FEG AMP-69

FEG AMP-69 History

The Soviet influence on small arms development in Western Bloc nations was clear in the designs that emerged during the Cold War period (1947-1991). Fegyver-es Gepgyar, or FEG, was already a well-known local producer of small arms for the nation of Hungary, having established its industrial-minded operations as early as 1891 in Csepel (Budapest). During the time of the Cold War, the company would go on to produce many copies of, or designs heavily influenced by, the famous Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle - the weapon of choice by warfighters around the globe.

The AMP-69 became one of the locally-devised offshoots of the classic Kalashnikov form and appeared in 1969. The assault rifle more or less mimicked the Kalashnikov style to a tee with its squared-off receiver, large selector lever, and over-under gas cylinder-barrel arrangement. As expected, the internals of the weapon involved a gas-operated action with rotating bolt mechanism while feeding from a 5- or 30-round detachable box magazine inserted ahead of the trigger group. The trigger ring was the usual oversized and squared-shaped form situated ahead of the ergonomically-shaped pistol grip. A more simplistic shoulder stock was in play, however, this consisting of a folding tube which sat over the right side of the receiver when stowed. Adjustable iron sights were standard through optics, offset to the right side) could be fitted over the receiver for accurized fire at range.

The barrel accepted rifle grenades to turn the common warfighter into a grenadier now capable of in-direct support fire useful in dislodging enemy elements under cover. However, the lightweight nature, and ease-of-use, of support weapons like the Soviet RPG series ultimately limited the tactical usefulness of this grenade-launching capability; RPGs packed a greater punch and offered better range.

This Hungarian assault rifle was chambered for the standard 7x. 62x39mm rimless, bottlenecked cartridge of Soviet origin. The cartridge was established in 1944 during the fighting of World War 2 (1939-1945) when "intermediate" rounds were gaining steam - offering riflemen a "bridge cartridge" of sorts between full-powered rifle rounds (common to "Battle Rifles" like the American M1 Garand) and smaller, less powerful submachine gun/pistol rounds (such as the 9mm Parabellum). The 7. 62x39mm, believed to have been influenced in design by the German 7. 92x33mm "Kurz" ("Short") rifle cartridge of the StG-44 assault rifle (the "father of all assault rifles"), was widely-adopted following its inception and featured in such storied products as the AK-47, SKS semi-automatic rifle, and RPD/RPK light machine guns.

The AMP-69 was eventually succeeded in the Hungarian lineup by the much-improved AK-74 assault rifle series, this from the early part of the 1980s on. However, the AMP-69 remained in local use up until about the early part of the 1990s, giving several decades of notable service.

FEG AMP-69 Specification

ROLES

STRUCTURAL

PERFORMANCE

VARIANTS