The SG-43 Goryunov is a Soviet medium machine gun that was designed by P.M. Goryunov and introduced during the Great Patriotic War. It fires the 7.62×54mmR cartridge from a belt feed system and has a rate of fire of 500-700 rounds per minute. The SG-43 uses a gas-operated action with a tilting breechblock that locks into the side of the receiver, its barrel is air-cooled and chromium-plated, and can be easily changed by releasing a simple lock. This machinegun is usually mounted on a wheeled mount with a shield, a tripod, or an armoured vehicle. It is a reliable and effective weapon that served as the standard medium machine gun of the Soviet forces until it was replaced by the PK Machinegun in the 1960s.