Instead, it went with what had worked well.
The PM M1910 was indeed reliable, but it was time-consuming to build.
But it was a gamble that ended up paying off.
Shown here is an SGM machine gun from the Soviet Union. The SGM was a modernized version of the SG-43 Goryunov medium machine gun. Image: Author’s photo
The team was given the green light to produce three prototypes.
Thus, the weapon had its baptism of fire in combat even before it was formally adopted.
However, the mount was clearly meant to be an evolutionary step forward.
Members of the Australian Army test fire the SG-43 Goryunov machine gun. Chambered in 7.62x54mmR, the weapon was captured at the Battle of Long Tan during the Vietnam War. Image: AWM
It was usually employed with a heavy steel shield to protect the gunner.
The earliest models were fitted with a finned barrel, but most wartime models had a smooth barrel.
Several variants were also developed, including the SGMT coaxial tank gun and the SGMB vehicle-mounted gun.
The SG-43 and SGM machine guns featured Maxim-style spade grips and thumb trigger. Image: Author’s photo
The SG-43 in all models was typically fed by 200- or 250-round metal belts.
It offered a rate of fire of 650 rounds per minute and had an effective range of 1,000 meters.
43 in communist Czechoslovakia.
A BRDM-1, a Red Army armored scout car, armed with the SGM during the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. The SGM was a modification of SG-43. Image:František Dostál/CC BY-SA 4.0
The SGMB was also produced as the Asswan in Egypt.
It is also believed that the small arms seen in the film were supplied from Israeli armorers.
The SGM featured a fluted barrel, which was introduced to heat dissipate heat. Image: Author’s photo
A U.S. Army soldier (background) holds a SGM medium machine gun, one of several weapons captured during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Image: NARA
Marines of the Egyptian Navy aim a Soviet-made SG-43 medium machine gun during amphibious assault training. The training was part of the multinational joint service Exercise Bright Star ’85. Image: NARA
This Chinese Type 53 machine gun, China’s SG-43 Goryunov copy, was captured by the 3rd Marine Division on March 21, 1966 during the Vietnam War. Image: Gunnery Sgt. Looney/USMC
