PK machine gun | |
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PKM machine gun | |
Type |
|
Place of origin | Soviet Union |
Service history | |
In service | 1961–present |
Used by | See Users |
Production history | |
Designer | Mikhail Kalashnikov |
Number built | over 1,000,000 |
Variants | PK, PKS, PKT, PKM, PKMS, PKP |
Specifications | |
Weight | PK: 9 kg (19.84 lb) (gun + integral bipod) + 7.7 kg (16.98 lb) (tripod). |
Length | 1,203 mm (47.4 in) |
Barrel length | 658 mm (25.9 in) |
| |
Cartridge | |
Action | Gas operated,open bolt |
Rate of fire | 750 rounds/min |
Muzzle velocity | PK, PKM: 825 m/s |
Effective range | 1,640 yd (100–1,500 m sight adjustments) |
Feed system | Belts in 100/200/250 round boxes |
Sights | Tangent iron sight |
The PK is a 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun designed in the Soviet Union and currently in production in Russia. The PK machine gun was introduced in the 1960s and replaced the SGM and RPD machine guns in Soviet service. It remains in use as a front-line infantry and vehicle-mounted weapon with Russia's armed forces, and has been exported extensively. The original PK (Пулемёт Калашникова: Pulemyot Kalashnikova, or "Kalashnikov's Machinegun") was a development of Kalashnikov's automatic rifle design, firing the 7.62x54mmR Eastern Bloc standard ammunition originally from the Mosin–Nagant. It is equipped with a simple bipod and is designed as a squad-level support weapon; it is also suitable for installation and vehicle mounting. The PK machine gun can be used as a light anti-aircraft weapon when it is put on an AA mount. Most are belt-fed, using linked 25 round belts. These 25-round belts can be linked to any length necessary. Typical of Soviet machine guns, the standard model feeds from the right and ejects its spent cases via an ejection port on the left side of the weapon, contrary to the right side ejection port seen in most Western machine guns.
Users
· Albania
· Armenia PK/PKM
· Belarus
· Bulgaria: PK/PKM copies were produced as the MG-1 & MG-1M.
· Cambodia
· Chad
· People's Republic of China: PK/PKM copies were produced as the Type 80.
· Croatia
· Egypt
· Estonia also uses the MG-3 (MG 1A3) and the KSP-58 B.
· Moldova
· Mongolia
· Morocco
· Panama
· Poland: PK/PKM copies were produced.
· Romania: PK/PKM copies were produced as the Mitraliera md. 66.
· Russia
· Serbia: Made under license as the M84/M86.
· Syria
· Sweden: Known locally as "Kulspruta 95"
· Uganda
· Ukraine
· Vietnam Used from the Vietnam War to the present
· Yugoslavia: PK/PKM copies were produced.
· Zambia
The original article can be found at PK machine gun and the edit history here.