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12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine gun dshk in the Navy. DShK machine gun: characteristics. DShK large-caliber machine gun. Production and combat use

DShK is a heavy machine gun based on the DK machine gun and using a 12.7×108 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. The DShK had a peculiar nickname "Dushka". Currently, in the armed forces of Russia, DShK and DShKM are completely replaced by Utes and Kord machine guns as more modern and advanced.

Story

In 1929, the experienced and well-known gunsmith Degtyarev was instructed to develop the first Soviet heavy machine gun, designed primarily to combat aircraft at altitudes 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 launched into small-scale production.

However, the DK machine gun had certain disadvantages:

low practical rate of fire;
big weight shops;
bulkiness and heavy weight.

Therefore, in 1935, the production of the DK machine gun was discontinued, and the developers began to improve it. By 1938, the designer Shpagin had 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 - the Degtyarev-Shpagin heavy machine gun.

Mass production of the DShK began in 1940-1941. DShK machine guns 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 2,000 DShKs. By 1944, more than 8400 machine guns had already been produced. And by the end of the war - 9 thousand DShK, the production of machine guns of this system continued in the post-war period.

According to the experience of the war, the DShK was modernized, and in 1946 a machine gun called DShKM entered service. 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

Heavy machine gun DShK (caliber 12.7 mm) is an automatic weapon that uses the principle of removal of powder gases. DShK fire mode - only automatic, non-removable barrel is equipped with a muzzle brake and has special ribs for better cooling. The barrel is locked by two combat larvae, which are pivotally mounted on the bolt.

Power is supplied from a metal non-loose tape, the tape is fed from the left side of the DShK. The tape feeder is made in the form of a drum. During rotation, the drum simultaneously fed the tape, and also removed the cartridges from it (the tape 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 feed of the tape was carried out 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 at the DShKM was replaced by a compact slider, which worked on a similar principle. The cartridge was removed from the tape down, after which it was fed directly into the chamber. Spring buffers are installed in the butt plate of the receiver bolt carrier and shutter. The fire is conducted from the rear sear. To control the fire, two handles on the butt plate are used, as well as twin triggers. For aiming, a frame sight was installed, 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 a machine gun as anti-aircraft gun the rear support was bred into a tripod, and the wheels and shield were removed. The main disadvantage of this machine was the weight, which limited the mobility of the machine gun. The machine gun was installed:

on ship pedestal installations;
in tower installations;
on remotely controlled anti-aircraft installations.

Specifications 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 weight of the “body” of the DShK without tape is 33.4 kg.
Barrel weight - 11.2 kg.
The length of the "body" DShK - 1626 mm.
Barrel length - 1070 mm.
Rifling - 8 right-handed.
The length of the rifled part of the barrel is 890 mm.
The initial speed of the bullet is 850-870 m / s.
The muzzle energy of a bullet is an average of 19,000 J.
The rate of fire is 600 rounds per minute.
Combat rate of fire - 125 rounds per minute.
Sighting line length - 1110 mm.
Sighting range for ground targets - 3500 m.
Sighting range for air targets - 2400 m.
Reach in height - 2500 m.
Type of machine - wheel-tripod.
The height of the line of fire in the ground position is 503 mm.
The height of the line of fire in anti-aircraft position is 1400 mm.
For anti-aircraft fire, the transition time to combat position from marching is 30 seconds.
Calculation - 3-4 people.

Modifications

DShKT- tank machine gun, was first installed on IS-2 tanks as an anti-aircraft gun
DShKM-2B- twin installation for armored boats, where two machine guns were installed in a closed tower, with bulletproof armor
MTU-2- a twin turret weighing 160 kg, designed for installation on ships
DShKM-4- experimental quad installation
P-2K- a mine installation designed for submarines (during the campaign it was removed inside the boat)

Video about the DShK machine gun

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DShK(GRAU index - 56-P-542) - easel heavy machine gun chambered for 12.7 × 108 mm. Developed on the basis of the design of the DK heavy machine gun.

In February 1939, the DShK was adopted by the Red Army under the designation "12.7 mm heavy machine gun Degtyarev - Shpagin model 1938".

PERFORMANCE AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS DShK MACHINE GUN
Manufacturer:	Kovrov Arms Plant
Cartridge:
Caliber:	12.7mm
Weight, machine gun body:	33.5 kg
Weight, on the machine:	157 kg
Length:	1625 mm
Barrel length:	1070 mm
Number of grooves in the barrel:	n/a
Trigger mechanism (USM):	Impact type, automatic fire mode only
Operating principle:	Removal of powder gases, locking with sliding lugs
Rate of fire:	600 shots/min
Fuse:	n/a
Aim:	open/optical
Effective range:	1500 m
Target range:	3500 m
Muzzle velocity:	860 m/s
Type of ammunition:	Non-loose cartridge belt
Number of rounds:	50
Years of production:	1938–1946

History of creation and production

The task to create the first Soviet heavy machine gun, designed primarily to fight aircraft at altitudes up to 1500 meters, was issued by that time to the already very experienced and well-known gunsmith Degtyarev in 1929. Less than a year later, Degtyarev presented his 12.7 mm machine gun for testing, and since 1932 small-scale production of a machine gun under the designation DK (Degtyarev, Large-caliber) began. In general, the DK repeated the design of the DP-27 light machine gun, and was powered by detachable drum magazines for 30 rounds, mounted on top of the machine gun. The disadvantages of such a power supply scheme (bulky and heavy stores, low practical rate of fire) forced the production of the DC to be discontinued in 1935 and to improve it. By 1938, the designer Shpagin had developed a tape power module for recreation centers.

On February 26, 1939, an improved machine gun was adopted by the Red Army under the designation "12.7 mm Degtyarev-Shpagin heavy machine gun of the 1938 model - DShK."

The mass production of the DShK was launched in 1940-41.

DShKs were used as anti-aircraft weapons, as infantry support weapons, mounted on armored vehicles (T-40) and small ships (including torpedo boats). In accordance with the state of the rifle division of the Red Army No. 04 / 400-416 of April 5, 1941, the regular number of DShK anti-aircraft machine guns in the division was 9 pieces.

By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Kovrov Mechanical Plant produced about 2 thousand DShK machine guns.

On November 9, 1941, GKO Decree No. 874 “On strengthening and strengthening air defense Soviet Union", which provided for the redistribution of DShK machine guns for arming the created units of the air defense forces.

By the beginning of 1944, over 8400 DShK machine guns had been produced.

Until the end of the Great Patriotic War, 9 thousand DShK machine guns were produced, in the post-war period, the production of machine guns continued.

Design

The DShK large-caliber machine gun is an automatic weapon built on the gas principle. The barrel is locked by two combat larvae, pivotally mounted on the bolt, for recesses in the side walls of the receiver. The fire mode is only automatic, the barrel is fixed, ribbed for better cooling, equipped with a muzzle brake.

Power is supplied from a non-loose metal tape, the tape is fed from the left side of the machine gun. At DShK, the tape feeder was made in the form of a drum with six open chambers. The drum, during its rotation, fed the tape and at the same time removed cartridges from it (the tape had open links). After the drum chamber with the cartridge arrived in the lower position, the cartridge was fed into the chamber by a bolt. The drive of the tape feeder was carried out using a lever located on the right side, swinging in a vertical plane when the loading handle, rigidly connected to the bolt frame, acted on its lower part.

In the butt plate of the receiver, spring buffers of the bolt and bolt carrier are mounted. The fire was fired from the rear sear (from an open bolt), two handles on the butt plate and twin triggers were used to control the fire. The sight is frame, the machine also had mounts for an anti-aircraft foreshortening sight.

The machine gun was used from the universal machine of the Kolesnikov system. The machine was equipped with removable wheels and a steel shield, and when using a machine gun as an anti-aircraft wheel, the shield was removed, and the rear support was bred, forming a tripod. In addition, the machine gun in the role of an anti-aircraft gun was equipped with special shoulder stops. The main disadvantage of this machine was its heavy weight, which limited the mobility of the machine gun. In addition to the machine gun, the machine gun was used in tower installations, on remotely controlled anti-aircraft installations, on ship pedestal installations.

Combat use

The machine gun was used by the USSR from the very beginning in all directions and went through the entire war. It was used as an easel and anti-aircraft machine gun. The large caliber allowed the machine gun to effectively deal with many targets, up to medium armored vehicles. At the end of the war, the DShK was massively installed as an anti-aircraft gun on the towers Soviet tanks and self-propelled guns for self-defense of vehicles in case of attacks from the air and from the upper floors in urban battles.

Soviet tankers 62nd Guards Heavy Tank Regiment in a street fight in Danzig.
The DShK heavy machine gun mounted on the IS-2 tank is used to destroy enemy soldiers armed with anti-tank grenade launchers.

Video

DShK machine gun. TV program. Weapon TV

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 series. The weapon had impressive combat qualities and was able to deal with both light armored vehicles and aircraft.

For a long existence, it was used in the Second World War (WWII), civil war in China, the Korean Peninsula, Afghanistan and Syria. Russian army long ago replaced it with more modern machine guns, but the DShK is still used by the armies of the world.

History of creation

In 1929, the Red Army (Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army) used a good, but already strong enough, which used a 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 used in the DP (Degtyarev Infantry), but chambered larger caliber.

A year later, Degtyarev presented to the commission a 12.7 mm machine gun of his own design. For almost a year, refinement was carried out and various tests were carried out. In 1932, having successfully passed all the tests, the People's Commissariat took it into service. The machine gun went into the series under the name - DK. (Degtyarev Large-caliber.)

Reason for stopping serial production in 1935, the low practical rate of fire, bulkiness and heavy weight of disk magazines became.

Several gunsmiths began to modernize the design. One of them was Shpagin. He developed a new cartridge supply system for the recreation center, a tape drive mechanism that replaced the disk magazine receiver.

This reduced the size of the entire device. A new version DK received the name DShK (Degtyarev-Shpagin Large-caliber) and in 1938 was adopted by the USSR Army.

At the end of WWII, a successful attempt was made to modify the DShK. New model received the name 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 handles located on the breech of the body of the machine gun for holding, triggers for firing are located on the back wall.

Sights could be replaced depending on the use of the machine gun. It could be a foreshortening sight for firing at flying objects. To destroy ground targets, a frame sight was used, which had a notch up to 3.5 km.

Automation DK-DShK is almost completely similar to the earlier DP-27. The principle of removal of powder gases from the bore, with the impact of their energy on the piston mechanism of the shutter. The barrel is locked with lugs. Shooting is carried out from an open shutter, 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, it was necessary for a quick change of a heated barrel in combat conditions. One person could change the barrel at a rate.

For better performance of the weapon and cooling of the metal of the barrel during intensive shooting, transverse ribbing was made on its surface, which, according to the designers, contributed to its cooling during the shooting process.

Ammunition for the DK machine gun was made from a disk magazine for 30 rounds. But due to its bulkiness, inconvenience of use, it was decided to transfer the machine gun to tape ammunition.

The design of the tape drive unit was proposed by the well-known designer Shpagin - it was a drum with 6 chambers, the first of which placed a cartridge in the tape link. The tape had a crab-type link, which was the best solution for this particular method of feeding a cartridge.

When the drum was rotated, the cartridge came out of the tape link, but remained in the drum chamber, with the next movement of the drum, 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 served, by means of rods it was connected to the drum and bolt.

At DShKM, the method of ammunition supply has changed, it has become a slider.

The design of the tape has also changed, the link has become closed, more convenient to transport. In this case, the cartridge was first removed from the tape, reverse movement the tape was stretched further. And the cartridge, dropping down, was sent to the chamber.

The sliding design of the shutter, without dependence on the drum of the tape drive mechanism, made it possible to throw the tape receiver from one side to the other. This made it possible to install a power system on either side of the weapon. Which led to the emergence of paired and quad 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 tracer.

Tactical and technical characteristics (TTX)

Machine gun weight, kg: with Kolesnikov's machine tool - 157 / without - 33.5;
Product length, cm: 162.5;
Barrel length, cm: 107;
Applied 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 effective range: 3.5 kilometers.

Combat use

In the terms of reference, the leadership of the Red Army, the designers were instructed 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.

AT transport position the machine was equipped with wheels, which made it easy to transport, at the same time, for anti-aircraft fire, the machine took the form of a tripod, and an angle sight for anti-aircraft fire was additionally installed on the receiver.

Another important factor was the presence of an armored shield that protected from bullets and small fragments.

Rifle units used 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 DShK by replacing the magazine receiver with a Shpagin tape drive drum. Therefore, DC in the b / d was practically not used.

The main task of the DShK, however, was the fight against air targets, as an air defense system, this machine gun was actively used from birth, both on land, including by installation on armored vehicles, and in the fleet, as an air defense system for large ships, and how universal weapon boats and small boats.

After the war, the DShKM was mainly used as a means of air defense 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 they removed it from service in the 70s of the last century. Do not forget about DShK in the rest of the world. For example, in China they are still assembled under the Type - 54 marking. DShK is also produced in the Middle East. Even under a license received from the USSR, the conveyor for the creation of this machine gun was established in Iran and Pakistan.

During the war in Afghanistan, "welding", as those who worked with it called the machine gun, due to the reflections of shots resembling the brilliance of electric welding - the DShKM proved to be an excellent weapon against helicopters and low-flying aircraft. In addition, he worked well on 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 adequately took its place and in popular culture. AT Soviet time There have been many heroic films. There is a mention in art books and autobiographies about the DShK machine gun. With development information technologies can be found in large numbers in computer games.

The DShK machine gun can be called a project of several gunsmiths. First, it was designed and finalized by Degtyarev, later Shpagin joined this difficult process. All this led to the creation of a magnificent heavy machine gun, which took part in almost all world conflicts.

Video

DShK (Index GRAU - 56-P-542) - easel heavy machine gun chambered for 12.7 × 108 mm. Developed on the basis of the design of the DK heavy machine gun. In February 1939, the DShK was adopted by the Red Army under the designation "12.7 mm heavy machine gun Degtyarev - Shpagin model 1938".

DShK machine gun – video

With the start in 1925 of work on a machine gun with a caliber of 12-20 millimeters, it was decided to create it on the basis of a magazine-fed light machine gun in order to reduce the mass of the machine gun being created. Work began in the design bureau of the Tula Arms Plant on the basis of a 12.7-mm Vickers cartridge and on the basis of the German Dreyse machine gun (P-5). The design bureau of the Kovrov Plant was developing a machine gun based on the Degtyarev light machine gun for more powerful cartridges. New 12.7mm cartridge with armor-piercing bullet, created in 1930, and at the end of the year the first experimental heavy machine gun Degtyarev was assembled with a Kladov disk magazine with a capacity of 30 rounds. In February 1931, after testing, preference was given to the DK ("Large-caliber Degtyarev") as easier to manufacture and lighter. DK was put into service, in 1932 the production of a small series was at the plant. Kirkizha (Kovrov), however, in 1933 they fired only 12 machine guns.

Military tests did not live up to expectations. In 1935, the production of the Degtyarev heavy machine gun was stopped. By this time, a version of the DAK-32 had been created with a Shpagin receiver, but tests of 32-33 showed the need to refine the system. Shpagin in 1937 redid his version. A drum feed mechanism was created that did not require significant changes to the machine gun system. The machine gun, which has a belt feed, passed field tests on December 17, 1938. On February 26 of the following year, by a decision of the Defense Committee, they were adopted under the designation “12.7-mm easel machine gun mod. 1938 DShK (Degtyarev-Shpagin large-caliber) "which was installed on the Kolesnikov universal machine. Work was also underway on the DShK aircraft installation, but it soon became clear that a special heavy-caliber aircraft machine gun was needed.

The work of machine gun automation was carried out due to the removal of powder gases. Gas chamber closed type was placed under the barrel, and was equipped with a pipe regulator. The barrel along the entire length had ribs. The muzzle was equipped with a single-chamber active type muzzle brake. By diluting the lugs of the bolt to the sides, the bore was locked. The ejector and reflector were assembled in the gate. A pair of spring shock absorbers of the butt plate served to soften the impact of the moving system and give it an initial roll impulse. The reciprocating mainspring, which was put on the gas piston rod, actuated percussion mechanism. The trigger lever was blocked by a safety lever mounted on the butt plate (setting the fuse - forward position).

Food - tape, supply - on the left side. Loose tape, having semi-closed links, was placed in a special metal box, fixed on the left side of the machine arm. The bolt carrier handle actuated the DShK drum receiver: while moving backward, the handle bumped into the fork of the swinging feeder lever and turned it. The pawl located at the other end of the lever turned the drum 60 degrees, the drum, in turn, pulled the tape. There were four cartridges in the drum at the same time. During the rotation of the drum, the cartridge was gradually squeezed out of the tape link and fed into the receiving window of the receiver. Moving forward shutter picked it up.

The folding frame sight, used for firing at ground targets, had a notch up to 3.5 thousand m in 100 m increments. serial number machine gun). The stamp was placed in front of the butt plate on top of the receiver.

During operation with the DShK, three types of anti-aircraft sights were used. The annular remote sight of the 1938 model was intended to destroy air targets flying at speeds up to 500 km / h and at a distance of up to 2.4 thousand meters. The sight of the 1941 model was simplified, the range decreased to 1.8 thousand meters, but the possible speed of the target being destroyed increased (in the "imaginary" ring it could be 625 kilometers per hour). The sight of the 1943 model of the year was of the foreshortening type and was much easier to use, but allowed firing at various target courses, including pitching or diving.

The Kolesnikov universal machine of the 1938 model was equipped with its own loading handle, had a removable shoulder pad, a cartridge box bracket, and a rod-type vertical aiming mechanism. Ground targets were fired from a wheeled course, while the legs were folded. For firing at air targets, the wheel drive was separated, and the machine was laid out in the form of a tripod.

A 12.7 mm cartridge could have an armor-piercing bullet (B-30) of the 1930 model, an armor-piercing incendiary (B-32) of the 1932 model, sighting and incendiary (PZ), tracer (T), sighting (P), against anti-aircraft targets used an armor-piercing incendiary tracer bullet (BZT) of the 1941 model. The armor penetration of the B-32 bullet was 20 millimeters normal from 100 meters and 15 millimeters from 500 meters. The BS-41 bullet, with a tungsten carbide core, was capable of penetrating 20 mm armor plate at an angle of 20 degrees from a range of 750 meters. The dispersion diameter during firing at ground targets was 200 millimeters at a distance of 100 meters.

The machine gun began to enter the troops in the 40th year. In total, in 1940, plant No. 2 in Kovrov produced 566 DShKs. In the first half of 1941 - 234 machine guns (in total, in 1941, with a plan of 4 thousand DShK, about 1.6 thousand were received). In total, as of June 22, 1941, the units of the Red Army had about 2.2 thousand heavy machine guns.

The DShK machine gun from the first days of the Second World War proved to be excellent as anti-aircraft weapon. So, for example, on July 14, 1941, on the Western Front in the Yartsevo region, a platoon of three machine guns shot down three German bombers, in August, near Leningrad, in the Krasnogvardeisky Second anti-aircraft machine gun ny battalion destroyed 33 enemy aircraft. However, the number of 12.7 mm machine gun mounts was clearly not enough, especially given the significant enemy air superiority. As of September 10, 1941, there were 394 of them: in the Oryol air defense zone - 9, Kharkov - 66, Moscow - 112, on the Southwestern Front - 72, Southern - 58, Northwestern - 37, Western - 27, Karelian - thirteen.

Since June 1942, the staff of the anti-aircraft artillery regiment of the army included a DShK company, which was armed with 8 machine guns, and from February 43, their number increased to 16 pieces. The anti-aircraft artillery divisions of the RVGK (zenad) formed since November 42 had one such company in the regiment of small-caliber anti-aircraft artillery. Since the spring of 1943, the number of DShKs in zenad has decreased to 52 units, and according to the 44th state updated in the spring, zenad had 48 DShKs and 88 guns. In 1943, the cavalry, mechanized and tank corps introduced regiments of small-caliber anti-aircraft artillery (16 DShK and 16 guns).

US infantrymen firing DShKM on Romanian URO VAMTAC during joint US-Romanian maneuvers, 2009

Usually anti-aircraft DShKs were used by platoon, often introduced into the composition anti-aircraft batteries medium caliber, using them to cover against air attacks from low altitudes. Anti-aircraft machine gun companies, armed with 18 DShKs, were introduced into the state at the beginning of 1944 rifle divisions. During the entire war, the loss of heavy machine guns amounted to about 10 thousand pieces, that is, 21% of the resource. It was the smallest percentage of losses in the entire system. small arms, however, it is comparable to the losses in anti-aircraft artillery. This already speaks of the role and place of heavy machine guns.

In 1941, with the approach of German troops to Moscow, backup plants were identified in case plant No. 2 stopped producing weapons. The production of DShK was delivered in the city of Kuibyshev, where 555 fixtures and machine tools were transferred from Kovrov. As a result, during the war, the main production was in Kovrov, and in Kuibyshev - "backup".

In addition to easel, used self-propelled units with DShK - mainly M-1 pickups or GAZ-AA trucks with a DShK machine gun installed in the back in anti-aircraft position on the machine. Anti-aircraft light tanks on the T-60 and T-70 chassis did not advance further than the prototypes. The same fate befell the integrated installations (although it should be noted that the built-in 12.7-mm anti-aircraft installations were used to a limited extent - for example, they served in the air defense of Moscow). The failures of the installations were associated, first of all, with the power supply system, which did not allow changing the direction of the tape feed. But the Red Army successfully used 12.7-mm American quad mounts of the M-17 type based on the M2NV Browning machine gun.

The "anti-tank" role of the DShK machine gun, which received the nickname "Dushka", was insignificant. The machine gun was used to a limited extent against light armored vehicles. But the DShK became a tank one - it was the main armament of the T-40 (amphibious tank), BA-64D (light armored car), in the 44th year, a 12.7-mm turret anti-aircraft gun was installed on heavy tank IS-2, and later on heavy self-propelled guns. Anti-aircraft armored trains were armed with DShK machine guns on tripods or pedestals (during the war, up to 200 armored trains operated in the air defense forces). 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 to receive DShKs in 1940 (there were 830 of them at the beginning of the Second World War). During the war, the industry transferred 4018 DShKs to the fleet, another 1146 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 a twin single pedestal, tower, turret installations. Pedestrian, rack and tower (paired) installations for DShK machine guns, adopted for service navy, developed by I.S. Leshchinsky, designer of plant No. 2. The pedestal installation allowed for circular firing, vertical guidance angles ranged from -34 to +85 degrees. In 1939 A.I. Ivashutich, another Kovrov designer, developed a twin pedestal mount, and later the DShKM-2, which appeared later, gave a circular fire. The vertical guidance angles ranged from -10 to +85 degrees. In 1945, the twin deck installation 2M-1, which has an annular sight, was adopted. The twin turret mount DShKM-2B, created in TsKB-19 in 1943, and the ShB-K sight made it possible to conduct circular fire at vertical guidance angles from -10 to +82 degrees.

For boats of various classes, open twin turrets MSTU, MTU-2 and 2-UK were created with pointing angles from -10 to +85 degrees. The "sea" machine guns themselves differed from the base sample. So, for example, in the turret version, a frame sight was not used (only an annular one with a weather vane-front sight was used), the bolt carrier handle was lengthened, and the hook was changed for the cartridge box. The differences between machine guns for twin installations were the design of the butt plate with the frame handle and trigger lever, the absence of sights, and fire control.

The German army, which did not have a full-time heavy machine gun, willingly used the captured DShK, which received the designation MG.286 (r).

At the end of the Second World War, Sokolov and Korov carried out a significant modernization of the DShK. The changes primarily affected the power supply system. In 1946, a modernized machine gun under the brand name DShKM was put into service. The reliability of the system has increased - if at the DShK according to the specifications 0.8% delays were allowed during firing, then at the DShKM this figure was already 0.36%. The DShKM machine gun has become one of the most widespread in the world.

DShK(Dektyarev-Shpagin Large-caliber) - Soviet machine gun of 12.7 mm caliber 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". The mass production of the DShK was launched in 1940-41. The cartridge used is 12.7x108 mm DShK. Ammunition was carried out from a box with a tape for 50 rounds, the feed was on the left. The machine gun has a fairly high rate of fire, which determines the effectiveness of fire on fast-moving targets.

According to the experience of the war, the machine gun was modernized (the design of the tape feed unit and the barrel mount were changed), and in 1946 it was put into service. Soviet army under the designation DShKM. Various sights could be attached to the machine gun: frame, ring, collimator, as well as various flame arresters, muzzle brakes. The machine gun was or is in service with over 40 armies of the world, and is still used in many conflicts around the world. At present, the DShK and DShKM machine guns have been almost completely replaced in the Russian army. heavy machine guns"Cliff" and "Kord", more advanced and modern.

Cartridge 12.7X108 in comparison with other cartridges (from left to right: 5.45X39, 7.62X39, 7.62X54)

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

The composition of the tapes

Cartridges used in DShK: BZ - armor-piercing incendiary, T - tracer, MDZ - instantaneous incendiary, BZT - armor-piercing incendiary tracer, BZ (MKS) - armor-piercing incendiary with a ceramic-metal core.

Purpose and features different types bullets in the game: Aviation ammunition

Ribbons for ZSU GAZ DShK

Ribbon	Compound
Standard	BZ-T-MDZ
BZ	BZ(MKS)-BZT-BZ(MKS)-BZT
B	BZ(MKS)-BZ(MKS)-BZT
BZT	BZT-BZT-BZ(MKS)

Ribbon Standard (for turret and coaxial machine guns DShK 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 DShK machine gun can be compared with the widespread american machine gun Browning M2 (12.7mm) . The M2 is inferior in penetration (because it does not have cartridges with a ceramic-metal core, like the DShK), in the rate of fire, and the muzzle energy of the bullet. However, the M2 is superior in the number of rounds in the box (minimum 100, maximum 200 for ZSU), the barrel is longer, the penetration of BZ and BZT cartridges is a couple of millimeters higher. In terms of reload speed, they are the same.
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, caliber (13.2 mm).

Use in combat

DShK machine gun perfectly penetrates with BZ (MKS) cartridges, but you should remember about the quickly ending 50 cartridge box. Lightly armored vehicles are vulnerable to DShK cartridges (ZSU, light-medium tanks and self-propelled guns), but it is advisable to study them as well weak spots(for example, sides, stern, trunk). Machine gun bullets can also point at the enemy to allies, and prevent the enemy from seeing. Against aircraft, it makes sense to use the 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 counterparts.

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 ceramic-metal core BZ (MKS).
Explosive cartridges MDZ.

Disadvantages:

Long cooldown (10.4 sec).
Small applied belt (50 rounds)

History 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: Synchronized Wing

Winged DShKA 1938

Vasily Alekseevich Degtyarev (1879/1880 - 1949) - Russian and Soviet designer of small arms. Hero of Socialist Labor. Laureate of four Stalin Prizes.

Georgy Semyonovich Shpagin (1897-1952) - Soviet designer of small arms. Hero of Socialist Labor (1945). Cavalier of 3 Orders of Lenin.

The task to create the first Soviet heavy machine gun was issued to an experienced and well-known gunsmith Degtyarev in 1929. Less than a year later, he submitted his 12.7 mm machine gun for testing, and in 1932 small-scale production of the machine gun began under the designation DK. Military tests of the DK and additional field tests in 1934 showed that the machine gun was of little use for fighting fast-moving targets due to the low rate of fire. Although the rate of fire reached quite acceptable 360-400 rds / min, the practical rate of fire did not exceed 200 rds / min, which was associated with heavy and bulky magazines. Experimented with different machines and different box magazines, but they had even less capacity. The DAK-32, which was intended for both fixed wing installations and turrets, repeated the "land" version of the DK with all its shortcomings, the main of which was the rate of fire of only 300 rounds per minute, which was absolutely insufficient for aviation, and a decent weight of 35.5 kg.

In 1934, the production of DC was suspended, and in 1935 it was stopped. To a large extent, B.G. contributed to stopping work on improving the Degtyarev heavy machine gun. Shpitalny, who promised I.V. Stalin machine gun with the best performance based on the aviation ShKAS - 12.7-mm machine gun ShVAK. 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 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” nevertheless considered it inexpedient to issue two types of cartridges in parallel, preferring the more versatile and convenient in automatics, without rims, and the release of 12.7-mm ShVAKs in 1936 was turned in favor of the 20-mm air gun.

Meanwhile, the need for a universal heavy machine gun was still very relevant. Fortunately, V.A. Degtyarev for 1935 - 1936 managed to bring his offspring to acceptable characteristics. 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 speed of rolling of the mobile system, which required the introduction of an anti-bounce device to prevent the frame from rebounding after being hit in the extreme forward position. A serious problem remained the development of the power supply system of the machine gun. 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; on December 17, it passed field tests. And on February 26, 1939, the model was put into service under the designation "12.7-mm easel machine gun of the 1938 model DShK" (Degtyarev - Shpagin large-caliber) ". The machine gun was considered as a means of combating air targets, light armored vehicles, as well as manpower and firing points of the enemy in shelters.The machine gun began to enter the troops in 1940.

In the same 1938, they were developed on the basis of the "land" DShK - the aviation TsKB-2-3835 in versions of the wing-mounted DShKA and the synchronous-wing DNA with tape power, as well as the turret DShTA (DShAT) for the 30-round Kladov drum magazine. Work on aviation versions in addition to V.A. 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, 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 a loose metal tape with a smaller pitch between the links - 34 mm instead of 39 mm for the DShK one-piece tape. Characteristically, Degtyarev also insured himself by developing versions both for the regular cartridge 12.7x108 and for the ShVAK-ovsky 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 winged DShKA and synchronous DNA versions of the machine gun was carried out on the left side, although in serial versions a change in the direction of feed of the tape would certainly have been provided. By the end of 1938, the DNA synchronous machine gun, and apparently this version was given the highest priority, successfully passed field tests, with virtually no remarks. But then chance intervened in the fate of this interesting weapon. Just in the autumn of 1938, a series of factory and field tests passed the UB aircraft machine gun, a young and practically unknown designer M.E. Berezina, showing exclusively 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 heavy-caliber aviation machine gun came up. Stalin, puffing on his pipe, looking into the eyes of V.A. Degtyarev, asked: "So which machine gun is better, yours or Comrade Berezin?" To which Degtyarev, without hesitation, replied that "comrade Berezin's machine gun is better."

The result is known. Our aviation received, perhaps, the best aviation machine gun in the world in its class. Well, Degtyarev got a "land" niche. Large-caliber DShK in various modifications was in service in the USSR for many decades, and after its collapse in the armed forces again 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 went through the entire war. It was used as an infantry, from different machines, massively put 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), experimental ZSU T-60, T-70, T-90. In 1944, a 12.7-mm turret anti-aircraft gun with a DShK was installed on a heavy tank IS-2, and later on heavy self-defense vehicles for self-defense in case of attacks from the air and from the upper floors in urban battles. Anti-aircraft armored trains were armed with DShK machine guns on tripods or pedestals (during the war, up to 200 armored trains operated in the air defense forces). DShK with a shield and a folded machine could be dropped to partisans or landing forces in a UPD-MM airborne bag.

The fleet began to receive DShKs in 1940 (there were 830 of them at the beginning of the Second World War). During the war, the industry transferred 4018 DShKs to the fleet, another 1146 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 a twin single pedestal, tower, turret installations. The pedestal, rack and tower (paired) installations for DShK machine guns, adopted by the Navy, were developed by I.S. Leshchinsky, designer of plant No. 2. The pedestal installation allowed circular firing, vertical guidance angles ranged from -34 to +85 degrees. In 1939 A.I. Ivashutich, another Kovrov designer, developed a twin pedestal mount, and later the DShKM-2, which appeared later, gave a circular fire. The vertical guidance angles ranged from -10 to +85 degrees. In 1945, the twin deck installation 2M-1, which has an annular sight, was adopted. The twin turret mount DShKM-2B, created in TsKB-19 in 1943, and the ShB-K sight made it possible to conduct circular 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 has the name DShKMT or briefly DShKT. After the end of the Second World War, the DShK machine gun was used in almost all local conflicts.

Unofficial, affectionate nicknames among the troops - "Dushka", "Dashka", "Degtyar".
Work was underway on the DShK aircraft installation, but it soon became clear that the Berezin (UB) machine gun was better suited for aviation application according to some characteristics.
The German army did not have a full-time heavy machine gun, so captured DShKs were used with pleasure, which received the designation MG.286 (r).