Dshk machine gun decoding 12.7 1938. DShK machine gun: history of creation and design features. Production and combat use

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, a prototype caliber 12.7 mm was presented for testing.

armor-piercing incendiary bullet B-32 for cartridge 12.7*108

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 shooting 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 a machine gun DShK (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 by July 1 - over 1947. By January 1, 1943, this figure had grown up to 5218, and a year later - up 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 Soviet army until the 1980s. Also DShK machine gun 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.
Heavy machine gun DShK 1938 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 considerable 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 penetrates 15 mm armor.

DShK 1938 on an anti-aircraft machine

Various designs were used as machines. 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 partially disassembled: 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 - body trigger; 9 - cover and base of the receiver and feed drive lever; 10 - receiver.

Soviet machine gun DShKM in anti-aircraft version

12.7 mm heavy machine gun cartridges

Domestic large-caliber machine-gun cartridges originate on October 27, 1925, when the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR proposed to the Artillery Committee of the Red Army Artillery Directorate by May 1, 1927 to develop a machine gun of 12–20 mm caliber.

In the design bureau (PKB) of the First Tula Arms Plants (TOZ), under the leadership of I.A. Pastukhov, a machine gun was created based on the 12.7-mm English Vickers large-caliber cartridge, which received the designation "P-5" - "machine gun 5 -linear "(that is - caliber 0.5 inches). The following year, 1928, the head of the Design Bureau of the Kovrov Plant No. 2, V. A. Degtyarev, also received the task of developing a large-caliber machine gun for anti-tank and air defense under the English 12.7 mm cartridge. The locking in the first model of his machine gun was similar to the design of the DP machine gun, and the power was supplied from a rigid metal cassette similar to the Hotchkiss M.1914 machine gun. The problems that arose with ammunition for heavy machine guns forced Soviet designers abandon direct copying of English 12.7 mm cartridges and begin work on designing their own cartridges that meet the requirements of the time. Only after the creation of such a cartridge by the specialists of the Cartridge and Pipe Trust in 1930, Degtyarev was able to present two versions of his heavy machine guns to Artkom as soon as possible.

The report of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR of December 1929 stated: “The adopted system of infantry weapons of the Red Army provides for the introduction of semi-automatic weapons in the near future self-loading rifle, a self-loading pistol, a submachine gun, a large-caliber machine gun - for combating armored parts and an air enemy, caliber 18-20 m / m with a working rate of fire up to 500-600 shots ... "In 1930, in the workshop of the Bureau of New Designs and Standardization (as the PKB was renamed ) of Plant No. 2 assembled the first prototype of the Degtyarev heavy machine gun with a flat disk magazine designed by A. S. Kladov with a capacity of 30 rounds. In February 1931, two 12.7-mm machine guns were tested - the “Dreyse system for manufacturing TOZ” and the Degtyarev system. The commission that conducted the tests preferred the Degtyarev large-caliber (DK-32) as lighter and easier to manufacture. The DK was put into service, the production of a small series began at the plant number 2 in Kovrov in 1932, but in 1933 only 12 pieces were assembled, and in 1934 the production of the Degtyarev heavy machine gun was completely suspended.

For the Degtyarev heavy machine gun, a caliber of 12.7 mm was chosen. A new cartridge with an armor-piercing bullet was designed at the Tula Cartridge Plant in 1928-1930. The 12.7-mm large-caliber cartridge consisted of: a bimetallic bottle sleeve 108 mm long without a rim with a groove; charge of smokeless pyroxylin powder brand 4/1 fl and armor-piercing bullet B-30, modeled on the 7.62-mm armor-piercing bullet B-30 mod. 1930 with a steel core and a cylindrical tail. Cartridge weight - 132.2–139.8 g.

A brass bottle wafer sleeve serves to connect all parts of the cartridge, while the method of attaching a bullet is a tight fit and a 2-row segmental crimping of the sleeve mouth. The sleeve has: a body inside which a powder charge is placed; slope to stop in the cone of the chamber; the muzzle into which the bullet is inserted; groove for ejector hook and bottom. The bottom of the case housing has: a socket for the primer; an anvil on which the primer breaks with a striker; two seed holes through which the flame from the primer penetrates to the powder. The capsule serves to ignite the charge. It consists of a brass cap with an impact composition pressed into it, covered with foil. The powder charge consists of smokeless powder. During the combustion of the charge, powder gases are formed, the pressure of which ejects the bullet from the bore and the entire mobile system is activated for the next shot.

Due to the fact that the main task of the DK-32 machine gun, under which this cartridge was developed, was the destruction of lightly armored targets, first of all, cartridges with armor-piercing bullets mod. 1930 and armor-piercing incendiary arr. 1932. In addition, before the Great Patriotic War, under this promising 12.7-mm large-caliber cartridge, aircraft machine guns were also developed by three design teams: V. A. Degtyarev (TsKB-2); Ya. G. Taubina and M. N. Baburina (OKB-16); and M. E. Berezina (TsKB-14), as well as several designs of anti-tank rifles, including Sholokhov, Rukavishnikov, Vladimirov, and others.

Later, in the late 1930s and during the Great Patriotic War 12.7 x108 large-caliber cartridge has been repeatedly upgraded by creating new bullets:

• T-38 - a tracer bullet with a lead core,
• BS-41 - armor-piercing incendiary bullet,
• BZT-44 - armor-piercing incendiary tracer bullet,
• MDZ - instantaneous fragmentation incendiary bullet.

Currently, large-caliber cartridges with B-32 armor-piercing incendiary bullets, BZT-44 armor-piercing incendiary tracer and MDZ fragmentation incendiary bullets are mainly used. Cartridges 12.7x108 are used for firing from heavy machine guns DShK / DShKM; NSV and their variants, as well as aviation machine guns UB; A-12.7 A; YakB-12.7. The production of 12.7-mm large-caliber cartridges was established at cartridge factories No. 3; 17; 46; 188; 335.

Here, speaking of large-caliber machine-gun cartridges, it should be noted that, in general, ordinary in ammunition small arms a bullet is called solid (lead or tompak), or consisting only of a shell and not having an armor-piercing core, i.e. not being special - tracer, armor-piercing, armor-piercing incendiary, sighting, etc. But in relation to heavy machine guns, which do not have (with rare exceptions, mainly in the past) an actual ordinary bullet due to its inappropriateness for such a caliber, armor-piercing bullets (as bullets of the main purpose) armor-piercing, armor-piercing incendiary, armor-piercing incendiary tracer, etc., are called ordinary, having a conventional armor-piercing hardened steel core. Special, in relation to large-caliber machine guns, are called bullets equipped with a special armor-piercing core made of hard, tungsten-containing alloys.

12.7 mm armor-piercing bullet B-30 mod. 1930 weighing 51.1–51.9 g consisted of a steel clad tompak (bimetallic) shell, a lead jacket and a steel hardened pointed core 52.48–52.88 mm long, 19.4–19.9 mm in diameter and weighing 29.25-30.50 g. The core was made of cold-drawn heat-treated tool steel grade U12 A. The lead jacket was designed to ensure the tightness of the bullet mounting, to mitigate the load on the barrel when the bullet cuts into rifling and protect the bore from excessively intense wear. The length of the bullet with a conical rear was 62.6–63.5 mm. 12.7 mm armor-piercing bullet B-30 mod. 1930 had initial speed- 830-850 m / s and at a distance of 500 meters it pierced armor up to 16 mm thick. The muzzle energy was 18,000 J.

Large-caliber cartridges with a B-30 bullet were produced with a brass sleeve. The fixation of a 12.7-mm large-caliber cartridge with a non-protruding rim in the chamber was carried out by the slope of the sleeve into the slope of the chamber, which, in turn, increased the requirements for the manufacture of chambers and sleeves.

The tip of the B-30 bullet was painted black. When hitting an armored barrier, the bullet core destroyed the lead jacket and bullet jacket, and then pierced the barrier, hitting the crew of the armored vehicle, as well as its instruments and equipment. Possessing significant armor penetration, the B-30 bullet had at the same time a big drawback, which consisted in its low armor action. The production of this cartridge was established in the early 1930s. With the start of the production of large-caliber cartridges with a more universal B-32 armor-piercing incendiary bullet, the production of 12.7-mm cartridges with a B-30 bullet was discontinued. During the Great Patriotic War, the DShK heavy machine gun was used as an anti-aircraft weapon, and when firing armor-piercing bullets, the B-30 could shoot down an enemy aircraft, which at that time was flying quite high - more than 2000 m and at a high speed of 500 km / h. At the same time, cartridges with B-30 armor-piercing bullets for it had limited use and were gradually forced out of circulation by cartridges with more versatile B-32 armor-piercing incendiary bullets, equivalent in armor penetration, but additionally providing an incendiary effect due to the presence of an incendiary composition between the warhead core and shell of the bullet.

In 1933, for the Degtyarev DK-32 heavy machine gun, a new machine-gun cartridge of 12.7 x108 mm caliber was adopted with a brass sleeve and an armor-piercing incendiary bullet B-32 mod. 1932 (GRAU index - 57-BZ-542), designed for firing at enemy manpower and equipment, which had high power and armor penetration. The 12.7 mm armor-piercing incendiary bullet with a steel core B-32 was designed similarly to the 7.62 mm B-32 rifle bullet. She had a bimetallic steel shell clad with tombac; a lead shirt, an armor-piercing core (with a bullet length of 62.6-63.5 mm and a bullet weight of 47.4-49.5 mm), and a pyrotechnic (incendiary) composition located in the head part (with a mass of 1.0 g). The cartridge core for the B-32 bullet weighing 29.25-30.5 g was produced from cold-drawn heat-treated tool steel grades U12 A, U12 XA. Initially, the shell of the bullet was made with one belt, but the increased rate of fire from 12.7-mm aircraft machine guns required an increase in the strength of the connection between the bullet and the cartridge case, the use of double rolling of the wall of the muzzle of the sleeve into two belts. When firing cartridges with a conventional B-32 armor-piercing bullet, armor penetration along the normal (that is, at an angle of 900) was 20 mm armor steel at a distance of up to 100 meters and 15 mm at a distance of up to 500 meters. The head of the bullet is painted black with a red belt.

There are two types of large-caliber cartridges with a B-32 bullet - “military production” (preserved from the time of the Great Patriotic War) and “new”, post-war ones. The fact is that in order to reduce the mass of the machine gun, the barrel of the NSV-12.7 machine guns was noticeably lighter compared to the DShKM. The designers abandoned the use of radiators - in addition to reducing weight, the barrel has become much more technologically advanced. But this, in turn, affected its survivability - the first batches of barrels "burned out" after 3,000-4,000 shots. In the infantry version, the machine gun had to be equipped with 3 barrels in order to maintain the guaranteed resource of the entire machine gun - 10,000 rounds. As a result, it was decided to use gunpowder with the so-called phlegmatizing additives of the brand 4/1 fl. in the production of cartridges. Until that time, they were used only in artillery. The survivability of the barrel when using new cartridges has grown to acceptable limits - on periodic tests, with a hard firing mode - 50 shots in one burst and 50 - in three bursts of 15-20 shots, - the barrel has already withstood about 6,000 shots.

In addition, 12.7-mm large-caliber machine-gun cartridges with a sighting and incendiary bullet PZ (index 57-ZP-542) and with an incendiary bullet ZP (index 57-ZP-532), similar to 7.62-mm rifle cartridges, were adopted by the Red Army. cartridges with similar types of incendiary bullets.

In 1941, the ammunition load of DShK machine guns was supplemented with a new 12.7 mm large-caliber cartridge with a special armor-piercing incendiary bullet BS-41 arr. 1941, designed to fight enemy armored vehicles. It differed from the B-32 in a new shorter length (bullet length - 50.5–51.0 mm, weight 53.6–53.8 mm). The armor-piercing core for the BS-41 bullet was made of a hard-alloy metal-ceramic alloy of the RE-6 brand based on tungsten carbide weighing 37.2–39.0 g. The head of the bullet is painted black, and the body of the bullet is red. The cartridge with the BS-41 bullet was two times superior to the cartridge with the conventional B-32 bullet in terms of armor penetration and provided through penetration of the armor plate 20 mm thick when hit at an angle of 200 at a distance of 750 m. They received certain use in the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War .

In 1974, the armor-piercing incendiary bullet BS-41 was modernized by the designer V. M. Bobrov and received the designation BS of the 1974 model (index 7-BZ-1). The 12.7 mm BS armor-piercing incendiary bullet of the 1974 model with a bullet weight of 55 g was equipped with a refractory heavy cermet core. It was designed when it became clear that the armor penetration of the B-32 was no longer enough to deal with modern armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles. Bullet BS sample 1974 - ogival shape with a rear cone and girdle consists of: a bimetallic shell; incendiary composition in the head and tail sections; pointed core without a back cone made of hard alloy VK-8 in an aluminum jacket. The BS bullet of the 1974 model penetrates armor 20 mm thick at a distance of 765 m at an encounter angle of 200. The head of the bullet is painted black, the body of the bullet is red.

Initially, 12.7 mm cartridges with a tracer bullet T-38 (index 57-T-542) were used in the DShK and UB machine guns, which were soon replaced by more effective 12.7 mm large-caliber machine gun cartridges with an armor-piercing incendiary tracer bullet BZT (bullet weight 44.32–45.6 g), which were not only intended for adjusting fire and indicating the target, but also for firing at enemy manpower and equipment. The armor-piercing core had to be shortened somewhat (length 31.5 mm), which led to a decrease in penetration. A bullet fired from a distance of 100 m is capable of penetrating a steel sheet 15 mm thick at an encounter angle of 10°. The BZT bullet had a white track color, and the BZT-44 and BZT-44 M bullets had a red track color. Tracing range - 1000 m. The head of the bullet is painted purple with a red belt.

Currently, for the 12.7-mm heavy machine gun NSV and its modifications, which are in service with the Russian army, 12.7-mm heavy machine gun cartridges B-32, BZT-44, MDZ and BS are used.

In addition, in the late 1990s, Russia mastered the production of a special sniper cartridge of caliber 12.7 x108 CH with an armor-piercing bullet SPB under the symbol 7 H34. It is designed to defeat manpower equipped with personal armor protection, ground and low-flying equipment when firing from 12.7-mm sniper rifle 6 B7. The sleeve is bimetallic. The weight of the SPB sniper armor-piercing bullet is 59.2 g. at the same time, the accuracy is R100 at least 8.5 cm at a distance of 300 m. A metal box contains 80 pieces of 12.7 mm SPB sniper cartridges, and a wooden box contains 2 metal boxes of 160 SPB cartridges.

DShK cartridges were also used in 12.7 mm domestic aviation machine guns Berezina UB. But for aviation machine guns, cartridges were produced that had other types of bullets, specially developed taking into account the specifics of their use in aviation weapons.

12.7 mm machine gun cartridge with armor-piercing incendiary bullet BZF-46 mod. 1932 (index 57-B-532) (bullet weight 48 g) were intended for firing at enemy aircraft and balloons from aviation and anti-aircraft machine guns, as well as for adjusting machine-gun fire and targeting.

The armor-piercing incendiary bullet BZF-46 had an ogive shape with a rear cone with two belts and consisted of: a bimetallic shell; an armor-piercing core weighing 17.3–18.2 g from cold-drawn heat-treated tool steel grades U12 A, U12 XA and an increased pyrotechnic incendiary composition based on phosphorus weighing 1.1–1.3 g, located in the bottom part. The head of the bullet was painted black with a yellow belt.

The 12.7-mm machine gun cartridge with an instantaneous incendiary bullet MDZ (instant action, incendiary) was developed by the specialists of the Design Bureau of Plant No. 3 (Ulyanovsk Machine-Building Plant) and adopted for aircraft machine guns under the designation GRAU - 7-Z-2. The cartridge is designed to destroy low-flying air targets from anti-aircraft machine guns and create fires, so the MDZ bullet was equipped with a mixture of explosives. Bullet MDZ - ogival shape with a rear cone and two belts, consisted of a bimetallic shell with a tompak tip; a bimetallic cup in a lead jacket with a mixture of explosive (PETN) and incendiary (No. 7) compositions; an impact mechanism of non-cocking instantaneous action, having a chopping tube, a bimetallic bushing and a blasting cap. When a bullet hit the barrier, the tip was deformed and pierced with a chopping tube, the fragments of the tip were activated by a blasting cap detonator, which initiated the detonation of the explosive charge. The flash achieved by the MZD bullet was visible at a distance of up to 1500 m. Subsequently, 12.7-mm machine-gun cartridges with an MDZ instant incendiary bullet were replaced with similar, but with more powerful bullets: with an MDZ bullet designed by Zabegin "MDZ-Z", with a modernized bullet MDZ "MDZ-M" and an instantaneous bullet "MD" with a fuse brand "V-166". The bullets of the MDZ-46 and MDZ-3 variants differed primarily in the design of the warhead. In the MDZ-46 bullet, the brass bushing simultaneously served as a ballistic tip, while in the MDZ-3 bullet, the tip was absent, and the shell covered the body of the detonator cap. Bullet cases MDZ-46 and MDZ-3 differed primarily in the design of the head. In the MDZ-46 bullet, the brass bushing simultaneously served as a ballistic tip, while in the MDZ-3 bullet there was no tip, and the shell covered the body of the detonator cap, which was painted red.

In the period 1959-1964 in the USSR to destroy intelligence balloons of the enemy from the airborne weapons of aircraft and helicopters, a special 12.7-mm cartridge was created with a bullet of incendiary-explosive instantaneous action of high sensitivity ZMDBCH of the 1966 model (abbreviated name - FZ-12.7, full name - 12.7-mm cartridge with high-explosive incendiary bullet ZMDBCH).

In addition, for 12.7-mm YakB-12.7 aircraft machine guns mounted on Mi-24 combat helicopters, special two-bullet cartridges of increased fire density were developed with bullets - armor-piercing incendiary "1 SL" (9-A-4412) and tracer "1 SLT" (index 9-A-4427). These cartridges are produced by the Novosibirsk plant of low-voltage equipment. Cartridges 1 SL are equipped with two armor-piercing incendiary bullets of reduced weight (31 g) type B-32. Each of the bullets of these cartridges consists of a steel shell, clad with tombac, and two cores: steel and lead. The muzzle of the cartridge case for fixing the first bullet has two belts. To fix the second bullet in the case body, three round punches are formed by punching on three sides, which is the external difference between a two-bullet heavy machine-gun cartridge and an ordinary one. Cartridge 1 SLT is also equipped with two bullets: the first is an armor-piercing incendiary type B-32 (weighing 31 g) and the second is an armor-piercing incendiary tracer bullet of the BZT type (weighing 27 g), located one after the other. Tracing range - up to 1000 m, tracing time - at least 29 seconds.

In addition, when training in shooting to simulate combat shooting without a bullet, 12.7 mm large-caliber machine-gun blank cartridges (index 7 X1) are used. They have a sleeve closed on top with a textured green cap. In addition, training cartridges are also used for training purposes (index 7 X2).

The 12.7 mm heavy machine gun cartridge is the most widely used in the world, since these cartridges were supplied to many countries (not only the Warsaw Pact, but also third world countries), and also produced under license, for example, in China.

Large-caliber machine gun cartridge 12.7x108 is used in the following types of weapons:

• DShK/DShKM machine guns (USSR);
• aviation machine guns UBT/UBK/UBS (USSR);
• aviation machine gun A-12.7 (USSR);
• ship turret-turret machine-gun installation "Utes-M" (USSR/Russia);
• machine gun NSV "Utes" (USSR/Russia/Kazakhstan);
• NSVT tank machine gun (USSR/Russia/Kazakhstan);
• machine gun 6 P50 "Kord" (Russia);
• sniper rifle KSVK (Russia);
• sniper rifle V-94 (Russia);
• machine gun type 54 (PRC);
• machine gun type 77 (PRC);
• machine gun type 85 (PRC);
• machine gun W85 (PRC);
• sniper rifle "Gepard" (Hungary).

Sergei Monetchikov
Photo by Dmitry Belyakov and from the author's archive
Brother 05-2012

• Articles » Cartridges
• Mercenary 17568 0

The DShK machine gun entered the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army back in February 1939, but despite the seven decades that have passed since that time, it is still present among the staff heavy weapons in many armies. In this article, we will briefly outline the history and design features of this outstanding example of domestic design thought.

DShK machine gun. Photo. History of creation

Outgrowth of the First World War. Initially, they were tasked with fighting the then weakly armored tanks, aircraft and infantry in light shelters. It was these opportunities that the Red Army command wanted to get from a new domestic machine gun, giving it a technical task for the designers. The DShK machine gun was born for ten whole years, it can be said that the most perfect and powerful domestic cartridge for its time, 12.7 x 108, was invented, which, by the way, is still actively used in modern shooting systems. However, Degtyarev for a long time failed to create an acceptable for the army. The main drawback of the DK (Degtyarev large-caliber) of the 1930 model was a drum magazine for thirty rounds and a low rate of fire, which did not allow the machine gun to be effectively used as an anti-aircraft gun. Only the involvement of another outstanding designer, G.S. Shpagin, to participate in the development, made it possible to solve the problem. A drum-type chamber for belt ammunition designed by Shpagin was installed on the Degtyarev machine gun, as a result of which the machine gun gained a very decent rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute, belt feed and the name "DShK Machine Gun" now known to everyone. Since 1939, he entered the combat units and since then has participated and is participating in all armed conflicts in the world. It is currently in service with forty armies. Produced by China, Iran, Pakistan and some other countries.

Machine gun automation works according to the common principle of the removal of expanding powder gases. The gas chamber is located under the barrel. Locking occurs with the help of two combat larvae, which cling to the recesses, machined in opposite walls of the receiver. The DShK machine gun can only fire automatically, the barrel has a non-removable, air-cooled. The tape with cartridges is fed from the left side to the drum, which has six open chambers. The latter, rotating, feeds the tape and simultaneously removes cartridges from it. In 1946, changes were made to the design that affected the steel grades used, production technology and the cartridge feeder. The “drum” was abandoned and a simpler slider mechanism was used, which made it possible to use new cartridge belts, and on both sides, it was lighter and more technologically advanced. The improved machine gun was named DShKM.

Conclusion

There are only two truly famous 12mm machine guns in the world. This is a DShK and M2 machine gun, and the domestic machine gun is superior to the American counterpart due to a more powerful cartridge and a heavy bullet. Until now, DShK fire is considered highly effective and terrifies the enemy.

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".

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 stopped 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). 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 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 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.

Video

DShK machine gun. TV program. Weapon TV

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. 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. The closed-type gas chamber was located 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 stigma of the manufacturer, the year of manufacture, the serial number (series designation 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 gun in position for anti-aircraft fire, search wheels 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 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 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 air defense zone - 9, Kharkov - 66, Moscow - 112, on the Southwestern Front - 72, Southern - 58, Northwestern - 37, Western - 27, Karelian - 13.

Crew members torpedo boat TK-684 of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet posing against the background 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. 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.

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. 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.

Anti-aircraft gunners of the armored train "Zheleznyakov" (armored train No. 5 of the Coastal Defense of Sevastopol) with 12.7-mm DShK heavy machine guns (machine guns mounted on naval 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 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. 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 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 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, lack of sights, 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. Calculation easel machine gun DShK 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;
The initial speed of the bullet - 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"