Mikhail Kalashnikov started working on the first version of a semi-automatic carbine in October 1944 at the secret Shchurovo proving ground of the Main Artillery Directorate of the USSR People’s Commissariat of Defense. The carbine was tested there in October 1945. The Main Artillery Directorate expert commission concluded that further work on the model was impractical but suggested continuing the development of semi-automatic carbines.

The second version of the carbine was tested in July — September 1946 and was also rejected. The Main Artillery Directorate commission again recommended Kalashnikov to continue working on new designs and asked him to submit several new prototypes.

In March 1948, Mikhail Kalashnikov and his team came from the Moscow region to the Izhevsk Motor Plant, where he was to control the release of an experimental batch of about 1,500 AK-47 assault rifles for troop trials within a very short time. The plant’s chief designer David Vinokgoyz allowed Kalashnikov to work on the new carbine while assembling assault rifles.

The engineers used the modified drawings to create a limited series of experimental semi-automatic Kalashnikov carbines (SKK). The main components — the trigger mechanism, the sight, the upper handguard with a gas tube, and the buttstock construction — were made according to the AK-47 assault rifle. Carbines No. 2 and No. 3 from the pilot batch were delivered to the ground tests.

The tests were completed in December 1948. Despite the design and technological advantages of the Kalashnikov model, the military chose SKS-45 developed by Sergey Simonov. Kalashnikov disagreed with the commission’s decision and continued his work on the carbine in 1949. Thus, the last prototype No. 5 produced at the motor plant ended up at Izhmash and was later transferred to the museum in 2012.