Why did the Russian military feel that switching to the heavier shrouded barrel of the PKP was better than sticking with regular quick change barrel of the PKM?
Posted by Internal-Hat9827@reddit | ForgottenWeapons | View on Reddit | 6 comments
Posted by Internal-Hat9827@reddit | ForgottenWeapons | View on Reddit | 6 comments
Vac1911@reddit
After Chechnya and Afghanistan some spetsnaz reported they were dissatisfied with the performance of the RPK-74. Firstly after the continuous and intense fighting they wanted to be able to sustain fire for longer. Secondly they were dissatisfied with the cartridge’s performance at long range and poor penetration of improvised cover used by insurgents.
To meet these challenges they essentially modified the PKM to work better as a squad level LMG. They designed a new thicker barrel with grooves cut out of them length wise (these are hidden with a sleeve). As the action cycles air is forced through the grooves to cool the barrel (this is similar to the lewis gun). The constant cooling increases the durability of the barrel. According to the manufacturer: 600 rounds can be fired continuously without any damage and the barrel has a service life of 25k-30k rounds. The cooling also reduces dispersion when firing and they’ve also moved the bipod closer to the muzzle which improves stability but limits the firing arc (unless you move the bipod or shooter).
Internal-Hat9827@reddit (OP)
Why was the previous method of carrying an extra barrel deemed subpar?
RoneliKaneli@reddit
Others already mentioned weight, but PKM's barrel is also pretty clumsy to change compared to most other LMGs.
trngngtuananh@reddit
Imo, it's because of weight, 1 heavy barrel weight less than 2 quick change barrel > can carry more round. Pkp are equipped to more elite troops (paratrooper or special forces...) who go deep in enemy territory for short period of combat (raid, capture key positions while other forces attack from front,...). Those troops have enough training to maximize fire power while minimize heating barrel and ammunition used, and their mission are usually short compare to trench to trench fighting.
Exp: paratrooper dropped at Kyiv airport are tasked capture the airport to enable landing of a large force (they failed).
kyizelma@reddit
iirc its just about sustained fire and weight, i remember there was this pretty recent prototype lmg (iirc fn evolys) that purposely did not have a quick barrel change system to save weight
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