Goryunov SG-43
SGM | China: Type 53 & Type 57
Overview
SGM
Rear view of a Goryunov SGM machine gun on a two wheel mount.
Source: Unkown author -
© Copyright lies with original owner
Petr Goryunov
China - Norinco
Czechoslovakia
Egypt - Maadi
Type 53 (Chinese production SG-43)
Type 57 (Chinese production SGM)
Asswan (Egyptian production SGMB)
Kulomet vz. 43 (Czechoslovakia)
Description
Introduction
The Goryunov SG-43 is a Soviet World War 2 era medium machine gun. It was developed during World War 2 to replace the old water cooled Maxim M1910 machineguns in Soviet service. After World War 2 most tanks and armored personnel carriers were fitted with variants of the SG-43.
Design
The SG-43 is a gas operated weapon using a long stroke gas piston. It uses 250 round non-disintegrating belts that feed from right to left. The SG-43 uses spade grips and is always mounted on a two wheel mount or vehicle as it is very heavy. The heavy quick change barrel allows for a high volume of fire. The improved SGM uses a fluted barrel and has various ergonomic upgrades.
Firepower
The SG-43 fires the 7.62x54mm round from 200 or 250 round belts. The only fire mode is fully automatic. The cyclic rate of fire is about 650 rounds per minute. The long and heavy barrel allows it to be used against area targets out to 1.000 meters.
Users
The SG-43 was used by Soviet forces from the later stages of World War 2 until the mid 1960's. It was used by infantry and mounted on many combat vehicles as a pintle mounted or coaxial weapon. Most Soviet allies received the SG-43 and it has been produced under license. The SG-43 was replaced by the PK machinegun in Soviet service. Most users replaced the SG-43, but it can still be found in third world countries.
Variants
SG-43
The SG-43 is the original model of the SG-43 family of medium machine guns. The SG-43 fires the 7.62x54mm round from 250 round belts and is operated by the spade grip. It was mounted on a metal two wheel carriage and was often fitted with a gun shield.
The SG-43B has a dust cover over the feed and ejection openings.
The Chinese Type 53 is a direct copy of the SG-43.
SGM
The SGM is a modernized version of the SG-43B. The SGM has a fluted barrel and the charging handle is moved to the right side of the receiver. It was mounted on the same two wheel mount as the SG-43, but later on also on more modern tripods.
The SGMB has a dust cover over the feed and ejection openings.
The Chinese Type 57 is a direct copy of the SGM.
SGMT
The SGMT is a variant of the SGM for coaxial installation on tanks. This variant is solenoid fired and lacks many of the manual controls. The Chinese Type 59T is similar to the SGMT.
Details
Media
Type 53
Chinese Type 53 machine gun on display in a museum in China.
Source: Gary Todd
Copyright: Public domain
SGMB
SGMB seen on a Soviet BRDM-1 armored scout car during the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
Source: František Dostál archive
Copyright: Public domain
SGM
Right side view of a SGM machine gun. Note the fluted barrel and extended cocking handle.
Source: US DoD
Copyright: Public domain
SGM
Goryunov SGM machine gun on a wheeled mount seen during the 70 year remembrance of the battle for Stalingrad.
Source: Vitaly V. Kuzmin
Copyright: GNU Attribution - Share Alike license
SGM
Goryunov SGM machine gun on a wheeled mount seen during the 70 year remembrance of the battle for Stalingrad.
Source: Vitaly V. Kuzmin
Copyright: GNU Attribution - Share Alike license
Related articles
Kalashnikov PK
The SG-43 and SGM were replaced in Soviet service with the PK machine gun, most notably the PKS variant with tripod mount for crew served sustained fire use.
Kalashnikov PKT
The SGMT was replaced in Soviet service with the PKT. The PKT has a barrel with the same length as the SGMT. This allows the machine gun to be swapped without modification to the tank's gun sight.