Re: Questions on Small Arms - Soviet/Russia
 

Thanks again.
So more realistic dates for the AK-47 would be 1952-1975?

Yeah, weapons never get immediate replacement but if I can get a reasonable time-frame for front-line service I can probably come up with reasonable dates for second-line usage.

VERY interesting about the Pecheneg ... no tripod issued (and no quick change barrel)? That makes a HUGE difference to it's game stats. So the PKM is still the primary GPMG and the Pecheng fills the LMG role.

Re: Questions on Small Arms - Soviet/Russia
 

Some other odds and ends for those wanting maximum historical accuracy:

• Maxim 1910/30 MG was still in use in the late 1940.
  
• M1891/44 (a.k.a. M1944) carbine was officially the standard infantry personal weapon from 1944 to 1949. Whether its performance was any different from the M1891/30 rifle is a different matter. It did have a significantly shorter barrel.
  
• SKS carbine (just "Carbine" in the OOB) was used by infantry units from 1949 until mid to late 1950s, and even after that by second and third line units, because AK-47 production could not immediately replace it.
  
• In the OOB the SPG-9 recoilless gun has only the later variant with PG-9VS HEAT round introduced in the mid-1970s. The original PG-9V rocket had a penetration of 300mm. Official (as in manual) max. range of the SPG-9 HEAT rockets is 1300 meters (26 hexes).

Re: Questions on Small Arms - Soviet/Russia
 

Yes, 1952-1975 would be as accurate as one can reasonably hope for front-line service years of the AK-47/AKM.

The Pecheneg was designed according the experiences of the Chechen wars. The RPK-74 was found lacking in range and firepower, so the PKM was often used in the squad LMG role. However, there wasn't that much use for the QCB in that role. If a barrel change was required, doing so while maneuvering was found time-consuming.

Therefore, the Pecheneg was designed with a slightly heavier and better cooled barrel, but the cooling arrangement derived from the Lewis(!) LMG precludes rapid barrel changes. It can fire up to 600 rounds continuously without risking damage to the barrel. In the LMG role that is deemed more than sufficient. However, in the GPMG role the QCB of the PKM(S) is still highly useful since it allows much larger volumes of continued fire.