Quote:
Originally Posted by Suhiir
While working in my Oct 1962 scenario I came across some curious things in the Soviet OOB that got me doing some digging.
As best I can determine the following weapons and availability dates are accurate but no doubt there are things I missed and/or inaccurate data. So if anyone has corrections please let me know.
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AK-47/(AKM) 1949-1974?/(1959-1974?)
AK-74/(AK-74M) 1974-Present/(1991-Present)
AN-94 (used in limited numbers too expensive for general issue) 1997-Present (not in current OOB)
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RP-46 LMG 1946-1969?
RPD LMG 1945-1969?
RPK-47 SAW 1959-1984?
RPK-74 SAW (still used by police and militia) 1974-Present
PKM LMG 1969-2011?
Pecheneg/PKP LMG 2001-Present
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Now for the actual small arms:
AK-47/AKM: 1949-1950 only small scale production for elite units such as paratroopers. Actual start of mass production (AK-47) in 1951. Production of AKM for the Red Army ended in the mid-1970s, but it remained in service for second and third line units until the collapse of Soviet Union (1991). Large numbers are still in storage.
RP-46: the dates are correct, but it must be noted that the belt-fed RP-46 did not immediately replace the magazine-fed DPM as a squad LMG. DPM remained in service as long as bolt-action rifles were used by second-line units, that is at least until mid-1950s.
RPD: mass production from 1949, concurrently with the SKS. Units armed with the SKS were issued with RPDs even in the 1970s and 1980s (yes, the SKS was still in limited service).
RPK: mass production from 1961. Remained in service in the units issued with AKMs until the collapse of Soviet Union. Still in storage with AKMs. (By the way, RPK-47 is absolutely the wrong name for this weapon. It was the contemporary of AKM and designed a decade later than the original AK-47.)
RPK-74: still officially used by "line infantry", although increasingly replaced by the Pecheneg.
PK(M): PK manufactured since 1961, PKM since 1969. PKM is still in service as a GPMG, since the Pecheneg is not issued with a tripod (although it can be mounted on one) and it lacks a quick change barrel.