So who designed the AK?

The most prolific weapon in the world was designed by a now famous Soviet era Senior Sergeant named Mikhail Kalashnikov who faced the fierce Nazi StG44 in battle and wanted to give his motherland a similarly formidable weapon.

Right?

Not exactly.

You see, the AK-47 was designed by a team, several teams really, which was headed up by Mr. Kalashnikov.  He didn't design the rifle at all, he just oversaw the team that did.  But that didn't make for a very propaganda worthy story, so the Soviet propaganda machine made him out to be the sole designer, giving him full credit.  They painted Mr. Kalashnikov as a tinkerer, a designer and a genius... the true patriotic hero who gave an incredible gift single handily to his country.

But in the end Mr. Kalashnikov is still a great man in my opinion.  They picked a great figurehead to be the namesake of the now famous rifle.

A Wired article can be found here that gives you a little more info on the story, despite the rather corny title of the article.