For the needs of the Soviet army in the 30s of the last century, the Degtyarev-Shpagin DShK heavy machine gun was designed and put into production. The weapon had impressive combat qualities and was capable of fighting both light armored vehicles and aircraft.
Over its long existence, it was used in the Second World War (WWII), the civil war in China, on the Korean Peninsula, in Afghanistan and Syria. The Russian army long ago replaced it with more modern machine guns, but the DShK is still used by armies around the world.
History of creation
In 1929, the Red Army (Workers' and Peasants' Red Army) used a good, but already quite strong, 7.62 mm cartridge to support infantry and fight enemy aircraft.
There were no large-caliber machine guns in the USSR, so they decided to create this kind of small arms. The task was entrusted to the gunsmiths of the Kovrov plant. It was recommended to use the developments applied in the DP (Degtyarev Infantry), but chambered for a larger caliber cartridge.
A year later, Degtyarev presented to the commission a 12.7 mm machine gun of his own design. For almost another year, modifications were carried out and various tests were carried out. In 1932, having successfully passed all the tests, the People's Commissariat accepted it into service. The machine gun went into production under the name DK. (Degtyarev Large-caliber.)
The reason for stopping serial production in 1935 was the low practical rate of fire, bulkiness and heavy weight of disk magazines.
Several gunsmiths began modernizing the design. One of them was Shpagin. He developed a new cartridge feeding system for the recreation center, a tape drive mechanism that fit into the place of the disk magazine receiver.
This reduced the size of the entire device. The new version of the DK received the name DShK (Degtyarev-Shpagin Large-caliber) and in 1938 it was adopted by the USSR Army.
At the end of WWII, a successful attempt was made to modify the DShK. The new model was called DShKM. The main differences from the DShK heavy machine gun were in the method of supplying ammunition - a simplified slider tape receiver and a different type of tape itself.
Design
The 12.7 mm DShK machine gun is a fully automatic weapon. Shooting in other modes is not provided.
To control the shooting, there are 2 holding handles located on the breech of the machine gun, and triggers for firing are located on the back wall.
Sights could be replaced depending on the use of the machine gun. This could be an angle sight for firing at flying objects. To hit ground targets, they used a frame sight with a notch of up to 3.5 km.
The DK-DShK automation is almost completely similar to the earlier DP-27. The principle of removing powder gases from the barrel, with the impact of their energy on the piston bolt mechanism. The barrel is locked with lugs. Shooting is carried out from an open bolt, which increases the rate of fire of the machine gun.
To reduce recoil, the designers installed a chamber-type muzzle brake at the end of the barrel.
The barrel is monoblock, non-removable on the DK-DShK; in the later DShKM the barrel is removable. Mounted on a screw connection, this was necessary for quickly changing a heated barrel in combat conditions. One person at a time could change the barrel.
For better performance of the weapon and cooling of the metal of the barrel during intense shooting, transverse fins were made on its surface, which, according to the designers, contributed to its cooling during the firing process.
The DK machine gun was fed with ammunition from a 30-round disc magazine. But due to its bulkiness and inconvenience of use, it was decided to transfer the machine gun to belt ammunition.
The design of the tape drive unit was proposed by the famous designer Shpagin - it was a drum with 6 chambers, the first of which housed a cartridge in a tape link. The tape had a “crab” type link, which was the optimal solution for this particular method of feeding the cartridge.
When the drum was rotated, the cartridge came out of the belt link, but remained in the drum chamber; the next time the drum moved, the cartridge ended up near the chamber, where the bolt sent it. For manual reloading of the machine gun, a lever located on the right side of the receiver was used; through rods it was connected to the drum and bolt.
The DShKM's method of feeding ammunition has changed; it has become a slider type.
The design of the belt has also changed; the link has become closed and more convenient to transport. In this case, the cartridge was first removed from the tape, and the tape was pulled further with a reverse movement. And the cartridge, falling down, was sent into the chamber.
The slider design of the shutter, without dependence on the drum of the tape transport mechanism, made it possible to throw the tape receiver from one side to the other. This made it possible to install the power system on any side of the weapon. Which led to the appearance of paired and quadruple modifications.
Shooting could be carried out with several types of projectiles. Basically, 12.7x108 mm cartridges with bullets were used for shooting:
- MDZ, incendiary, instant action;
- B-32, armor-piercing;
- BZT-44, universal, incendiary-tracer with a steel core;
- T-46, sighting and tracer.
Performance characteristics (TTX)
- Machine gun weight, kg: with Kolesnikov’s machine gun – 157/without – 33.5;
- Product length, cm: 162.5;
- Barrel length, cm: 107;
- Used projectile: 12.7*108 mm;
- Combat rate of fire, rounds per minute: 600 or 1200 (in anti-aircraft condition.);
- Bullet flight speed, initial: 640 – 840 meters per second;
- Maximum sighting range: 3.5 kilometers.
Combat use
In the technical specifications, the leadership of the Red Army ordered the designers to create a machine gun capable of performing a wide range of tasks. The first serious conflict in which the DShK was used was the Great Patriotic War.
The DShK was actively used in all units and branches of the military, both as an air defense system and as an independent or additional weapon for military equipment.
This weapon was supplied to the infantry on a universal machine developed by Kolesnikov.
In the transport position, the machine was equipped with wheels, which made it easy to transport; at the same time, for anti-aircraft shooting, the machine took the form of a tripod, and an additional angle sight for anti-aircraft shooting was additionally installed on the receiver.
Another important factor was the presence of an armored shield that protected against bullets and small fragments.
Rifle units used the DShK as a means of reinforcement; it is worth noting that the bulk of the DK machine guns transferred to the troops were subsequently converted into DShKs by replacing the magazine receiver with a Shpagin tape drum. Therefore, recreation center in the b/d was practically not used.
The main task of the DShK, however, was to combat air targets; this machine gun was actively used as an air defense weapon from its very birth, both on land, including by installation on armored vehicles, and in the navy, as an air defense weapon for large ships, and as a universal weapon for boats and small vessels.
After the war, the DShKM was mainly used as an air defense weapon and as an additional means of reinforcement in the form of installation on armored vehicles.
DShK has been in existence for 81 years. And although it was removed from service back in the 70s of the last century. They don’t forget about DShK in the rest of the world. For example, in China they are still assembled under the Type - 54 label. DShKs are also produced in the Middle East. Even under a license received from the USSR, the production line for the creation of this machine gun has been established in Iran and Pakistan.
During the war in Afghanistan, “welding”, as the machine gun was nicknamed by those who worked with it, because of the reflections of the shots reminiscent of the shine of electric welding - the DShKM showed itself as an excellent weapon against helicopters and low-flying aircraft. In addition, it also worked well against lightly armored vehicles, armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles.
News videos from the Syrian Republic show that its army is actively using DShKM.
This machine gun has deservedly taken its place in popular culture. During Soviet times, many heroic films were released. There is a mention in fiction books and autobiographies about the DShK machine gun. With the development of information technology, they can be found in huge quantities in computer games.
The DShK machine gun can be called a project of several gunsmiths. At first it was designed and modified by Degtyarev, later Shpagin joined this difficult process. All this led to the creation of an excellent heavy machine gun, which took part in almost all world conflicts.
Video
Please note that this article will talk about DShK And DShKM. Machine guns have significant design and technical differences, so you should not combine both models into one model DShK.
Legendary machine gun DShK stands for Degtyarev-Shpagin Large-caliber. In the Russian army, the machine gun is coded GRAU-56-P-42. Among Soviet and foreign soldiers it is often called " Darling"The machine gun is designed to use a large-caliber 12.7x108 mm cartridge. The main designers of the machine gun were famous gunsmiths V.A. Degtyarev and G.S. Shpagin. The machine gun was based on the Degtyarev Large-caliber-DK machine gun. Shpagin designed a drum belt receiver for a machine gun. Machine gun DShK was adopted by the Red Army on February 26, 1938. I.N.’s machine was adopted as a machine gun machine. Kolesnikov model 1938. The machine gun is designed to destroy aircraft flying at speeds of up to 550-625 km/h (depending on the model of the anti-aircraft machine gun) at a range of up to 2000-2400 meters and an altitude of 2500 meters. DShK effective as infantry support for combating lightly armored vehicles (armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles), enemy personnel located in various shelters at a distance of up to 3500 meters.
Ammunition for DShK/DShKM.
For firing a machine gun, a cartridge designed by domestic gunsmiths with a caliber of 12.7x108 mm (50 caliber) is used, having a shot power of 18.8-19.2 kJ (cartridge for AK 5.45x39 mm - 1400 J). The cartridge was created after the advent of the 12.7x99 mm cartridge, adopted for service in the United States, which is still widely used. Thanks to this energy, the B-32 cartridge for DShK capable of piercing a 20 mm thick steel armor plate at a distance of 750 meters at 20 degrees of plain steel. With such characteristics of the cartridge DShK capable of conducting effective fire at air targets with enhanced cabin protection, medium armored vehicles and fortified firing points. When shooting at 100 meters, the dispersion of bullets is 200 mm. Machine gun DShK/DShKM can use about 10 types of 12.7x108 mm cartridges: armor-piercing, incendiary, incendiary-armor-piercing, tandem, explosive, etc.
Automation DShK and DShKM
As in all designs of Degtyarev’s machine guns (DP-27, RPD, DT/DA, DS-39), the automation works by using part of the powder gases from the barrel, and the barrel is locked using lugs (“Degtyarev’s trick”). The basis was taken from the DK machine gun (developed in 1932) - an enlarged copy of the DP-27 machine gun chambered for a 12.7 mm cartridge with 30-round drums. The DK machine gun turned out to be bulky with a low combat rate of fire. For machine gun DShK Shpagin designed the drum tape feeder. To increase the life of the machine gun and accuracy when firing, a buffer with a spring was placed in the butt plate of the machine gun, which absorbs the recoil force of the bolt. The machine gun has a rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute, the firing mode is only automatic - bursts, it does not bother experienced machine gunners to fire one shot at a time. The machine gun has a quick-release barrel with transverse fins to improve cooling. The supply of cartridges is carried out using a massive drum with half-chambers for 6 rounds, which spins a machine-gun belt with a cartridge. When the cartridge in the belt is opposite the chamber, the bolt snatches the cartridge from the belt by pressing forward towards the chamber. Having driven the cartridge into the chamber, the lugs are moved apart using a pin to block the cartridge, then the firing pin pierces the primer and a shot occurs. During a shot, some of the gases, just before the bullet leaves, go into the gas outlet and push the piston, which pushes the bolt. While the bolt is being rolled back, the lugs are simultaneously moved to their original position, the cartridge case is removed, and the mainspring is compressed for a new cycle. When you move the reload lever, which is connected to the drum, the drum rotates for the next shot. The fire is carried out from the rear sear - the cartridge is not in the chamber until the fire starts. The butt plate of the machine gun is equipped with a damper spring to absorb part of the recoil energy, as well as a bolt spring for automatic operation. The machine gun barrel is quick-detachable. The safety of the weapon is ensured by a safety lever on the right side of the machine gun. A muzzle brake is provided at the end of the barrel to disperse powder gases in different directions when the cartridge leaves the barrel, which reduces recoil. To reload the machine gun, there is a handle at the back of the machine gun. For shooting at air targets, an anti-aircraft sight and shoulder rests were used. To move the machine gun on the march and the battlefield, the I.N. machine gun was used. Kolesnikova. The Kolesnikov machine was a cart with two wheels for moving it on the march and during combat operations. The machine had a shield to protect against fragments and rifle cartridges. In addition to infantry use, the machine can also be used as an anti-aircraft weapon. To do this, the armored shield was removed, the tripods were moved apart, and the machine gun turned into an anti-aircraft gun. The weight of the machine and the machine gun itself reached 180 kg, this mass is called a disadvantage, but this disadvantage was created intentionally, since the large mass of the machine gun holds the machine gun in place during recoil during firing. So, when using a machine gun on an anti-aircraft tripod, it was recommended to press the legs of the machine with sandbags. Perhaps the designers should have created infantry variants DShK- a lightweight machine on a bipod with a butt and a pistol grip, perhaps this option was not created, since the troops during the Second World War had a sufficient number of PTRD and PTRS chambered for the 14.5 mm cartridge. Something similar was created based on DShKM during the civil war in Ukraine in the mid-2010s. Most likely this is due to a shortage of weapons, since the NSV "Utes" is better suited for such modernization, since it weighs 9 kg less. Total weight of the machine gun Detailed weight data DShK and its components, see the end of the table. Photo with modernized DShKM can be found at the end of the article. On modern tanks, the machine gun has a collimator sight.
Combat story.
Reason for creation DShK Combat aviation became a new feature in the early 1930s, which became faster, more powerful, and some aircraft already had bulletproof protection for the engine and cockpit. At the time of its creation, the Soviet Army could only oppose the Maxim machine gun and the quad Maxim machine gun and other modifications of 7.62 mm machine guns based on the Maxim machine gun as an anti-aircraft machine gun. It was clear that anti-aircraft machine guns chambered for the 7.62 mm cartridge were not effective enough. In 1932, Degtyarev introduced the first domestic machine gun chambered for the 12.7 mm ZhK cartridge (Degtyarev Large-caliber), but the machine gun, with a capacity of only 30 rounds, did not meet its objectives as an anti-aircraft machine gun. Machine gun adopted by the Red Army DShK was adopted by the Defense Committee of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR on February 26, 1938 under the designation “12.7 mm heavy machine gun Degtyareva-Shpagina model 1938 - DShK." Mass production was established in 1940-41 at the Kovrov Mechanical Plant. Before the start of the Second World War, about 2000 machine guns were fired DShK. During the war, the Kuibyshev plant also produced machine guns. The machine gun was produced throughout the Second World War. During the entire period of the Second World War, 9,000 machine guns were fired DShK. During the war, torpedo boats, ships, armored trains, armored vehicles, infantry, etc. were armed with a machine gun.
Difference between DShK and DShKM
In 1946, the Soviet army adopted DShKM under the symbol GRAU-56-P-542M. DShKM (Degtyarev Shpagin Large-caliber Modernized) became deeply modernized DShK. The first 250 DShKMs were handed over to the troops back in February 1945. The work on creating the DShKM was carried out by K.I. Sokolov and A.K. Cow
According to the author of the article DShK And DShKM can be called different machine guns, since they have significant technical differences in the machine gun’s automation and its production. The same goes for the number of machine guns fired. So DShK was produced until 1945 in the USSR and was not in service with other countries of the world; approximately 9,000 were produced. Unlike DShK DShKM was/is in service in more than 40 countries of the world, and the number of machine guns produced DShKM may have surpassed the 1 million mark and continues to be produced in 6 countries around the world.
U DShK the barrel is connected to the receiver via a threaded connection, and DShKM castle turn. The mechanism of the lugs has design differences, so DShKM the shot will not fire until the lugs are extended. The presence of a buffer spring in the butt plate DShK, and DShKM roller braking of the shutter. Drum tape feeder DShK from left to right, and DShKM slide feeder with universal tape feed. Muzzle brake DShK And DShKM externally different. For food DShK belts of 50 rounds are used with direct supply of the cartridge from the belt to the chamber, and DShKM the tape consists of links of 10 cartridges and digs into the edge of the cartridge. It’s also an interesting point why the modernized DShK in its abbreviation has the letter " Sh", because the Shpagin belt feeder was abolished and it has nothing to do with the new machine gun.
Combat use.
DShK It was used as an anti-aircraft machine gun for tanks and self-propelled guns; it was used to arm various combat and auxiliary vessels. The machine gun was used on all armored trains and protected the sky from enemy aircraft near strategic targets. On the base DShK Quad and coaxial anti-aircraft machine guns were created.
During the Second World War, the combat crew of a machine gun consisted of 3-4 soldiers: a commander, a gunner, and an additional 1-2 soldiers for carrying and transporting the machine gun. Often machine guns DShK They worked in groups in different groups, so the crew commanders had to know by heart the calculation tables (range, speed, altitude, corrections) for firing at ground and air targets.
For its history DSh/DShKM accepted practically in all military conflicts after WWII. He fought in Vietnam against aircraft and US Army soldiers. In Afghanistan, it was used by the Mujahideen against helicopters, airplanes, armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles of the Soviet troops. During the Chechen campaign of 1995, it was used by the Russian army and militants of the unrecognized Republic of Ichkeria. It was actively used during the civil war in Ukraine in 2014-2016 on both sides of the conflict. Actively used on the “cart” (pickup truck with a machine gun DShK or KPVT) during military conflicts in different countries of the world.
Recently, a machine gun has become popular as a machine-gun “cart”; the machine gun has become very mobile, a large amount of ammunition can be immediately carried in the “cart”, and a welded turret machine to the vehicle significantly dampens recoil, which increases accuracy when shooting. The machine gun proved to be very effective for daggering fire against various enemy light armored vehicles, especially from the side, since most light armored vehicles are designed for side protection against 7.62 mm cartridges. The machine gun is often used against enemy personnel at long range, even if the targets are behind various covers. DShKM capable of destroying field pillboxes, capable of breaking through walls, fences made of brick and concrete. Poses a threat to military helicopters with armor protection.
Conclusion
Despite his honorable age of 70 years DShK/DShKM continues to be in service in more than 40 countries and is currently produced in 4 countries. The machine gun managed to see almost all military conflicts after WWII, which indicates its combat effectiveness and reliability. Historically, it turned out that the machine gun DShK And DShKM in all information sources they are called DShK, but in practice these are technically different machine guns. Currently being replaced DShKM 12.7 mm “Utes” and “Kord” machine guns arrived. The combat history of the machine gun will not end soon, and we will often see its silhouette in various news from zones of military conflicts.
Modifications DShK/DShKM
1. DShKT/DShKMT machine guns installed on armored vehicles
2. DShKM-2B-coaxial anti-aircraft machine gun DShK installed in a bulletproof turret on armored boats and ships.
3. MTU-2-coaxial machine gun DShK on a turret for use on ships.
4. DShKM-4 anti-aircraft version of the quad machine gun DShKM.
5. P-2K machine gun DShK installed in a submarine shaft. It rose when the submarine surfaced.
| Number of shots | 50 in the feed |
| Barrel diameter | 12.7x108 mm, 8 grooves |
| Combat rate of fire | 120 rounds per minute |
| Maximum rate of fire | 540-600 rounds per minute |
| Sighting range | 3200-3500 meters |
| Effective sighting range | 2000 meters |
| Maximum bullet range | 7000 meters |
| Initial departure speed | 830-850 m/s |
| Automation | gas outlet |
| Weight | 157 kg loaded |
| Dimensions | 2382 mm |
DShK(Dektyarev-Shpagin Large-caliber) - Soviet 12.7-mm machine gun developed by designers Degtyarev and Shpagin. In February 1939, the DShK was adopted by the Red Army under the designation “12.7 mm heavy machine gun DShK model 1938.” Mass production of DShK began in 1940-41. The cartridge used is 12.7x108 mm DShK. Ammunition was supplied from a box with a belt for 50 rounds, fed from the left. The machine gun has a fairly high rate of fire, which makes fire effective against fast-moving targets.
Based on the experience of the war, the machine gun was modernized (the design of the belt feed unit and barrel mount were changed), and in 1946 it was adopted into service by the Soviet Army under the designation DShKM. Various sights could be attached to the machine gun: frame, ring, collimator, as well as various flame arresters and muzzle brakes. The machine gun was or is in service with over 40 armies around the world, and is still used in many conflicts around the world. Currently, in the Russian army, the DShK and DShKM machine guns have been almost completely replaced by the Utes and Kord large-caliber machine guns, which are more advanced and modern.
Cartridge 12.7Х108 in comparison with other cartridges (from left to right: 5.45Х39, 7.62Х39, 7.62Х54)
Cartridge 12.7X108 in comparison with other large-caliber cartridges
DShK model 1938
Vehicles equipped with these weapons
- IS-2 (1944), IS-3, IS-4M
- ISU-122, ISU-122S, ISU-152
- T-54 (1947), T-54 (1951), T-55A, T-44-100, Type 62 (USSR)
Main characteristics
Composition of tapes
The cartridges used in the DShK are: BZ - armor-piercing incendiary, T - tracer, MDZ - instant-action incendiary, BZT - armor-piercing incendiary tracer, BZ(MKS) - armor-piercing incendiary with a metal-ceramic core.
Purpose and features of different types of bullets in the game: Aviation ammunition
- Belts for ZSU GAZ DShK
| Ribbon | Compound |
|---|---|
| Standard | BZ-T-MDZ |
| BZ | BZ(ISS)-BZT-BZ(ISS)-BZT |
| B | BZ(ISS)-BZ(ISS)-BZT |
| BZT | BZT-BZT-BZ(ISS) |
- Standard tape (for turret and coaxial DShK machine guns on tanks and self-propelled guns) - composition: BZT-MDZ-BZT-BZ(MKS)
DShKM model 1945
Anti-aircraft installation in the back of a truck (three 12.7-mm DShK machine guns) in the center of Moscow, on Sverdlov Square (now Teatralnaya). The Metropol Hotel is visible in the background.
Comparison with analogues
- The widespread American Browning M2 (12.7 mm) machine gun can be compared with the DShK machine gun. The M2 is inferior in penetration (since it does not have cartridges with a metal-ceramic core, like the DShK), in rate of fire, and muzzle energy of the bullet. However, the M2 is superior in the number of cartridges in the box (minimum 100, maximum 200 for the ZSU), the barrel is longer, and penetration by BZ and BZT cartridges is a couple of millimeters higher. They are the same in terms of reload speed.
- The French machine gun Hotchkiss Mle.1930 is inferior to the DShK in rate of fire (450 rpm), penetration, number of loaded cartridges (30 in a box magazine). But Hotchkiss is superior to the DShK in reload speed and caliber (13.2 mm).
Use in combat
The DShK machine gun perfectly penetrates with BZ (MKS) cartridges, but you should remember that the 50-round cartridge box is quickly running out. Lightly armored vehicles are vulnerable to DShK cartridges (ZSU, light-medium tanks and self-propelled guns), but it is advisable to study their weak points (for example, sides, rear, barrel). Bullets from a machine gun can also be used to point at the enemy to allies and prevent the enemy from seeing. Against aircraft, it makes sense to use an MDZ cartridge (explosive, with explosives inside).
Advantages and disadvantages
The DShK machine gun (12.7 mm) is quite good in the game; it allows you to fight both lightly armored vehicles and aircraft. It has good armor penetration and rate of fire. Although the machine gun is not without its shortcomings compared to other analogues.
Advantages:
- Good rate of fire.
- The 12.7 mm machine gun is capable of fighting not only unarmored vehicles and aircraft, but also lightly armored vehicles.
- An excellent penetrating and at the same time incendiary cartridge with a metal-ceramic core BZ (MKS).
- Explosive cartridges MDZ.
Flaws:
- Long reload (10.4 sec).
- Small usable belt (50 rounds)
Historical reference
SHVAK 12.7 mm
12.7-mm ShVAK machine gun on an anti-aircraft rack of Ershov, Ivanov, Chernyshev in the back of a GAZ-AA truck
Aviation DNA: synchronous-wing
Wing DShKA 1938
Vasily Alekseevich Degtyarev (1879/1880 - 1949) - Russian and Soviet designer of small arms. Hero of Socialist Labor. Winner of four Stalin Prizes.
Georgy Semyonovich Shpagin (1897-1952) - Soviet designer of small arms. Hero of Socialist Labor (1945). Recipient of 3 Orders of Lenin.
The task to create the first Soviet heavy machine gun was issued to the experienced and well-known gunsmith Degtyarev in 1929. Less than a year later, he presented his 12.7 mm machine gun for testing, and in 1932, small-scale production of the machine gun under the designation DK began. Military tests of the DK and additional field tests in 1934 showed that the machine gun was of little use for combating fast-moving targets due to its low rate of fire. Although the rate of fire reached a quite acceptable 360-400 rounds/min, the practical rate of fire did not exceed 200 rounds/min, which was due to the heavy and bulky magazines. We experimented with different machines and different box magazines, but they had even less capacity. The DAK-32, intended for both fixed wing installations and turrets, repeated the “land” version of the DK with all its shortcomings, the main of which was an absolutely insufficient rate of fire for aviation, only 300 rounds/min, and a decent weight of 35.5 kg.
In 1934, the production of DC was suspended, and in 1935 it was discontinued. To a large extent, B.G. contributed to stopping work on improving the Degtyarev heavy machine gun. Shpitalny, who promised I.V. Stalin received a machine gun with the best characteristics based on the aviation ShKAS - the 12.7 mm ShVAK machine gun. However, the fate of the 12.7 mm ShVAK did not work out. Partly due to the complexity of the design inherited from ShKAS, partly due to the impossibility of using a standard 12.7x108 cartridge in the ShVAK automatics. As a result, in parallel with the Degtyarev cartridge, a ballistically identical cartridge for ShVAK 12.7x108R with a protruding rim was put into production. Apparently, “at the top” they still considered it inappropriate to produce two types of cartridges in parallel, giving preference to the more universal and automatic-friendly cartridgeless cartridge, and the production of 12.7-mm ShVAKs was curtailed in 1936 in favor of the 20-mm air cannon.
Meanwhile, the need for a universal heavy machine gun was still very urgent. Fortunately, V.A. Degtyarev managed to bring his brainchild to acceptable characteristics in 1935 - 1936. To increase the survivability of parts and the rate of fire, a spring buffer of the bolt frame was introduced into the machine gun, which increased the roll-up speed of the moving system, which required the introduction of an anti-rebound device to prevent the frame from rebounding after an impact in the extreme forward position. Working out the machine gun's power supply system remained a serious problem. In 1937, Georgy Shpagin significantly improved his version of the tape receiver, creating a drum mechanism for feeding a metal one-piece tape in sections of 50 cartridges of the original design. In April 1938, the belt-fed machine gun was successfully tested, and on December 17 it passed field tests. And on February 26, 1939, the model was put into service under the designation “12.7-mm heavy machine gun model 1938 DShK (Degtyareva - Shpagina large-caliber).” The machine gun was considered as a means of combating air targets, light armored vehicles, as well as manpower and enemy firing points in shelters.The machine gun began to enter the army in 1940.
In the same 1938, based on the “land” DShK, the aviation TsKB-2-3835 was developed in versions of the wing DShKA and synchronous-wing DNA with belt power, as well as the turret DShTA (DSHAT) for a 30-round Kladov drum magazine. Work on aviation versions in addition to V.A. itself. Degtyarev and G.S. Shpagin was led by K.F. Vasiliev, G.F. Kubynov, S.S. Bryntsev, S.A. Smirnov. Structurally identical to each other, the aircraft machine guns were made with a high degree of unification with the DShK machine gun. The difference was a higher rate of fire - 750-800 rounds/min, which was achieved by using loose metal tape with a smaller pitch between links - 34 mm instead of 39 mm for the one-piece DShK belt. It is characteristic that Degtyarev also hedged his bets by developing versions both for the standard 12.7x108 cartridge and for the ShVAK welted 12.7x108R cartridge.
Unlike the DShK machine gun, its aviation versions had the ability to quickly change the barrel. The feed of the tape on the wing-mounted DShKA and synchronous DNA versions of the machine gun was carried out on the left side, although in production versions it would certainly have been possible to change the direction of feed of the tape. By the end of 1938, the DNA synchronized machine gun, and apparently this version was given the highest priority, successfully passed field tests, with virtually no comments. But then chance intervened in the fate of this interesting weapon. Just in the fall of 1938, the UB aviation machine gun, a young and practically unknown designer M.E., passed a series of factory and field tests. Berezin, showing exceptionally high performance, good survivability and reliability of its automation. Using the same loose belt of DK cartridges, it fired faster, was lighter and technologically simpler. There is a legend that at the beginning of 1939, at a meeting with Stalin, where promising types of weapons were considered, the question of a new aviation heavy machine gun was raised. Stalin, puffing on his pipe, looking into the eyes of V.A. Degtyarev, asked: “So which machine gun is better, yours or comrade Berezin’s?” To which Degtyarev, without hesitation, replied that “Comrade Berezin’s machine gun is better.”
The result is known. Our aviation received, perhaps, the best aircraft machine gun in its class in the world. Well, Degtyarev got the “land” niche. The large-caliber DShK in various modifications was in service in the USSR for many decades, and after its collapse in the armed forces of the newly formed states. And even now it is often found all over the world.
The DShK was used by the USSR from the very beginning of World War II in all directions and survived the entire war. It was used as an infantry weapon, from various machines, and was placed en masse on trucks for air defense. The DShK was the main armament of the T-40 (amphibious tank), LB-62 and BA-64D (light armored vehicles), and experimental ZSU T-60, T-70, T-90. In 1944, a 12.7-mm anti-aircraft turret with a DShK was installed on the IS-2 heavy tank, and later on heavy self-propelled guns for self-defense of vehicles in the event of attacks from the air and from upper floors in urban battles. Anti-aircraft armored trains were armed with DShK machine guns on tripods or stands (during the war, up to 200 armored trains operated in the air defense forces). A DShK with a shield and a folded machine could be dropped to partisans or landing forces in a UPD-MM parachute bag.
The fleet began receiving DShKs in 1940 (at the beginning of the Second World War there were 830 of them). During the war, industry transferred 4,018 DShKs to the fleet, and another 1,146 were transferred from the army. In the navy, anti-aircraft DShKs were installed on all types of ships, including mobilized fishing and transport ships. They were used on twin single pedestals, turrets, and turrets. The pedestal, rack-mount and turret (coaxial) installations for DShK machine guns, adopted by the Navy, were developed by I.S. Leshchinsky, designer of plant No. 2. The pedestal installation allowed for all-round firing, vertical guidance angles ranged from -34 to +85 degrees. In 1939 A.I. Ivashutich, another Kovrov designer, developed a twin pedestal installation, and the later appeared DShKM-2 gave all-round fire. Vertical guidance angles ranged from -10 to +85 degrees. In 1945, the 2M-1 twin deck-mounted installation, which had a ring sight, was put into service. The DShKM-2B twin turret installation, created at TsKB-19 in 1943, and the ShB-K sight made it possible to conduct all-round fire at vertical guidance angles from -10 to +82 degrees.
In 1945-46, the troops were armed with the already modernized DShKM. As an anti-aircraft machine gun, the DShKM was installed on T-10, T-54, T-55, T-62 tanks and other combat vehicles. And in the IS-4M and T-10 tanks it was paired with the main gun. In the version for installation on armored vehicles, the machine gun is called DShKMT or briefly DShKT. After the end of World War II, the DShK machine gun was used in almost all local conflicts.
- Unofficial, affectionate nicknames among the troops are “Dushka”, “Dashka”, “Tar”.
- Work was carried out on the DShK aircraft installation, but it soon became clear that the Berezin system (UB) machine gun was better suited for aviation use due to some characteristics.
- The German army did not have a standard heavy machine gun, so they gladly used captured DShKs, which were designated MG.286(r).
Media
Anti-aircraft turret with two DShKs on a Soviet armored boat of Project 1124 in the game
Gaz-AAA with DShK in the game
ISU-152 with anti-aircraft DShKM in the game
Drum cartridge feeding mechanism for DShK model 1938
Anti-aircraft DShKM on a tank with a gunner
ZSU T-90 (based on the T-70 tank) with two DShK machine guns, in the museum of the UMMC Verkhnyaya Pyshma
Anti-aircraft and twin DShK tank IS-4 (Kubinka Museum)
DShK is a large-caliber heavy machine gun, created on the basis of the DK machine gun and using a 12.7x108 mm cartridge. The DShK machine gun is one of the most common heavy machine guns. He played a significant role in the Great Patriotic War, as well as in subsequent military conflicts.
It was a formidable means of fighting the enemy on land, at sea and in the air. DShK had a unique nickname “Dushka”. Currently, in the Russian armed forces, the DShK and DShKM are completely replaced by the Utes and Kord machine guns as more modern and advanced.
Story
In 1929, the experienced and famous gunsmith Degtyarev was tasked with developing the first Soviet heavy machine gun, designed primarily to combat aircraft at altitudes of up to 1.5 km. About a year later, the gunsmith presented his 12.7 mm machine gun for testing. Since 1932, this machine gun under the designation DK was put into small-scale production.
However, the DK machine gun had certain disadvantages:
- low practical rate of fire;
- heavy weight of stores;
- bulkiness and heavy weight.
Therefore, in 1935, production of the DK machine gun was discontinued, and the developers began improving it. By 1938, designer Shpagin designed a DC tape power module. As a result, the improved machine gun was adopted by the Red Army on February 26, 1939 under the designation DShK - Degtyarev-Shpagin heavy machine gun.
Mass production of DShK began in 1940-1941. DShK machine guns were used:
- as an infantry support weapon;
- as anti-aircraft guns;
- installed on armored vehicles (T-40);
- installed on small ships, including torpedo boats.
By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Kovrov Mechanical Plant produced approximately 2 thousand DShKs. By 1944, more than 8,400 machine guns had already been produced. And by the end of the war - 9 thousand DShKs; production of machine guns of this system continued in the post-war period.
Based on the experience of the war, the DShK was modernized, and in 1946 a machine gun called the DShKM entered service. The DShKM was installed as an anti-aircraft machine gun on T-62, T-54, T-55 tanks. The tank version of the machine gun was called DShKMT.
Design Features
The DShK heavy machine gun (12.7 mm caliber) is an automatic weapon that uses the principle of removing powder gases. The DShK fire mode is automatic only, the fixed barrel is equipped with a muzzle brake and has special fins for better cooling. The barrel is locked by two combat cylinders, which are hinged on the bolt.
The feed is made from a metal non-scattered tape; the tape is fed from the left side of the DShK. The tape feeder is made in the form of a drum. As the drum rotated, it simultaneously fed the belt and also removed cartridges from it (the belt had open links). After the chamber of the drum with the cartridge came to the lower position, the bolt fed the cartridge into the chamber.
The tape was fed using a lever located on the right side and swinging in a vertical plane during the action of the loading handle, rigidly connected to the bolt frame.
The drum mechanism of the DShKM was replaced with a compact slider mechanism, which worked on a similar principle. The cartridge was removed from the tape downwards, after which it was fed directly into the chamber. Spring buffers for the bolt frame and bolt are installed in the buttplate of the receiver. The fire is fired from the rear sear. To control the fire, two handles are used on the butt plate, as well as twin triggers. A frame sight was installed for aiming, and special mounts were installed for the anti-aircraft foreshortening sight.
The machine gun was mounted on a universal machine of the Kolesnikov system, which was equipped with a steel shield and removable wheels. When using the machine gun as an anti-aircraft gun, the rear support was folded into a tripod, and the wheels and shield were removed. The main disadvantage of this machine was its weight, which limited the mobility of the machine gun. The machine gun was installed:
- on ship pedestal installations;
- in tower installations;
- on remote-controlled anti-aircraft installations.
Technical characteristics of the DShK model 1938
- Cartridge – 12.7×108.
- The total weight of the machine gun (on the machine, with a belt and without a shield) is 181.3 kg.
- The mass of the DShK “body” without tape is 33.4 kg.
- Barrel weight – 11.2 kg.
- The length of the DShK “body” is 1626 mm.
- Barrel length - 1070 mm.
- Rifling - 8 right-hand.
- The length of the rifled part of the barrel is 890 mm.
- The initial bullet speed is 850-870 m/s.
- The muzzle energy of the bullet is on average 19,000 J.
- The rate of fire is 600 rounds per minute.
- Combat rate of fire is 125 rounds per minute.
- The length of the aiming line is 1110 mm.
- Sighting range for ground targets - 3500 m.
- Sighting range against air targets is 2400 m.
- Height reach - 2500 m.
- Type of machine: wheeled tripod.
- The height of the firing line in a ground position is 503 mm.
- The height of the firing line at anti-aircraft position is 1400 mm.
- For anti-aircraft shooting, the time to transition to a combat position from a traveling position is 30 seconds.
- Calculation: 3-4 people.
Modifications
- DSHKT- tank machine gun, first installed on IS-2 tanks as an anti-aircraft gun
- DShKM-2B– a twin installation for armored boats, where two machine guns were installed in a closed turret, with bulletproof armor
- MTU-2— twin turret unit weighing 160 kg, designed for installation on ships
- DShKM-4— experimental quad installation
- P-2K- a mine installation created for submarines (during the trip it was removed inside the boat)
Video about the DShK machine gun
If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them
On February 26, 1939, by decree of the Defense Committee under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, a 12.7-mm heavy machine gun of the 1938 model DShK ("Degtyarev-Shpagina large-caliber") of the V. A. Degtyarev system with a drum receiver of the G. S. system was adopted for service. Shpagina. The machine gun was adopted on a universal machine of the I.N. system. Kolesnikov with detachable wheel travel and folding tripod. During the Great Patriotic War, the DShK machine gun was used to combat air targets, lightly armored enemy vehicles, and enemy personnel at long and medium ranges, as weapons for tanks and self-propelled guns. At the end of the Great Patriotic War, designers K.I. Sokolov and A.K. Norov carried out a significant modernization of the heavy machine gun. First of all, the power mechanism was changed - the drum receiver was replaced with a slider one. In addition, the manufacturability of the weapon has been improved, the mounting of the machine gun barrel has been changed, and a number of measures have been taken to increase survivability. The reliability of the system has increased. The first 250 modernized machine guns were produced in February 1945 at the plant in Saratov. In 1946, the machine gun was put into service under the designation “12.7-mm machine gun mod. 1938/46, DShKM." The DShKM immediately became a tank anti-aircraft machine gun: it was installed on tanks of the IS series, T-54/55, T-62, on the BTR-50PA, modernized ISU-122 and ISU-152, and special vehicles on a tank chassis.
Since the differences between the 12.7 mm heavy machine gun mod. 1938, DShK and a modernized machine gun mod. 1938/46 DShKM consist mainly in the design of the feed mechanism, let's look at these machine guns together.
The machine gun is automatic and operates by removing powder gases through a transverse hole in the barrel wall, with a long stroke of the gas piston. The closed-type gas chamber is reinforced under the barrel and is equipped with a pipe regulator with three holes. The entire length of the barrel has transverse ribbing for better cooling; a single-chamber active-type muzzle brake is attached to the muzzle of the barrel. The barrel bore is locked by moving the bolt lugs to the sides. The DShK barrel was equipped with an active type muzzle brake, which was later replaced by a flat brake, also of the active type (this muzzle brake was also used on the DShK, and became the main one for tank modifications).
The leading element of the automation is the bolt frame. A gas piston rod is screwed into the bolt frame at the front, and a firing pin is mounted on a stand at the rear. When the bolt approaches the breech of the barrel, the bolt stops, and the bolt frame continues to move forward, the firing pin rigidly connected to it with its thickened part moves forward relative to the bolt and spreads the bolt lugs, which fit into the corresponding recesses of the receiver. The lugs are brought together and the bolt is unlocked by bevels of the figured socket of the bolt frame as it moves backwards. Removal of the spent cartridge case is ensured by the bolt ejector; the cartridge case is removed from the weapon downwards, through the window of the bolt frame, using a spring-loaded rod reflector mounted at the top of the bolt. The return spring is placed on the gas piston rod and covered with a tubular casing. The buttplate contains two spring shock absorbers that soften the impact of the bolt carrier and bolt at the rearmost point. In addition, shock absorbers give the frame and bolt an initial return velocity, thereby increasing the rate of fire. The reloading handle, located at the bottom right, is rigidly connected to the bolt frame and is small in size. The reloading mechanism of the machine gun mount interacts with the reloading handle, but the machine gunner can directly use the handle, for example, by inserting a cartridge into it with the bottom of the cartridge case.
The shot is fired with the shutter open. The trigger mechanism allows only automatic fire. It is activated by a trigger lever hinged on the buttplate of the machine gun. The trigger mechanism is assembled in a separate housing and is equipped with a non-automatic safety lever that blocks the trigger lever (front position of the flag) and prevents spontaneous lowering of the sear.
The impact mechanism is powered by a return spring. After locking the barrel bore, the bolt frame continues to move forward, in the extreme forward position it hits the clutch, and the firing pin hits the firing pin mounted in the bolt. The sequence of operations of spreading the lugs and striking the firing pin eliminates the possibility of firing when the barrel bore is not fully locked. To prevent the bolt frame from rebounding after an impact in the extreme forward position, a “delay” is mounted in it, including two springs, a bend and a roller.
DShKM machine gun incompletely disassembled: 1 - barrel with gas chamber, front sight and muzzle brake; 2 - bolt frame with gas piston; 3 - shutter; 4 - combat stops; 5 - drummer; 6 - wedge; 7 - butt plate with buffer; 8 - trigger housing; 9 - cover and base of the receiver and feed drive lever; 10 - receiver.
The cartridges are fed by a belt feed, with a left-hand feed of a metal link belt. The tape consists of open links and is placed in a metal box mounted on the installation bracket. The visor of the box serves as the tape feed tray. The DShK drum receiver was driven by the bolt handle, moving backward, it bumped into the fork of the swinging feed lever and turned it. The dog at the other end of the lever rotated the drum 60°, which pulled the tape. Removing the cartridge from the belt link - in the lateral direction. In the DShKM machine gun, the slider-type receiver is mounted on top of the receiver. The slider with the feed fingers is driven by a bell crank rotating in a horizontal plane. The crank arm, in turn, is driven by a rocker arm with a fork at the end. The latter, as in the DShK, is driven by the bolt handle.
By flipping the slider crank, you can change the direction of the belt feed from left to right.
The 12.7 mm cartridge has several options: with an armor-piercing bullet, armor-piercing incendiary, sighting-incendiary, sighting, tracer, armor-piercing incendiary tracer (used against air targets). The sleeve does not have a protruding rim, which made it possible to use direct feeding of the cartridge from the tape.
For shooting at ground targets, a folding frame sight is used, mounted on a base on top of the receiver. The sight has worm mechanisms for installing the rear sight and introducing lateral corrections, the frame is equipped with 35 divisions (up to 3500 m in 100) and is tilted to the left to compensate for bullet derivation. The pin front sight with a safety device is placed on a high base in the muzzle of the barrel. When firing at ground targets, the dispersion diameter at a distance of 100 m was 200 mm. The DShKM machine gun is equipped with a collimator anti-aircraft sight, which facilitates aiming at a high-speed target and allows you to see the aiming mark and the target with equal clarity. The DShKM, installed on tanks as an anti-aircraft weapon, was equipped with a K-10T collimator sight. The optical system of the sight formed at the output an image of the target and an aiming reticle projected onto it with rings for shooting with lead and protractor divisions.
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