RPK
| Factions | Weapon | Icon | Classes | Ammo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 VC |
 RPK |
 |
 Gunner |
75+1 / 150 |
| Damage Base | Headshot × | Chest × | Stomach × | Leg × | Arm × | Bayonet | Rifle Grenades | Reload Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partial | Empty | ||||||||
| 41 | ×2.52 = 103.32 | ×1.2 = 49.2 | ×1.15 = 47.15 | ×0.8 = 32.8 | ×0.75 = 30.75 | NO | NO | 2.433 Seconds | 3.2 Seconds |
| Designation | Weapon Type | Fire Modes | Fire Rate | Bullet Spread ° | Bipod Bullet Spread ° | Range Modifier | Muzzle Velocity | Projectile weight | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RPK | LMG | Auto+Semi | 600 RPM | 7.47° & 1.87° ADS | 2.47° & 1.02° ADS | 0.940 | 745 m/s | 7.9 g (121.9 gr) | 6.8 kg (15 lbs) |
| Full name | Caliber | Place of Origin | Date | Manufacturer | Barrel Length | Total Length | Weapon Script Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ручной пулемёт Калашникова/РПК | 7.62x39mm | Soviet Union | 1961 | Vyatskiye Polyany Machine-Building Plant | 23.2 in (590 mm) | 40.9 in (1,040 mm) | weapon_rpk |
The RPK is a Soviet light machine gun chambered in 7.62×39mm (M43) and built around the Kalashnikov family of weapons. It was designed as a squad automatic weapon, combining AK-pattern handling and parts commonality with a longer, heavier barrel, a bipod, and improved sights for sustained automatic fire. The RPK is best known for using standard AK magazines as well as dedicated 40-round box and 75-round drum magazines.
HISTORY
The RPK (Ruchnoy Pulemyot Kalashnikova) was developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s alongside the AKM to give Soviet motor rifle squads a dedicated automatic weapon that shared the Kalashnikov operating system and much of its logistics. Adopted in the early 1960s, it strengthened the AKM concept for automatic fire with a heavier barrel, a reinforced receiver, and a bipod, while retaining magazine feeding rather than adopting a belt system.
The RPK was widely produced and exported during the Cold War, appearing with numerous allied and client states and in many postwar conflicts. Its fixed barrel simplified the weapon and kept it closely aligned with AK-pattern rifles, but also limited sustained-fire performance compared with belt-fed general-purpose machine guns. Later Kalashnikov light machine gun developments, including the RPK-74 series, gradually replaced the original 7.62×39mm RPK in many services.
Sources
- Imperial War Museums – RPK (collection entry)
- Imperial War Museums – Soviet RPKS light machine gun (collection entry)
- National Museum of American History (Smithsonian) – RPK (collection entry)
- Jane’s – Weapons: Infantry (reference work)
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RPK light machine gun. -
RPK with bipod deployed. -
RPK firing. -
RPK with magazine fitted.
