SG-43 Goryunov

The SG-43 Goryunov (Russian: Станковый пулемёт системы Горюнова, Stankovyy pulyemyot sistyemy Goryunova, meaning "Mounted machinegun, Goryunov design") was a Soviet medium machine gun that was introduced during the Second World War. It was chambered for the 7.62×54mmR cartridge, and was introduced in 1943 as a replacement for the older M1910 Maxim machine guns.^[3] It was mounted on wheeled mounts, tripods and armored vehicles.^[4]

SG-43
A static SG-43 inside the Road of Life museum in Ladoga lake station.
Type	Medium machine gun
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1943–1968 (Soviet Union)
Wars	World War II Korean War Vietnam War Laotian Civil War Cambodian Civil War Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Portuguese Colonial War Rhodesian Bush War South African Border War North Yemen Civil War Six-Day War Yom Kippur War Lebanese Civil War Angolan Civil War Mozambican Civil War Uganda-Tanzania War Wars in Afghanistan Somali Civil War Gulf War Burundian Civil War Congo-Brazzaville Civil War Iraq War Kivu conflict Northern Mali Conflict Syrian Civil War Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
Production history
Designer	P.M. Goryunov
Designed	1940–1943[1]
Variants	SG-43, SGM, SGMT, SGMB
Specifications
Mass	13.8 kg (30.42 lb) gun body 41 kg (90.39 lb) on wheeled mount
Length	1,150 mm (45.3 in)
Barrel length	720 mm (28.3 in)
Cartridge	7.62×54mmR
Action	Gas-operated
Rate of fire	500–700 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	800 m/s (2,624 ft/s)
Effective firing range	1100 m (1200 yd)
Maximum firing range	1,500 meters[2]
Feed system	200 or 250 round belts
Sights	Iron sights

Design

The SG-43 used a tilting breechblock, moving sideways and locking into the side of the receiver. The feed is not straightforward, as the gun fires the 7.62×54mmR round, and this has to be withdrawn rearwards from the belt before ramming into the breech. The reciprocating motion is achieved by using two claws to pull the round from the belt, and then an arm pushes the round into the cartridge guide ready for the bolt to carry it to the breech. Despite this complication, the SG-43 was remarkably reliable and feed jams were apparently few.

The barrel is air-cooled and massively dense, contributing to a fairly high overall weight. The bore is chromium-plated and able to withstand continuous fire for long periods. The barrel can also be easily changed by releasing a simple lock, and the carrying handle allows a hot barrel to be lifted clear without difficulty. The World War II version of the gun had a smooth outline to the barrel, and the cocking handle was under the receiver, with no dust covers to the feed and ejection ports.

History

The machine gun was developed as GVG (after last names of three designers) from February 1940 to November 1942, originally to be fired from either a magazine or belt-fed, however in spring 1942 the magazine feeding was dropped. After field trials on the frontline it was adopted as the M1943 Goryunov machine gun in May 1943.

In 1944-1945 the machine gun was improved by Alexander Zaytsev and Mikhail Kalashnikov, with the new version receiving SGM ("M" for modernized) designation. Reloading handle was moved, dust covers and a new barrel lock were fitted, and a splined barrel was fitted to improve cooling.^[5] A coaxially-mounted stockless electric solenoid-fired variant was developed under the designation SGMT (the "T" standing for Tankovy, or "Tank"). The SG-43M and SGMB are versions modified with dust covers and used mostly on armoured personnel carriers.^[6]

The SG-43/SGM was widely exported and also licensed for construction in several countries. It was manufactured in the People's Republic of China as the Type 53 (SG-43) and Type 57 (SGM) heavy machine guns.^[7] It was also produced in Czechoslovakia (as Vz 43) and Poland (as Wz 43).^[8]

In addition to World War II, SG-43 saw service in the Korean War with the Communist North Korean and Chinese forces.^[9] In Soviet service, the Goryunov, together with the RP-46, was replaced in the 1960s by the PK machine gun due to the switch in Soviet tactical doctrine to the general-purpose machine gun concept, rendering the gun effectively obsolete.^[6]

KGK general purpose machine gun

A KGK on a tripod at the Museum of Military History in Budapest

The KGK (Korszerűsített Gorjunov-Kucher) general purpose machine gun was based on the Goryunov machine gun modified by a FEG team headed by József Kucher^[10] (partner of Pál Király best known for his Kucher Model K1 SMG) and produced in Hungary during the 1960s and 1970s. The team added a butt-stock, a pistol grip, a conventional trigger and a bipod from the RPD machine gun, moved the charging handle from the bottom to the side, and redesigned the barrel lock mechanism so that the barrel could be quickly changed in the field.^[11][12] Otherwise, the machine gun is identical to an SGM, and most parts are interchangeable.

It was used by the Hungarian army on a limited scale, including in the KGKT version as the turret machine gun on D-944 PSZH scout car, and was later replaced by a domestically produced copy of the Kalashnikov PKM machine gun.

Users

•  Afghanistan: SGM used by DRA and the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War^[13][14] and by Afghan National Army^[15]
•  Burundi: Burundian rebels^[16]
•  Cape Verde: SGM^[17]
•  Central African Republic^[18]

Type 53 MMG

•  Chad: SGM^[17]
•  China: Type 53 and Type 57^[7]
•  Cuba: SG-43^[19]
•  Republic of Congo: Chinese-made SGM used by Cocoye militia during Congo Civil War^[20]
•  Democratic Republic of Congo: Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo used SGMs^[21]

• Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, sometimes known as MILOU, for mitrailleuse lourde (heavy machine gun)^[21]

•  Czechoslovakia: produced under license as Kulomet vz. 43 from 1953.^[22]
•  Egypt: built under license^[23] Used SG-43 and SGM.^[24]
•  Finland: used during World War II in limited numbers ^[25]
•  Georgia^[26]
•  Guinea: SGM^[27]
•  Guinea-Bissau: SGM^[27]
•  East Germany: SG-43 and SGM^[28]
• Hungary:^[29] SG-43 and KGK variant^[30]
•  Indonesia:^[31] used by Mobile Indonesian Police Brigade (BRIMOB)^{[citation needed]}
•  Iraq: SGM variant^[32][33]
•  Libya: SGM variant^[34]
•  Mali: SG-43, SGM, Type 53^[35] and Type 57 variants^[36]
•  Mozambique: SGM^[37]
•  North Korea: used during the Korean War.^[2]
•  North Vietnam: SG-43, Type 53, SGM and Type 57 variants used during the Vietnam War by the NVA^[38] and the Vietcong^[39]
• Palestine Liberation Organisation^[40]
•  Poland: SG-43^[41]
• Romania: SG-43 and SGM^[42]
•  São Tomé and Príncipe: SGM^[43]
•  Somalia^[44]
•  Soviet Union: SG-43 and SGM were still in service in the late 1960s^[45]
•  Syria^[46]
•  Tanzania^[47]
•  Yemen^[48]
•  Zambia: SGM^[49]
•  Zimbabwe^[50]

References

1. Советская военная энциклопедия. / ред. Н.В. Огарков. том 2. М., Воениздат, 1976. стр.617
2. Edwards, Paul M. (2006). The Korean War. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 77. ISBN 0-313-33248-7.
3. Willbanks, James H. (23 November 2004). Machine Guns: An Illustrated History of Their Impact. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-85109-485-1.
4. Hogg 1988, p. 315.
5. Smith 1969, p. 607.
6. Smith 1969, p. 608.
7. Smith 1969, p. 297.
8. Small Arms Identification and Operation Guide--Eurasian Communist Countries^[usurped], Defense Intelligence Agency/United States Army Materiel Command ST-HB-07-03-74, p. 324
9. Kinard, Jeff (9 April 2010). "Machine guns". In Tucker, Spencer C.; Pierpaoli, Paul G. Jr. (eds.). The Encyclopedia of the Korean War: A Political, Social, and Military History. Vol. 1. A-L (2nd ed.). ABC-CLIO. p. 535. ISBN 978-1-85109-849-1.
10. "Goryunov SGM KGK Machine Guns made by Hungary".
11. "KGKT Build: Introduction - the SG-43's Hungarian cousin". 27 October 2017.
12. "KGK General Purpose Machine Gun".
13. Wright, Lawrence, The Looming Tower, Vintage Books (2006), ISBN 978-1-4000-3084-2, p. 134
14. Isby, David C. (1990). The War in Afghanistan 1979-1989: The Soviet Empire at High Tide. Concord Publications. p. 13. ISBN 978-9623610094.
15. Neville 2018, p. 26.
16. Small Arms Survey (2007). "Armed Violence in Burundi: Conflict and Post-Conflict Bujumbura" (PDF). The Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City. Cambridge University Press. p. 204. ISBN 978-0-521-88039-8.
17. Hogg 1988, p. 767.
18. "Google Sites".
19. Smith 1969, p. 300.
20. Small Arms Survey (2003). "Making the Difference?: Weapon Collection and Small Arms Availability in the Republic of Congo". Small Arms Survey 2003: Development Denied. Oxford University Press. p. 274. ISBN 0199251754. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2010.
21. Small Arms Survey (2015). "Waning Cohesion: The Rise and Fall of the FDLR–FOCA" (PDF). Small Arms Survey 2015: weapons and the world (PDF). Cambridge University Press. p. 202. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 1, 2015.
22. "Gorjunov SG 43". vhu.cz (in Czech). Vojenský historický ústav Praha [cs].
23. Laffin, John (1982). Arab armies of the Middle East wars, 1948-73 (Illustrated ed.). Osprey Publishing. p. 15. ISBN 0-85045-451-4.
24. Smith 1969, p. 613.
25. Jowett, Philip (2006). Finland at War 1939-45 (Illustrated ed.). Osprey Publishing. p. 50. ISBN 1-84176-969-X.
26. "Საექსპორტო და საიმპორტო კონტროლს დაქვემდებარებული სამხედრო დანიშნულების პროდუქციის ნუსხის შესახებ".
27. Hogg 1988, p. 769.
28. Smith 1969, p. 381.
29. Schmidl, Erwin; Ritter, László (10 Nov 2006). The Hungarian Revolution 1956. Elite 148. Osprey Publishing. p. 45. ISBN 9781846030796.
30. Lugosi, József (2008). "Gyalogsági fegyverek 1868–2008". In Lugosi, József; Markó, György (eds.). Hazánk dicsőségére: 160 éves a Magyar Honvédség. Budapest: Zrínyi Kiadó. p. 383. ISBN 978-963-327-461-3.
31. Smith 1969, p. 461.
32. Rottman, Gordon L. (1993). Armies of the Gulf War. Elite 45. Osprey Publishing. p. 49. ISBN 9781855322776.
33. Small Arms Survey (2012). "Surveying the Battlefield: Illicit Arms In Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia". Small Arms Survey 2012: Moving Targets. Cambridge University Press. p. 321. ISBN 978-0-521-19714-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 30, 2012.
34. "World Infantry Weapons: Libya". Archived from the original on 5 October 2016.
35. Touchard, Laurent (18 June 2013). "Armée malienne : le difficile inventaire". Jeune Afrique (in French).
36. Powelson, Simon J. (December 2013). "Enduring engagement yes, episodic engagement no: lessons for SOF from Mali" (PDF). Monterey, California: Naval postgraduate school. p. 24. hdl:10945/38996.
37. Hogg 1988, p. 771.
38. Rottman, Gordon L. (10 Feb 2009). North Vietnamese Army Soldier 1958–75. Warrior 135. Osprey Publishing. p. 31. ISBN 9781846033711.
39. "Gorjunov SG-43, SGM / NAM 64-75".
40. Neville, Leigh (19 Apr 2018). Technicals: Non-Standard Tactical Vehicles from the Great Toyota War to modern Special Forces. New Vanguard 257. Osprey Publishing. p. 4. ISBN 9781472822512.
41. Smith 1969, p. 526.
42. Smith 1969, p. 533.
43. Hogg 1988, p. 772.
44. Small Arms Survey 2012, p. 338.
45. Smith 1969, p. 606.
46. Asher, Dani, ed. (2014). Inside Israel's Northern Command: The Yom Kippur War on the Syrian Border. Foreign Military Studies. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 130, 462. ISBN 9780813167664. JSTOR j.ctt19jcgzg.
47. Hogg 1988, p. 773.
48. Gazit, Shlomo (10 September 2019). The Middle East Military Balance 1993-1994. Routledge. p. 472. ISBN 978-1-000-30346-9.
49. Hogg 1988, p. 774.
50. Headquarters 1 Brigade (Brady Barracks) (Gate Exhibit), Bulawayo, Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe National Army, 2010

Sources

• Smith, Joseph E. (1969). Small Arms of the World (11 ed.). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: The Stackpole Company. ISBN 9780811715669.
• Hogg, Ian V., ed. (1 January 1988). Jane's Infantry Weapons, 1988-89. Jane's Information Group. ISBN 978-0-7106-0857-4.

External links

• Goryunov SG-43 and SGM
• 7.62mm Goryunov Heavy Machine Gun
• 7.62mm Goryunov Heavy Machine Gun, SG43 – Walk around photos