RP-46: The Rarely Seen Belt-Fed Degtyarev
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After World War Two, the Red Army moved from a full power infantry rifle cartridge to an intermediate one, and the 7.62x39mm RPD became the new squad machine gun. At the same time, the heavy Maxims were replaced by the new SG-43 Goryunov. This left a gap in capability, with nothing available with full-power punch and reasonable mobility. To solve the problem, a team of three engineers (A.I. Shilin, P.P. Polyakov, and A.A. Dubinin) developed a clever adaptation to allow the DP/DPM machine gun to use belted ammunition (using standard Maxim/Goryunov/PK belts). They created a belt feed module that attached to the gun just like a magazine; simple and cheap to convert existing guns. This was adopted in 1946, and would serve until replaced by the PK in 1961. In addition to Soviet production, the design was also produced in China and North Korea.
In addition to the belt feed, the RP-46 featured a few other changes to better handle sustained belt-fed fire. The gas tube and front magazine catch were strengthened. A folding shoulder support was added to the buttstock. The bipod legs were modified to hold a 4-part segmented cleaning rod. A heavy barrel was fitted, and a much heavier gas block with three adjustable positions. The barrel release button was enlarged and fitted with a lockout lever to prevent accidental barrel release.
Information on how many RP-46s were made and how/where they were used is very difficult to find. The RP-46 is seen in very few period photos, and surplus stockpiles of them never have seemed to turn up. It’s really quite odd how little information and experience seems to exist on these guns, which does make one wonder if perhaps they were not actually made in large quantity, or if they were destroyed for some reason instead of being stockpiled like most obsolete Soviet arms.
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