Machine gun DP-27 (Degtyarev Infantry model 1927, GAU index - 56-R-32), often appears in foreign sources as DP-28 became the first domestic mass-produced light machine gun. The birthday of the first experimental batch can be called November 12, 1927, when the first 10 DP machine guns appeared at the Kovrov plant. On December 21, 1927, after a successful presentation and field tests, it was adopted by the Red Army.
Chief Engineer DP was Vasily Alekseevich Degtyarev, who subsequently created the DShK-12.7 mm heavy machine gun, the PTRD-14.5 mm anti-tank rifle, the RPD and RP-46 machine gun, and the PPD submachine gun. The Soviet Union did not have its own light machine guns, but the results of the First World War showed the effectiveness and their significance using the example of the English Lewis machine gun and the French Chauchet. Also, the number of these machine guns in the Red Army army was small, and the resource of these weapons was running out, and it was the task of the state to have its own factories for the production of weapons. The first attempt to create our own light machine gun was to convert a water-cooled Maxim machine gun into an air-cooled machine gun. The first Maxim-Tokarev MT, converted in 1925, had a protective cover on the barrel, but turned out to be very heavy.
V.A. Degtyarev first attempted to create his own machine gun at the end of 1923. It is worth noting that Degtyarev 100% created the design of his own machine gun, and did not copy it from other machine guns. The machine gun had automatic gas venting from the bottom of the barrel and locking of the cartridge using two lugs, which were moved to the sides when the firing pin struck the cartridge primer. For machine gun DT-27 a disk magazine with 49 rounds of ammunition was borrowed from the Fedorov-Shpagin aircraft machine gun; later the disk was modified to hold 47 rounds in order to extend the life of the spring. On July 22, 1924, Degtyarev first showed the military commission his first experimental machine gun, but a broken firing pin during demonstration shooting failed Degtyarev. The next attempt to show his machine gun was Degtyarev in September 1926, where the machine gun attracted attention, but still had shortcomings in workmanship. Throughout this time, its main competitors were the German machine gun Dreyse and Maxim-Tokarev. After finalizing the machine gun, on January 17-21, 1927, tests were carried out at the Kovrov plant under the supervision of the Art Committee of the Artillery Directorate of the Red Army, and on February 20, the commission approved the machine gun as having passed the tests. On March 26, I prepared drawings for the production of Degtyarev infantry. The plant received an order for 100 machine guns for further testing. After field shooting, instructions were given to add a flame extinguisher to the design and change the gas chamber pipe. The design of the new machine gun received a good assessment and even before its official adoption by the People's Commissariat, it began to enter the army. At the end of 1928, it was decided to curtail the production of the Maxim-Tokarev MT machine gun.
DT machine gun had an automatic gas outlet with a pipe that regulated the amount of exhaust gases, which made it possible to choose the optimal mode so that the shutter would reach a full cycle during contamination or the use of more powerful cartridges in order to avoid strong shocks to the shutter. The exhaust gases from the bottom of the barrel pushed a long piston-rod, which reloaded. A return spring was put on the rod. The combat-age spring placed on the rod had a drawback, since when it overheated, the spring lost its properties and reduced the rate of fire. This shortcoming was later corrected in the modernized machine gun. DPM. Pictures of automatic machine gun operation
The cartridge was locked with the help of lugs, which moved in different directions and locked the cartridge in the barrel; the lugs diverged to the sides when the firing pin passed between them. After the shot, the cartridge case was thrown down.
Machine gun barrel DP-27 had 6 grooves and was located in the receiver, which provided protection for the shooter from burns during shooting. Until 1938, the barrel had 26 transverse ribs on top to increase the cooling rate, but practice has shown that this is not very effective; these vertical ribs can be seen on the tank and aviation versions of the Degtyarev machine gun. The machine gun was automatic, which allowed it to fire only in bursts. The machine gun has an automatic safety lock on the neck of the butt - firing is possible after grasping it. Removable bipods were placed on the casing.
The 47-round disc was used from the Fedorov-Shpagin machine gun, which was not accepted for service. The design of the disk for that time was very successful, since the 7.62 cartridges had rims and each cartridge in the disk fit into its own separate place and did not cling with the edge of the bottom to another cartridge, as happened in carob magazines. Also, with the help of its front sight, the disk informed the fighter approximately how many cartridges were left in the disk. If necessary, the magazine could be disassembled and cleaned of dirt. Discs were carried in steel boxes or fabric bags; the box was designed for 3 discs. The disadvantage of discs is their weight and size, but given the fact that in the “yard” of the 1920s you can turn a blind eye to this. To speed up the recharging of disks, a Barkov device was created, which was not widespread in the army.
The machine gun was equipped with a sector sight for 1500 meters with 15 divisions, 100 meters each. The front sight at the end of the barrel was protected by side lugs
Butt Degtyarev machine gun made of wood, which contained an oil can and spare parts for maintaining the machine gun.
The machine gun showed good accuracy when firing. So, in short bursts of 4-6 rounds of bullets, the bullets fell within a radius of 17 cm at a distance of 100 meters, at 200 meters at a radius of 35 cm, at 500 meters at a radius of 850 cm, at 1000 meters at a radius of 160 cm. Accuracy increased with smaller bursts .
The production of Degtyarev machine guns was carried out by the Kovrov Arms Plant (State Union Plant named after K.O. Kirkizh, Plant No. 2 of the People's Commissariat of Arms, since 1949 - Plant named after V.A. Degtyarev). So in 192-1929, 6,600 machine guns were manufactured (500 tank, 2,000 aviation and 4,000 infantry). After testing 13 machine guns for survivability in March-April 1930, Fedorov concluded that the resource DP-27 is 75,000-100,000 shots, and the firing pins and ejectors have a lifespan of 25,000-30,000 shots. By the beginning of 1941 there were 39,000 in the army Degtyarev machine guns various modifications. Also DP was produced at the Arsenal plant in besieged Leningrad. In 1941, 45,300 DP machine guns were put into service, in 1942-172 00, in 1943-250,000, in 1944-179,700. On May 9, there were 390,000 in the troops Degtyarev machine guns, 427,500 machine guns were believed to be lost during the fighting.
On October 14, 1944, the DP was replaced by a modernized version of the DPM machine gun, as well as a modernized tank version of the DTM. On January 1, 1945, the production of DP and DT was stopped. The combat return spring was modernized and moved from the half-barrel, where it was subject to overheating and lost its properties, to the rear of the receiver. The buttstock was replaced with a simpler shape, and along with it a pistol grip appeared on the machine gun. The fuse was automatically replaced with a flag fuse on the right side. The barrel is more quickly detachable in combat conditions. The bipods became non-removable, which reduced the risk of losing them on the march or during battle.
Modification of the modernized DP-27
In 1944, a modernized version of the machine gun was born. DP under the symbol GAU-56-R-321M. The new machine gun received a reduction DPM (Degtyarev Infantry Modernized). A type of modernization included a combat-return spring, which began to be placed in the trigger frame and partially protruded above the butt. The location of the return spring solved the problem with the loss of its properties due to overheating by the barrel. A pistol grip was also installed, and instead of an automatic safety, a flag safety was installed. The bipods on the modernized machine gun were not removable, which ensured better stability during shooting and their loss during operation. Also, quick replacement of the barrel during combat has become convenient. The stock was replaced with a more familiar and comfortable one. Despite all the modernization, the tactical and technical characteristics have not changed.
And its modifications became the most popular machine guns for the USSR Armed Forces for several decades. The machine gun received its first baptism of fire during the conflict on the Chinese Eastern Railway, where it immediately showed itself on the good side and which served to increase its production. Also, before the start of the Second World War, the machine gun fought in Spain and took part in the Winter War against the Finns. The Finns received approximately 3,000 DP and 150 DT; by the end of WWII, there were about 9,000 DP in service with the Finnish army, where it remained in service until the 1960s under the designation 762 PK D (7.62 pk/ven.) and DT - 762 PK D PSV (7.62 pk/ven. psv.). During the Second World War, the DP machine gun crew had two people; sometimes the crews were supplemented by two more soldiers to carry cartridges. The DP had good fire efficiency from a machine gun already at 600 meters, and it was possible to open fire on the enemy at 800 meters, the rate of fire during the battle was 80 rounds per minute, long bursts of fire were carried out in exceptional cases, as a rule, shooting was carried out in short bursts of 2-3 cartridge.
The machine gun turned out to be very reliable, which confirms that in addition to the Finns, it was used by the Germans under the designation “7.62mm leichte Maschinengewehr 120(r).” During the Second World War it was in service with the Romanian and Bulgarian armies. Even today you can often find it in the news.
On the basis of the DP-27 machine gun, the DShK, RP-46, and RPD machine guns were born. Of which the DShK still consists and continues to be produced in many countries around the world, and the RPD can often be seen in the hands of militants.
| Number of shots | 47 rounds 2.85 kg |
| Barrel diameter | 7.62x54mm sample 1908-1930 |
| Combat rate of fire | 80 rounds per minute |
| Maximum rate of fire | 600 rounds per minute |
| Sighting range | 1000 meters |
| Maximum firing range | 3000 meters |
| Effective shooting | 600 meters |
| Initial departure speed | 840 m/s |
| Automation | gas outlet |
| Weight | 8.5 kg - empty, 11.5 kg with disc and bag |
| Dimensions | 1272 mm |
The DP (Degtyarev, infantry) light machine gun was adopted by the Red Army in 1927 and became one of the first models created from scratch in the young Soviet state. The machine gun turned out to be quite successful and reliable, and was widely used as the main weapon of fire support for infantry of a platoon-company link until the end of the Great Patriotic War. At the end of the war, the DP machine gun and its modernized version, the DPM, created based on the experience of combat operations in 1943–44, were removed from the arsenal of the Soviet Army, and were widely supplied to countries and regimes “friendly” to the USSR, having been noted in the wars in Korea, Vietnam and others.
Based on the experience gained in World War II, it became clear that the infantry needed single machine guns that combined increased firepower with high mobility. As an ersatz substitute for a single machine gun in a company link, based on earlier developments in 1946, the RP-46 light machine gun was created and put into service, which was a modification of the DPM for belt feeding, which, coupled with a weighted barrel, provided greater firepower while maintaining acceptable maneuverability. However, the RP-46 never became a single machine gun, being used only with a bipod, and from the mid-1960s it was gradually replaced from the SA infantry weapons system by the new, more modern Kalashnikov single machine gun - the PK. Like previous models, the RP-46 was widely exported and was also produced abroad, including in China, under the designation Type 58.
The DP light machine gun is an automatic weapon with automation based on the removal of powder gases and magazine feed. The gas engine has a long stroke piston and gas regulator located under the barrel. The barrel itself is quick-change, partially hidden by a protective casing and equipped with a conical removable flash suppressor. The barrel is locked by two lugs, moved to the sides when the firing pin moves forward. Once the bolt is in the forward position, a protrusion on the bolt carrier strikes the rear of the firing pin and begins to propel it forward. At the same time, the widened middle part of the firing pin, acting from the inside on the rear parts of the lugs, moves them apart into the grooves of the receiver, rigidly locking the bolt. After the shot, the bolt frame begins to move backward under the action of the gas pierce. In this case, the firing pin is pulled back, and special bevels bring the lugs together, disengaging them from the receiver and unlocking the bolt. The return spring was located under the barrel and, under intense fire, overheated and lost its elasticity, which was one of the few disadvantages of the DP machine gun.
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Modernized version - DPM |
The food was supplied from flat disk magazines - “plates”, in which the cartridges were located in one layer, with bullets towards the center of the disk. This design ensured reliable supply of cartridges with a protruding rim, but also had significant drawbacks: large dead weight of the magazine, inconvenience in transportation and the tendency of magazines to be damaged in combat conditions. The machine gun's trigger allowed only automatic fire. There was no conventional safety; instead, an automatic safety was located on the handle, which turned off when the hand covered the neck of the butt. The fire was fired from fixed folding bipods.
Based on the experience of the first half of the Patriotic War, the DP was modernized and since 1944 it has been put into service as a DPM. The main differences of the DPM were the return spring moved to the rear of the receiver, a pistol grip fire control, a conventional non-automatic safety and a more durable bipod with a modified attachment to the barrel casing. The DPM machine gun was used until the end of the war, but its disc magazines had too many shortcomings, and therefore it was replaced by a combination of a squad-level light machine gun and a platoon RPD chambered for the new intermediate cartridge 7.62x39 mm and a company machine gun RP-46 chambered for the 7 rifle cartridge ,62x54 mm R.
The RP-46 machine gun largely follows the design of the DPM, differing from it in a heavier, more massive barrel, a modified design of the gas regulator and an added carrying handle. The main difference was the addition of a tape power unit to the design. In order not to make significant changes to the proven design of the PSD, the tape power unit was made in the form of a separate module installed in place of the disk magazine. In this case, this module can be removed and the RP-46 could be used with disk magazines from DP/DPM. The drive of the tape feed unit was carried out through a loading handle rigidly connected to the bolt frame, located on the right. A special bracket was located on the tape feed unit, which was placed on the charging handle, and when it moved during shooting, it moved along with the handle. The RP-46 tape-receiving and tape-output openings were closed with spring-loaded covers to protect against dust and dirt; spent cartridges were removed, as with the DP/DPM, downwards, through a window in the bolt frame and receiver.
The next prototype was presented by Degtyarev in the fall of 1926 and, after modification, was tested by the commission of the Art Committee of the Artillery Directorate of the Red Army at the Kovrov plant on January 17-21, 1927. The machine gun was declared to have “passed the test.” Without waiting for the results of the improvements, it was decided to issue an order for one hundred machine guns.
The first ten production machine guns DP were manufactured at Kovrov plant On November 12, 1927, then a batch of 100 machine guns was transferred to military tests, as a result of which on December 21, 1927, the machine gun was adopted by the Red Army.
The production of machine guns of the DP series was supplied and carried out by the Kovrov plant (since 1949 - Plant named after V.A. Degtyareva). The DP was distinguished by its ease of manufacture - its production required two times less pattern measurements and transitions than for a revolver, and three times less than for a rifle. The number of technological operations was four times less than for the Maxim machine gun mod. 1910/30 and three times less than for MT.
In 1944, under the leadership of Degtyarev, plant No. 2 Work was carried out to improve the DP machine gun, namely to increase the reliability and controllability of the machine gun. The new modification received the designation DPM(“Degtyarev infantry modernized”, GAU index - 56-R-321M). In general, all combat, tactical and technical characteristics remained the same.
Machine gun "Degtyarev infantry modernized" The main differences between DP and DPM:
- The return spring from under the barrel, where it heated up and settled, was moved to the rear part of the receiver (they tried to move the spring back in 1931, this can be seen in the experimental Degtyarev machine gun presented at that time). To install the spring, a tubular rod was put on the tail of the striker, and a guide tube was inserted into the buttplate, which protruded above the neck of the butt. In this regard, the coupling was eliminated, and the rod was manufactured as a single part with the piston. In addition, the order of disassembly has changed - now it begins with the guide tube and the return spring. The same changes were made to the Degtyarev tank machine gun (DTM). This made it possible to disassemble the machine gun and eliminate minor faults without removing it from the ball mount;
- simplified the shape of the butt;
- they installed a pistol grip control in the form of a slope, which was welded to the trigger guard, and two wooden cheeks attached to it with screws;
- on the light machine gun, instead of an automatic fuse, a non-automatic safety lever was introduced, similar to the Degtyarev tank machine gun - the beveled axis of the fuse pin was located under the trigger lever. Locking occurred with the flag in the forward position. This fuse was more reliable, as it acted on the sear, which made it safer to carry a loaded machine gun;
- The leaf spring in the ejection mechanism was replaced with a cylindrical screw one. The ejector was installed in the bolt socket, and a pin was used to hold it, which also served as its axis;
- the folding bipod was made integral, and the mounting hinges were moved slightly back and higher relative to the axis of the barrel bore. On the top of the casing, a clamp was installed from two welded plates, which formed eyes for attaching the bipod legs using screws. The bipods have become stronger. To replace their barrel, it was not necessary to separate them.
Design and operating principle
The DP light machine gun is an automatic weapon based on the removal of powder gases and magazine feed. The gas engine has a long stroke piston and gas regulator located under the barrel.
The barrel itself is quick-change, partially hidden by a protective casing and equipped with a conical removable flash suppressor. The barrel sometimes could not withstand intense fire: since it was thin-walled, it quickly heated up (especially on later releases, in which, for simplicity, the barrel was made without a ribbed radiator), and in order not to disable the machine gun, it was necessary to fire in short bursts (combat machine gun rate of fire - up to 80 rounds per minute). Changing the barrel directly during combat was difficult: it required a special key to remove its lock and protect your hands from burns.
The barrel was locked by two lugs, moved to the sides as the firing pin moved forward. After the bolt comes to the forward position, the bolt frame continues to move, while the widened middle part of the firing pin connected to it, acting from the inside on the rear parts of the lugs, moves them apart into the grooves of the receiver, rigidly locking the bolt. After the shot, the bolt frame begins to move backward under the action of the gas piston. In this case, the firing pin is pulled back, and special bevels of the frame bring the lugs together, disengaging them from the receiver and unlocking the bolt. The return spring was located under the barrel and, under intense fire, overheated, losing elasticity, which was one of the relatively few but significant disadvantages of the DP machine gun. In addition, the lugs required precise adjustment to achieve symmetrical locking (which did not pose a significant drawback in practice).
DP light machine gun diagram. Moving parts in forward position; 1 – barrel, 2 – disk magazine, 3 – receiver, 4 – butt, 5 – trigger, 6 – firing pin, 7 – bolt, 8 – recoil spring, 9 – gas regulator
The food was supplied from flat disk magazines - “plates”, in which the cartridges were located in a circle, with bullets towards the center of the disk. This design ensured reliable supply of cartridges with a protruding rim, but also had significant disadvantages: large dimensions and weight of an empty magazine, inconvenience in transportation and loading, as well as the possibility of damage to the magazine in combat conditions due to its tendency to deform. The magazine capacity was initially 49 rounds; later 47-round cartridges with increased reliability were introduced. The machine gun was equipped with three magazines with a metal box for carrying them.
It should be noted that, although the DP magazine externally resembles a Lewis machine gun magazine, in fact it is a completely different design in terms of its operating principle; for example, in the Lewis, the cartridge disk rotates due to the bolt energy transmitted to it by a complex system of levers, and in the DP, due to a pre-cocked spring in the magazine itself.
The machine gun's trigger allowed only automatic fire from an open bolt. It was made in the form of a removable module attached to the box with a transverse pin. There was no conventional safety; instead, there was an automatic safety in the form of a button, which was turned off when the hand covered the neck of the butt. When conducting intense fire, the need to constantly hold the safety button pressed tired the shooter, and the rifle-type stock did not contribute to a strong hold of the weapon when firing in bursts. The design of the trigger block of the DT tank machine gun, which had a conventional safety and a pistol grip, turned out to be more successful. The modernized version of the machine gun - the DPM - received a USM block similar to the DT, and a non-automatic fuse, in addition to the native automatic one, was introduced into the design of the Finnish DP during their overhaul.
Red Army soldiers near a dugout in Stalingrad are busy cleaning weapons, PPSh-41 submachine guns and a DP-27 machine gun Fire from the DP was carried out from removable bipods, which in the heat of battle were sometimes lost due to poor fastening or became loose, which, in turn, significantly impaired the ease of use of the machine gun. Therefore, non-removable bipods were introduced at the CSA. The spent cartridges were ejected downward.
In July 1942, a gunshot silencer was tested SG-42(“Special silencer model 1942”) designed by OKB-2, intended for firing from a DP machine gun with cartridges with a reduced charge. The device was built on the same principle as the Bramit, and showed satisfactory suppression of the sound of a shot. At the end of 1942, the SG-42 was submitted for testing with the internal diameter of the channel reduced from 16 to 14.5 mm, and it was adopted for service. Post-war tests of these mufflers in February-March 1948 showed the inexpediency of their further operation, since they did not provide the required failure-free operation of the DP and DPM and for this reason were subject to disposal.
Combat use
In rifle units, the Degtyarev infantry machine gun was introduced into the rifle platoon and squad, and in the cavalry - into saber squads. In both cases, a light machine gun along with a rifle grenade launcher were the main support weapons. During exercises and combat operations, the machine gun was serviced by two people: the shooter and his assistant, who carried a box with 3 disks. Also, when shooting from a prone position, a long ribbon was tied to the machine gun at both ends, and the fighter, pulling it with his foot, pressed the butt harder to his shoulder. Thus, the vibrations of the machine gun were reduced and the shooting accuracy increased. The DT machine gun was installed on motorcycles M-72. The design of the attachment of the machine gun to the sidecar made it possible to fire even at airplanes. However, this method of fighting aircraft was not very convenient: to shoot, it was necessary to stop, then the fighter got out of the wheelchair and fired at air targets from a “sitting” position. After the adoption of the DP machine gun, the British Lewis machine guns of the 1915 model, which had previously been in service with the Red Army, gradually went into storage.
Soviet machine gun crew at a firing position among the ruins of Stalingrad The DP machine gun quickly gained popularity, as it successfully combined firepower and maneuverability.
However, along with its advantages, the machine gun also had some disadvantages that appeared during operation. First of all, this concerned the inconvenience of operation and the peculiarities of the disk magazine equipment. Quick replacement of an overheated barrel was complicated by the lack of a handle on it, as well as the need to separate the flash suppressor and bipod. The replacement, even under favorable conditions, took about 30 seconds for a trained crew. An open gas chamber located under the barrel prevented the accumulation of soot in the gas outlet assembly, but together with the open bolt frame, it increased the likelihood of dust on sandy soils. Clogging of the gas piston socket and screwing of its head caused the moving part to not move to the front extreme position. However, the machine gun demonstrated fairly high reliability. The fastening of swivels and bipods was unreliable and created additional clinging parts that reduced the ease of carrying. Working with the gas regulator was also inconvenient - to rearrange it, the cotter pin was removed, the nut was unscrewed, the regulator was pushed back, turned and secured again. It was possible to fire while moving only using a belt, and the lack of a fore-end and a large magazine made such shooting inconvenient. The machine gunner put a belt around his neck in the form of a loop, attached it in front of the magazine to the cutout of the casing with a swivel, and to hold the machine gun by the casing, a mitten was needed.
Video
DP light machine gun:
D/f "Weapon of Victory" - DP light machine gunDP (Degtyarev infantry, GAU index - 56-R-321) - light machine gun developed by V. A. Degtyarev. The first ten serial DP machine guns were manufactured at the Kovrov plant on November 12, 1927, then a batch of 100 machine guns was transferred for military testing, as a result of which on December 21, 1927 the machine gun was adopted by the Red Army.
DP-27 machine gun - video
One of the most pressing problems of infantry armament that arose during the First World War was the availability of a light machine gun, capable of operating in infantry combat formations in all types of combat and under any conditions, providing direct fire support to the infantry. During the war, Russia acquired light machine guns (“machine guns”) from other states. However, the French Chauchat machine guns, as well as the English Lewis ones, which had a more successful design, were worn out by the mid-1920s, the systems of these machine guns were outdated, and there was also a catastrophic shortage of spare parts. The production of the Madsen machine gun (Denmark) under the Russian cartridge, planned for 1918, at the plant established in Kovrov did not take place.
In the early 20s, the issue of developing a light machine gun was raised as a priority in the Red Army's weapons system - according to generally accepted views, it was this machine gun that made it possible to solve the problem of combining movement and fire at the level of small units in new conditions. The machine gun became the basis for the new “group tactics” of the infantry. In 22, “exemplary” (“show”) companies were formed whose main task was to cultivate group tactics, as well as to saturate the infantry with automatic weapons, which were sorely lacking. When in 1924, according to the new states, a machine gun section was introduced into all rifle platoons, due to a shortage of light machine guns, it had to be armed with one heavy and one light machine gun. Work on a light machine gun was launched at the First Tula Arms Factories, the Kovrov Machine Gun Factory and the Vystrel training ground.
In Tula F.V. Tokarev and at the “Shot” courses I.N. Kolesnikov, as a temporary solution to the problem, created an air-cooled light machine gun - type MG.08/18 (Germany) - the mass-produced easel "Maxim" was taken as a basis. The design bureau of the Kovrov plant carried out work for the long term. In this design bureau, under the leadership of Fedorov and his student Degtyarev, experimental work was carried out on a unified family of 6.5 mm automatic weapons. The Fedorov assault rifle was taken as the basis (it should be noted that the “automatic machine” itself was originally called a “light machine gun,” that is, it was considered not as an individual weapon, but as a lightweight light machine gun for arming small groups of infantry). Within this family, several variants of manual, easel, “universal”, aviation and tank machine guns with different barrel cooling and power supply schemes have been developed. However, none of the universal or light machine guns of Fedorov or Fedorov-Degtyarev were accepted for mass production.
Vasily Alekseevich Degtyarev (1880-1949), head of the workshop of the PKB of the Kovrov plant, began developing his own model of a light machine gun at the end of 1923. Degtyarev took as a basis the design of his own automatic carbine, which he proposed back in 1915. Then the inventor, having combined the well-known schemes of automatic gas exhaust (a side gas outlet located at the bottom of the barrel), locking the barrel bore using two lugs moved by the striker and his own solutions, received a compact system that earned an approving official review from Fedorov. On July 22, 1924, Degtyarev presented the first prototype of a machine gun with a disk magazine. The commission was headed by N.V. Kuibyshev, head of the “Vystrel” school, Chairman of the Rifle Committee of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army.
The commission noted the “outstanding originality of the idea, rate of fire, trouble-free operation and significant ease of use of Comrade Degtyarev’s system.” It should be noted that at the same time the commission recommended the coaxial aviation 6.5-mm Fedorov-Degtyarev machine gun for adoption by the air force of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. A prototype of the Degtyarev machine gun and Kolesnikov and Tokarev machine guns were tested at the shooting range in Kuskovo on October 6, 1924, but dropped out of the competition because the firing pin failed. The commission for selecting a model of a light machine gun (chaired by S.M. Budyonny) soon recommended the Maxim-Tokarev light machine gun for adoption by the Red Army. It was adopted under the designation MT in 1925.
The next prototype was presented by Degtyarev in the fall of 1926. On September 27-29, about five thousand shots were fired from two copies, and it was found that the ejector and firing pin had weak force, and the weapon itself was sensitive to dust. In December, they tested the next two machine guns in unfavorable shooting conditions, giving only 0.6% delays for 40,000 rounds, but they were also returned for revision. At the same time, an improved Tokarev model was tested, as well as the German “light machine gun” Dreyse. According to the test results, Degtyarev’s sample surpassed Tokarev’s conversion system and the Dreyse machine gun, which then aroused great interest among the leadership of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army and, by the way, had an option with a high-capacity disc magazine.
Despite this, Degtyarev had to make a number of changes to his design: by changing the shape and using chromium-nickel steel, the bolt frame was strengthened, the piston rod and ejector were made from the same steel, and to strengthen the firing pin, it was given a shape close to the shape of the firing pin of a Lewis machine gun. It should be noted that some design solutions in Degtyarev’s machine guns were made under the obvious influence of the thoroughly studied Madsen, Lewis and Hotchkiss light machine guns (the Kovrov plant had complete sets of drawings, as well as ready-made Madsen samples, during the Civil War Lewis machine guns were repaired here). However, in general the weapon had a new and original design.
Two copies of the Degtyarev machine gun, after modification, were tested by the Art Committee commission of the Artillery Directorate of the Red Army at the Kovrov plant on January 17-21, 1927. The machine guns were found to have “passed the test.” On February 20, the Commission also recognized “it is possible to present machine guns as samples for all subsequent work and considerations for installing them in production.” Without waiting for the results of the improvements, it was decided to issue an order for one hundred machine guns. On March 26, Artcom approved the “Temporary Specifications for Acceptance of the Degtyarev Light Machine Gun” developed by the Design Bureau of the Kovrov Plant.
The first batch of 10 machine guns was presented to military acceptance on November 12, 1927; the military acceptance party fully accepted the batch of 100 machine guns on January 3, 1928. On January 11, the Revolutionary Military Council ordered the transfer of 60 machine guns for military testing. In addition, machine guns were sent to military educational institutions of various military districts, so that, simultaneously with the tests, the command staff could get acquainted with the new weapons during camp training. Military and field tests continued throughout the year. Based on the results of tests carried out in February at the Scientific Testing Weapons and Machine-Gun Range and the “Vystrel” courses, it was recommended to add a flame arrester to the design, designed to reduce the unmasking and blinding effects of the muzzle flame at dusk and at night. In addition, a number of other comments were made.
In August 1928, they tested an improved model with a flame arrester and a slightly modified gas chamber regulator pipe. For 27-28, an order was issued for 2.5 thousand machine guns. At the same time, at a special meeting on June 15, 1928, in which the leaders of the Main Military-Industrial Directorate and the People's Commissariat of Defense took part, recognizing the difficulties of setting up large-scale production of a new machine gun, they set 29-30 years as the deadline for its installation with completely interchangeable parts. At the end of 28, it was decided to stop the production of MT (Maxima-Tokarev) machine guns. As a result, Degtyarev's light machine gun ended up in the Red Army before its official adoption. The machine gun was adopted under the designation “7.62-mm light machine gun mod. 1927" or DP (“Degtyareva, infantry”), the designation DP-27 was also found. The Degtyarev machine gun became the first mass-produced domestically developed machine gun and brought its author into the ranks of the country's main and most authoritative gunsmiths.
The main parts of the machine gun: a replaceable barrel with a flame arrester and a gas chamber; receiver with sighting device; cylindrical barrel casing with front sight and guide tube; bolt with striker; bolt carrier and piston rod; return spring; trigger frame with stock and trigger mechanism; disk store; folding removable bipod.
The barrel in the receiver was fastened with intermittent screw lugs; a pin lock was used for fixation. On the middle part of the barrel there were 26 transverse ribs designed to improve cooling. However, in practice it turned out that the efficiency of this radiator was very low and, starting in 1938, the fins were eliminated, which simplified production. A conical flame arrester was attached to the muzzle of the barrel using a threaded connection. During the march, the flame arrester was attached in an inverted position to reduce the length of the DP.
And the automatic operation of the machine gun was implemented due to the removal of powder gases through the side hole. The hole was made in the barrel wall at a distance of 185 millimeters from the muzzle. The gas piston had a long stroke. The gas chamber is open type, with a pipe. The piston rod is rigidly connected to the bolt frame and the return spring, mounted on the rod, was placed under the barrel in the guide tube. The gas piston was screwed onto the front end of the rod, while fixing the return spring. Using a pipe regulator with two gas outlet holes with a diameter of 3 and 4 millimeters, the amount of discharged powder gases was adjusted. The barrel bore was locked using a pair of lugs mounted on the sides of the bolt on hinges and moved apart by the extended rear part of the firing pin.
The trigger mechanism consisted of a trigger, a trigger lever with a sear, and an automatic safety. The trigger was supported by a safety at the rear. To turn it off, you need to completely cover the neck of the butt with your palm. The USM was designed only for continuous fire.
The magazine, mounted on top of the receiver, consisted of a pair of disks and a spring. The cartridges in the store were placed along a radius with the toe of the bullet towards the center. By the force of a snail-shaped spiral spring, which twisted when the magazine was loaded, the upper disk rotated relative to the lower one, while cartridges were fed to the receiver window. A magazine of this design was previously developed for the Fedorov aircraft machine gun. Initially, the requirements for a light machine gun assumed that the power system would have 50 rounds, but the disk “Fedorov magazine” designed for fifty 6.5 mm rounds was ready for production, it was decided to maintain its basic dimensions, reducing the drum capacity to 49 7, 62mm cartridges.
It must be answered that the design of the magazine with radial placement of cartridges was able to solve the problem of reliability of the power supply system when using a domestic rifle cartridge with a protruding rim of the cartridge case. However, the magazine capacity was soon reduced to 47 rounds because the spring force was not enough to feed the last rounds. Radial stampings of the disks and annular stiffening ribs were designed to reduce their loss during shocks and impacts, as well as to reduce the likelihood of the magazine “seizing.” A spring-loaded magazine latch was mounted in the sight block. During the march, the receiver window was covered with a special shield, which was moved forward before installing the magazine. To equip the store, a special PSM device was used. It should be noted that the magazine, which had a diameter of 265 millimeters, created some inconvenience when carrying the machine gun during battle. After part of the ammunition was used up, the remaining cartridges created noticeable noise when moving. In addition, the weakening of the spring led to the fact that the last cartridges remained in the magazine - because of this, the crews preferred not to fully equip the magazine.
As in many machine guns, designed for significant heating of the barrel and intense burst fire, the shot was fired from the rear sear. Before the first shot, the bolt frame with the bolt was in the rear position, held by the sear, while the return spring was compressed (the compression force was 11 kgf). When the trigger was pressed, the trigger lever dropped, the bolt frame broke off the sear and moved forward, pushing the bolt and firing pin with its vertical stand. The bolt captured the cartridge from the receiver and sent it into the chamber, resting against the stump of the barrel. During further movement of the bolt frame, the firing pin moved the lugs apart with its widened part, the supporting planes of the lugs entered the lugs of the receiver. This locking scheme was very reminiscent of the Swedish Chelman automatic rifle, which was tested in Russia in 1910 (although the rifle combined locking according to the “Friberg-Chelman scheme” and automation based on the recoil of the barrel with a short stroke). After locking, the firing pin and bolt frame continued to move forward for another 8 millimeters; the firing pin reached the cartridge primer, breaking it and firing.
After the bullet passed through the gas outlet holes, powder gases entered the gas chamber, hit the piston, which covered the chamber with its bell, and threw back the bolt frame. After the firing pin had passed about 8 millimeters with the frame, it released the lugs, after which the lugs were brought together by the bevels of the figured recess of the frame, along the path of 12 millimeters the barrel bore was unlocked, the bolt was picked up by the bolt frame and pulled back. In this case, the ejector removed the spent cartridge case, which, hitting the firing pin, was thrown out through the window of the receiver in the lower part. The stroke of the bolt frame was 149 millimeters (the bolt was 136 millimeters). After this, the bolt frame hit the trigger frame and moved forward under the action of the return spring. If at this moment the trigger was pressed, the automation cycle was repeated. If the hook was released, the bolt frame stood on the sear with its combat cock, stopping in the rear position. At the same time, the machine gun was ready for the next shot - the presence of only one automatic trigger safety created the danger of an involuntary shot while moving with a loaded machine gun. In this regard, the instructions stated that the machine gun should be loaded only after occupying a position.
The machine gun was equipped with a sector sight with a high block, which was mounted on the receiver, and a bar with notches up to 1500 meters (100 m increments), and a front sight with protective “ears”. The front sight was inserted into a groove on the protrusion of the barrel casing, which resembled the casing of a Madsen light machine gun. The magazine latch also served as protective “ears” for the sight. The wooden butt was made like a Madsen machine gun; it had a semi-pistol neck protrusion and an upper ridge that improved the position of the machine gunner’s head. The length of the butt from the trigger to the back of the head was 360 millimeters, the width of the butt was 42 millimeters. An oil can was placed in the butt. In the wider lower part of the butt of the DP-27 machine gun there was a vertical channel intended for a rear retractable support, but serial machine guns were produced without such a support, and later the channel in the butt was no longer provided. Sling swivels were attached to the barrel casing and to the left of the butt. The bipods were fastened with a folding clamp with a wing screw on the barrel casing; their legs were equipped with openers.
When firing, the machine gun showed good accuracy: the dispersion core during firing in “normal” bursts (from 4 to 6 shots) at a distance of 100 meters was up to 170 mm (in height and width), at 200 meters - 350 mm, at 500 meters - 850 mm, at 800 meters – 1600 mm (height) and 1250 mm (width), at 1 thousand m – 2100 mm (height) and 1850 mm (width). When firing in short bursts (up to 3 shots), the accuracy increased - for example, at a distance of 500 meters, the dispersion core was already 650 mm, and at 1 thousand meters – 1650x1400 mm.
The DP machine gun consisted of 68 parts (without magazine), of which 4 coil springs and 10 screws (for comparison, the number of parts of the German Dreyse light machine gun was 96, the American Browning BAR model 1922 was 125, the Czech ZB-26 was 143 ). The use of the bolt frame as the lower cover of the receiver, as well as the application of the principle of multifunctionality when using other parts, made it possible to significantly reduce the weight and dimensions of the structure. The advantages of this machine gun also included the ease of disassembly. The machine gun could be disassembled into large parts, and when the bolt frame was removed, the main parts were separated. Accessories for the Degtyarev machine gun included a collapsible cleaning rod, a brush, two drifts, a screwdriver key, a device for cleaning gas passages, a wiper, and a extractor for torn-off cartridge cases (the situation with the rupture of cartridges in the chamber of a machine gun of the Degtyarev system was observed for quite a long time). Spare barrels - two per machine gun - were supplied to special units. boxes. A canvas cover was used to carry and store the machine gun. To fire blank cartridges, a muzzle sleeve with an outlet diameter of 4 millimeters and a special magazine with a window for blank cartridges were used.
The production of machine guns of the DP series was supplied and carried out by the Kovrov plant (State Union Plant named after K.O. Kirkizh, plant No. 2 of the People's Commissariat of Arms, since 1949 - Plant named after V.A. Degtyarev). The infantry Degtyarev was distinguished by its ease of manufacture - its production required two times less pattern measurements and transitions than for a revolver, and three times less than for a rifle. The number of technological operations was four times less than for the Maxim machine gun and three times less than for the MT. This is where Degtyarev’s many years of experience as a practical gunsmith and collaboration with the outstanding gunsmith V.G. Fedorov. In the process of setting up production, changes were made to the heat treatment of the most critical parts, new processing standards were introduced, and steel grades were selected. It can be assumed that one of the main roles in ensuring the required accuracy during large-scale production of automatic weapons with complete interchangeability of parts was played by cooperation in the 20s with German specialists, machine tool and weapons companies. Fedorov invested a lot of work and energy in setting up the production of the Degtyarev machine gun and in standardizing the production of weapons on this basis - during this work, the so-called “Fedorov normals” were introduced into production, that is, a system of fits and tolerances designed to increase the accuracy of weapon production. A great contribution to the organization of production of this machine gun was made by engineer G.A. Aparin, who installed tool and pattern production at the plant.
The DP order for 1928 and 1929 already amounted to 6.5 thousand units (of which 500 tank, 2000 aviation and 4000 infantry). After tests in March-April 1930 by a special commission of 13 serial Degtyarev machine guns for survivability, Fedorov stated that “the survivability of the machine gun was raised to 75 - 100 thousand rounds,” and “the survivability of the least resistant parts (firing pins and ejectors) was up to 25 - 30 thousand .shots."
In the 1920s, various magazine-fed light machine guns were created in different countries - the French "Hotchkiss" mod. 1922 and Mle 1924 "Chatelrault", Czech ZB-26, English "Vickers-Berthier", Swiss "Solothurn" M29 and "Furrer" M25, Italian "Breda", Finnish M1926 "Lahti-Zaloranta", Japanese "Type 11" . The Degtyarev machine gun differed favorably from most of them in its relatively high reliability and larger magazine capacity. Let us note that simultaneously with the DP, another important means of infantry support was adopted - the 76-mm regimental gun of the 1927 model.
YES, DT and others
Since by the time the DP was adopted into service in the Soviet Union, the need to unify machine guns had been recognized, other types were being developed on the basis of the Degtyarev machine gun - primarily aviation and tank ones. Here again, Fedorov’s experience in developing unified weapons came in handy.
Back on May 17, 1926, Artcom approved the technical requirements. assignment to design a unified rapid-firing machine gun, which would be used as a manual machine gun in cavalry and infantry, and synchronized and turret-mounted in aviation. But the creation of an aircraft machine gun based on an infantry one turned out to be more realistic. The practice of “transforming” a light machine gun into a mobile aircraft gun (on pivot, single turret, twin turret mounts) was used back in the First World War. In the period from December 27 to February 28, tests were carried out on the aviation version of the Degtyarev machine gun (“Degtyarev, aviation”, YES). The Scientific and Technical Committee of the Air Force Directorate of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army considered it “possible to approve the presented sample” of the Degtyarev machine gun for inclusion in the serial order plan. In 1928, simultaneously with the PV-1 fixed machine gun designed by A.V. Nadashkevich, created on the basis of the Maxim heavy machine gun, the DA turret aircraft machine gun, which has a three-row (three-tier) magazine for 65 rounds, a pistol grip, and new sighting devices with a weather vane front sight, was adopted into service with the air force.
A faceplate was screwed to the front of the receiver of the Degtyarev aircraft machine gun. A kingpin was attached to its lower part, which had a curved swivel for mounting on the installation. Instead of a stock, a notched wooden pistol grip and rear grip were installed. A bushing with a ring sight was attached to the top of the front, and a bushing with a stand for a weather vane front sight was attached to a thread in the muzzle of the barrel. Since the casing was removed and the faceplate was installed, changes occurred in the fastening of the gas piston guide tube. The magazine was equipped with a belt handle on top for quick and easy changing. To ensure shooting in a limited volume, as well as to prevent spent cartridges from entering the aircraft’s mechanisms, a canvas sleeve-catcher bag with a wire frame and a lower fastener was installed on the bottom of the receiver. Let us note that in order to find the best frame configuration, which will ensure reliable removal of cartridges without jamming, slow-motion filming of the work was almost for the first time used in domestic practice. The weight of the DA machine gun was 7.1 kg (without magazine), the length from the edge of the rear handle to the muzzle was 940 millimeters, and the magazine weight was 1.73 kg (without cartridges). As of March 30, 1930, units of the Red Army Air Force had 1.2 thousand YES machine guns and a thousand machine guns were prepared for delivery.
In 1930, the DA-2 twin turret mount also entered service - its development based on the Degtyarev aircraft machine gun was ordered by the Scientific and Technical Committee of the Air Force Directorate in 1927 to the Arms and Machine Gun Trust. The faceplate located in the front of the receiver on each machine gun was replaced with a front mounting coupling. The side bosses of the couplings were used for fastening to the installation, and the bottom bosses were used to hold the gas piston tube. The rear fastening of the machine guns on the installation were coupling bolts that passed through holes made in the rear bosses of the receiver. N.V. took part in the development of the installation. Rukavishnikov and I.I. Bezrukov. The general trigger hook was installed on the pistol grip of the right machine gun in an additional trigger guard. The trigger rod was attached to the holes in the trigger guards.
The rod consisted of an adjusting rod and a connecting shaft. On the left machine gun, the safety box and the bolt handle were moved to the left side; a bracket for the front sight vane was installed on its barrel. Since the recoil of coaxial machine guns was very sensitive for the installation and the shooter, active-type muzzle brakes were installed on the machine guns. The muzzle brake had the shape of a kind of parachutes. Behind the muzzle brake there was a special disk that protected the shooter from the muzzle wave - later a brake of this design was installed on large-caliber DShK. The machine guns were connected to the turret through a pin. The installation was equipped with a chin rest and a shoulder rest (until 1932, the machine gun had a chest rest). The weight of the DA-2 with loaded magazines and front sight was 25 kilograms, length - 1140 millimeters, width - 300 millimeters, distance between the axes of the barrel channels - 193 ± 1 millimeters. It is curious that DA and DA-2 were adopted by the Air Force Department without the official execution of an order from the People's Commissariat of Defense. These machine guns were installed on Tur-5 and Tur-6 turrets, as well as in aircraft retractable machine-gun turrets. They tried to install the DA-2, which has a different sight, on the BT-2 light tank. Later, DA, DA-2 and PV-1 were replaced by a special aviation rapid-fire machine gun ShKAS.
Arms and machine gun trust, which, among others, was in charge of the Kovrov plant, August 17, 1928. informed the Artillery Directorate of the Red Army about the readiness of a tank machine gun based on the Degtyarev machine gun. On June 12, 1929, after carrying out appropriate tests, the DT tank machine gun (“Degtyarev, tank”, also called the “tank machine gun of the 1929 model”) in a ball mount, developed by G.S., was adopted as an armament for armored vehicles and tanks. Shpagin. The adoption of this machine gun coincided with the deployment of mass production of tanks - the Degtyarev tank replaced the twin 6.5-mm Fedorov tank machine gun, which was already installed on armored vehicles, and began to be installed on T-24, MS-1 tanks, BA-27 armored vehicles, and on all armored vehicles.
The Degtyarev tank machine gun had no barrel casing. The barrel itself was distinguished by additional turning of the ribs. The DP was equipped with a retractable metal stock with a folding shoulder support, a pistol grip, a compact double-row disc magazine for 63 rounds, and a cartridge case catcher. The safety and pistol grip were the same as the DA's. The safety lever, placed on the right above the trigger guard, was made in the form of a pin with a beveled axis. The rear position of the flag corresponded to the “fire” state, the front position corresponded to the “fuse” state. The sight is a diopter rack mounted. The diopter was made on a special vertical slider and, using spring-loaded latches, was installed in several fixed positions, which corresponded to ranges of 400, 600, 800 and 1000 meters. The sight was equipped with an adjustment screw for zeroing. The front sight was not installed on the machine gun - it was fixed in the front disk of the ball mount. In some cases, the machine gun was removed from the installation and used outside the vehicle, so the DT was equipped with a bracket with a front sight and a removable bipod mounted on the faceplate. The weight of the machine gun with magazine was 10.25 kilograms, length - 1138 millimeters, combat rate of fire - 100 rounds per minute.
The Degtyarev tank machine gun was used as a coaxial machine gun with a large-caliber machine gun or a tank gun, as well as on a special anti-aircraft tank mount. During the Second World War, the Degtyarev tank was often used as a manual machine gun - the combat rate of fire of this machine gun was twice as high as that of the infantry model.
It should be noted that already at the beginning of the Second World War, an option was being developed to replace the DT with a “tank” submachine gun with a large ammunition load (developed on the basis of the PPSh). At the end of World War II, the Finns attempted to do the same on captured tanks using their own Suomi. However, in both cases, DT machine guns remained on the armored vehicles and tanks. On Soviet tanks, only the SGMT could replace the Degtyarev tank machine gun. An interesting fact is that after the forced “decorative” alteration of armored vehicles and tanks in the Military Historical Museum of Armored Weapons and Equipment in Kubinka Degtyarev, the tank turned out to be an “international” machine gun - on a large number of foreign vehicles, “native” machine gun installations are imitated using DT barrels.
Note that in 31, 34 and 38 of the last century, Degtyarev presented modernized versions of the DP. In 1936, he proposed a lightweight airborne version without a casing, with reinforced fins and locking with one lug; in addition, the machine gun was equipped with a compact box magazine having a sector shape. Then the designer presented a machine gun with the same magazine, with the recoil spring moved to the butt. Both machine guns remained experimental. A sight with the possibility of introducing lateral corrections was experimentally installed on the DP; a DP equipped with an optical sight was tested in 1935 - the idea of equipping light machine guns with an optical sight was popular for a long time, even despite unsuccessful practice.
Degtyarev tank machine gun with telescopic machine gun sight PPU-8T and armored mask
After the battles on Khasan Island in 1938, the command staff received a proposal to adopt a light machine gun with a power supply system similar to the Japanese Type 11 machine guns - with a permanent magazine equipped with cartridges from rifle clips. This proposal was actively supported by G.I. Kulik, head of the GAU. The Kovrovites presented a version of the Degtyarev light machine gun with a Razorenov and Kupinov receiver for rifle clips of the 1891/1930 model, but very soon the question of such a receiver was rightly removed - practice forced the abandonment of clip-on or pack-powered light machine guns, leaving military specialists and gunsmiths with choosing “tape or store”.
For a long time, Degtyarev worked on creating a universal (single) and heavy machine gun. In June-August 28, Artcom, on instructions from the Red Army Headquarters, developed tactical and technical requirements for a new heavy machine gun - the basis of the machine gun, for the purpose of unification, was to be taken from the Degtyarev infantry machine gun chambered in the same cartridge, but with belt feeding. Already in 1930, the designer presented an experimental heavy machine gun with a universal Kolesnikov machine gun, a belt feed receiver (Shpagin system) and a reinforced barrel radiator. The fine-tuning of the Degtyarev easel machine gun (“Degtyarev, easel”, DS) dragged on until the end of the 1930s and did not give positive results. In 1936, Degtyarev presented a universal modification of the DP, which had a lightweight folding integral tripod and a mount for a folding anti-aircraft ring sight. This sample also did not advance beyond the experimental one. The weakness of the standard bipod became the reason for the limited use of installations with additional rods with the Degtyarev infantry machine gun, which form a triangular structure with the bipod. The bore locking and automation system embodied in the Degtyarev machine gun was also used in the large-caliber machine gun and the experimental automatic rifle developed by Degtyarev. Even the first Degtyarev submachine gun, developed in 1929 and having a semi-blowback, bore the design features of the DP machine gun. The designer sought to implement the idea of Fedorov, his teacher, about a unified family of weapons based on his own system.
At the beginning of the Second World War, the Degtyarev KB-2 of the Kovrov plant experimentally created the so-called “heavy fire installation” - a quadruple DP (DT) installation for arming infantry, cavalry, armored vehicles, light tanks, as well as air defense needs. The machine guns were installed in two rows or in a horizontal plane and were equipped with standard disc magazines or box magazines for 20 rounds. In the “anti-aircraft” and “infantry” versions, the installation was mounted on a universal Kolesnikov machine designed for large-caliber DShK. The rate of fire is 2000 rounds per minute. However, this path of “struggle for rate of fire” did not justify itself, and the effect of recoil on installation and dispersion was too great.
Disc magazine of the DP machine gun, bottom view.
DP machine gun service
The Degtyarev machine gun became the most popular machine gun of the USSR Armed Forces for two decades - and these years were the most “military”. The DP machine gun underwent its baptism of fire during the conflict on the Chinese Eastern Railway in the border units of the OGPU - therefore, in April 1929, the Kovrov plant received an additional order for the production of these machine guns. The DP machine gun, as part of the troops of the United State Political Directorate, fought in Central Asia with Basmachi gangs. Later, the DP was used by the Red Army in combat operations on Khasan Island and on the Khalkhin Gol River. Together with other Soviet weapons, it “took part” in the civil war in Spain (here the DP had to “fight side by side” with its long-time competitor, the MG13 “Dreyse”), in the war in China, and fought on the Karelian Isthmus in 1939-40. The DT and DA-2 modifications went almost the same way (on the R-5 and TB-3 aircraft), so we can say that by the beginning of the Second World War, the Degtyarev machine gun had undergone combat tests in a variety of conditions.
In rifle units, the Degtyarev infantry machine gun was introduced into the rifle platoon and squad, in the cavalry - into saber squads. In both cases, a light machine gun along with a rifle grenade launcher were the main support weapons. The DP with a sight notch of up to 1.5 thousand meters was intended to destroy important single and open group targets at ranges of up to 1.2 thousand meters, small living single targets - up to 800 meters, destruction of low-flying aircraft - up to 500 meters, as well as for supporting tanks by firing at PTS crews. Firing at the viewing slots of enemy armored vehicles and tanks from 100-200 meters. The fire was carried out in short bursts of 2-3 shots or in bursts of 6 shots; continuous long fire was allowed only in extreme cases. Machine gunners with extensive experience could conduct targeted fire with single shots. Machine gun crew - 2 people - a machine gunner (“gunner”) and an assistant (“second number”). An assistant carried the magazines in a special box designed to hold three discs. To bring ammunition, two more soldiers were assigned to the crew. To transport the DP in the cavalry, the VD saddle pack was used.
To hit air targets, an anti-aircraft tripod of the 1928 model, developed for the Maxim machine gun, could be used. They also developed special motorcycle installations: the M-72 motorcycle had a simple rotating frame, hinged on the sidecar; boxes with spare parts and disks were placed between the sidecar and the motorcycle and on the trunk. The machine gun mount allowed anti-aircraft fire to be fired from the knee without removing it. On the TIZ-AM-600 DT motorcycle, the DT was mounted above the handlebars on a special bracket. To reduce the cost of training and the use of small shooting ranges, a 5.6-mm training Blum machine gun, which used a rimfire cartridge and an original disk magazine, could be attached to the Degtyarev machine gun.
Disc magazine of the DP machine gun, top view.
The DP machine gun quickly gained popularity, as it successfully combined firepower and maneuverability. However, along with its advantages, the machine gun also had some disadvantages that appeared during operation. First of all, this concerned the inconvenience of operation and the peculiarities of the disk magazine equipment. Quickly replacing a hot barrel was complicated by the lack of a handle on it, as well as the need to separate the pipe and bipod. The replacement, even under favorable conditions, took about 30 seconds for a trained crew. An open gas chamber located under the barrel prevented the accumulation of soot in the gas outlet assembly, but together with the open bolt frame, it increased the likelihood of clogging on sandy soils. Clogging of the gas piston socket and screwing of its head caused the moving part to not move to the front extreme position. However, the automatic machine gun as a whole demonstrated quite high reliability. The fastening of swivels and bipods was unreliable and created additional clinging parts that reduced the ease of carrying. Working with the gas regulator was also inconvenient - to rearrange it, the cotter pin was removed, the nut was unscrewed, the regulator was pushed back, turned and secured again. It was possible to fire while moving only using a belt, and the lack of a fore-end and a large magazine made such shooting inconvenient. The machine gunner put a belt around his neck in the form of a loop, attached it in front of the magazine to the cutout of the casing with a swivel, and a mitten was needed to hold the machine gun by the casing.
In the armament of rifle divisions, the share of machine guns was constantly increasing, primarily due to light machine guns - if in 1925 a rifle division of 15.3 thousand people. personnel had 74 heavy machine guns, then already in 1929 there were 12.8 thousand people. there were 81 light and 189 heavy machine guns. In 1935, these figures for 13 thousand people were already 354 light and 180 heavy machine guns. In the Red Army, as in some other armies, the light machine gun was the main means of saturating troops with automatic weapons.
The state of April 1941 (the last pre-war) provided for the following ratios:
Wartime rifle division - for 14,483 people. personnel had 174 heavy and 392 light machine guns;
Reduced division - 5864 people. personnel had 163 heavy and 324 light machine guns;
Mountain rifle division - for 8829 people. personnel had 110 heavy and 314 light machine guns.
Type 53 - Chinese version of the DPM.
The DP was in service with the cavalry, marines, and NKVD troops. The Second World War, which began in Europe, a clear percentage increase in the number of automatic weapons in the German Wehrmacht, and the ongoing reorganization of the Red Army required an increase in the production of tank and light machine guns, as well as changes in the organization of production. In 1940, they began to increase the production capacity of light machine guns used in the production. By this time, the technology for manufacturing barrel bores by mandrel had already been developed, which made it possible to speed up the production of barrels several times and significantly reduce the cost - together with the transition to the use of barrels with a cylindrical smooth outer surface, it played an important role in increasing the output and reducing the cost of Degtyarev infantry machine guns. The order for 1941, approved on February 7, included 39 thousand Degtyarev infantry and tank machine guns. Since April 17, 1941, the OGK has been working at Kovrov Plant No. 2 for the production of DT and DP machine guns. From April 30, the production of DP machine guns was launched in the new building “L”. The People's Commissariat of Armaments gave the new production the rights of a branch of the enterprise (later - a separate Kovrov Mechanical Plant).
From 1939 to mid-1941, the number of light machine guns in the army increased by 44%; as of June 22, 1941, there were 170.4 thousand light machine guns in the Red Army. This type of weapon was one of those with which the formations of the western districts were provided even beyond the staff. For example, in the Fifth Army of the Kyiv Special Military District, the staffing level with light machine guns was about 114.5%. During this period, Degtyarev's tank machine guns received interesting use - by the General Staff Directive of May 16, 1941, 50 newly formed tank regiments of mechanized corps received guns before they were equipped with tanks to fight enemy armored vehicles, as well as 80 DT machine guns per regiment - for self-defense. The Degtyarev tank was also installed on combat snowmobiles during the war.
With the outbreak of the Second World War, obsolete DA-2s found a new use - as anti-aircraft machine guns to combat aircraft flying at low altitude. On July 16, 1941, Osipov, Head of the Main Directorate of Air Defense, wrote to Yakovlev, Head of the GAU: “The shortage of anti-aircraft machine guns can be largely eliminated if up to 1.5 thousand coaxial DA-2 machine guns and so many are adapted for anti-aircraft fire in a short time PV-1 machine guns removed from aircraft.” For this purpose, the DA and DA-2 machine guns were installed on a 1928 model anti-aircraft tripod through a kingpin - in particular, such installations were used near Leningrad in 1941. The weather vane front sight was replaced by a ring one from a machine-gun anti-aircraft sight. In addition, DA-2 was installed on the U-2 (Po-2) light night bomber.
Red Army soldiers near a dugout in Stalingrad are busy cleaning weapons, PPSh-41 submachine guns and a DP-27 machine gun
During the Second World War, the main manufacturer of Degtyarev's infantry and tank machine guns was workshop No. 1 of plant No. 2; their production was also carried out in the Urals, DP and at the Arsenal plant (Leningrad). In the conditions of military production, it was necessary to reduce the requirements for the finishing of small arms - for example, the finishing processing of external parts and parts not involved in the operation of automation was canceled. In addition, the spare parts standards were reduced - instead of 22 discs for each machine gun required before the start of the war, only 12 were given. Despite this, all technological documentation was carried out “according to letter B”, that is, it required strict compliance with all standards and did not allow changes in the shape, materials of parts and sizes at all factories involved in production. The production of light machine guns, despite difficult conditions, remained relatively stable. V.N. Novikov, Deputy People's Commissar of Armaments, wrote in his memoirs: “this machine gun did not cause much tension in the People’s Commissariat of Armaments.” During the second half of 1941, the troops received 45,300 light machine guns, in 1942 - 172,800, in 1943 - 250,200, in 1944 - 179,700. On May 9, 1945, there were 390 thousand light machine guns in the active army. During the entire war, losses of light machine guns amounted to 427.5 thousand pieces, that is, 51.3% of the total resource (taking into account those supplied during the war and pre-war reserves).
The scale of use of machine guns can be judged by the following figures. Between July and November 1942, the GAU transferred 5,302 machine guns of all types to the fronts in the southwestern direction. In March-July 1943, in preparation for the Battle of Kursk, the troops of the Steppe, Voronezh, Central Fronts and the Eleventh Army received 31.6 thousand light and heavy machine guns. The troops that went on the offensive near Kursk had 60.7 thousand machine guns of all types. In April 1944, at the beginning of the Crimean operation, the troops of the Separate Primorsky Army, the Fourth Ukrainian Front and air defense units had 10,622 heavy and light machine guns (approximately 1 machine gun per 43 personnel). The share of machine guns in the infantry armament also changed. If a rifle company in July 1941 had 6 light machine guns, a year later it had 12 light machine guns, in 1943 it had 1 heavy machine gun and 18 light machine guns, and in December 1944 it had 2 heavy machine guns and 12 light machine guns. That is, during the war, the number of machine guns in a rifle company, the main tactical unit, more than doubled. If in July 41 the rifle division was armed with 270 machine guns of various types, then in December of the same year - 359, a year later this figure was already 605, and in June 45 - 561. The decrease in the share of machine guns by the end of the war is due to with an increase in the number of submachine guns. Requests for light machine guns were declining, so from January 1 to May 10, 1945, only 14,500 were delivered (in addition, modernized DPs were supplied at this time). By the end of the war, the rifle regiment had 108 light and 54 heavy machine guns for 2,398 people.
During the war, the rules for using machine guns were also revised, although this was required to a lesser extent for manual ones. The “Combat Manual of the Infantry” of 1942 established the opening range of fire from a light machine gun from a distance of 800 meters, but sudden fire from a range of 600 meters was also recommended as the most effective. In addition, the division of the battle formation into “fettering” and “shock” groups was abolished. Now the light machine gun operated in various conditions in the platoon and squad chains. Now the main thing for him was fire in short bursts, the combat rate of fire was 80 rounds per minute.
In winter conditions, ski units carried Maxim and DP machine guns on drag boats in a state of readiness to open fire. To drop machine guns to partisans and paratroopers, the PDMM-42 parachute landing bag was used. At the beginning of the war, paratroopers-machine gunners had already mastered jumping with standard Degtyarev infantry machine guns on a belt; instead, they often used a “manual” version of a more compact tank machine gun, with a larger capacity magazine that was less prone to deaths. In general, the Degtyarev machine gun turned out to be a very reliable weapon. This was also recognized by opponents - for example, captured DPs were willingly used by Finnish machine gunners.
However, the experience of using the Degtyarev infantry machine gun pointed to the need for a lighter and more compact model while maintaining ballistic characteristics. In 1942, a competition was announced for the development of a new light machine gun system, the weight of which does not exceed 7.5 kilograms. From July 6 to July 21, 1942, experimental machine guns developed at the Degtyarev Design Bureau (with magazine and belt feed), as well as those developed by Vladimirov, Simonov, Goryunov, as well as novice designers, including Kalashnikov, underwent field testing. All samples presented in these tests received a list of comments for improvement, but as a result the competition did not produce an acceptable sample.
DPM - modernized Degtyarev machine gun
DPM light machine gun
The work on modernizing the Degtyarev infantry machine gun was more successful, especially since the production of the modernized version can be carried out much faster. At this time, several design teams were working at plant No. 2, solving their own range of problems. And if KB-2, under the leadership of V.A. Degtyarev, mainly worked on new designs, the tasks of modernizing the produced samples were solved in the Department of the Chief Designer. The work on modernizing machine guns was led by A.I. Shilin, however, Degtyarev himself did not let them out of sight. Under his control, a group of designers, which included P.P. Polyakov, A.A. Dubynin, A.I. Skvortsov A.G. Belyaev, carried out work on the modernization of the blast furnace in 1944. The main goal of this work was to improve the controllability and reliability of the machine gun. N.D. Yakovlev, head of the GAU, and D.F. Ustinov, People's Commissar of Armaments, in August 1944 submitted for approval to the State. Defense Committee changes made to the design, indicating: “In connection with design changes in the modernized machine guns:
The survivability of the recoil spring has been increased, making it possible to replace it without removing the machine gun from the firing position;
- the possibility of losing the bipod is excluded;
- accuracy and accuracy of fire improves;
- improving ease of use in combat conditions.”
The changes were approved by the decision of the State Defense Committee on October 14, 1944. The machine gun was adopted under the designation DPM (“Degtyarev, infantry, modernized”).
Differences of the DPM machine gun:
The return spring from under the barrel, where it heated up and settled, was moved to the rear part of the receiver (they tried to move the spring back in 1931, this can be seen in the experimental Degtyarev machine gun presented at that time). To install the spring, a tubular rod was put on the tail of the striker, and a guide tube was inserted into the buttplate, which protruded above the neck of the butt. In this regard, the coupling was eliminated, and the rod was manufactured as a single part with the piston. In addition, the disassembly order has changed - now it begins with the guide tube and the return spring. The same changes were made to the Degtyarev tank machine gun (DTM). This made it possible to disassemble the machine gun and eliminate minor faults without removing it from the ball mount;
- we installed a pistol grip control in the form of a slope, which was welded to the trigger guard, and two wooden cheeks attached to it with screws;
- simplified the shape of the butt;
- on the light machine gun, instead of an automatic fuse, a non-automatic safety lever was introduced, similar to the Degtyarev tank machine gun - the beveled axis of the fuse pin was located under the trigger lever. Locking occurred with the flag in the forward position. This fuse was more reliable, as it acted on the sear, which made it safer to carry a loaded machine gun;
- the leaf spring in the ejection mechanism was replaced with a cylindrical screw one. The ejector was installed in the bolt socket, and a pin was used to hold it, which also served as its axis;
- the folding bipod was made integral, and the mounting hinges were moved somewhat back and higher relative to the axis of the barrel bore. On the top of the casing, a clamp was installed from two welded plates, which formed eyes for attaching the bipod legs using screws. The bipods have become stronger. There was no need to separate their barrels to replace them;
- the weight of the machine gun has decreased.
DP-27
Degtyareva Infantry
This machine gun became one of the first small arms created in the USSR. The machine gun was widely used as the main fire support weapon for infantry at the platoon-company level until the end of the Great Patriotic War.
The experience gained by V. A. Degtyarev while working in the design bureau of automatic small arms, organized by the famous Soviet designer V. G. Fedorov at the Kovrov plant, allowed him in 1923 to begin creating his own model of a light machine gun. In 1926, the current model of the Degtyarev system machine gun, designed to use a 7.62 x 54 mm rifle cartridge, was submitted for testing, during which it showed excellent firing characteristics. This contributed to the fact that already at the beginning of the next year the machine gun was adopted by the Red Army under the name DP-27(“Degtyarev, infantry model 1927”).
In making this decision, members of the State Commission noted the high survivability of the machine gun’s mechanisms (more than 70 thousand shots were fired, while the norm was 10 thousand), the simplicity and high manufacturability of its design - for manufacturing DP-27 it took almost half as much time as a similar foreign machine gun. It was this circumstance that made it possible to quickly establish mass production of machine guns of the Degtyarev system, and according to some data, from 1929 to 1933 the total number of machine guns increased by more than 7.5 times.
In the army, a light machine gun DP-27 immediately received high praise and soon became the main type of automatic weapon in rifle squads. During the years of the Second World War, in this category it “lost” its position only to the submachine gun of the Shpagin system (PPSh-41) and by 1945, in terms of popularity, it occupied a strong third place after and
The successful layout of the automatic mechanisms, the use of a sliding bolt and direct supply of cartridges from the magazine made it possible to significantly reduce the size of the receiver compared to other machine guns of that time. At the time of adoption of the light machine gun DP-27(excluding the magazine) had the minimum mass among all domestic and foreign analogues known at that time.
The automatic operation of the machine gun was built according to a scheme that used the energy of powder gases removed from the barrel; locking was carried out by spreading the combat larvae to the sides. The gas regulator installed in the automation system created additional advantages when working in conditions of pollution, dust and extreme temperatures. The striker-type trigger mechanism allowed firing only in bursts. However, even a poorly trained fighter easily fired bursts of 3-5 shots. The flag-type fuse, when turned on, blocked the parts of the trigger mechanism. Ammunition was supplied from a disk magazine with a capacity of 47 rounds, located above the receiver. The cartridges in the magazine were placed horizontally in one row, with bullets towards the center of the magazine. The sights of the machine gun consisted of a sector-type sight and a front sight. On the sight rail, divisions from 1 to 15 were applied with a division increment of 100 m. To give additional stability to the machine gun when firing, bipods were attached to the barrel casing, folding in the stowed position. To reduce the unmasking effect of the flame when firing, a cone-shaped flame arrester was screwed onto the muzzle of the barrel. 
The food was supplied from flat disk magazines - “plates”, in which the cartridges were located in a circle, with bullets towards the center of the disk. This design ensured reliable supply of cartridges with a protruding rim, but also had significant disadvantages: large dimensions, as well as the weight of an empty magazine, inconvenience in transportation and loading, as well as the possibility of damage to the magazine in combat conditions due to its tendency to deform. The magazine capacity was initially 49 rounds, but it was not filled completely - only 47 rounds were loaded into it, as this significantly reduced the reliability of its components.
To equip the magazine with cartridges, it was necessary to rest it against something with the receiver up and away from you. Take one cartridge in your right hand and hold it in your fist so that the bullet head protrudes 1 cm under your index finger. Place your thumb on the lower fixed disk, and bring the bullet tip under the upper disk and insert it into the nearest cell of the disk comb. Rotating the upper disk in a clockwise direction with a bullet, remove the spring delay from the receiver, first pressing it with the finger of your left hand through the receiver window. Take several cartridges in your left hand and place them one at a time into the receiver.
It should be noted that although the store appears DP and resembles a Lewis machine gun magazine, in fact it is a completely different design in terms of its operating principle; for example, with Lewis, the cartridge disk rotates due to the energy of the bolt transmitted to it by a complex system of levers, and with DP– due to a pre-cocked spring in the magazine itself.
Trigger mechanism (trigger mechanism) of a machine gun DP allowed only automatic fire from an open bolt. It was made in the form of a removable module attached to the box with a transverse pin. There was no conventional safety; instead, there was an automatic safety in the form of a button, which was turned off when the hand covered the neck of the butt. When conducting intense fire, the need to constantly hold the safety button pressed tired the shooter, and the rifle-type stock did not contribute to a strong hold of the weapon when firing in bursts. The design of the trigger block of the DT tank machine gun, which had a conventional safety and a pistol grip, turned out to be more successful. Upgraded version of the machine gun - DPM– received a similar DT USM block; also a non-automatic fuse, in addition to the native automatic one, was introduced into the design of the Finnish DP in the process of their overhaul.
During exercises and combat operations, the machine gun was serviced by two people: the shooter and his assistant, who carried a box with 3 disks. Also, when shooting from a prone position, a long ribbon was tied to the machine gun at both ends, and the fighter, pulling it with his foot, pressed the butt harder to his shoulder. Thus, the vibrations of the machine gun were reduced and the shooting accuracy increased. The DT machine gun was installed on motorcycles. The design of the attachment of the machine gun to the sidecar made it possible to fire even at airplanes. However, this method of fighting aircraft was not very convenient: to shoot, it was necessary to stop, then the fighter got out of the wheelchair and fired at air targets from a “sitting” position. After the adoption of the machine gun DP, the British machine guns of the 1915 model, which had previously been in service with the Red Army, gradually went into storage, although at critical moments of the Great Patriotic War, the “Lewis” was forced to be used by individual military units, like many other outdated weapons.
At the end of the war the machine gun DP and its modernized version DPM, were withdrawn from service in the Soviet Army. However, they have found application in the armies of friendly countries, and China even organized its production. In service with member states of the Warsaw Pact DP consisted until the 1960s.
At the end of the 1920s. In the Soviet Union, a need arose to develop a special tank machine gun, which would become the main automatic small arms of tanks, armored vehicles and self-propelled guns and would be used mostly for firing at ground targets. A then little-known Soviet designer began its creation.
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The light machine gun of the Degtyarev system, which had already become accustomed to the rifle troops, was taken as a basis. DP-27. This circumstance made it possible to significantly reduce the development time of a new machine gun, since its creation was based on the modernization of an existing design. In particular, from its manual predecessor, the tank machine gun received an automatic operation scheme, a barrel locking system, a trigger mechanism and many other components. In accordance with the assignment, the machine gun of the Degtyarev system had an air-cooled barrel and ammunition from a disk magazine of increased capacity.
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