight (Ak4 B) and the other with a 4× magnifying optic, the Hensoldt Fero Z24 4×24 (Ak 4OR). It has since been replaced by the

(''Automatkarbin 5''; a modified version of the

) in the regular army. Ak 4B and Ak 4OR, some times in combination with the M203 grenade launcher, is still in use in ''Hemvärnet – Nationella skyddsstyrkorna'' ("

"). About 5,000 units received a new adjustable stock from 2016. In 2019 5,000 additional units were ordered. In December 2020, Tidningen Hemvärnet announced that 1,000 extra units were ordered, meaning every soldier in the Home Guard will receive the new adjustable stock AK4C variant before the end of 2022.

Gallery

File:Ak 4 Swedish Army Museum 006.jpg, Ak 4 test model with green surface treatment File:AK4OR.jpg, Ak 4OR with a Hensoldt 4×24 M1 telescopic sight of the Swedish Home Guard File:Ak4b.JPG, Ak 4B with Aimpoint sight of the Swedish Home Guard File:Skyttesoldater från Hemvärnet Revinge 2015-2.jpg, Ak 4B used by Swedish Home Guard members in 2015 File:Ak granat wiki.jpg, Ak 4C with underslung grenade launcher

References

{{Reflist 7.62×51mm NATO battle rifles Rifles of Sweden

History

Variants

Users

Gallery

See also

References