RPK
| RPK | |
|---|---|
| File:000715-F-2829R-001.jpg | |
| Type | Light machine gun |
| Place of origin |  Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1961-present |
| Used by | Soviet Union
|
| Wars | Vietnam War Soviet war in Afghanistan Second Chechen War various others |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Mikhail Kalashnikov |
| Designed | 1961 |
| Variants | RPKN, RPKS, RPKSN, RPK-74, RPK-74N, RPKS-74, RPKS-74N |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 4.8 kg (RPK) 5.1 kg (RPKS) 4.7 kg (RPK-74) 4.85 kg (RPKS-74) |
| Length | 1040 mm (RPK) 1040 mm with stock extended / 820 mm with stock folded (RPKS) 1060 mm (RPK-74) 1060 mm with stock extended / 845 mm with stock folded (RPKS-74) |
| Barrel length | 590 mm (RPK, RPKS, RPK-74, RPKS-74) |
| Cartridge | 7.62x39mm M43 (RPK, RPKS) 5.45x39mm M74 (RPK-74, RPKS-74) |
| Action | Gas-operated, rotating bolt |
| Rate of fire | 600 rounds/min (RPK, RPKS, RPK-74, RPKS-74) |
| Muzzle velocity | 745 m/s (RPK, RPKS) 960 m/s (RPK-74, RPKS-74) |
| Effective firing range | 100 to 1000 m sight adjustments |
| Feed system | 40 or 75-round curved magazine (RPK, RPKS) 45-round box magazine (RPK-74, RPKS-74) |
| Sights | Front: semi-shrouded front post, rear: sliding tangent with adjustable notch, 555 mm sight radius |
The RPK (Ruchnoy Pulemyot Kalashnikova, Russian: Ручной пулемёт Калашникова or "Kalashnikov hand-held machine gun") is a 7.62x39 mm light machine gun of Soviet design, developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the late 1950s, parallel with the AKM assault rifle. It was created as part of a program designed to standardize the small arms inventory of the Red Army, where it replaced the RPD light machine gun. Presently the RPK continues to be used by the armed forces of countries of the former Soviet Union and several African and Asian nations. The RPK was manufactured under license in Bulgaria and Romania.
Design details
The RPK operates on the same basis as the AKM assault rifle, it uses the same ammunition (7.62x39mm M43) and has a similar design layout, the only differences in both weapon types are the result of increasing the RPK’s effective range, enhancing the sustained fire capability and strengthening the receiver housing. Interchangeability of parts between the RPK and AKM is quite large.
The RPK light machine gun, compared to the AKM rifle, has a new, heavier and extended barrel with an increased heat capacity. The barrel is permanently fixed to the receiver and cannot be replaced in field conditions; the barrel’s bore is chromium-lined. The barrel is equipped with a newly designed front sight base, gas block (without a bayonet lug) and an under-barrel cleaning rod guide. The barrel also features a folding bipod, mounted near the muzzle and a front sight base with a lug that limits the bipod’s rotation around the barrel. The barrel’s muzzle is threaded, enabling the use of a blank firing attachment. When the blank firing adaptor is not used, the threading is secured by a locknut from the AK-47 rifle. The barrel is fixed to the receiver in a modified trunnion (reinforced by ribbing), which is slightly wider than the one used in the AKM. Symmetrical bulges on both sides of the barrel chamber ensure proper fit inside the receiver. The receiver cover is stamped from a smooth and thicker (than the AK) piece of sheet steel.
The RPK uses a different return mechanism compared to the AKM, consisting of a rear spring guide rod from the AK, a new forward, flat guide rod and return spring. The weapon’s sights are graduated from 100 to 1000 m (in 100 m increments) and the rear leaf sight has an adjustable notch. The light machine gun features a thicker, wooden forearm, a fixed wooden buttstock (shaped like the RPD stock, optimized for prone firing) and a pistol grip from the AKM.
The weapon is fed from curved metal magazines with a 40-round cartridge capacity or a 75-round drum magazine, both are compatible with magazines used with the AK and AKM series.
Supplied with the RPK are: spare magazines, cleaning rod (extended compared to the one included with the AKM), cleaning kit (stored in a hollowed compartment in the buttstock), sling, oil bottle and magazine pouches (a single-pocket pouch for a drum magazine or a 4-pocket pouch for arched magazines).
Variants
A variant of the RPK is the RPKS (S – so skladnym prikladom), equipped with a side-folding wooden stock and intended primarily for use with air assault infantry (in the former Soviet Union the RPK was used mainly in motorized units). Changes to the design of the RPKS (compared to the RPK), resulting mainly by the introduction of the folding stock assembly, involve the receiver. It uses a trunnion (riveted to both sides of the receiver housing with three rivets) that contains a socket and tang, allowing the stock hull to be connected with a pivot pin. The trunnion has a cut-out on the right side designed to engage the stock catch and lock it in place when folded. The wooden stock is mounted in a traversing hull, which contains a catch that secures the buttstock in the extended position. The rear sling loop was moved from the left side of the stock body to the right side of the stock frame.
1974 saw the introduction of the 5.45 mm RPK-74 light machine gun (together with the AK-74 assault rifle) chambered in the intermediate 5.45x39mm M74 cartridge. It is currently used primarily by member-states of the former Soviet Union, as well as Bulgaria and China. It is also used in small numbers by the Polish Armed Forces.
The RPK-74 is a modernized variant of the AK-74 rifle, and the modifications implemented mirror those made to the AKM, while working on the RPK light machine gun. The RPK-74 also uses a longer and heavier chrome-lined barrel. Fixed to the barrel were: a newly designed front sight base, gas block (with the gas tube placed at a right angle to the bore axis) and a ring mount for the cleaning rod. The RPK-74 was also equipped with a folding bipod (modified from the RPK) and a changed front sight tower. The external muzzle portion of the barrel contains threads that enable the use of a slotted flash suppressor or blank firing adaptor. The barrel is mounted inside the forward receiver trunnion in a way analogous to the RPK, however the rear stock trunnion was reinforced, and the magazine well received steel inserts to increase structural strength.
Additionally the RPK-74 has a modified (compared to the AK-74) return mechanism, which uses a new metal spring guide rod and recoil spring. The rear sight assembly, forward handguard and receiver dust cover were all retained from the RPK.
The RPK-74 feeds from 45-round arching plastic magazines with a capacity for 45 rounds (interchangeable with magazines from the AK-74), designed to be charged from stripper clips.
Standard equipment includes: eight magazines, 6 stripper clips (15-rounds per clip), a speed-loading magazine feed guide, cleaning rod, cleaning kit, sling, oiler and two magazine pouches.
Another variant of the RPK-74 is the RPKS-74, which is equipped with a wooden folding stock from the RPKS.
The RPK family of light machine guns is also available in a night fighting configuration (the weapons are then designated RPKN, RPKSN, RPK-74N, RPKS-74N), fitted with a receiver-mounted side rail (mounted to the left side of the receiver housing), which is used to mount an NSP-3, NSPU or NSPUM night vision sight.
An improved variant known as the RPK-74M was developed that includes a polymer foregrip, pistol grip and side-folding stock as well as a side rail for mounting optics. An export variant chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO was also introduced, designated the RPK-201.
See also
External links
