Mikhail Kalashnikov developed it after serving as Soviet tank commander in World War II . The gun also proved popular with paramilitary groups : It was so successful in Mozambique 's successful rebel movement of the 1960s and 1970s that its image appears in the national flag . He recognized AK-47 as the world 's most common machine gun . Therefore , reliability were hallmarks of reliability , he told Guinness in 2009 .
Mikhail Kalashnikov developed it after serving as Soviet tank commander in World War II . He recognized AK-47 as the world 's most common machine gun . Therefore , reliability were hallmarks of reliability , he told Guinness in 2009 .