Thanks to the huge legacy left by the Soviet Union, Russia has a strong military strength as soon as it becomes independent, but this legacy is obviously too much, so much that Russia can’t bear it, so it had to give up A batch of weapons and equipment were dropped, some were sealed up, some were abandoned, and some were collected by military museums and became town hall items in the exhibition hall.
The picture is a corner of the Russian Military History Museum. Two light machine guns are displayed in the showcase. The basic model RPK-74 with wooden butt and handguard magazine is the basic model RPK-74, while the black polymer one is RPK-74M , And the weight is lighter, and a special sight is installed.
This huge black sight is called 1PN51. This is the second generation of the Soviet army's low-light image enhanced night vision sight. It can be used with AK-74 rifles, VSS sniper rifles, and RPK- 74 light machine guns and other weapons are used together. It was born in the early 1980s and has a history of 40 years.
As we all know, the United States and the Soviet Union launched a fierce arms race during the Cold War, and the 1PN51 night vision scope is the product of this background. It is the world’s first sight with ultra-era photocathode. The interior design and materials are very advanced, which can be called an epoch-making product 40 years ago.
1PN51's imaging results in day and night environments can develop its imaging at night to be very clear, which is very helpful for soldiers to aim.
In addition to clear imaging, 1PN51 also has a feature of light weight, regardless of its size, but because of the use of magnesium alloy and other materials, the weight of 1PN51 is only 1.4 kg. On the rifle, it will not affect the balance of the firearm too much.
But 1PN51 also has shortcomings. First of all, its design is too epoch-making. Although advanced, the Soviet Union has not developed supporting equipment, so its performance is not stable, and imaging failures occasionally occur. problem. It was not until later that the Soviet Army introduced 1PN58 that related issues were properly resolved.
Perhaps today, the 1PN51 night vision scope is not outstanding, but 40 years ago, this was definitely a Soviet black technology, and even the United States could not take the performance and Its comparable equipment.
1PN51 The right side of the night vision scope is very smooth, because most soldiers are right-handed, their right hand needs to control the grip, and only the left hand can adjust the details. The Soviet designers placed all the adjustment buttons and control valves on the left.
1PN51 night vision scope is very low in output. After all, its cost is too expensive, even the Soviet Union can’t achieve one per capita. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, a large number of weapons and equipment flowed into the private sector. It is even more difficult to find a 1PN51 night vision scope. It is only because museums or private collectors spend big money to compete.
