Alexey Sudayev
Alexey Ivanovich Sudayev was born on Sugest 23, 1912 and died on August 17, 1946. He is best known for creating the PPS submachine gun and the AS-44 assault rifle.
History
Sudayev trained as a engineer and got a job in a state factory, before moving to Gorky to attend further education. He later worked as a technician in Urals where he worked in the engineering department in a landfill. in 1936 he returned to Gorky to enroll in the Industrial Institute where he worked for two years before he enlisted in the Red Army Artillery Academy as an engineer. In his early years at the academy he designed a self loading pistol prototype, which awarded him a state scholarship. He was stationed in Leningrad when the Germans invaded the city in 1941 and as a direct response to the Germans invading and the dire situation it put the country in he designed a cheap, simple, and low maintenance submachine gun, the PPS. In went to trails in 1942 under the strenuous circumstances where it was quickly accepted.
In 1943 Alexey fell ill preventing him from participating in the war effort and as his conditions worsened he became bedridden. Despite this he continued to design new firearms while in the hospital. He was working on a prototype rifle to compete against the Kalashnikov design in 1944. The first prototype was tested in 1944 and was found to be functionally adequate by the Soviet Army, but was said to be too heavy at 5.56kg (12.3 lbs). The second prototype had accuracy and reliability issues, but because of his illness the design could not be finalized. He died a week before his 34th birthday in 1946.
Awards
- Order of Lenin
- Order of the Patriotic War
- Red Star
Notable Designs
- PPS-42
- PPS-43
- AS-44
