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PK Machine Gun
The PK Machine Gun is a Russian belt-fed general-purpose machine gun firing the venerable 7.62x54mmR round. The weapon was designed late in a project started in 1955 to replace the ageing Degtyaryov RP-46 and Goryunov SGM as a battalion- and company-level machine gun, as the Soviet military had been impressed by the GPMG concept exemplified by the German MG42.
While an initial design by Grigory Nikitin and Yuri Sokolov had produced a candidate for this project in 1958, the PN1, a team from Izhevsk Mechanical Plant headed by Mikhail Kalashnikov produced a competitor in 1960 derived from the gas-operated, rotating-bolt AK action, turned upside-down and using an open bolt for improved cooling and a two-stage belt-feed with non-disintegrating links. Trials showed the result, the PK (Pulemyot Kalashnikova; "Kalashnikov's machine gun") to be superior to the Nikitin-Sokolov design. The Nikitin-Sokolov design would later form the basis of the NSV heavy machine gun.
In 1969 a modernized version, the PKM (Pulemyot Kalashnikova Modernizirovanniy) was fielded, with a lighter, unfluted barrel and a hinged metal shoulder strap on the buttstock.
Unlike other open bolt machine guns, such as those derived from the MG42, the PK uses a two-stage feed mechanism with a cartridge-gripping claw that pulls the rimmed rounds out of the belt backwards, drops them into the feed way, before pushing them into the chamber when firing (the MG42, and its derivatives like the M60, pushes their rimless rounds directly out of the belts and into the chamber when firing). This also means that the PK specifically needs to be cocked after placing a belt onto the feed tray, to put the first cartridge in place for firing, while other open bolt machine guns can be cocked before or after placing the belt.
The PK Machine Gun and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
PK/PKM Machine Gun
There are four versions of the PK/PKM in use today:
- PK/PKM: basic GPMG version with Bipod.
- PKS/PKMS (Pulemyot Kalashnikova Stankoviy): tripod mounted version.
- PKT/PKMT (Pulemyot Kalashnikova Tankoviy): solenoid fired coaxial version for vehicles.
- PKB/PKMB (Pulemyot Kalashnikova na Bronetransportere): flex vehicle mounted version w/spade grips & butterfly trigger.
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Widow | seen in arsenal | 2021 | ||
| Extraction | Bangladeshi SWAT | mounted in a helicopter | 2020 | |
| 7 Days in Entebbe | Ugandan soldiers | 2018 | ||
| 7 Days in Entebbe | Palestinian guerillas | 2018 | ||
| Hunter Killer | Russian soldiers | PKB variant, mounted on UAZ jeeps | 2018 | |
| Black Panther | 2018 | |||
| Hardcore Henry | Sharlto Copley | Jimmy | 2016 | |
| Survivor | Is seen in Taliban's arms depot | 2015 | ||
| The Dawns Here Are Quiet (A zori zdes tikhie...) | Nazi soldier | mocked up as MG34 | 2015 | |
| Lousy Bastards | Czech Army troops | Mounted on Czech Land Rover Defender 130 Kajman | 2014 | |
| 22 Minutes (22 minuty) | Somali Pirates | PK | 2014 | |
| Lone Survivor | Taliban fighters | 2013 | ||
| Zombie Fever | Yuliya Volkova | Natasha | 2013 | |
| Vladimir Putin | ||||
| Red Dawn | North Korean soldiers | 2012 | ||
| The Expendables 2 | Nepalese guerrillas | Mounted on Mercedes-Benz G-Wagens and boats | 2012 | |
| R2B: Return to Base | North Korean soldiers | 2012 | ||
| August. Eighth | Russian and Georgian soldiers | PKM and PKT machine guns | 2012 | |
| Winter of the Dead. Meteletsa | Sergey Shirochin | Khan | PK machine guns | 2012 |
| Special Forces | Taliban fighter | 2011 | ||
| 5 Days of War | Georgian soldiers | Mounted on M1114 HMMWV | 2011 | |
| Home (Dom) | Igor Skurikhin | Veselyj | 2011 | |
| Burnt by the Sun 2 (Utomlennye solntsem 2) | German soldier | Mocked up as MG34 | 2011 | |
| A Quiet Outpost (Tikhaya zastava) | Andrey Chadov | Capt. Pankov | 2011 | |
| A Quiet Outpost (Tikhaya zastava) | Aleksandr Alyoshkin | Sgt. "Trasser" Kiryanov | 2011 | |
| A Quiet Outpost (Tikhaya zastava) | Islamist fighters | 2011 | ||
| Kandahar | Taliban fighter | 2010 | ||
| Saw 3D | PKT Customized; mounted at security turret | 2010 | ||
| Red | CIA operative | Modified with BHI SOPMOD accessory kit | 2010 | |
| The Brest Fortress (Brestskaya Krepost) | German soldiers | Mocked up as MG34 | 2010 | |
| Mounted as main armament of the BA-20 armored car | ||||
| A Yakuza's Daughter Never Cries | Irina Rozanova | Marfa Dorofeeva | 2010 | |
| Dnieper Line: Love and War | German soldiers | Mocked up as MG34 | 2009 | |
| Mounted as main armament of the BA-20 armored car | ||||
| District 13: Ultimatum | 2009 | |||
| Back in Time (My iz budushchego) | German troops | Mocked up as MG34 | 2008 | |
| Captive (Plennyy) | Russian soldiers, Chechen fighters | 2008 | ||
| Captive (Plennyy) | PKT, mounted on BTR-80 | 2008 | ||
| D-Day (Den'D) | Mikhail Porechenkov | Ivan | 2008 | |
| Body of Lies | Seen lying on a wall | 2008 | ||
| Babylon A.D. | Soldier | 2008 | ||
| Mirage | Dmitriy Maryanov | The Catcher | 2008 | |
| Mirage | Aleksey Dmitriev | Ahmed | 2008 | |
| Mirage | Jamal's men and policemen | 2008 | ||
| The Apocalypse Code | Various terrorists | PKM and PKT machine guns | 2007 | |
| Postal | Paradise resident | 2007 | ||
| Blood Diamond | Mercenary | Mounted on ATE Mi-24 'Superhind' | 2006 | |
| Children of Men | British Army soldier | 2006 | ||
| Bastards (Svolochi) | German soldiers | Mocked up as MG34 | 2006 | |
| 9th Company | Ivan Kokorin | Chugan | 2005 | |
| Artur Smolyaninov | Lyutyy | |||
| Soviet soldiers | ||||
| Afghan Mujahideen | ||||
| Soviet soldiers | mounted on T-64 tanks | |||
| Sahara | Soldiers | 2005 | ||
| He Will Be Left Behind (Arxada qalmis gelecek) | mounted on the MT-LB and BMP-2, seen during the archive footage | 2005 | ||
| On an Unnamed Hill (Na bezymyannoy vysote) | Vladimir Yaglych | Lt. Malyutin | Mocked up as MG34 | 2004 |
| Aleksey Chadov | Pvt. Kolya Malakhov | |||
| German soldiers | ||||
| Downfall (Der Untergang) | German soldiers | Mocked up as MG34 | 2004 | |
| Moscow Heat | Richard Tyson | Nikolay Klimov | 2004 | |
| Moscow Heat | Russian police | Mounted on Tigr armored car | 2004 | |
| Jisai (Dzisay) | 2004 | |||
| Beyond Borders | Chechen rebels | 2003 | ||
| Antikiller 2: Antiterror | Aleksey Serebryakov | Uzhakh Aduev | Original PK | 2003 |
| SOBR personnel | ||||
| The Star (Zvezda) | German soldiers | Mocked up as MG34 | 2002 | |
| War (Voyna) | Chechen rebels | 2002 | ||
| Chechen rebel | PKT tank machine gun converted to light machine gun | |||
| Black Hawk Down | Seen on arms dealer's table | 2001 | ||
| Avalon | Malgorzata Foremniak | Ash | Mounted on tank turret | 2001 |
| Savior | UN peacekeepers | 1998 | ||
| Checkpoint (Blokpost) | Yuri Grigoriev | Pisser | 1998 | |
| Deserter (Dezertir) | Anatoliy Kotenyov | Skif | 1997 | |
| Brigands | ||||
| Prisoner of the Mountains (Kavkazskiy plennik) | A Chechen fighter | 1996 | ||
| Goldeneye | Soviet soldier | 1995 | ||
| Crusader (Krestonosets) | Eldor Urazbaev | Ergen | PK | 1995 |
| Criminals | ||||
| The Little Bee (Pchyolka) | Evgeniy Stychkin | Andrey | PK | 1993 |
| Black Shark (Chyornaya akula) | Soviet soldiers, mujahedeens | 1993 | ||
| The Codex of Disgrace (Kodeks beshchestiya) | PKT, Mounted on BTR-80 | 1993 | ||
| Good Luck, Gentlemen (Udachi vam, gospoda) | PKT, mounted on T-55 | 1993 | ||
| Weather Is Good on Deribasovskaya, It Rains Again on Brighton Beach | Mikhail Kokshenov | Kravchuk | 1992 | |
| Afghan Breakdown | Rinat Ibragimov | Pvt. Popov | 1991 | |
| Soviet paratroopers | ||||
| Safari No6 | Vitaly Tsaregorodtsev | Corporal Gredo | Mocked up as MG34 | 1991 |
| Before Sunrise (Pered rassvetom) | German soldiers | Mocked up as MG34 | 1989 | |
| Gu-Ga | Soviet soldiers | Mocked up as MG34 | 1989 | |
| Cargo 300 (Gruz 300) | Yevgeni Buntov | Sgt. Chebakov | 1989 | |
| Soviet soldiers and Afghan mujaheddins | PKM on bipod and tripod, door-mounted on Mi-8 | |||
| Soviet troops | PKT, mounted on armored vehicles and on Mi-8 (with spade grips) | |||
| Rambo III | Sylvester Stallone | John Rambo | 1988 | |
| The Action (Aktsiya) | Artyom Kaminsky | Lt. Albert Volkov | Mocked up as MG34 | 1987 |
| The Action (Aktsiya) | Aleksandr Novikov | Lt. Vsevolod Veselov | Mocked up as MG34 | 1987 |
| Battle for Moscow | German soldiers | Mocked up as MG34 | 1985 | |
| Come and See (Idi i smotri) | Soviet partisan | Mocked up as MG34 | 1985 | |
| The Battalions Request Fire (Batalyony prosyat ognya) | Igor Sklyar | Sgt. Vitkovsky | Mocked up as MG34 | 1985 |
| German soldiers | ||||
| Snipers (Snaypery) | German soldiers | Mocked up as MG34 | 1985 | |
| The Detached Mission (Odinochnoye plavanye) | Nartai Begalin | Sgt. Parshin | 1985 | |
| Parade of the Planets (Parad planet) | PKT mounted on T-55 tank and BRDM-2 armored car | 1984 | ||
| The Prize of Peril (Le Prix du danger) | PTK mounted on TAB-71 | 1983 | ||
| Start Liquidation (Pristupit k likvidatsii) | Bandits | Mocked up as MG34 | 1983 | |
| Under Martial Law (Po zakonam voyennogo vremeni) | A German soldier | Mocked up as MG34 | 1983 | |
| Front in the Rear of the Enemy (Front v tylu vraga) | Soviet soldiers | Mocked up as MG34 | 1981 | |
| Santa Esperansa | Chilean soldiers | Mocked up as MG34 | 1980 | |
| Corps of General Shubnikov (Korpus generala Shubnikova) | German soldiers | Mocked up as MG34 | 1980 | |
| To Command Yourself (Prikazhi sebe) | Soviet Army soldiers | PK | 1980 | |
| PKT, mounted on T-55 and BMP-1 | ||||
| Pirates of the XXth Century (Piraty XX veka) | Pirates | Mocked up as MG34 | 1979 | |
| Velvet Season (Barkhatnyy sezon) | Aleksandr Lazarev, Sr. | Henri Lamer | Mocked up as MG34 | 1978 |
| Mounted on a plane | ||||
| In the Zone of Special Attention (V zone osobogo vnimaniya) | PKT, mounted on BTR-D and BMD-1 | 1977 | ||
| Long Miles of War (Dolgie vyorsty voyny) | German soldiers | Mounted on BTR-40 | 1975 | |
| Chronicle of the Night (Khronika nochi) | African soldiers | Mounted on BTR-152 | 1973 | |
| Trial of the Road (Proverka na dorogakh) | Vladimir Zamansky | Lazarev | original PK mocked up as MG34 | 1971 |
| German soldiers |
Television
| Show Title | Actor | Character | Note | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eternal Call (Vechnyy zov) - Season 2 | German soldiers | Visually modified to resemble MG34 | 1983 | |
| Take Him Alive (Vzyat zhivym) | PKT, mounted on MT-LB, mocked up as German tank | 1983 | ||
| The State Border: Film 5 | German soldiers | Modified to resemble MG34. With and without tripods | 1986 | |
| The State Border: Film 6 | Ukrainian Insurgents | Modified to resemble MG34 | 1987 | |
| Special Operations Squad (Otryad spetsyalnogo naznacheniya) | German soldiers | Visually modified to resemble MG34 | 1987 | |
| Stargate SG-1 | Russian SG member | "Metamorphosis" | 1997 - 2007 | |
| Purgatory (Chistilishche) | Russian soldiers and Chechen fighters | 1998 | ||
| Dead Man's Tale (Chto skazal pokoynik) | Evgeniy Voskresenskiy | "Lame" | PK | 2000 |
| Sergey Stepanchenko | The thug | |||
| Brigada | Sergei Bezrukov | Alexander Belov | 2002 | |
| I Have The Honor! (Chest Imeyu!) | Russian paratroopers and Chechen rebels | 2004 | ||
| The Unit | African soldiers | "Stress" S01E02 | 2005 - 2009 | |
| E-Ring | Iranian Revolutionary Guard | "Escape and Evade" S01E03 | 2005 - 2006 | |
| The Storm Gate | Russian soldiers and Chechen terrorists | 2006 | ||
| The Storm Gate | PKT coaxial tank machine gun mounted in BMD-1 | 2006 | ||
| And Quiet Flows the Don (Tikhiy Don) | Austro-Hungarian soldiers | Visually modified to resemble MG34 | 2006 | |
| Generation Kill | Iraqi soldiers | With and without tripods | 2008 | |
| Deadliest Warrior | Somali Pirate | 2009 | ||
| Ultimate Weapons | 2010 | |||
| "Narkomovskiy" Train (Narkomovskiy oboz) | Sergey Makhovikov | Starshina Viktor Filippov | Mocked up as MG34 | 2011 |
| Vlad Furman | Capt. Aleksandr Baragozov | |||
| German soldiers | ||||
| Red Mountains (Krasnye gory) | Nazi Geman soldiers | PKM, Mocked up as MG34 | 2013 | |
| Japanese soldiers | visually modified | |||
| Defiance | Sensoth | Modified with BHI SOPMOD accessory kit | 2013 | |
| Banshee - Season 3 | Chayton's tribesmen | Ep. 5 | 2015 | |
| Black Pea Coats (Chyornye bushlaty) | Ivan Lapin | Kesha | PKM, Mocked up as MG34 | 2018 |
| German soldiers | ||||
| Dzhulbars | German soldiers | PKM, Mocked up as MG34 | 2020 | |
| Alyosha | Soviet partisans, German soldiers | PKM, Mocked up as MG34 | 2020 |
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steel Beasts | PKT, mounted on Soviet vehicles, unusable | 2000 | ||
| Operation Flashpoint | 2001 | |||
| The Sum Of All Fears | "7.62mm LMG" | 2002 | ||
| Ghost Recon: Desert Siege | PKM | 2002 | ||
| Conflict: Desert Storm | 2002 | |||
| Conflict: Desert Storm II | 2003 | |||
| Freedom Fighters | Heavy Machine Gun | 2003 | ||
| Söldner: Secret Wars | 2004 | |||
| Battlefield 2 | 2005 | |||
| Battlefield 2 | PKT, mounted in T90 tank | 2005 | ||
| Project Reality | Hand-held and in fixed defensive mountings | 2005 | ||
| Project Reality | PKT, mounted in BRDM-2 scout vehicle, BTR-60, BTR-80, BTR-80A, MT-LB, BMP-1, BMP-2, & BMP-3 APC's, and T62, T72, & T90 tanks | 2005 | ||
| Conflict: Global Terror | 2005 | |||
| Rainbow Six: Vegas | cut weapon | 2006 | ||
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl | mounted on BTR-70 | 2007 | ||
| Kane & Lynch: Dead Men | mounted | 2007 | ||
| ArmA: Armed Assault | 2007 | |||
| Army of Two | Numerous modifications to the weapon | 2008 | ||
| 7.62 High Calibre | 2008 | |||
| Far Cry 2 | 2008 | |||
| Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 | cut weapon | 2008 | ||
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky | "RP-74" | PK | 2008 | |
| Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots | PKM | PKT also shown mounted on BMP-3 | 2008 | |
| ArmA II | 2009 | |||
| Resident Evil 5 | w/ RPD handguard, mounted on Humvee | 2009 | ||
| SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3 | "PK-M" | 2010 | ||
| Delta Force: Xtreme 2 | 2010 | |||
| Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker | PKM | 2010 | ||
| Battlefield Bad Company 2 | PKM LMG | With short flash suppressor | 2010 | |
| Medal of Honor | PKM | w/ various attachments | 2010 | |
| Battlefield Play4Free | With optional tan stock and ammo box | 2011 | ||
| Battlefield Play4Free | PKT, mounted in T90 tank | 2011 | ||
| Ace Combat: Assault Horizon | PKT, shown mounted on BDRM-2 | 2011 | ||
| Counter-Strike Online | PKM | With 3-round burst mode | 2011 | |
| NCIS: The Video Game | 2011 | |||
| Uncharted 3 | 2011 | |||
| Project Reality: Vietnam | Anachronistically used by NVA | 2012 | ||
| Project Reality: Vietnam | PKT, mounted on BTR-60 | 2012 | ||
| War Inc. Battlezone | 2011 | |||
| Ghost Recon: Future Soldier | PKT, mounted in T-90 tank | not usable | 2012 | |
| Far Cry 3 | PKM | 2012 | ||
| Grand Theft Auto V | "MG" | 2013 | ||
| Ghost Recon: Phantoms | PKM | 2014 | ||
| World of Guns: Gun Disassembly | PKM machine gun Pkt Machinegun |
PKM and PKT variants | 2014 | |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered | PKM | Added in update | 2017 | |
| Ring of Elysium | 2018 | |||
| Insurgency: Sandstorm | PKM | 2018 | ||
| Vigor | PKM | 2018 | ||
| Call to Arms | PKM & PKT | 2018 | ||
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | PKM | 2019 |
Anime
| Title | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resident Evil: Damnation | PKT, mounted in BMP-3 | 2012 | |
| BEM | mounted in BTR | 2019 | |
| Lycoris Recoil | Takina, Majima | 2022 |
PKP Pecheneg
The PKP Pecheneg machine gun is a modernized version of the PKM with a forced-air-cooled, non-changeable barrel that allows for longer periods of fire and greater accuracy. Further improvements include the shifting of the bipod towards the muzzle to improve stability, and the capability to mount optical sights. The Pecheneg currently is in service with some Russian military and interior ministry units.
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D-Day (Den'D) | Mikhail Porechenkov | Ivan | Mounted on Ural motorcycle | 2008 |
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Reality | With optional PK-A scope | 2005 | ||
| Cross Fire | "PKP 6P41 Pecheneg" | 2007 | ||
| 7.62 High Calibre | 2008 | |||
| ArmA II | w/ PK-A scope | 2009 | ||
| Rogue Warrior | 2009 | |||
| SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3 | PK-P | 2010 | ||
| Battlefield 3 | With various Russian optics | 2011 | ||
| Battlefield Play4Free | Pecheneg | With optional EOTech red dot sight & M145 MGO scope | 2011 | |
| Operation Flashpoint: Red River | 2011 | |||
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 | PKP Pecheneg | With various optics | Incorrectly feeds from left | 2011 |
| SOCOM 4: US Navy SEALs | PKP | 2011 | ||
| War Inc. Battlezone | Pecheneg | 2011 | ||
| Ghost Recon: Future Soldier | PKP | 2012 | ||
| Medal of Honor: Warfighter | PKP | Can be fitted with PKM furniture. | 2012 | |
| Warface | 2013 | |||
| Survarium | 2013 | |||
| Ghost Recon: Phantoms | 6P41 | 2014 | ||
| Contract Wars | 2015 | |||
| Squad | PKP Pecheneg | 1P78 scope | 2015 | |
| Escape from Tarkov | seen on the Mechanic art | 2016 | ||
| Ghost Recon: Wildlands | 6P41 | railed forend | 2017 | |
| Ironsight | PKP | Incorrect 75-round capacity | 2018 | |
| Call to Arms | 2018 | |||
| Ghost Recon Breakpoint | 2019 |
PKP Pecheneg Bullpup
A bullpup variant of the PKP Pecheneg is produced. It features a very distinctive slanted belt box mounted in front of the trigger guard, with the belt run back to a feed opening rear of the grip. The first models were shown in 2012, made by Zenit, while after 2013 the models seem to be produced in the factory by ZiD, better known as the Degtyarev Plant.
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow Six: Siege | 6P41 | w/ Various attachments | 2015 | |
| Black Squad | Pecheneg B | Kobra sight and AN/PEQ-15 | 2017 | |
| World War 3 | Pecheneg Bullpup | 2018 | ||
| Battlefield 2042 | 2021 |
AEK-999
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cross Fire | AEK-999 | 2007 |
Zastava M84
The Zastava M84 is a clone of the PKM built by Zastava Arms. The M84 is distinguishable by its solid wooden stock, and is common in the former Yugoslavia and Iraq.
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Hunting Party | Soldiers | mounted atop vehicles | 2007 | |
| Coriolanus | Volscian soldiers | 2011 |
UKM-2000
The UKM-2000 is a Polish variant of the PKM, chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO and feeding from standard M13 disintegrating link belts. The most obvious external difference between the PKM and the UKM-2000P (the standard infantry variant) is the fact that the receiver has been extended forward compared to the PKM. This is due to the fact that the UKM-2000 strips rounds from the belt by pushing them straight through, as opposed to the PKM which pulls the rounds backwards out of the belt before pushing them into the breech.
The UKM-2000M, which was previously called the UKM-2013P during development before it was officially adopted, is a modernized model of the UKM-2000 featuring a shorter barrel and a number of upgrades.
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Reality | UKM-2000 | UKM-2000Z; added in v1.5.0.0 | 2005 | |
| Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 | FM-3000 UM | Without bipod | UKM-2000M | 2017 |
| World War 3 | UKM | UKM-2000M | 2018 | |
| Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts | "FM-3000 UM" | UKM-2000M | 2019 | |
| Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 | "FM 2013" | UKM-2000M | 2021 |
See Also
- V.A. Degtyarev Plant - A list of all firearms manufactured by V.A. Degtyarev Plant (ZiD).
- TsNIITochMash - A list of all firearms manufactured by TsNIITochMash.
- Zastava Arms - A list of all firearms manufactured by Zastava Arms.