The "Yugo" M70 Series

Introduction

The AK variants of the former Yugoslavia have a special blend of unique features that I've always found makes them just that little bit more interesting. Whether it's a civilian or a military variant, they're instantly distinguishable from their kalashni-cousins by their unique three-slotted handguard, but their differences go quite a bit deeper.

Pictured above is a civilian M70 N-PAP made by Zastava in Serbia and imported by Century Arms. I've added a couple of cosmetic touches, includes a Khyber Customs "Cheese Grater" upper handguard, and a Definitive Arms Fighter Brake.

Technical Details

The M70 series of rifles (excluding the M76 and M77) are very functionally similar to the typical AKM in that they're chambered in 7.62x39mm, and have all the features you'd expect on an AK, such as the right-side charging handle, paddle mag release, and safety selector.

The M70 series has many atypical features that set it apart from other AK variants, one of which being the fact that the Serbians decided to leave a whole bunch of important bits in-the-white. This means that the barrel is not chrome lined, and the bolt and carrier lack any finish, such as phosphating. This doesn't seem like a big deal, until you note that all of the Yugo surplus ammo is corrosive. But, so long as things get cleaned well, this shouldn't be a problem.

Unlike many other nations that adopted the AK platform, the Yugoslavian's wanted their M70's to be able to launch rifle grenades instead of using an under-barrel design like the GP-25. One of the issues they ran into with this was that the recoil from firing rifle grenades had a tendency to blow the top covers off their AKs. They solved this, simply, by putting a locking button to lock the back of the recoil spring in place, thereby preventing the button from being depressed and the dust cover lifted off. This feature carried on into civilian M70 variants, as shown below.

Also to allow rifle grenade capability, the military M70's feature a gas cut-off/grenade launching sight on the gas block. This is reminiscent of a similar system used for the same reason on Yugoslavia's SKS's. This a flip-up grenade sight that, when flipped up, keeps the gun from cycling and routes all the gas into launching the grenade.

Grenade launching sight and bulged trunnion seen on this M70 from the Yugoslav Wars.

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/vanjavasiljevi/war-in-yugoslavia/

In order to assist in overall ruggedness and durability, the military M70's are made similar to RPK specifications in term of their receivers and trunnions. Military M70's can be seen with a bulged trunnion, and the receiver thickness is 1.5mm as opposed to the normal 1mm seen on most AK variants. This makes an infantry rifle that is much more durable and capable of high round-counts.

History and Use

The M70 series of rifles was designed to replace the Yugoslav SKS rifles that had been in service for a short while. Much like other countries that adopted the SKS, it was quickly replaced by an AK variant not long after its adoption. In the case of Yugoslavia, this took the form of the M70 rifle.

The M70 series of rifles saw its most extensive use during the Yugoslav Wars. Since they were the standard rifle for Yugoslavia in the 70's, its safe to say that there were quite a few floating around.

Source: https://78.media.tumblr.com/91869a362f8e232de12fa789cbaa0029/tumblr_n4ywo0FBy21qmqs6fo1_1280.jpg

Shown here is a group of Serbian soldiers with a captured Croatian flag during the Yugoslav wars. You can see a variety of M70's being used, many of which with an under-folding stock. One thing to note is the rifle in the upper left corner of the phone. Here you can see an M70 with a rifle grenade launching muzzle device.

But the M70's use is not limited to the Balkans, Iraq is also a major importer of rifles from Zastava, so M70-type rifles have shown up in the middle east on more than one occasion. In the Vice News Video "What It's Really Like to Fight for ISIS", after a group of ISIS fighters have to bail out of a homemade APC after it was hit by a rocket, an M70 that they'd been using to launch rifle grenades can be seen on the ground.

As you can see, this thing has definitely seen better days. Additionally, note the craft-build grenade launching muzzle device sized for their own rifle grenade design. The Middle East can be a goldmine for people looking to find interesting small arms from all over the world, and this modified M70 goes a small way in showing that.

Conclusion

Overall, the M70 is an interesting spin on the AK and is fairly prolific, being used in the Middle East as well as conflicts in the Balkans. Although the manual-of-arms on an M70 doesn't really differ from your typical AKM, it's the small features here and there that make the M70 one of my personal favorite AK variants and an interesting rifle overall.