Degtyarev DP Series

     Notes:  This weapon was perhaps the first truly original small arms design made by the Russians.  It was adopted by the Soviets in 1928, and continued in use as the standard Soviet light machinegun until the 1950s.  The DP was built in huge numbers and some can still be found in use in China, Southeast Asia, and Africa today. 

     The DP uses a simple design called the Friberg-Kjellman operating system; it is simple to build and maintain, yet is tough and highly resistant to dirt.  The problem with the DP was the ammunition itself; the 7.62mm Nagant cartridge was not really suited to any of the automatic weapon designs of the time, and was difficult to load without jamming.  The pan magazine helped greatly in this respect, but was in of itself a weak point.  The DP has no semiautomatic fire setting, but the rate of fire is low enough that squeezing off single shots is not too difficult.  No provision for tripod mounting is provided.  The 23.8-inch barrel was tipped with a conical flash suppressor.  The barrel could be changed in the field by the gunners, but required a special wrench – woe unto the crew that lost that wrench.  The DP-27 has a rifle-type stock with a semi-circular grip at the bottom to steady the weapon while prone; the stock has a pistol-grip wrist with a conventional trigger.  Though there is no manual safety, the DP-27 has an automatic grip safety.

     The DPM was an upgraded version of the DP-27 introduced in 1944, and used by the Soviets for about two decades in front-line units and into the 1980s in Category 3 and Mobilization-Only units.  The DPM’s recoil spring was moved to the rear of the receiver, and contained in a short steel tube.  The grip safety was replaced by a selector switch with safe and automatic settings, and a true pistol grip was added.  A more robust bipod replaced the DP-27s bipod.  For game purposes, the DPM is identical to the DP-27.

     The RP-46 is a further improved DPM, introduced just after World War 2.  Most of the differences are in the feed system; though the RP-46 can use the pan magazines of the DPM, it can also feed from non-disintegrating steel belts.  The RP-46’s primary feed was to be by belt; if the belt-feed mechanism is removed (it can be removed as a unit), then pan magazines can be used.  The second major differences was the use of a slightly longer and much heavier barrel with better cooling and a larger conical flash suppressor.  The RP-46 also had a quick-change barrel, aided by a carrying handle attached to the barrel.  Construction was on the whole stronger and more robust.  The RP-46 proved to be too light to be a GPMG (and had no provision for tripod mounting), and too heavy to be used as a light machinegun.  Though long out or Russian and Chinese service, the RP-46 can still be found in some Chinese militia units, in the Vietnamese Army, and in use by several African nations and bandit groups.

     In the US, Century Arms has imported from Eastern Europe DPMs which have been demilled to the point that modifying them for automatic fire would be difficult if not impossible.  Most of these weapons are of new manufacture, with receivers purpose-built in the US for semiautomatic-only fire.  These are essentially semiautomatic versions of the DPM, machineguns without the “machine.” They load, feed, and fire in otherwise the same manner as a standard DPM.  Trigger action is described as mushy and the bolt is very difficult to pull back.

Degtyarev/Shpagin DShK

     Notes: This design was a pre-World War 2 cooperative effort between Russian gun designers Degtyarev and Shpagin.  It remained the standard Soviet and Russian heavy machinegun for almost the next 50 years before being replaced in Russian service by the NSV series. Most Russian-designed tanks in the world are still using the DShK as antiaircraft/commander’s machineguns.

     Operation of the DShK is by gas, with a long-stroke gas piston and capable only of automatic fire.  (With a cyclic rate of fire of 550 rpm, however, squeezing off single shots is generally not difficult.)  The DShK has a gas regulator, but this requires a wrench to adjust.  The internal mechanism sounds complex in description, but in reality it is not that complicated.  The 42.13-inch barrel is heavy, finned for cooling, and is fitted with a large muzzle brake on the end.  The barrel is definitely not “quick-change,” as changing a barrel requires it to be unscrewed a long way from the receiver, and before this is done, a cross-bolt must also be removed.  Fire is by spade grips and a butterfly trigger.  Sights consist of ladder-type rear sight and a hooded front sight post.  A kit exists to affix AA sights onto the DShK.  The DShK ground mount is usually a wheeled carriage, but some countries have devised a variety of tripod mounts, and a special AA mount also exists.

     In the design phases, the DShK was to be magazine-fed.  This was changed to belt-feeding, but not until the design process was nearly over, and belt-feed was almost an afterthought. The feed mechanism is therefore a bit complex, but does reliably feed the rounds into the gun; it essentially links what would have been the magazine well with the belt-feed gate, using a mechanism similar to the running wheels one finds in a hamster’s cage.  The charging handle of the DShK is really too small to be gripped in the heat of battle; most crews put extensions on the handles or at least jam a spent cartridge case into a hole that is on the end of the charging handle.

     After World War 2, several design changes were made to the DShK, resulting in the DShK-38/46 (also called the DShKM).  The DShK-38/46 fixed the overly-complicated and somewhat jury-rigged belt-feed mechanism, making it much simpler and giving the option of changing the feed direction of the belt.  The muzzle brake was made lighter and easier to produce.  Otherwise, it is identical to the DShK for game purposes.

     The Chinese made the DShK-38/46 under license for nearly 50 years, though since the 1990s these guns were primarily built for export.  The Chinese nomenclature was the Type 54.  Recently, China sold its license to Pakistan, where it is still being manufactured as the Type 54.  It is identical to the DShK-38/46 for game purposes, with the exception of an extended charging handle being standard.

Degtyarev DS-39

     Notes: Just before World War 2, the Russians decided to replace the Russian version of the Maxim with a lighter, simpler, air-cooled weapon.  This was the DS-39, and some 10,300 were built from 1939-41.  The DS-39 by long-stroke gas piston, firing from an open bolt and on automatic fire only.  The DS-39 has a dual cyclic rate of fire, either 600 or 1200 rpm.  The 600-rpm rate of fire allows a practiced gunner to fire single shots; the 1200-rpm rate of fire was meant primarily for antiaircraft use, but could be employed in other roles.  In addition, the DS-39 had a manually-adjustable gas regulator.  Fire is by spade grips and a butterfly trigger. The standard mount was a light 28-kilogram tripod with a thin gun shield attached (AV1 to the gunner only), and the 28.5-inch barrel was finned for cooling and tipped with a conical flash suppressor.

     The problem with the DS-39 was, while it was in fact much lighter and simpler than the Maxim, it was also much less reliable than the Maxim or any other machinegun the Soviets had in service at the time.  The biggest reasons for this lack of reliability was a feed mechanism that was not properly engineered to take the rimmed 7.62mm Nagant rounds, and the use of the Maxim’s non-disintegrating fabric belts, which also did not work well in the DS-39.  In addition, the feed mechanism has a rather violent movement, one that can literally rip the bullet out of the casing before it can be fired, and rip or greatly deform the spent casings upon extraction (reloading spent casings was very important to the Soviets in World War 2.  Another problem was the relatively thin gas piston, which could become quickly mired in carbon and unburned powder.

     The Tula Arsenal tried to fix the problems, but by 1941, the Russians decided to go back to producing the Maxim and later, the SG-43.  The DS-39 was used as little as possible in World War 2 after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, but it could still be encountered.  After World War 2, most were scrapped.  The Finns tried to use some 200 captured DS-39s against the Soviets, but despite the best efforts at fixing the DS-39’s problems (by Ahmo Lahti himself), they too realized that the DS-39’s feed mechanism could not be fixed without basically starting from scratch.  These guns were warhoused by the Finns until 1986 and then scrapped.

Goryunov SG-43

     Notes: This weapon was designed to replace the Maxim M-1910 in Russian service after the failure of the DS-39.  As such, the SG-43 is a rather heavy weapon for its role, and normally retains the wheeled carriage of the Maxim; a second wheeled tripod is designed for AA fire.  A tripod mount was also designed, but initially rejected by the Soviet High Command; later in World War 2, it was adopted for airborne and mountain troops.  Like most Soviet machineguns of period, the machinegun uses a long-stroke gas piston operation, with automatic-only firing; also like most guns of the period, the cyclic rate is slow enough to allow for single shots.  Fire is by spade grips and a butterfly trigger.  Despite the complication of its mechanism, the Goryunov is surprisingly reliable and stoppages are quite uncommon; in addition, the SG-43 is also less complicated and cumbersome than the Maxim, and easier to manufacture.  The 28.35-inch barrel is a quick-change type, but the handle tends to get as hot as the barrel, and gloves are normally necessary. The barrel is tipped by a conical flash suppressor.

     The later SGM version was used exclusively with the tripod mount (with the exception of the initial models).  The barrel was fluted to reduce weight, and dust covers were added to the feed and ejection ports.  The charging handle was moved from the rear of the receiver to the right side.  The SGMB is essentially the same, but designed for pintle mounts on APCs. Hungarian models of the SGM have a pistol grip, stock, and bipod.  For game purposes, the SGM is the same as the SG-43, with the exception of the mount (30 kilograms for the wheeled mount vs. 14.2 kg for the tripod) and some minor weight differences.

     By 2003, few countries are employing the Goryunov any more, but some Third World countries still have them, particularly as pintle-mounted guns for BTR-40 armored cars.  However, Century International Arms has come out with a semiautomatic only (very difficult to convert to automatic fire), which is identical to the early SG-43 except for the lack of an automatic fire capability.  They market this as the SA-43 Goriunov, and it is sold on a wheeled carriage.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: As Category 3 and Mobilization-Only units began reaching the front lines, the Goryunov began to appear more and more often.

Kalashnikov PK

     Notes: This standard GPMG in Russian service fills the same role as the M-60, MAG, MG-3, and other such weapons in other armies.  As such, it can be found in the armies of almost every country that is or was once a Russian or Soviet client state, or did business with China.  The PK is sort of a mix of ideas from several previous machineguns; however, it is for the most part basically the same Kalashnikov action of the AK series of assault rifles, turned upside down and enlarged.  This is added to the belt feed mechanism of a VZ-59, the trigger group of the DP, and the cartridge feed and quick change barrel of the Goryunov (though a shorter barrel).  The Kalashnikov/Goryunov action makes it a very reliable and robust weapon, despite the light weight. 

     Introduced in 1964, the PK replaced the RP-46 and SGM in Russian service.  The PK was designed to be used from a bipod or tripod (the tripod is known in Twilight 2000 as the PLT, or Pact Light Tripod, though the weight is actually 7.47 kilograms), or pintle and vehicular mounts.  The barrel is heavy, fluted for most of its length, and is 25.9 inches long with a short, conical flash hider at the end.  The bipod folds forward and is attached to a reinforced section of the gas tube just behind the gas block.  Feed is from the right, and the PK has been seen fed by several different lengths of non-disintegrating link belts and with several different types of ammunition boxes and containers ranging from small canvas bags holding 25 rounds to large boxes containing 250-round belts.  (The box for the 250-round belt is not designed to be attached directly to the PK, but the others can be hung on a bracket on the side of the receiver.)  Even larger containers are found for variants of the PK used as internal vehicular weapons.  The pistol grip is of high-impact plastic, but the stock is made of wood, and its distinctive skeletonized shape is well-known to the troops of most countries.

     The PKS is a variant of the PK designed for use as a support weapon and for antiaircraft use; it is normally issued in the Russian Army at the company level.  It is essentially the same weapon as the PK, but the bipod is deleted, and the tripod used for the PKS is designed for use in both the ground role and antiaircraft role (the legs are collapsing and can be quickly raised up or collapsed again as necessary).  This tripod weighs 9.3 kilograms.

     The PKT is designed only for use in an internal vehicle mount, such as a coaxial weapon or the bow weapons found on some Russian-built vehicles.  As is typical for such a weapon, it has no sights, stock, pistol grip, trigger mechanism, etc. – it is electrically fired by whatever trigger is used on the vehicle in question, using the vehicle’s sighting devices.  The PKT also uses a much longer 28.4-inch barrel.

     Kazakhstan has converted many PKT’s into a new version of the PK, which they call the PKD.  They essentially took the PKT and put all the manual features back on, turning it into a PK with a longer barrel.  The stock is also different, being made from simple tubular metal with an additional buttplate which has a thick rubber recoil pad. 

     The PKM is the current Russian production version of the PK (and has been since 1969); it is version of the PK which has been lightened by removing the flutes from the barrel and making it from lighter (but stronger) steel, as well as removing any excess metal possible, using almost entirely steel stampings instead of machined steel, and replacing the stock with one made from high-impact plastic (and later, polymer).  A hinged support plate was also added to the stock to help support the weapon on the shooter’s shoulder when it is fired from a bipod.  There are several variants of the PKM which differ only in minor details; the PKMS uses a different bipod which allows the ammunition boxes (even the large one) to be secured to the right rear leg so that the gun and ammunition can be moved easier.  The PKMSN is a PKMS with a bracket allowing the use of Russian night vision devices.  The PKMB is a PKM with the stock, pistol grip, and trigger mechanism replaced with spade grips and the associated trigger, for use as a helicopter door gun.  Later, a bracket for night vision devices was added to the PKMB.

     Though the current standard production version is the PKM, there is in fact another, newer version of the PK, called the 6P41 Pecheneg.  The Pecheneg is apparently in limited production and issue, and has been observed in the hands of Russian troops in Chechnya.  The Pecheneg looks generally similar to the PKM, but the PKM’s light, quick-change barrel has been replaced by a heavy, fixed barrel tipped with a slightly different flash hider.  The Pecheneg also has a carrying handle attached on top of the barrel at the gun’s point of balance.  The Pecheneg’s bipod is also attached near the muzzle instead of being near the gas block.  The barrel is the same length as that of the PK and PKM (25.9 inches), but the Russians say that the Pecheneg is 2.5 times more accurate than the PKM when fired from a bipod and 1.5 times more accurate when fired from a tripod – something most Western analysts consider impossible simply by making the barrel heavier and fixed.  (One also has to wonder about barrel heating during sustained fire.)  The Pecheneg does, however, have a mount which can take a wide variety of optics and accessories – which might account for the added accuracy the Russians claim.  A new tripod has also been designed for the Pecheneg, which weighs only 4.49 kilograms and is made of lightweight alloys.

     Perhaps the newest version of the PK series is KMZ’s AEK-999 Barusk.  This weapon is meant to address some of the biggest complaints from the troops about the PK series: a fragile, rapidly-heating barrel, deafening report, a point of high stress where the bipod is attached to the barrel, and a highly-visible firing signature.  As with the PKM and Pecheneg, the Barusk utilizes primarily polymer instead of wooden parts.  The new barrel has stiffening flutes on its length, and the barrel is made of the same grade of steel as those for aircraft cannons. The bipod is moved further back and is attached to rib under the barrel instead of to the barrel itself.  Above the barrel, there is a long bar to reduce aiming errors due to barrel heat.  The entire weapon is reduced in length.  Perhaps the most unusual feature is a large, removable muzzle brake/low-efficiency suppressor that almost totally removes the muzzle flash of the Barusk, as well as making the muzzle cracks of the ammunition inaudible beyond 600 meters.

     The Polish have a version of the PKM called the UKM-2000; this version is chambered for 7.62mm NATO ammunition, and the UKM-2000 can be mounted on both NATO and Eastern tripods, and in both NATO and Eastern armored vehicles and pintles.  The barrel is also short at 21.5 inches, making a handier weapon.  A version of this gun, the UKM-2000D, is designed for airborne troops and close combat and has a side folding stock that does not inhibit reaching the trigger.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The Pecheneg and PKD do not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

*Since this is strictly an internal vehicular-mounted version, these factors are not important with regards to the Twilight 2000 v2.2 rules.

Kovrov KORD

     Notes: When the Soviet Union broke up, one of the (many) problems Russia faced was that the facilities for the design and manufacturing of the NSV series of heavy machineguns (their standard heavy machinegun) was located in the then-new country of Kazakhstan, a country reluctant to supply Russia with any weapons.  The Russians needed a domestically-produced version of the NSV.  At the same time, Kovrov had some new ideas for the NSV.  The result is the KORD, which entered service in 1998. 

     Externally, the KORD looks almost identical to the NSV, but internally, it is essentially a new weapon. The biggest change internally is the new locking mechanism, called by Kovrov a “tilting breech slide.”  Essentially, the tilting breech slide makes the entire action work more smoothly.  Kovrov also modified the gas mechanism to work less violently, and added a multi-baffle muzzle brake to the barrel; the result of those changes significantly reduces vibration of the action, increases the stability of the KORD, and reduces the recoil – so much that the KORD can actually be fired from a bipod (and some sources say, from the hip) without wrecking the shooter’s shoulder.  The KORD can also use any NSV tripod, pintle mount, or internal vehicular mount, as well as the tripods or pintle mounts designed for the AGS-17 and AGS-30 automatic grenade launchers.  The barrel (approximately 41 inches in length, but I have not been able to find any solid figures on this) is designed to distribute and dissipate heat evenly without requiring fluting or fins.  Sights for the infantry versions consist of a protected front post and a rear folding adjustable tangent sight; provisions are also made for mounting an SPP telescopic sight or special antiaircraft sights.

     There are at least six variants of the KORD, most of which vary only in minor details from each other.  The 6P49 is designed for internal vehicular mounts, is electrically fired, and is aimed using the vehicle’s sights; the 6P49 is also designed so that the spent shells are ejected forward, outside of the vehicle.  The 6P51 is similar, but further specialized (somewhat more compact) for use as a coaxial weapon or for mounting in turrets with limited space, such as that of the BTR-60, 70, and 80.  The 6P50 is the basic infantry model, equipped with spade grips and designed to be fired only from tripod or pintle mounts.  Feed is from the left, and spent rounds are ejected to the left and forward.  The gun portion of the 6P50, 6P50-2, 6P50-3 are identical; they simply have different designations depending upon what they are mounted upon (6P50 refers to the KORD when it is on standard 16.01-kilogram NSV-type tripods or pintles; 6P50-2 refers to the KORD when it is mounted on the heavier 26.99-kilogram 6T99 tripod; 6P50-3 is the KORD when it is mounted on the 49.99-kilogram 6U6 multipurpose mount.)  The 6P50-1 is also an infantry model, with a bipod, standard trigger unit, and NSV-type stock added.  The bipod is designed to allow traverse up to 15 degrees in either direction. 

     In 2005, an export variant of the Kord was being offered, chambered for .50 Browning Machinegun ammunition.  Parts are 80% interchangeable with those of the standard KORD, but a quick caliber change is not possible.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The KORD never got very far, but did appear on mounts on some armored vehicles such as T-90, T-94, T-95, and Black Eagle tanks and on ground and vehicular mounts in some airborne, air assault, and special operations units.  The .50 Browning Machinegun chambering does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

     Merc 2000 Notes: Budget problems led to the premature cancellation of the KORD. 

Maxim PM-1910

     Notes:  The first machineguns the Russians had were Maxims supplied to the Tsar’s Army by England.  By 1905, Tula was capable of reproducing the design and the Russians began producing their own copy as the PM-1905, with a bronze water jacket.  The next step was to replace the bronze jacket with a steel one and produce the Maxim in a local caliber, 7.62mm Nagant, with the feed mechanism suitably altered to properly use the rimmed round.  The PM-1910 also has a very large port to fill the water jacket to allow it to be filled or topped off faster.  This version of the Maxim was produced in huge numbers and remained in service until replaced by the SG-43.  It can still be seen in reserve formations of the Chinese Army, Vietnamese Army, Mongolian Army, and even some Eastern European military forces, as well as some of the Third World countries once aligned with Russia or China.

Maxim/Tokarev MT

     Notes: The MT was an interim light machinegun design; about 2500 were produced at Tula in 1926-27.  Most were later sold to Republican Spain, and they were not used for long in the Soviet Army.  The MT was sort of a combination of the German IMG-08/18 and the Russian version of the Maxim, the M-1910.  The water-filled barrel jacket was discarded at the outset, and a shorter 25.8-inch barrel was used with a barrel jacket that helped cool the barrel.  The barrel could be changed in the field, but it takes several minutes to do so.  The spade grips were replaced with a rifle-type stock with a pistol-grip wrist and a conventional trigger.  A folding bipod was located at the end of the barrel jacket; this bipod had spikes at the end of it.  No provision for tripod mounting is provided.  The MT was fed by non-disintegrating belts; the standard was a 100-round belt contained in a drum that attached to the gun, but older 250-round belts could also be used.

Molot NSV Utyos

     Notes: Work on the machinegun that became the NSV began in 1969, but the first examples were not observed by the West until several years later.  The NSV heavy machinegun was designed to replace the DShK in Russian and Warsaw Pact service, as well as for export sales, and it can be found almost anywhere in the world now.  Until recently, the Russians no longer manufactured the NSV; however, it is still being manufactured -- by Metallist Uralsk and Kaspex in Kazakhstan, where the facilities for NSV manufacture were located after the breakup of the Soviet Union, as well as by Molot.

     The NSV is for the most part a conventional gas-operated heavy machinegun.  The gas system uses a three-position gas regulator, which allows the gunner to compensate for fouling or dirt.  The barrel, approximately 41 inches long (as with the KORD, I have not been able to find any solid figures on this) is tipped with a large conical flash hider, and though the barrel looks thin and flimsy, it is actually quite robust.  Feed may be from the right or left, but the side from which the NSV feeds is set at the factory according to the needs of the buyer and cannot be changed afterwards without considerable work by an armorer.  The receiver is of stamped steel with a combination of welds and rivets holding it together.  For the most part, sights consist of a front hooded post and a rear folding adjustable tangent leaf sight.  Ground-mounted versions and those on pintle mounts may also mount an SPP telescopic sight; this sight is a 3x/6x sight with an illuminated reticle similar to that of the PSO-1 telescopic rifle scope.  The ground-mounted NSV is also able to mount a 1PN52-1 night vision device.  There are a several versions of the NSV, both for ground and pintle use and for internal vehicular use, most of which differ little from each other except in the direction from which they feed or the iron sights they use (or in the case of internal vehicular mountings, the use of electrical triggers instead of manual ones).  Ground-mounted versions have what amounts to a rudimentary wooden stock on a strut attached to the bottom of the receiver and a conventional trigger group, while pintle-mounted models normally have spade grips and the associated trigger group.  Many NSVs on Russian and Eastern European-built or designed tanks can often be aimed and fired from either inside the turret by the commander, or directly by the commander while standing in his hatch; these use electrical firing mechanisms and the firing controls are just inside the commander’s hatch.  The NSV can be fired only from a tripod, pintle, or vehicular mount; while early rumors stated that the NSV could be fired from a bipod, this is in fact incorrect (though it can be fired from the prone position using the rudimentary stock).  The standard ground-mount tripod weighs 16.01 kilograms, but there is also a version of this tripod which has a thick armored gun shield in front (AV3) which is meant for used in fixed fortified positions.  A special antiaircraft tripod is also available, which is essentially a taller version of the standard tripod that also comes with an antiaircraft sight reticule and lead arms.

     After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan began manufacturing an updated form of the NSV, called the NSVP.  This version is for the most part identical to the standard NSV, but the barrel of the NSVP is tipped by a muzzle brake, and a new soft-mount-type tripod was designed specifically for use with the NSVP (and can only be used by the NSVP).  This soft mount also has a special cradle on the right side of the tripod for the ammunition box, which improves the balance of the NSVP.  The weight of this special soft mount is approximately 27 kilograms.  The NSVP is also able to use a standard NSV tripod or pintle mount.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: the NSVP does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Vladimirov KPV

     Notes: Design work on the KPV began shortly after World War 2; it was at the time the machinegun firing the largest round in the world, and is still the heaviest-caliber machinegun in any sort of mass production.  (Much bigger, and you cross into autocannon land…)  At first, the KPV was meant for single, double, and quadruple antiaircraft mount use (the ZPU-1, ZPU-2, and ZPU-4), but it was quickly realized that the KPV could be easily adapted to vehicle use, and it quickly became the primary armament of the BTR-60, BTR-70, BTR-80, and BRDM-2, and some other Russian and then-Warsaw Pact vehicles. 

     The basic KPV is a short recoil-operated machinegun with a muzzle booster, using a heavy quick-change 53-inch barrel tipped with long conical flash hider.  The standard belts are 100 rounds, but cases of these belts are split into 10-round sections which must be linked together to produce these belts.  In addition, the belt-pulling strength of the KPV is such that it can easily use belts 10 times that length without compromising the reliability of the KPV.  The standard mount is either one of several antiaircraft mountings, a heavy wheeled mount (called the Pact Heavy Carriage by the Twilight 2000 rules.  There are some rare pintle mountings, but most of those seen are actually makeshift pintle mounts (such as sometimes seen in use by the pickup trucks used by “techincals” in some parts of Africa).  The KPV (as a ground weapon) sometimes includes a rudimentary sort of “stock” (more something to brace one’s shoulder against than anything else), and antiaircraft mountings generally include a seat, special antiaircraft sights, and in some cases, a small electrical motor to allow quick traverse and elevation of the weapons. The very rare infantry version uses a wheeled carriage similar to that of the DShK, and fires from spade grips; the feed box is attached to the right-side axle with feed being from the right side.

     Versions of the KPV designed for internal mounting in vehicles (such a version is known as the KPVT) differ in that they use electrical firing instead of a trigger, and do not have the shoulder brace or the necessary parts to allow them to be mounted upon a PHC or pintle.