12-30-2013, 06:58 PM
Tony Williams Wrote:If they had a belt-fed 6.5, I doubt that the PK series would ever have been built. As the 6.5 MG would become standard for dismounted troops, leaving the 7.62x54R MGs for vehicle mounts and heavy fire support, it seems far more likely to me that they would have kept the SGM in service for a long time, just as they did with the DShK.A fair point. Yes, I agree that's a distinct possibility.
Quote:I'm not so sure that they would have replaced a 6.5mm belt-fed MG as rapidly as they did the RPD.It looks like we're not on the same page. My point is that a 6.5mm RPD would have been replaced by a 6.5mm RPK just as rapidly as the 7.62mm RPD was replaced by the 7.62mm RPK.
I was not saying that a PKM-style 6.5mm LMG would have been replaced.