Heavy machine gun dshk. Power named DShK. Unique heavy machine gun of the Red Army Comparison with analogues
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. A new 12.7-mm cartridge with an armor-piercing bullet was created in 1930, and at the end of the year the first experimental heavy machine gun Degtyarev with a Kladov disk magazine with a capacity of 30 rounds was assembled. 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.
Experimental installation of the DShK machine gun
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. February 26 next year By the decision of the Committee of Defense, 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 the percussion mechanism. The trigger lever was blocked by a safety lever mounted on the butt plate (setting the fuse - forward position).
Heavy machine gun DShK 12.7, machine gun in position for firing at ground targets
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 increments of 100 m. The marking of the machine gun included the brand of the manufacturer, the year of manufacture, the serial number (the designation of the series is two-letter, the serial number of the machine gun) . The stamp was placed in front of the butt plate on top of the receiver.
Heavy machine gun DShK 12.7, machine in position for anti-aircraft fire, the wheels are looking for removed. Machine gun from the collection of TsMAIVVS in St. Petersburg
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.
Heavy machine gun DShKM 12.7 model 1946
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 the year 41 - 234 machine guns (in total, in 1941, with a plan of 4 thousand DShKs, 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 Western front in the Yartsevo region, a platoon of three machine guns shot down three German bombers; in August, near Leningrad, in the Krasnogvardeisky region, the Second Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun 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 zone air defense- 9, Kharkov - 66, Moscow - 112, on the Southwestern Front - 72, Southern - 58, Northwestern - 37, Western - 27, Karelian - 13.
Crew members of the torpedo boat TK-684 of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet pose in front of the aft turret of a 12.7-mm DShK machine gun
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, small-caliber regiments were introduced into the cavalry, mechanized and tank corps. anti-aircraft artillery(16 DShK and 16 guns).
Typically, anti-aircraft DShKs were used in platoons, often introduced into medium-caliber anti-aircraft batteries, using them to cover against air attacks from low altitudes. Anti-aircraft machine gun companies, armed with 18 DShKs, were introduced into the state of rifle divisions at the beginning of 1944. During the entire war, the loss of heavy machine guns amounted to about 10 thousand pieces, that is, 21% of the resource. This was the smallest percentage of losses in the entire system of small arms, but it is comparable to losses in anti-aircraft artillery. This already speaks of the role and place of heavy machine guns.
Anti-aircraft installation (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.
In 1941, with the approach of German troops to Moscow, backup plants were identified in case plant No. 2 stopped producing weapons. DShK production was delivered in the city of Kuibyshev, where they transferred 555 devices and machine tools 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.
Anti-aircraft gunners of the Zheleznyakov armored train (armored train No. 5 of the Coastal Defense of Sevastopol) at 12.7-mm DShK heavy machine guns (machine guns mounted on marine bollards). 76.2-mm guns of 34-K ship turrets are visible in the background
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 a heavy IS-2 tank, and later on heavy ACS. 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.
Soviet tankers of the 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
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 mounts were in 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 DShKM brand 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.
The Dnieper is being crossed. The calculation of the DShK heavy machine gun supports those crossing with fire. November 1943
Technical characteristics of the DShK heavy machine gun (model 1938):
Cartridge - 12.7x108 DShK;
The mass of the "body" of the machine gun - 33.4 kg (without tape);
The total weight of the machine gun - 181.3 kg (on the machine, without a shield, with a tape);
The length of the "body" of the machine gun - 1626 mm;
Barrel weight - 11.2 kg;
Barrel length - 1070 mm;
Rifling - 8 right-handed;
The length of the rifled part of the barrel - 890 mm;
starting speed bullets - from 850 to 870 m / s;
Muzzle energy of a bullet - from 18785 to 19679 J;
Rate of fire - 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;
Power system - metal tape (50 rounds);
Machine type - universal wheel-tripod;
The height of the line of fire in the ground position - 503 mm;
The height of the line of fire in anti-aircraft position - 1400 mm;
Pointing angles:
- horizontally in the ground position - ± 60 degrees;
- horizontally in the anti-aircraft position - 360 degrees;
- vertically in the ground position - +27 degrees;
- vertically in the anti-aircraft position - from -4 to +85 degrees;
Transition time from traveling position in combat for anti-aircraft fire - 30 seconds;
Calculation - 3-4 people.
A Soviet soldier fires at a firing range from a 12.7 mm DShK anti-aircraft heavy machine gun mounted on an ISU-152 self-propelled gun
Based on the article by Semyon Fedoseev "Machine guns of the Second World War"
DShK 1938 with armored shield
Well aware of the importance of heavy machine guns for equipping armored personnel carriers, combat boats and ground fortifications in order to destroy armored and air targets, as well as to suppress enemy machine-gun points, the Soviet military command in the late twenties gave the corresponding task to the designer V. A. Degtyarev. On the basis of his light machine gun DP 1928, he designed a model of a heavy machine gun, called DK. In 1930, the test was submitted prototype caliber 12.7 mm.
armor-piercing incendiary bullet B-32 for cartridge 12.7*108
The larger the caliber and muzzle velocity of the bullet, the higher its overall penetration ability. However, the mass of weapons and their rate of fire are also closely related. If it is required to achieve a higher initial velocity of a bullet with a larger caliber, then the mass of the weapon must also increase. This has economic implications. In addition, since parts with more mass have more inertia, the rate of fire decreases.
Taking into account all these factors, it was necessary to find the best option. Such a compromise at that time was the caliber
12.7 mm. The US military has gone the same way. Already at the end of the First World War, they adopted a .50 caliber machine gun. In the course of modernization on its basis in 1933, the Browning M2 NV heavy machine gun was created. Eleven years later, a machine gun of the Vladimirov KPV system appeared in the Soviet Union. He had an even larger caliber -14.5 mm.
Cartridges 12.7 for DShK
Degtyarev chose for his machine gun a domestic cartridge for a tank gun M 30, which had dimensions of 12.7x108. In 1930, such cartridges were produced with armor-piercing, and since 1932 with armor-piercing incendiary bullets. Subsequently, they underwent modernization and received the name M 30/38.
The Degtyarev prototype of the 1930 model was equipped with a frame sight designed for firing up to 3500 m at ground targets, as well as a round sight with crosshairs at a distance of up to 2400 m for air and fast moving ground targets. Ammunition was fed from a 30-round disk magazine. The barrel was threaded to the body and could be replaced. The recoil force was reduced with the help of a muzzle brake. A special machine was created for the machine gun.
Metal one-piece machine-gun belt with a capacity of 50 rounds for the DShK machine gun (Degtyarev-Shpagin large-caliber) arr. 1938
Machine-gun belt with a capacity of 10 rounds each for the DShKM machine gun.
In comparative shooting tests with other machine guns, including the predecessor of the later regular American Browning machine gun, the Soviet model showed promising results. The initial velocity of the bullet was 810 m / s, the rate of fire was from 350 to 400 rds / min. At a distance of 300 m, a bullet, when it hit the target at an angle of 90 °, pierced 16 mm steel armor. The Testing Board recommended that some design changes, for example, change the cartridge feed mechanism from disk to belt. The machine gun was approved for military trials, and in 1931 a trial batch of 50 units was ordered.
How many of these machine guns were made - it was not possible to establish exactly. Information in the Soviet literature about small-scale production concerns not only this sample, but also its second modification, which appeared in the late thirties. According to these data, until June 22, 1941, the troops received a total of about 2,000 heavy machine guns of 12.7 mm caliber. Samples of the DK model, released before 1935, among them were hardly more than a thousand.
DShK 1938 on an anti-aircraft machine
Degtyarev did not manage to eliminate the shortcomings identified during the tests, in particular, the weak maneuverability of the machine gun and the too low rate of fire. It took too long to redirect a ground machine gun to air targets, since the machine gun developed was imperfect. The low rate of fire depended on the work of a bulky and heavy cartridge feed mechanism.
G.S. Shpagin took up the alteration of the feed mechanism from the disk store to the tape, as a result of which the rate of fire increased significantly, and I.N. Kolesnikov improved the machine developed by him, which made it possible to speed up and simplify the redirection of the machine gun from ground to air targets.
The improved model passed all the tests in April 1938 and was accepted into service on February 26, 1939. Starting next year, it began to be delivered to the troops. Weapons of this type proved to be excellent during the Second World War as a means of destroying ground, water and air targets. It not only was not inferior to other machine guns of this class, but also surpassed them.
In 1940, 566 such machine guns were delivered to the army, and in the first half of the next year, another 234. As of January 1, 1942, the troops had 720 serviceable heavy machine guns DShK 1938, and on July 1 - over 1947. By January 1, 1943, this figure had grown to 5218, and a year later - to 8442. These facts allow us to draw conclusions about the growth in production during the war.
At the end of 1944, the machine gun was somewhat modernized, the supply of cartridges was improved, and the wear resistance of some parts and assemblies was increased. The modification received the designation DShK 1938/46.
This modification of the DShK machine gun was used in the Soviet army until the 1980s. Also, the DShK machine gun was used in foreign armies, for example, Egypt, Albania. China, East Germany and Czechoslovakia, Indonesia, Korea, Cuba, Poland, Romania, Hungary and even Vietnam. The modification produced in China and Pakistan was called Model 54. It has a caliber of 12.7 mm or .50.
The DShK 1938 heavy machine gun works on the principle of using the energy of powder gases, has an air-cooled barrel and a rigid bolt-to-barrel grip. Gas pressure can be adjusted. A special device holds the bolt so that when moving forward it does not hit the base of the barrel. The latter is equipped with radial cooling fins almost along its entire length. The flame arrester has a significant length.
The practical rate of fire is 80 rds/min, and the theoretical rate of fire is 600 rds/min. Cartridges are fed from a metal tape using a special drum device. During rotation, the drum moves the tape, captures cartridges from it and feeds it into the machine gun mechanism, where the bolt sends them into the chamber. The tape is designed for 50 rounds of type M 30/38. Shooting is carried out in bursts.
The sighting device consists of an adjustable sight and a protected front sight. The length of the sight line is 1100 mm. The sight can be installed at a distance of up to 3500 m. There is a special sight for hitting air targets, developed in 1938, and modernized 3 years later. Although the optimal firing range is indicated as 2000 m, the machine gun can successfully hit manpower at a distance of up to 3500 m, air targets - up to 2400 m and armored vehicles- up to 500 m. At this distance, the bullet pierces 15 mm armor.
DShK 1938 on an anti-aircraft machine
Used as machines various designs. To combat ground and air targets, the already mentioned special Kolesnikov machine with a circular view was used. When placed on a wheeled machine with or without a protective shield, the machine gun was mainly used to destroy armored vehicles. After removing the wheels, the machine could be transformed into a tripod anti-aircraft.
During the war, machine guns of this type were also installed on self-propelled carriages, on trucks, railway platforms, on heavy tanks, ships and boats. Twin or quadruple installations were often used. Often they were supplied with a searchlight-seeker.
Characteristics: heavy machine gun DShK 1938
Caliber, mm ............................................... ...............................................12.7
Muzzle velocity (Vq), m/s .............................................. .....850
Weapon length, mm .............................................. ......................1626
Rate of fire, rds/min....................................... ..............600
Ammunition supply ................................. metal tape
for 50 rounds
Weight in an unloaded state without a machine, kg ........... 33.30
Mass of the wheeled machine, kg .............................................. .....142.10
Mass of the full tape, kg .............................................. .................9.00
Cartridge ..................... 12.7x108
Barrel length, mm ............................................... ......................1000
Grooves/Direction ............................................................... ....................4/n
Sighting range, m ........................................... 3500
Effective firing range, m..................................2000*
* Optimal distance.
DShK 1938 on an anti-aircraft machine
DShKM machine gun incomplete disassembly: 1 - barrel with gas chamber, front sight and muzzle brake; 2 - bolt carrier with a gas piston; 3 - shutter; 4 - lugs; 5 - drummer; 6 - wedge; 7 - recoil pad with buffer; 8 - trigger housing; 9 - cover and base of the receiver and feed drive lever; 10 - receiver.
Soviet machine gun DShKM in anti-aircraft version
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 magazines for 30 rounds. The disadvantages of such a power supply scheme (bulky and heavy stores, low practical rate of fire) forced them to stop producing the DC in 1935 and start improving it. By 1938, another designer, Shpagin, developed a belt feed module for the recreation center, and in 1939 the improved machine gun was adopted by the Red Army under the designation “12.7 mm Degtyarev-Shpagin heavy machine gun mod. 1938 - DShK. The mass production of DShK was started in 1940-41, and during the years of World War II, about 8 thousand DShK machine guns were produced. They were used as anti-aircraft weapons, as infantry support weapons, mounted on armored vehicles and small ships (including - torpedo boats). According to the experience of the war in 1946, the machine gun was modernized (the design of the belt feed unit and the barrel mount were changed), and the machine gun was adopted under the designation DShKM.
DShKM was or is in service with more than 40 armies of the world, is produced in China ("type 54"), Pakistan, Iran and some other countries. The DShKM machine gun was used as an anti-aircraft gun on Soviet tanks of the post-war period (T-55, T-62) and on armored vehicles (BTR-155).
Technically, DShK is 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 non-removable, ribbed for better cooling, and 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 tape feeder was driven by a lever located on the right side, swinging in a vertical plane when the loading handle, rigidly connected to bolt carrier. At the DShKM machine gun, the drum mechanism has been replaced with a more compact slider mechanism, also driven by a similar lever connected to the loading handle. The cartridge was removed from the tape down and then directly fed into the chamber.
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 a push-type spook 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, they were 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. In addition to the machine gun, the machine gun was used in tower installations, on remotely controlled anti-aircraft installations, on ship pedestal installations.
At present, in the Russian Armed Forces, the DShK and DShKM are almost completely replaced by the Utes machine gun, as more advanced and modern.
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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 a large-caliber easel machine gun DK.
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 heavy machine gun Degtyarev - Shpagin 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). According to the state rifle division 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 the strengthening and strengthening of 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 fired, in postwar period the release 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 upper floors in urban battles.
Soviet tankers of the 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 needs 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 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. The Russian army replaced it with more modern machine guns a long time ago, 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 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 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 designed for DC new system supply of cartridges, a tape drive mechanism that took the place of the disk store 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 DShK modification. The new model was named 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, on the back wall there are triggers for firing.
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, the tape was pulled further in the reverse direction. 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 wide range 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 fire, the machine took the form of a tripod, and an angle sight for anti-aircraft fire was additionally installed on the receiver.
More important factor there was 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 weapon, 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 weapon capital ships, and as a universal weapon for 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 the development of information technology 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.
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