Zastava M70 - History

History

Initial development of a domestic AK variant began c.a 1959, and the first models submitted by Zastava for military field trials were with the early M64 series of rifles with milled receivers, threaded barrels, familiar Yugo handguards, gas cutoffs for grenade launching, and several other diversities from the mainstay AK design, such as a bolt hold open device on the right side of the receiver, and a charging handle that appeared different from other AK models. Though performances were satisfactory, the Yugoslav military did not adopt the rifle as the standard infantry armament.

In 1970, a second opportunity emerged, and Zastava was given the go ahead to begin with army funded mass production of the AP M70 and M70A series (Serbo-Croatian: Automatska Puška M70, M70 Automatic Rifle) of which the M70A was the folding stock version.

Before the larger models of these rifles were made, cost-cutting measures in production resulted in the removal of the internal bolt hold open, and relocation to the magazine follower. In addition, the usual placement of the barrel through threading into the receiver was replaced by the cheaper method of pressing and pinning the barrel into the receiver. Rifles produced with these new features were known as models AP M70B (fixed stock version), and M70AB (folding stock version).

As with the M-70 series of automatic rifles, these models failed to be produced in larger quantities before further cost-efficiency production measures gave way to yet another model. This time the milled receiver was replaced by a stamped receiver of 0.9mm thickness, a firing rate reducer was added to the trigger group, and the muzzle brake replaced the muzzle nut that originally came on the two prior models. Yugoslavian AKs produced with these features were named models AP M70B1 (fixed stock) and M70AB1 (folding stock).

These models eventually failed to mass-produce as well, before final alterations to the M70 rifle design resulted with the AP M70B2 (fixed stock) and M70AB2 (folding stock) models. These last two models featured a thicker 1.5mm stamped receiver and bulged front trunnion, which was intended to strengthen the rifle in order to make it more suitable for frequent grenade launching. These two models would become the most widely produced of the M70 series, and in turn the most widely used model used by the YPA, as well as the various armed groups fighting in the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. Parts kits imported into the U.S. however, show markings that appear to contradict the final fixed stock model name. On these kits the bulged, thicker stamped receiver model is actually the M70B1 model.

All of the M70 models share the grenade launching ability with gas cutoff, the lengthened handguard with 3 cooling slots, iron sights with flip-up illuminating elements, initially filled with phosphorus and later with tritium, to improve aiming at night; the plunger that keeps the receiver cover in place during grenade launching, and a non-chrome lined barrel. Fire selectors have R markings for automatic fire (The R stands for "rafalna", "burst fire") and J for semi-automatic fire (The J stands for "jedinačna", "single").