Fedorov Avtomat The Fedorov Avtomat was the first assault rifle of the world . Created in the Russian Empire in 1912 , the Fedorov Avtomat was produced from 1916 to 1924 , however , stored rifles were used in the World War II when the Soviet / Russian Army was attacked by German forces . Description . Captain V . Fedorov of the Russian Imperial Army ( later - a general of Soviet Army ) started development of the self - loading rifle in 1906 . His first rifle was chambered for standard Russian 7 , 62x54R ammunition , held 5 rounds in fixed magazine and fired only semi - automatically . In this job Fedorov was supported by his apprentice V . Degtyarov ( who latter became one of most important Soviet small arms designers of pre - WW2 generation ) . First Fedorov rifles entered trials in 1911 . In 1912 the Rifle Commission of Russian Army decided to order 150 more Fedorov rifles for further trials , and in 1913 Fedorov submitted a prototype automatic rifle , chambered for his own experimental rimless cartridge of 6 , 5mm caliber . This new ammunition was more compact that Russian 7 , 62x54R , better suited for automatic weapons ( because of rimless cartridge ) and has sights . In 1916 Weapons Committee of Russian Army decided that it is necessary to order at least 25 000 of Fedorov automatic rifles . Inearly 1918 orders for Fedorov rifle were limited to 9 000 guns , but as result of turmoil of the revolution and following Civil war only 3 200 Fedorov rifles were manufactured in the city of Kovrov betveen 1920 and 1924 , when production was finally stopped . It is interesting that at the time of initial orders Russian Army considered Fedorov automatic rifles as substitute light machine guns ; although in actual use Fedorov rifles were used as individual armament for infantry soldiers , exactly in the tactical niche of modern assault rifles . Fedorov automatic rifles served with Russian and later with Red ( soviet ) Army through WWI , Civil war and until late twenties , when it was decided to retire all rifles and machine guns that used non - standard ( other than 7 , 62x54R ) ammunition , and Fedorov rifles wereput into reserve storage . The last conflict that saw action of Fedorov rifles was Winter war with Finland in 1940 , when some Fedorov rifles were withdrawnfrom storage and issued to elite units of Red Army . One important note must be made about the name of Fedorov rifle , which isuniversally known as " Avtomat " ( automatic ) . This name was apparently devised by Russian small arms expert Blagonravov during mid or late twenties . At the time , this term was used to designate any shoulder - fired automatic weapon , be that rifle or submachine gun . Up until now " avtomat " is unofficial Russian term for automatic weapon . Today this term is most often used for weapons , generally known as " assault rifles " , and therefore Fedorov ' s " Avtomat " can be considered as one of the world ' s first practical assault rifles . At the time of its peak usage ( 1918 - 1924 ) there was only one practical automatic rifle made in the world which fell into same tactical class was the Browning ' s BAR . Initially BAR was intended to be used as assault rifle , with individual soldiers firing itfrom the shoulder or hip during assaults on enemy trenches ; however , Browning ' s rifle was almost twice as powerful ( comparing muzzle energy of US . 30 - 06 ammunition used in BAR and 6 , 5x50SR used in Avtomat ) and exactly twice as heavy compared to Fedorov ' s rifle . Therefore BAR soon evolved into light machine gun , while Avtomat set the pattern for the whole new class of infantry weapons , which rose to its heights during late stages of WWII and especially afterwards . We shall note that Fedorov ' s Avtomat was not without flaws . Its recoil - operated action was sensitive to fouling ; early production guns suffered from non - interchangeability of parts , including magazines ; disassembly and especially re - assembly was somewhat complicated . Despite these flaws , it was a formidable and historically important weapon , and , ironically , its ballistic properties are very close to modern idea of " ideal " assault rifle and its ammunition . Fedorov ' s " Avtomat " is short recoil operated , locked breech weapon which fires from closed bolt . The bolt locking is achieved by two locking plates , located at either side of the breech . Those plates are allowed to tilt slightly down and up , locking and unlocking the bolt with special lugs . The barrel is fluted to save the weight and improve cooling . Trigger unit uses apivoting hammer to fire , and separate manual safety and fire selector levers are installed within the trigger guard . The stock is made from wood , with semi - pistol grip and additional vertical foregrip in the front of the magazine . The curved box magazine held 25 rounds in two rows , and was detachable . A special bayonet was attached to the front of the steel heat - shield below the barrel . Standard open sights with tangent rear were installed on the barrel . Specifications