A Guide to Markings Found on AK-47's

Romanian AK Markings

The red 'G' marking on the side of the rear sight base on Romanian AK-47 kits ("Romy G kits", as they are commonly called) signifies that the rifles were issued to the Romanian national guard. I've also heard that they were issued to a "youth guard". More clarification would be nice.

On all G kits I've seen, the original year of manufacture is stamped on the left side of the front trunion, near the serial number and what I assume is an arsenal mark.

-- SeanNewton - 31 Oct 2007

GP-1975 or GP-75, for short, rifles were issued to the Garda Patriotica, Romanian Patriotic Guard ("G" stands for Garda which is Romanian for Guard). The Patriotic Guard was sort of a combination of what we know as the National Guard and the Communist Young Pioneers and was mandatory service for young men and women. And yes, the rifles were issued in semi-auto only ... the tail of the disconnector was cut off which only allowed the rifles to be fired semi-auto despite having all the other full auto parts and 3rd hole in the receiver (for the auto sear). If the rifles were to ever be converted to selective fire, it would only require the replacement of the disconnector and the addition of the auto sear.

'G' kits are no longer imported and once the remaining kits are sold, the only way to own one will be to buy one already built. 'G' kits are imported with the receiver cut per BTAF specs so all builds will have a U.S. made receiver.

--Main.DeeGlockster - 31 Aug 2008

Yugoslavian AK Markings, by ShooterDave

There aren't many manufacturer's marks on Yugoslavian AK's. But, because many were used in the civil war in the country once known as Yugoslavia, the soldiers they were issued to frequently chose to 'decorate' them with carving and graffiti. Those used by Croatia (the fatherland) had various carvings, such as names and the national insignia shahovnica (checkerboard). Those used by Bosnia had various Muslim themes, such as the crescent moon or the fleur de leis (boyscout logo). The Serbs (chetniks) had names in Cyrillic, and usually their carvings are the cross with a c in each corner. In the Cyrillic alphabet, 'C' is pronounced as 'S'. The meaning, roughly, is "Only unity saves the Serbs".

-- SeanNewton - 31 Oct 2007

Topic revision: r3 - 31 Aug 2008 - DeeGlockster

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