North Korea. Paintings, statues and ... a universal machine gun
Machine gun ZB-26 in the exposition of the museum "Smolensk region during the Great Patriotic War". Photo by Vitaly Kuzmin
아름다운 광경을 볼 때 .'그림 같다'라고 표현하고,
아름다운 그림을 볼 때 .
윤린
At the sight of a beautiful view, they say "like a picture",
And when they see a beautiful picture, they say "like a real one."
아름다운 그림을 볼 때 .
윤린
At the sight of a beautiful view, they say "like a picture",
And when they see a beautiful picture, they say "like a real one."
stories about weapons. I'll start with the fact that fate, by some miracle, at one time (in my youth) sent me an album of photographs from ... North Korea! There were many photographs such as: “Comrade Kim Il Sung personally leads the poultry houses of the advanced economy ...”, “Brave fighter ... studies the ideas of Juche”, “Glorious commander of Pehtu Mountain”, in general, there were many funny pictures.
But what surprised and really shocked me was their North Korean battle painting and sculpture. Skillfully drawn and cast from metal sculptures, full of dynamism and expression, and weapons were just as accurately shown in them. From the pictures it was possible to study it at all history. First of all, I was struck by the number of ZB-26 machine guns shown in the pictures.
No, the Japanese machine guns "Hotchkiss" and "Type 11" were also present there, but the "Czechs" dominated, which indicates their real contribution to the war with the Japanese. But among the monumental compositions, our PPSh, AK-47, DP-27, hand grenades, rifles of various types are shown exceptionally realistically. Go, look at the monument and ... You will learn everything about the armament of the North Korean army.
Descendant machine gun ZB-26: English machine gun "Bren"
But at the same time, it is still obvious that only two countries played a major role in the development of firearms in North Korea: this is our country and Czechoslovakia. And the most interesting thing is that traces of this influence can also be traced in weapons samples created directly by North Korean specialists!
What an expressive, I would say, epic canvas! Kim Il Sung holding his son...
And they also learned how to make wonderful multi-figure compositions with extremely accurate reproduction of their weapons.
Here, for example, we just see ZB vz. 26 and ... a Mauser pistol in the commander's hand - how could it be without him ?!
Yes, a number of examples of small arms developed in North Korea show us significant Czechoslovak influence, and the Type 73 machine gun is no exception. Based on the concept of the Czech 52/57 light machine gun developed in Czechoslovakia in the early 1950s. designer Vaclav Holek based on his own light machine gun ZB vz. 26 of the 1920s, the Type 73 can use both magazines and tapes (although, of course, not at the same time, of course). It is essentially a copy of the Soviet PK machine gun, but with a modified upper receiver cover to accept 30-round box magazines.
And here you can even see the characteristic zigzag stitching on the uniforms of North Korean soldiers, and there is a whole arsenal as a weapon, including anti-tank grenades!
Among the unique features of this machine gun is also a barrel sleeve with a flame arrester, which is mounted directly under the barrel when not in use, and a special sight that serves to fire a rifle grenade. That is, if you shoot cartridges, then a “tube” is put on the barrel with holes for the exit of gases at the end. But if you need to fire a rifle grenade from this machine gun, then this sleeve is removed, fastened under the barrel behind the bipod, and the grenade itself is put on the barrel.
And here, from the DP-27, they even shoot at planes! This is the degree of realism their sculptors have reached. Indeed, this is exactly what happened, although not often. Do we have a monument in the country where its use in this capacity would be shown? Not! But in North Korea - it is!
Introduced into service in 1973, the Type 73 was only used for about 10 years before being replaced by the Type 82, a near copy of the Soviet PKM. But Type 73 appeared in a number of countries in Africa and Asia. In particular, it was supplied to Iran during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. Today, it still continues to be used by a number of illegal military groups.
"Type 73" on the teachings of the North Korean army
That is why there has also recently been an increased interest in North Korean weapons. Moreover, experts note that the small arms of this country are of very good quality. That is, something, and the North Koreans have learned how to make weapons.
Its immediate predecessor: the Czech machine gun ZB vz. 52/57 powered by the store. What an unusual trigger he has. Also double, for two firing modes
Nevertheless, the North Korean machine gun "Type 73" can rightfully be attributed to the most obscure mass-produced samples of automatic weapons in the world. Most of the firearms of the pro-Soviet countries have ceased to be so secret after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but North Korean firearms are still shrouded in mystery. North Korean propaganda films occasionally featured blurry pictures of a Type 73 machine gun being carried by soldiers, but no details were given about it. He was also seen in photographs taken by South Korean or American soldiers in the border zone of the 37th parallel.
ZB vz. 52/57 with tape feed
By the way, one of the reasons for the low popularity of North Korean weapons is that they do not have ... printed manuals. Gunsmiths or mechanics must learn, so to speak, by eye and memorize everything, and if someone really wants to have some kind of manual that can be referred to, he will have to write it by hand, copying from the same manual from his immediate chief. These manuals are one of a kind and very difficult to obtain from North Korea.
Soldiers of the Czech army and a machine gun ZB vz. 52/57
Refugees who flee North Korea through China have interesting information, but there are some specific problems with it. Because of the rules of absolute secrecy that exist there, even people with military experience usually do not know what is happening in, say, another unit and even what it is armed with. In addition, even those who escape very often repeat typical North Korean propaganda.
For example, the South Koreans have already learned that if you believe all the stories of refugees from the North, it turns out that North Korea is the country with the strongest army in the world and with enough weapons to destroy the rest of the armies of the world. It would be reckless not to consider the North Korean armed forces and their special forces well-trained and representing a real regional force. And they also have excellent small arms for their units, and there is also a covert export of them abroad.
The right side of the receiver "Type 73". The similarity with the PKM receiver is obvious. The store, in turn, is very similar to the store of the English Vickers-Berthier machine gun in .303 caliber. The handle on the barrel for carrying and changing it and the tube under the barrel, on which the sleeve with the muzzle brake is attached, are clearly visible.
Under such conditions, it is very difficult to find reliable information about the Type 73 machine gun, so even the South Korean army has only one sample of it. Another was captured from insurgents in Iraq. The South Koreans do not disclose how they got it, but there is speculation that after a severe flood in the north, the corpse of a North Korean soldier with this Type 73 machine gun on his belt could be found south of the demilitarized zone.
But they still managed to study it. And it turned out that he has a number of interesting features. Firstly, the Type 73 is externally based on the design of the Russian PKM machine gun, which is not surprising; but it uses a dual ammo feed system and can either be loaded with a magazine from above or loaded with a metal belt fed from a box under the machine gun. And this is very strange, since it uses old Soviet high-power cartridges 7,62x54R, not 7,62x39. This means that it must use its own special 30-round magazine, and not the AK-47 magazine (in this case, it would be North Korean "Type 58" or 68 assault rifles). While the Type 73 can be used as a magazine-fed machine gun, its shooter cannot use the magazines of his fellow riflemen with submachine guns.
Left view of the Type 73 receiver. The cartridge case ejection hole cover and the cartridge ejection hole cover (lower part of the receiver) are visible, as well as the upper receiver cover hinge. Above him is a universal sight
With a weight of more than 10 kg and the use of a powerful rifle cartridge, with its quick-change barrel, the Type 73 is also technically close to the GPMG machine gun and, on the contrary, is far from the Russian RPD or MINIMI / M249. South Korean military intelligence suggests that the use of a larger rifle cartridge in this machine gun is considered a response to the American M60, which is used by the armed forces of the United States and South Korea in the conflict zone. The fact is that North Korean analysts have carefully studied the experience of the Vietnam War. But nevertheless, we can only guess about the reasons for creating just such a machine gun with a complex interchangeable feed system.
There he is - a machine gun of the DPRK army, designed on the principle of "two in one" - "Type 73". Photo: sadedefensejournal.com
It is clear that 100 rounds in a box for a PC or PKM have a solid weight, and a magazine for 30 rounds significantly reduces it. Be that as it may, analysts from the South Korean army believe that the shooter from this machine gun will first move with a 30-round magazine inserted in order to immediately open fire from it if necessary. But then he can already take a more comfortable position for shooting and put tape feed on the machine gun, which will allow him to fire for a long time. This point of view on the tactics of the use of this machine gun by the North Koreans is based on observations of North Korean machine gunners, who usually carry the "Type 73" with a magazine inserted on top.
A Syrian army fighter with a Type 73 machine gun at the front near Palmyra. The front of the barrel with the muzzle brake bushing installed. This sleeve is stored under the barrel. The bare barrel is used for firing grenades. Photo twitter.com/bm21_grad/status/708327954342912000
By the way, North Koreans generally love Czech weapons. So, the favorite weapon of the special services was and remains the Vz61 "Scorpion" with a silencer. The same CZ75 pistol was also copied by North Korea and is used as a regular officer's pistol. Rumor has it that the late Kim Jong Il, who was an avid collector of weapons, preferred Czech weapons, including a machine gun with a dual cartridge system, that is, the VZ52.
Marking on the cover of the receiver. Photo: sadedefensejournal.com
In any case, in 1982, a replacement was found for him - the Type 82 machine gun, in fact, a copy of the PKM, and today it is much more common in the North Korean army, while the Type 73 can be seen very rarely today. The "Type 82" has the same caliber 7,62x54R as its predecessor and is belt fed with a right hand side feed.
By the way, the first type of locally produced weapon in North Korea was the Type 49 submachine gun, manufactured in 1949. It was a licensed copy of the Soviet PPSh-41. The North Koreans used it with a 71-round drum rather than the Soviet Army's 35-round curved magazine. There is an assumption that the Great Leader Kim Il Sung considered the large-capacity drum to be very intimidating and therefore, even without taking into account its larger capacity, an important tactical advantage. The Type 49 was the main submachine gun of the North Korean army and featured on monuments so often that it has essentially become a symbol of the "communist invaders" in South Korea, just as the MP40 became a symbol of Nazi Germany due to its use in the German army.
Well, there are no weapons on this monument, opened in Pyongyang in 2012. But it's notable for being the latest of North Korea's giant monuments.
It depicts Kim Jong Il and his father Kim Il Sung on horseback. Although its height is a little less than six meters, it still lacks the grandiosity so beloved by the North Koreans, but it does not take away the bravura from it. What will become of these massive monuments remains to be seen. Perhaps if something ever changes in North Korea, it will be unceremoniously demolished, and we know such examples well. But for now, they remain - for better or worse - evidence of the same cult of one person that continues to control more than twenty million people, so far the Koreans have not yet been ill with it.
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