![]() Bolt Carrier Assemblies of both the Romanian RPK and a PSAK47. The RPK itself is essentially a beefed up AKM – introducing a thicker receiver and heavier barrel to stand up to sustained automatic fire, and ditching the under barrel cleaning rod for a deployable bipod as well. The RPK in use with East German Paratroopers The RPD saw substantial use throughout the cold war’s numerous proxy fights, but was eventually replaced during a bid for parts and training standardization by Kalashnikov’s RPK during the early 1960s. The RPD would come to replace the DP28 – the iconic machine gun utilized by the Soviets during WW2 and into the 50s. RPD in use with Soviet Motor Riflesĭesigned to replace the DP28, the Soviet RPD was one of the world’s first belt fed machine guns chambered in an intermediate rifle cartridge – utilizing the same 7.62×39 round as the AK-47, essentially making it a precursor to the modern squad automatic weapon. The point being that many modern militaries began to understand the importance of having a highly mobile source of automatic fire integrated into infantry squads and fireteams.įast forward to late WW2 and firearms designer Vasily Degtyaryov had finalized plans for the Ruchnoy Pulemyot Degtyaryova – or, Degtyaryov’s light machine gun – the Soviet RPD. The American BAR is another step in a similar direction, although notably it was still limited to 20 round box magazines and obviously was still chambered in. The Madsen – a mobile automatic weapon that generally didn’t need assistant gunners to be employed effectively. While guns like the Madsen were the first to be employed in this role, most fully automatic support style weapons were still chambered in full size rifle cartridges and required one or more assistant gunners to be utilized effectively. ![]() The concept of the squad automatic weapon is a relatively new one. It’s the early 1960s, and the Soviet military is looking to standardize their small arms and infantry weapons, as most militaries of the time were. We generally find giving a bit of background context to set the stage is useful in understanding the importance of any historically relevant gun we cover – in this case, we’ll be exploring the origins of the Soviet RPK before we dive into the nitty gritty of Atlantic’s Romanian iteration. ![]()
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