Degtyaryov’s infantry machine gun, aka. DP / DP-27 / DPM (modernized), with its large pan magazine, is one of the most distinctive weapons of WWII.

DP light machine gun. Photo © Polish Ministry of National Defense

The pan magazine proved not to be the best idea and after the war the Soviets developed the RP-46, an ingenious device that converted the gun from magazine fed to belt fed.

Because the RP-46 is a collectable item in the US, and expensive, the crew at Forgotten Weapons have embarked on a project to reverse engineer and manufacture the device for sale. In the video below they explain how the RP-46 works and how they are going about cloning it.