The RPD - Soviet Union’s First Squad Automatic Weapon

Summary

The RPD (Ruchnoy Pulemyot Degtyaryova), designed by Vasily A. Degtyaryov, was adopted into Soviet service on June 18, 1949, as the first Soviet squad automatic weapon (SAW). Chambered in 7.62x39, this lightweight, belt-fed machine gun provided increased automatic fire mobility for infantry squads and was later replaced by the RPK in 1959.