Zastava M72
Encyclopedia
The Zastava M72 is a 7.62mm light machine gun
Light machine gun
A light machine gun is a machine gun designed to be employed by an individual soldier, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. Light machine guns are often used as squad automatic weapons.-Characteristics:...

 developed and manufactured by Zastava Arms
Zastava Arms
Zastava Arms is a Serbian manufacturer of firearms and artillery. It was founded in 1853 when it cast its first cannons. It is currently the leading producer of firearms in Serbia and is a large contributor to the local defence industry...

 of Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

, (part of the former Yugoslavia). The M72 is based on the RPK
RPK
The RPK is a 7.62x39mm light machine gun of Soviet design, developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the late 1950s, parallel with the AKM assault/battle rifle...

 rifle from the USSR.

Overview

The Zastava M72 chambers and fires the 7.62x39mm M43 round. It is a gas-operated, air-cooled, drum-fed firearm with a fixed stock.

This weapon is a near copy of the Soviet RPK light machine gun. There are a few differences on the M72/M72A. It does not have a scope side rail mount, the butt is also different, having the shape of a regular AK-47 rifle. It has a reinforced receiver, night sights and no carrying handle. The barrel is not chrome-lined, which makes it more accurate than the Soviet version at a cost of reliability.

Variants

In serial production, Zastava Arms
Zastava Arms
Zastava Arms is a Serbian manufacturer of firearms and artillery. It was founded in 1853 when it cast its first cannons. It is currently the leading producer of firearms in Serbia and is a large contributor to the local defence industry...

produces two variants of the weapon – the M72 and M72A. Many variants have been made in Iraq under the name of 'Tabuk', which are direct copies of the M70A and the M72 AK47s. Century Arms International assembles semi-automatic (self-loading) only, rifles for American collectors and sportsmen, using American-made receivers, surplus M72 parts kits and several small US made parts to comply with import restrictions.

Design details

The Zastava M72/M72A is a gas-operated, air-cooled, drum-fed, selective fire, shoulder-fired weapon with a bipod. It is a squad automatic weapon, like the Soviet RPK but has unique design features.
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