Every Bulgarian Weapon Used After WWII

Описание: Bulgaria emerged from World War II in a unique position among European nations, having fought on the Axis side until September 1944 before switching to the Allies and contributing forces to the final defeat of Nazi Germany. This transition fundamentally shaped Bulgaria's post-war trajectory, as the country fell firmly within the Soviet sphere of influence, came under Communist rule, and became one of the most loyal members of the Warsaw Pact. The story of Bulgarian infantry weapons in the post-World War II era is essentially the story of Soviet military assistance transforming Bulgarian forces from operating a diverse collection of German, Italian, and captured Allied weapons into a force equipped entirely with Soviet designs, creating infantry armed with successive generations of Soviet small arms while also developing Bulgaria's own indigenous arms production capabilities.

Unlike some Warsaw Pact nations that simply imported Soviet weapons without modification, Bulgaria developed substantial domestic arms manufacturing, producing licensed versions of Soviet designs and eventually creating indigenous variants that were exported worldwide. The Bulgarian defense industry, particularly the Arsenal plant in Kazanlak, became one of the Warsaw Pact's major small arms manufacturers, producing millions of rifles, machine guns, and other weapons for Bulgarian forces and export customers.