Experimental Simonov RPS-3 light machine gun (USSR. 1943)
The competition for a light machine gun chambered for 7.62x54R, announced in 1942, was attended by, among others, the famous designer S.G. Simonov. The machine gun he presented apparently had the simplest and most reliable design, which was proven by the test results
The experimental Simonov machine gun had a gas engine for automatics with the gas outlet and gas chamber located on top of the barrel, the barrel bore was locked by tilting the bolt downwards, and the feed was from a 20-round box magazine attached from below. The return spring was placed in the receiver cover, which made it possible to make the butt folding and reduce the size of the machine gun. The best results during the tests at NIPSVO were shown by the experimental Simonov RPS machine gun, but it, like other presented samples, received a list of comments on revision. In the spring of 1943, the Izhevsk plant received an order to produce an experimental batch of 50 RPS machine guns. Their assembly and debugging at the plant were carried out by fitters and assemblers A.I. Lobanov and P.A. Melichikhin. However, as a result, the competition did not produce an acceptable sample. It was not possible to produce a reliably functioning light machine gun for a rifle cartridge with such weight restrictions
