| Ręczny karabin maszynowy wz. 28 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Automatic rifle Light machine gun |
| Place of origin | Poland |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1930 – 1945 |
| Used by | See§ Users |
| Wars | Spanish Civil War World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designer | FN Herstal |
| Designed | 1928 |
| Manufacturer | Państwowa Fabryka Karabinów |
| Produced | 1930 – 1939 |
| No. built | ~14,000 |
| Variants | Klo wz.37 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 9.0 kg (19.84 lb) (empty) |
| Length | 1,110 mm (43.7 in) |
| Barrel length | 611 mm (24.06 in) |
| Cartridge | 7.92×57mm Mauser |
| Caliber | 7.92 mm |
| Action | Gas-operated |
| Rate of fire | 600 Rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 853 m/s (2,800 ft/s) |
| Effective firing range | 600 m (660 yd) |
| Feed system | 20-round detachable box magazine |
| Sights | Rear leaf, front post Sight radius: 742 mm (29.2 in) |
TheRkm wz. 28 (orBrowning wz. 28) is a Polish derivative of theM1918 Browning Automatic Rifle. It was used as alight machine gun by the Polish Military and Polish Resistance forces duringWorld War II.
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Chosen after a competition between similar weapons, the BAR design was modified byFN Herstal to meet Polish requirements and then licence-produced by thePaństwowa Fabryka Karabinów.
After Poland regained its independence in 1918, thePolish Army was equipped with all sorts of machine guns inherited from the armed forces of thepartitioners, along with equipment from the French and British armies that equipped the PolishBlue Army during theWorld War I. The large variety of light machine guns used, as well as the fact that each of them used a different caliber, made troop training and logistics a difficult task.
After thePolish-Soviet War, in 1923 a competition was opened for a new, standard light machine gun for the Polish army that was to replace all previously used types of LMG. The competition ended without a winner and the following year the Polish Ministry of War purchased 12 specimens of theM1918 Browning Automatic Rifle,Lewis gun ("Lewis wz. 1923") andHotchkiss M1909 Benét–Mercié each. Testing proved the superiority of the American construction, and during the 1925 competition, a BelgianFN-made Browning was chosen. Although extensive tests were continued, the Polish army ordered a series of Belgian-made BAR machine guns, modified to better suit the Polish needs. The modifications included changing the round from.30-06 Springfield to standard Polish7.92×57mm Mauser),[1] the construction of a bipod and mounting, and theiron sights (peephole changed to v-notch type). The barrel was lengthened for greater accuracy and a pistol grip was added for easier aiming. Apart from the 10,000 pieces ordered fromFabrique Nationale, Poland also bought a license to produce the weapon domestically.[2] The first wz.28 LMGs were officially commissioned in 1927 and were officially designated7,92 mm rkm Browning wz. 1928, which is Polish for "7.92 mm hand-held machine gun of Browning pattern 1928".
Due to serious flaws in license documentation purchased from Belgium, production in Poland was not started until 1930. Until 1939 approximately 14,000 pieces were built. Additional modifications were introduced during the production run. Among them was the replacement of the iron sights with a smaller version and reshaping the butt to a "fish tail" shape. There were also extensive works on spare, replaceable barrels for the weapon, which however were never completed due to the outbreak of World War II. The rkm wz. 28 was a basis for development of an aerial, flexible machine gun, designatedkarabin maszynowy obserwatora wz. 37, used mainly on thePZL.37 Łoś bombers.
During the German-SovietInvasion of Poland of 1939, therkm wz. 28 was the standard LMG used by almost all Polish infantry and cavalry units. TheGerman armed forces captured a number of Polish-made Browning guns and used them until the end of World War II under the designation ofl.MG 154/1(p) andl.MG 154/2(p) (orlMG 28 (p)).[2] A number were also seized by theRed Army and used during the war.[2]
Republic of China — Supplied in small quantities by the Soviet Union in 1940
Kingdom of Greece
Germany — Captured in 1939
Poland
Soviet Union — Captured in 1939
Spanish Republic —Bought for Spanish Civil War
Spanish State — Captured from Republican side