The most powerful machine guns in the world. Heavy machine guns of Russia and the world
On May 17, 1718, James Puckle patented his gun, which became the prototype of the machine gun. Since that time, military engineering has come a long way, but machine guns still remain one of the most formidable types of weapons.
"Pakla's Gun"
Attempts to increase the rate of fire firearms were attempted repeatedly, but before the advent of the unitary cartridge they failed due to the complexity and unreliability of the design, the extremely high cost of production and the need to have trained soldiers whose skills would go significantly beyond the automatic manipulation of a gun.
One of the many experimental designs was the so-called “Pakla gun”. The weapon was a gun mounted on a tripod with a cylinder with 11 charges acting as a magazine. The crew of the gun consisted of several people. With coordinated crew actions and no misfires, a rate of fire of up to 9-10 rounds per minute was theoretically achieved. This system was supposed to be used at short distances in naval battle, however, due to unreliability, this weapon did not become widespread. This system illustrates the desire to increase firepower rifle fire by increasing the rate of fire.
Lewis machine gun
The Lewis light machine gun was developed in the United States by Samuel McClane, and was used as a light machine gun and aircraft gun during the First World War. Despite the impressive weight, the weapon turned out to be quite successful - the machine gun and its modifications are quite long time were held in Britain and its colonies, as well as the USSR.
In our country, Lewis machine guns were used until the Great Patriotic War and are visible in the chronicle of the parade on November 7, 1941. In domestic feature films, this weapon is found relatively rarely, but a frequent imitation of the Lewis machine gun in the form of a “camouflaged DP-27” is present very often. The original Lewis machine gun was depicted, for example, in the film “White Sun of the Desert” (except for the shooting shots).
Hotchkiss machine gun
During the First World War, the Hotchkiss heavy machine gun became the main machine gun French army. Only in 1917, with the spread of light machine guns, its production began to decline.
In total, the easel "Hotchkiss" was in service in 20 countries. In France and a number of other countries, these weapons were kept during the Second World War. Hotchkiss was supplied to a limited extent before the First World War and to Russia, where a significant part of these machine guns was lost during the East Prussian operation in the first months of the war. In domestic feature films, the Hotchkiss machine gun can be seen in the film adaptation of Quiet Don, which shows a Cossack attack on German positions, which from a historical point of view may not be typical, but is acceptable.
Maxim machine gun
The Maxim machine gun went down in history Russian Empire and the USSR, remaining officially in service much longer than in other countries. Along with the three-line rifle and revolver, it is strongly associated with the weapons of the first half of the 20th century.
He served from the Russo-Japanese War to the Great Patriotic War inclusive. Powerful and distinguished by a high rate of fire and accuracy of fire, the machine gun had a number of modifications in the USSR and was used as an easel, anti-aircraft and aviation one. The main disadvantages of the easel version of the Maxim were the excessively large mass and water cooling of the barrel. Only in 1943 was the Goryunov machine gun adopted for service, which by the end of the war began to gradually supplant the Maxim. In the initial period of the war, the production of Maxims not only did not decrease, but on the contrary, it increased and, in addition to Tula, was deployed in Izhevsk and Kovrov.
Since 1942, machine guns were produced only with a receiver under a canvas tape. The production of the legendary weapon was stopped in our country only in the victorious year of 1945.
MG-34
The German MG-34 machine gun has a very complicated story adoption, but, nevertheless, this model can be called one of the first single machine guns. The MG-34 could be used as a light machine gun, or as an easel machine gun on a tripod, as well as as an anti-aircraft and tank gun.
Its low weight gave the weapon high maneuverability, which, combined with a high rate of fire, made it one of the best infantry machine guns of the early World War II. Later, even with the adoption of the MG-42, Germany did not abandon the production of the MG-34; this machine gun is still in service in a number of countries.
DP-27
From the beginning of the 30s, the light machine gun of the Degtyarev system began to enter service with the Red Army, which became the main light machine gun of the Red Army until the mid-40s. First combat use DP-27 is most likely associated with the conflict on the Chinese Eastern Railway in 1929.
The machine gun performed well during the fighting in Spain, Khasan and Khalkhin Gol. However, by the time the Great Patriotic War began, the Degtyarev machine gun was already inferior in a number of parameters such as weight and magazine capacity to a number of newer and more advanced models.
During operation, a number of shortcomings were identified - a small magazine capacity (47 rounds) and an unfortunate location under the barrel of the return spring, which was deformed from frequent shooting. During the war, some work was carried out to eliminate these shortcomings. In particular, the survivability of the weapon was increased by moving the return spring to the rear of the receiver, although general principle work of this sample has not undergone any changes. The new machine gun (DPM) began to enter the army in 1945. On the basis of the machine gun, a very successful DT tank machine gun was created, which became the main Soviet tank machine gun of the Great Patriotic War.
Machine gun "Breda" 30
One of the first places in terms of the number of shortcomings among mass-produced samples can be given to the Italian Breda machine gun, which, perhaps, collected the maximum number of them.
Firstly, the magazine is unsuccessful and only holds 20 rounds, which is clearly not enough for a machine gun. Secondly, each cartridge must be lubricated with oil from a special oil can. Dirt, dust gets in and the weapon instantly fails. One can only guess how it was possible to fight with such a “miracle” in the sands of North Africa.
But even at sub-zero temperatures, the machine gun also does not work. The system was highly complex to manufacture and low in cost. light machine gun rate of fire. To top it off, there is no handle for carrying the machine gun. Nevertheless, this system was the main machine gun of the Italian army in World War II.
Light machine guns.
"Pecheneg", PKP light machine gun
History of creation
The Pecheneg light machine gun was developed at the Central Research Institute of Precision Engineering (Russia) as a further development of the standard army PKM machine gun. Currently, the Pecheneg machine gun has passed army tests and is in service with a number of army and Ministry of Internal Affairs units participating in the anti-terrorist operation in Chechnya.
Technical features
The Pecheneg barrel has specially designed external fins and is enclosed in a metal casing. When firing, powder gases coming out of the barrel at high speed create the effect of an ejection pump in the front part of the casing, drawing cold air along the barrel. Air is taken from the atmosphere through windows in the casing, made under the carrying handle, in the rear part of the casing.
Thus, it was possible to achieve a high practical rate of fire without the need to replace the barrel - maximum length a continuous burst from a "Pecheneg" is about 600 shots. When conducting a long battle, the machine gun can fire up to 1000 rounds per hour without deteriorating combat characteristics and reducing the barrel life, which is at least 30,000 rounds. In addition, due to the enclosure of the barrel in the casing, thermal moire (oscillations of hot air over a heated barrel during intense fire), which interfered with accurate aiming, disappeared.
An increase in the overall rigidity of the barrel made it possible to move the bipod from the gas coupling to the muzzle of the weapon. This made it possible to increase the support base of the machine gun and, as a result, its stability when firing.
The “Pecheneg” uses 80% of the parts from the Kalashnikov PKM machine gun, the caliber, weight, dimensions, and capacity of the weapon’s cartridge boxes are preserved, and the operation of the main components of the weapon is completely identical. All this allows not only to launch mass production of this machine gun at minimal cost, but also simplifies its operation in the army.
Caliber, mm7.62
Chuck type7.62x54mm R
Weight without cartridges, kg 8.2 on bipod; 12.7 kg on a tripod machine
Weight with cartridges, kg.
Magazine capacity, pcs. cartridge strip 100 or 200 rounds
Rate of fire, rounds/min650
RPK-74, light machine gun
History of creation
The Kalashnikov RPK-74 light machine gun was developed as a replacement for the 7.62x39mm RPK machine gun as part of a small arms system chambered for the low-pulse 5.45x39mm cartridge, and was adopted for service in 1974 along with the AK-74 assault rifle.
Technical features
The RPK-74 is built on the basis of the AK-74 assault rifle and has an identical automatic system based on a gas outlet with the barrel being locked by turning the bolt. Fire is fired from a closed bolt; the barrel is non-removable, elongated and heavier compared to the AK-74. A lightweight folding bipod is installed under the barrel. The early samples have a wooden fore-end and stock, while the latest releases have plastic ones. Sights have the ability to enter lateral corrections. Modifications designated RPK-74N have a side rail for attaching night sights. The RPK-74 is fed from magazines that are interchangeable with the AK-74 - horns for 30 or 45 rounds. 75-round drum magazines (similar to the RPK) have been created, but are extremely rare.
Modifications
RPK-74N - Initially, this designation was given to machine guns that had a mount for installing a night vision device, but since the 90s, the mounting bracket has been available on all produced models.
RPKS-74 (6P19) - This minor modification of the standard RPK-74 features a folding stock and was produced for the Airborne Forces.
RPKS-74N - This machine gun has a mount for installing a night vision device and a folding stock.
Caliber, mm5.45
Cartridge type5.45×39 mm
Weight without cartridges, kg4.7
Weight with cartridges, kg5 kg with bipod
Magazine capacity, pcs. cartridges30, 45 and 75 cartridges
Initial bullet speed, m/s960
Rate of fire, rounds/min600
Heavy machine guns.
KORD, 12.7 mm machine gun
History of creation
The Kord heavy machine gun was created at the Kovrov plant named after. Degtyarev (ZID) in the 1990s to replace the NSV and NSVT machine guns in service in Russia. The main reason for the development of the Kord machine gun was the fact that the production of NSV machine guns after the collapse of the USSR ended up on the territory of Kazakhstan. In addition, when creating the Kord, the goal was to increase the shooting accuracy compared to the NSV-12.7. The new machine gun received the index 6P50 and was adopted by the Russian army in 1997. Serial production was launched at the ZID plant in 2001.
Technical features
The Kord large-caliber machine gun uses gas-operated automatics with a long working stroke of the gas piston located under the barrel. The machine gun barrel is quick-change, air-cooled, and on new machine guns it is equipped with an effective muzzle brake. The barrel is locked using a rotating bolt. The design of the machine gun provides a special buffer for moving parts, which, in combination with a muzzle brake, significantly reduces the peak recoil of the weapon when firing.
Shooting is carried out from an open bolt. The cartridges are fed from a non-scattered metal strip with an open (unclosed) link from an NSV machine gun. The tape is assembled from pieces of 10 links using a cartridge. Feeding cartridges from the belt directly into the barrel. The normal direction of movement of the tape is from right to left, but it can easily be reversed.
Of the controls on the body of the machine gun, there are only a trigger lever and a manual safety. Fire controls are located on the machine or installation. A lightweight 6T19 machine gun has been developed specifically for the Kord machine gun, which is a cradle of the 6T7 machine gun with fire controls, which has a light bipod mounted in front instead of a tripod. In this version, the machine gun can be carried short distances across the battlefield by one soldier, and can also be used from almost any point, including the roofs of buildings, window openings, etc.
In the anti-aircraft version, the Kord machine gun can be used with a special 6U6 anti-aircraft machine gun mount. The Kord machine gun is equipped with open sights and can also be used with various day and night sights, for which it has a corresponding bracket on the receiver.
Main characteristics
Caliber, mm - 12.7
Rate of fire, shots per minitune less than 600
Initial bullet speed, m/s - 820..860
Sighting range, m - up to 2000
Barrel weight, kg -9.25
Weight of loaded magazine, kg -11.1
Weight of belt loaded with 50 rounds, kg -7.7
Machine gun horizontal aiming angle
relative to fixed bipods -±15°
Technical resource, shots -10000
Armor penetration at 100 m, mm - up to 20
"Cliff", NSV-12.7
History of creation
The NSV-12.7 Utes heavy machine gun was developed at the Tula TsKIB SOO in the late 1960s - early 1970s as a replacement for the outdated and heavy DShK. It got its name from the initial letters of the authors' surnames - G.I. Nikitina, Yu. M. Sokolov and V. I. Shortly before this, the same team participated in a competition for a single machine gun of 7.62 caliber, but preference was given to the model of M. T. Kalashnikov. For the production of NSV, it was decided to create new plant in Uralsk, called “Metallist”, since production at the Degtyarev plant in Kovrov was overloaded. The workforce was recruited a large number of engineers and workers from Tula, Kovrov, Izhevsk, Samara, Vyatskie Polyany.
Purpose
Designed to combat lightly armored ground targets (armored personnel carriers), firing points and targets located behind shallow cover at a range of up to 1000 m, as well as to fire at concentrations of infantry and vehicles at a range of up to 1500 m and at low-flying air targets at an altitude of up to 1500 m.
Design Features
The NSV-12.7 was much lighter than its predecessor - 25 kg for a machine gun of this caliber is still the limit with existing technologies.
The NSV automation is based on the removal of powder gases, the barrel is locked using a wedge, and when locked, the bolt moves to the left, while the bolt shank hits the striker.
The trigger mechanism is assembled in a separate box, has a very simple design and allows only automatic firing. In this case, the trigger mechanism is not intended to control fire directly on the machine gun; it requires a handle and a trigger or an electric trigger on the machine or installations. There is also no charging handle, and the spring charging force is so high that various lever or block designs are required to reduce it. Original elements were used in the design, all moving parts were equipped with rollers to reduce friction, the cadmium coating served as an additional “lubricant”, a quick-release wedge closing device ensured easy replacement of the barrel without adjusting it after the change.
The bolt with the bolt frame and the bolt frame itself with the gas piston are hingedly connected. The return spring is equipped with a buffer. The supply of cartridges using a metal belt could be left- or right-handed. Coupled with the ejection of spent cartridges forward, and not to the side, this made it possible to easily combine “right” and “left” machine guns in twin installations. One of these, in particular, was produced by the Tula Machine-Building Plant named after. Ryabikov for arming boats.
The mechanical sight includes a sighting bar, marked for shooting up to 2000 m (the DShK sighting bar was marked up to 4000 m), and a front sight. The front sight was initially folding, but then the factory designers convinced GRAU that makes a lot of sense this is not the case.
Caliber, mm12.7x108
Chuck type12.7x108
The total number of workstations for communication management.
Weight without cartridges, kg25
Weight with cartridges, kg36.1
Magazine capacity, pcs. infantry version - 50, tank version - 150
Initial bullet speed, m/s845
Rate of fire, rounds/min700-800
Machine guns, r placed on armored and other vehicles.
7.62 mm Kalashnikov machine gun, modernized tank
History of creation
The Kalashnikov machine gun (PK) was developed at the end of the 50s. in order to participate in the competition to create a new single machine gun for the Soviet army, which was intended to replace the Goryunov heavy machine gun (SGM) and Degtyarev light machine guns (DPM and RP-46).
In 1960, parallel military tests of competitive samples were carried out, according to the results of which the Kalashnikov machine gun was recognized as the best. It was distinguished by its ease of manufacture and maintenance, reliability in operation, and was trouble-free in operation when overcoming water obstacles and during rain. In 1961, the Kalashnikov machine gun was put into service.
In 1969, the Kalashnikov machine gun was modernized primarily to reduce weight and increase ease of use. Along with a weight reduction of 1.5 kg, a number of changes were made to its design: the barrel fins were eliminated, a different design of the flash suppressor, reloading handle, butt plate, and trigger guard was used. The upgraded machine gun was designated PKM.
Peculiarities
The machine gun is distinguished by its relatively light weight, small dimensions, ease of use, and high accuracy of fire. The automatic operation of the machine gun operates on the principle of removal of powder gases through a side hole in the wall of the barrel bore. Gas chamber located under the barrel and equipped with a three-position gas regulator. The barrel is quick-detachable, secured in the receiver with a crayon joint using a locking mechanism. It has longitudinal ribs to increase rigidity and improve heat dissipation. A conical flash suppressor is attached to the end of the barrel. Locking is carried out by turning the bolt, in which two lugs extend beyond the lugs of the receiver. The leading link of the automation is the bolt frame, to which the gas piston rod is pivotally connected. The return spring is located in the bolt frame channel. The reloading handle, located on the right, is not rigidly connected to the bolt frame and remains motionless when firing.
The cartridges are fed from a non-scattered metal strip; the feed is fed only from the right. The cartridge feed from the belt is two-stage; when the bolt group moves back, the cartridge is pulled out of the belt by the extractor grips and lowered to the feed line. Then, when the bolt group moves forward, the cartridge is sent into the barrel. After the shot, the spent cartridge case is removed from the barrel by the bolt and, using the reflective protrusion of the receiver, is thrown out to the left. The ejection window for spent cartridges in the receiver is closed by a spring-loaded flap; when a cartridge is ejected, the flap is opened by a pusher operating from the bolt frame moving backwards.
The PKMT differs from the base model in having an elongated heavy barrel and a remote electric trigger.
Caliber, mm7.62
Chuck type7.62x54mm R
The total number of workstations for communication management.
Weight without cartridges, kg10.5
Weight with cartridges, kg.
Magazine capacity, pcs. cartridge strip - 100, 200 or 250
Initial bullet speed, m/s.
Rate of fire, rounds/min800
November 28th, 2016
This year will be the 76th anniversary of the MG.42, the only machine gun created during the Second World War that is still used in the armies of many countries.
Many military historians claim that the Maschinengewehr 42 (better known as the MG 42) was the best general purpose machine gun ever created by human genius.
I remember him well as a kid from films about the Great Patriotic War. Let's remember the history and features of this weapon...
In 1937, three German companies took part in the competition to develop a new single machine gun: Rheinmetall-Borsig A.G., Stubgen A.G. and Metall und Lackierwarenfabrik Johannes Grossfuss AG. In April of the following year, competitive tests were carried out, from which the machine gun of Grossfuss engineer Werner Gruner emerged as the winner. After lengthy refinement of the design, 1,500 machine guns, first designated MG.39 and subsequently MG.39/41, were sent to the Eastern Front at the end of 1941 for the final military tests, where they showed themselves most the best side. And soon the modernized model was adopted by the Wehrmacht under the designation “7.92 mm single machine gun MG.42.” The first combat use of the new machine gun was its use by General Rommel's infantrymen in the Battle of Ghazala (Tunisia) in May-June 1942.
The MG.42 machine gun appeared typical representative wartime weapons. With the exception of the barrel, bolt, muzzle, clamp and sear, all parts of the machine gun are stamped. MG.42 consisted of the following main parts, assemblies and mechanisms: barrel with breech; locking mechanism; return spring; machine gun box with muzzle device; barrel return mechanism; bipod; lid boxes with a feeding mechanism; tape feed mechanism; trigger mechanism; butt with butt plate and buffer; sighting devices.
The automatic machine gun operated on the principle of using the recoil of the barrel during its short stroke and removing part of the powder gases through the muzzle device to increase the recoil energy. In order to simplify the design, the rotation of the combat cylinder was replaced by its translational movement, while the barrel bore was locked by two symmetrical rollers, which were moved apart by the figured faces of the breech and the bolt stem. The locking mechanism is combined with a shutter acceleration mechanism. All the main mechanisms and accessories of the machine gun are mounted in a box.
Striker-type impact mechanism. The trigger mechanism was designed only for continuous fire. A push-button safety, assembled in the pistol grip of the fire control, locked the sear of the trigger mechanism. The sight is an open sector type, designed for a firing range of up to 2000 m. The front sight, mounted in the front part of the barrel casing on a bracket, could be adjusted in height and in the lateral direction. In the stowed position, the bracket with the front sight was pressed against the casing and secured with a tension rod and a spring. The length of the sighting line is small compared to other German machine guns (430 mm), and the sight slot (neck) was located at a large distance from the butt plate (550 mm). Such a large distance from the shooter's eye to the sight slot had positive side, because the slot was within the depth of field of the eye and did not blur when aiming. However, the small size of the slot itself worsened the visibility of the target, especially at dusk.
The sight clamp moved along the bar with clicks, which was achieved by the presence of a spring tension in the clamp and cutouts on the bar itself. This design of the sight made it possible to install it by ear and touch in conditions of poor visibility: when shooting from embrasures, from attics, etc. For shooting at air targets, the MG.42 could also use a sight for anti-aircraft shooting. The barrel was cooled by air, and the machine gun had large oval windows in the barrel casing for more intense heat transfer, and on the right side there was a full-length cutout for changing the barrel. The barrel had relatively small weight and size characteristics, which was done to increase the maneuverability of the weapon at the expense of the ability to conduct long-term continuous fire.
One of the distinctive features of the MG.42 was the quick-change barrel mechanism. The overheated barrel was simply snapped off from the body (a special clamp was provided for this), and a new one was placed in its place. The entire operation took no more than a couple of seconds and could be performed with one hand.
A slider-type direct cartridge feed mechanism assembled in the box lid with a double feed finger system ensured smooth feeding of the tape when the bolt moved back and forth, as well as the absence of delays, despite the high rate of fire (1200-1300 rds/min). The cartridges were fed from a metal one-piece hinged link tape with an open link. One piece of 50-round belt could be connected to another using a cartridge, so the length of the loaded belt could be increased as much as desired.
The high rate of fire, which was achieved thanks to the rectilinear sliding movement of the bolt parts and the use of an improved buffer, is explained by the desire of the Wehrmacht command not only to increase the density of fire of infantry units, but also to increase the effectiveness of fire on moving and short-term targets. When designing moving parts of automation, large tolerances between non-working surfaces and small values of rubbing surfaces were deliberately established, which made the operation of the weapon less sensitive to grease, contamination and unfavorable conditions. climatic conditions. The new MG.42 machine gun did not require careful maintenance and, which was extremely important for use in front-line conditions, it could be fired without any lubrication. The machine gun could be easily operated by one person, since the weight of the weapon in the light machine gun version was 11.4 kg. The bipod in the MG.42 could be attached, depending on the nature of the terrain, to the front or rear of the barrel casing. On a bipod, the machine gun was able to conduct aimed fire at a range of up to 800 m.
The indisputable advantages of the MG.42 included its simplicity and ease of maintenance, the speed of preparing the weapon for battle, the ease of its assembly and disassembly, and the relatively smooth operation of the automation, with the exception of the shock of the bolt in the forward position. But at the same time, the machine gun also had certain disadvantages: bulkiness (total length 1220 mm); the rate of fire was excessively high for a light machine gun, which led to rapid heating of the barrel and frequent cases of non-extraction of the cartridge case; low accuracy of combat (at a distance of 100 m the dispersion was approximately 25 cm), therefore, to ensure high accuracy, it was recommended to fire a machine gun in short bursts of 5-7 shots; the small distance from the butt to the reloading handle in its rear position (200 mm) required the butt to be lifted from the shoulder to cock the bolt, which to a certain extent reduced combat capabilities this otherwise successful specimen.
In the easel version, the MG.42 machine gun was mounted on a universal tripod machine model 42. The machine was equipped with standard optical sights MGZ.34 and MGZ.40, which allowed firing at a distance of up to 2,200 m.
During the war, the Germans tried to improve the machine gun. In 1943, experimental work was carried out to equip the MG.42 with a device for silent and flameless shooting weighing 3.5 kg, 350 mm long and 110 mm in diameter. Targeted shooting was carried out at a distance of up to 150 m. next year An experimental version of this machine gun appeared with a barrel curved by 30 degrees.
The simplicity of the MG.42 design allowed as soon as possible train full-fledged riflemen (in total, before the end of the war, the Germans managed to train 400,000 machine gunners). According to the 1944 states, the infantry regiment was supposed to have 118 light and 24 heavy machine guns MG.42. In total, 408,323 MG.42 machine guns were manufactured before the end of the war.
A huge number of MG-42 machine guns were captured by the Red Army and used in battle for their intended purpose. The soldiers preferred to keep quiet about the fact that during the battle they captured a machine gun and kept it in their units for as long as possible.
After 1945, a significant number of MG-42s were distributed throughout Europe. Many European armies adopted it. The French fought with him in Indochina. But only one country captured so many machine guns that it was able to almost completely arm its army with them. This was Yugoslavia. The Yugoslavs liked the MG-42 so much that they even began assembling it in their homeland. They kept the caliber 7.92 mm and even produced a machine gun for export. The Yugoslav version is known as the M-53 and is an exact copy of the German machine gun, as are all its accessories, including the machine.
When the West German army needed new machine gun, then it was the MG-42 that was chosen for modernization. And to this day its modernized version, converted to the NATO cartridge, MG-3, is in service.
After the end of World War II, this weapon, despite the crushing defeat of the Third Reich, found a rebirth due to its uniqueness. Thus, American experts still consider the MG.42 machine gun “one of the most remarkable examples of automatic weapons ever produced anywhere,” and that “its design influenced the development of new industrial production methods and will continue to do so for a long time.” influence the production of automatic weapons in the coming years.”
After Germany joined the North Atlantic bloc in 1959, the Bundeswehr adopted a single machine gun MG.42/59, which was practically exact copy MG.42, but re-barreled for the new 7.62x51 NATO rifle and machine gun cartridge. In order to bring the characteristics of this far from old machine gun up to the level of modern requirements, Germany has been working for a number of years to improve its design, related to increasing the operational and combat qualities of the MG.42. As a result, several variants of the MG.42/59 machine gun appeared: MG.1 (used as a manual one - on a bipod, easel - on a tripod machine, anti-aircraft and tank), MG.1A3 (used as a manual one - on a bipod, easel - on a machine -tripod and anti-aircraft), MG.1A4 (used only in the tank version). 25 improvements were made to their design.
Horizontal adjustment of the rear sight, constant height of the front sight, hardening of the sight base, chrome plating of the barrel guide bushing made of heat-resistant material, finer adjustment of the recoil force of the barrel have been introduced (on the muzzle, instead of 8 fixing grooves, 36 are made), the design of the muzzle itself has been simplified (now consists of 2 parts ), the trigger force has been reduced (7-8 kg instead of 11-13 kg), etc. In addition, the survivability of the barrel was increased threefold as a result of the use of improved heat-resistant steel grades, hard chrome plating and uniform (conical) narrowing of the barrel bore to the muzzle. The survivability of moving automation parts has increased due to the use of high-quality materials. The feed roller on the shutter is spring-loaded, which makes it possible to close the box lid at any position of the shutter. The hinged head of the bipod has been strengthened. Tolerances on the dimensions of parts have in most cases been expanded.
Subsequently, 36 more changes were made to the design of the single Bundeswehr machine gun MG.1A3, aimed at increasing its efficiency and increasing the reliability of the automation. As a result of these works, in 1968, the West German armed forces adopted an improved model of a single machine gun called MG.3. In order to unify standard components and parts of small arms of the North Atlantic Alliance, the feed mechanism in the machine gun has been completely redesigned and the possibility of using all three cartridge belts used in the armies of NATO countries has been ensured: the German non-loose metal DM.1, as well as the loose link ones - the German DM.13 and the American (from the M60 machine gun) US M13. A disc brake has been introduced for the box cover, holding it in the open position in the range from 0 to 95 degrees. To more completely remove powder deposits, the pressure cavity in the muzzle is given a conical shape. The return spring force has been increased by 30%. A guide bushing is butt welded to the receiver. Each machine gun is equipped with a folding anti-aircraft sight. In MG.3 sights designed for a firing range of up to 1200 m.
Another innovation was the use of a barrel with a polygonal (multi-arc) channel profile, developed jointly by Rheinmetall GmbH and Heckler and Koch. Such a bore did not have the usual rifling and fields with sharp edges. Its profile is formed by 8 arcs of tangent radii, four of which are fields and four are rifling. The nominal caliber of the barrel is reduced so that the cross-section of the bullet becomes larger than the cross-section of the bore. The polygonal (multi-arc) profile of the barrel bore, combined with its reduced cross-section, ensures that there is no breakthrough of powder gases between the bullet and the inner surface of the barrel bore when firing, which ensures almost the same barrel survivability as that of expensive MG.1A3 machine gun barrels with a conical bore and a solid chrome plating
One of the features of the MG.3 was the ability to change the rate of fire in the range from 700-800 to 1300 rounds/min. A reduction in the rate of fire is achieved both through the use of a new spring-loaded plunger located in the bolt (in this case, the plunger resists the displacement of the locking rollers of the bolt inward when unlocked, thereby reducing the rate of fire), and the use of bolts with different masses and buffer springs of different stiffness. In export versions, the MG.3 barrel may have a liner made of a special alloy - stellite. The machine gun can also be used as an on-board weapon for tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles and helicopters. In this version, the machine gun received the index MG.3A1.
And today, 76 years after its creation, such an effective and high-quality weapon, such as the single MG.42 machine gun and its numerous modifications, continues its army service. And not only in the Bundeswehr and units special purpose both West German armed forces and law enforcement agencies (GSG-9), but also in the armies of other states, including Austria, Burma, Denmark, Indonesia, Norway, United United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Chile. In addition, under license from Rheinmetall GmbH, the MG.3 single machine gun is produced in Italy, Iran, Spain, Pakistan, Turkey and Yugoslavia.
sources
During war, technologies are always developed that are not in demand in peacetime. The armament of troops is constantly being improved, which, in turn, leads to the fact that inventors are constantly working to improve weapons for military forces.
The invention of the machine gun and its appearance on the battlefield dramatically changed the situation during combat operations.
From their first appearance to the present day, Russian machine guns have gone through a long evolution. At the beginning of their journey on the battlefields, machine guns had a narrow specialization. Now it is difficult to imagine a combat operation without the use of machine guns.
Manual Kalashnikov
The production of these weapons was stopped due to the cessation of production of military products at Kovrov Fur. factory in 1996.
The AEK-999 device itself is identical to the PKM. The differences from it were a new barrel and a body kit, which allows the installation of low-noise firing devices, flame arresters, etc.
This machine gun makes it possible to conduct intense fire without the need to change the barrel. Although this feature has been retained in the machine gun as an option not only for replacing the barrel, but also for its cleaning and maintenance.
In addition, there is a plastic fore-end on the barrel for hand-held firing on the move.
Now you can see that the development of small arms, including machine guns, for Russian army goes on constantly and does not stop to this day and combat power Russia is replenished not only with new missile weapons, but also various shooting systems.
During war, technologies are always developed that are not in demand in peacetime. The armament of troops is constantly being improved, which, in turn, leads to the fact that inventors are constantly working to improve weapons for military forces.
The invention of the machine gun and its appearance on the battlefield dramatically changed the situation during combat operations.
From their first appearance to the present day, Russian machine guns have gone through a long evolution. At the beginning of their journey on the battlefields, machine guns had a narrow specialization. Now it is difficult to imagine a combat operation without the use of machine guns.
Manual Kalashnikov
The production of these weapons was stopped due to the cessation of production of military products at Kovrov Fur. factory in 1996.
The AEK-999 device itself is identical to the PKM. The differences from it were a new barrel and a body kit, which allows the installation of low-noise firing devices, flame arresters, etc.
This machine gun makes it possible to conduct intense fire without the need to change the barrel. Although this feature has been retained in the machine gun as an option not only for replacing the barrel, but also for its cleaning and maintenance.
In addition, there is a plastic fore-end on the barrel for hand-held firing on the move.
Now you can see that the development of small arms, including machine guns, for the Russian army is ongoing and does not stop to this day, and Russia’s combat power is replenished not only with new missile weapons, but also with various small arms systems.
