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Old 01-14-2015, 05:45 PM
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StainlessSteelCynic StainlessSteelCynic is offline
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Location: Western Australia
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Short answer: pintle mounts are not universal (even within an organization like NATO, for example the Lafette cradle for the MG42/MG1/MG3 series is not suitable for any other machinegun except maybe the Swiss MG51 - which is based on the MG42 so no surprise there - and even then, MG42 Lafettes need to be modified somewhat to accept MG3's).

Long answer:
As far as I know, Soviet weapons will not fit onto Western pintle cradles but adaptors could be made to fit a Soviet cradle onto a Western pintle mount and the reverse is also true (Western weapons will not fit into Soviet cradles but you could make a cradle to fit Soviet mounts). Generally, the various weapons have different attachment points for mounting them to a cradle and that often requires a mounting system unique to the weapon.

Some systems are adaptable, either by modifying the cradle or the weapon somewhat. For example, the Australian Army used the British tripod for the L7 MG (I think the tripod is the L13 or the L7?) for mounting the M60 MG by slightly modifying one or the other (I can't recall the specifics).

For some clarity,
When I say cradle, it refers to the device that holds the weapon to the mount.
When I say mount, it refers to the section that attaches to the cradle and holds it on to the tripod or pintle.
The cradle can typically be removed from a tripod for storage and ease of travel but the mount can also be removed from some tripods. In some cases, the cradle attaches directly to the tripod or pintle and does not require a specific mounting piece.

I've read some anecdotal stories of .55 Boys Rifles being mounted on tripods for the Vickers Gun by some enterprising troops so I pretty much agree with CavTroop, I think it would be fairly easy for any mechanically minded person to fabricate a cradle that would suit a particular mount.

To go further with what Raellus said about Copeab's comment, yes the PK series, the AEK-999 and the PKP Pecheneg MGs all load from the right-hand side which would make it a bit more difficult to adapt a cradle designed for a left-side loading weapon to accept the Soviet weapon - probably easier to fabricate a cradle to allow it.
There are some Western cradles that are designed for specific MGs to allow loading from the right-hand side but these are rare and are typically used for vehicles mounting twin MGs (e.g. the British SASR sometimes use twin mounted L7 MGs on there vehicles, with left-hand and right-hand loading L7's)
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