How good would the Simonov SKS have been in WWII

[Clay_Allison]

On a subject similar to the ongoing Stg-44 discussions we've had, I started thinking about the venerable SKS, a gun I've often dismissed as a "redneck rifle" because of its low cost and popularity with less than skilled/experienced shooters.

It occurred to me though, that had Simonov invented the cheap, durable carbine in the late 30s rather than the late 40s the light weight, 10 round capacity, semi-auto fire, and reliability of the SKS would have complimented the Mosin-Nagant and provided a real force multiplier for the Soviet Army.

I'm wondering what others think about how well it would have performed, especially against the Stg-44.

 

[tomo pauk]

SKS was in ex-Yugoslav army regarded as a more accurate rifle then AK-47. While being a light weight (it utilized the same round as AK), it had bayonette rifle-grenade attachment. It was not prone to jams either.

I'd venture to say it bests the WW2 semi-autos easily, but it's 5-10 years younger OTOH. When compared with StG-44, it lacks the suppressive fire ability, so the LMGs would be still needed to do that. Not a real disadvantage though.