Archer sau UK. Self-propelled howitzer FH77BW L52 Archer (Sweden). Equipment for Archer

12.7 mm heavy machine gun Degtyarev-Shpagin DShK

On February 26, 1939, by decree of the Defense Committee under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, a 12.7-mm heavy machine gun of the 1938 model DShK ("Degtyarev-Shpagina large-caliber") of the V. A. Degtyarev system with a drum receiver of the G. S. system was adopted for service. Shpagina. The machine gun was adopted on a universal machine of the I.N. system. Kolesnikov with detachable wheel travel and folding tripod. During the Great Patriotic War The DShK machine gun was used to combat air targets, lightly armored enemy vehicles, and enemy personnel at long and medium ranges, as weapons for tanks and self-propelled guns. At the end of the Great Patriotic War, designers K.I. Sokolov and A.K. Norov carried out a significant modernization of the heavy machine gun. First of all, the power mechanism was changed - the drum receiver was replaced with a slider one. In addition, the manufacturability of the weapon has been improved, the mounting of the machine gun barrel has been changed, and a number of measures have been taken to increase survivability. The reliability of the system has increased. The first 250 modernized machine guns were produced in February 1945 at the plant in Saratov. In 1946, the machine gun was put into service under the designation “12.7-mm machine gun mod. 1938/46, DShKM." The DShKM immediately became a tank anti-aircraft machine gun: it was installed on tanks of the IS series, T-54/55, T-62, on the BTR-50PA, modernized ISU-122 and ISU-152, and special vehicles on a tank chassis.
Since the differences between the 12.7 mm heavy machine gun mod. 1938, DShK and a modernized machine gun mod. 1938/46 DShKM consist mainly in the design of the feed mechanism, let's look at these machine guns together.
The machine gun is automatic and operates by removing powder gases through a transverse hole in the barrel wall, with long stroke gas piston. The closed-type gas chamber is reinforced under the barrel and is equipped with a pipe regulator with three holes. The entire length of the barrel has transverse ribbing for better cooling; a single-chamber active-type muzzle brake is attached to the muzzle of the barrel. The barrel bore is locked by moving the bolt lugs to the sides. The DShK barrel was equipped with an active type muzzle brake, which was later replaced by a flat brake, also of the active type (such a muzzle brake was also used on the DShK. and for tank modifications became the main one).
The leading element of the automation is the bolt frame. A gas piston rod is screwed into the bolt frame at the front, and a firing pin is mounted on a stand at the rear. When the bolt approaches the breech of the barrel, the bolt stops, and the bolt frame continues to move forward, the firing pin rigidly connected to it with its thickened part moves forward relative to the bolt and spreads the bolt lugs, which fit into the corresponding recesses receiver. The lugs are brought together and the bolt is unlocked by bevels of the figured socket of the bolt frame as it moves backwards. Extraction spent cartridge case provides a bolt ejector; the cartridge case is removed from the weapon downward, through the bolt frame window, using a spring-loaded rod reflector mounted at the top of the bolt. The return spring is placed on the gas piston rod and covered with a tubular casing. The buttplate contains two spring shock absorbers that soften the impact of the bolt carrier and bolt at the rearmost point. In addition, shock absorbers give the frame and bolt an initial return velocity, thereby increasing the rate of fire. The reloading handle, located at the bottom right, is rigidly connected to the bolt frame and is small in size. The reloading mechanism of the machine gun mount interacts with the reloading handle, but the machine gunner can directly use the handle, for example, by inserting a cartridge into it with the bottom of the cartridge case.
The shot is fired with the shutter open. The trigger mechanism allows only automatic fire. It is put into action release lever, hinged on the buttplate of the machine gun. The trigger mechanism is assembled in a separate housing and is equipped with a non-automatic safety lever that blocks the trigger lever (front position of the flag) and prevents spontaneous lowering of the sear.
The impact mechanism is powered by a return spring. After locking the barrel bore, the bolt frame continues to move forward, in the extreme forward position it hits the clutch, and the firing pin hits the firing pin mounted in the bolt. The sequence of operations of spreading the lugs and striking the firing pin eliminates the possibility of firing when the barrel bore is not fully locked. To prevent the bolt frame from rebounding after an impact in the extreme forward position, a “delay” is mounted in it, including two springs, a bend and a roller.

DShKM machine gun V incomplete disassembly: 1 - barrel with gas chamber, front sight and muzzle brake; 2 - bolt frame with gas piston; 3 - shutter; 4 - combat stops; 5 - drummer; 6 - wedge; 7 - butt plate with buffer; 8 - trigger housing; 9 - cover and base of the receiver and feed drive lever; 10 - receiver.

The cartridges are fed by a belt feed, with a left-hand feed of a metal link belt. The tape consists of open links and is placed in a metal box mounted on the installation bracket. The visor of the box serves as the tape feed tray. The DShK drum receiver was driven by the bolt handle, moving backward, it bumped into the fork of the swinging feed lever and turned it. The dog at the other end of the lever rotated the drum 60°, which pulled the tape. Removing the cartridge from the belt link - in the lateral direction. In the DShKM machine gun, the slider-type receiver is mounted on top of the receiver. The slider with the feed fingers is driven by a bell crank rotating in a horizontal plane. The crank arm, in turn, is driven by a rocker arm with a fork at the end. The latter, as in the DShK, is driven by the bolt handle.
By flipping the slider crank, you can change the direction of the belt feed from left to right.
The 12.7 mm cartridge has several options: with an armor-piercing bullet, armor-piercing incendiary, sighting-incendiary, sighting, tracer, armor-piercing incendiary tracer (used against air targets). The sleeve does not have a protruding rim, which made it possible to use direct feeding of the cartridge from the tape.
For shooting at ground targets, a folding frame sight is used, mounted on a base on top of the receiver. The sight has worm mechanisms for installing the rear sight and introducing lateral corrections, the frame is equipped with 35 divisions (up to 3500 m in 100) and is tilted to the left to compensate for bullet derivation. The pin front sight with a safety device is placed on a high base in the muzzle of the barrel. When firing at ground targets, the dispersion diameter at a distance of 100 m was 200 mm. The DShKM machine gun is equipped with a collimator anti-aircraft sight, which facilitates aiming at a high-speed target and allows you to see the aiming mark and the target with equal clarity. The DShKM, installed on tanks as an anti-aircraft weapon, was equipped with a K-10T collimator sight. The optical system of the sight formed at the output an image of the target and an aiming reticle projected onto it with rings for shooting with lead and protractor divisions.

DShK 1938 with armored shield

Well understanding the importance of large-caliber machine guns for equipping armored personnel carriers, combat boats and ground fortifications in order to destroy armored and air targets, as well as 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 DP 1928 light machine gun, he designed a model of a heavy machine gun, called the DK. In 1930, a prototype of 12.7 mm caliber 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 the M 30 tank gun, which had dimensions of 12.7x108. In 1930, such cartridges were produced with armor-piercing bullets, 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 a crosshair at a distance of up to 2400 m for air and fast-moving ground targets. Ammunition was supplied from a 30-round disc magazine. The barrel was connected to the body with a thread and could be replaced. The recoil force was reduced using 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 (Degtyarev-Shpagina large-caliber) machine gun mod. 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 standard American Browning machine gun, the Soviet model showed promising results. The initial bullet speed was 810 m/s, the rate of fire was from 350 to 400 rounds/min. At a distance of 300 m, the bullet, when hitting the target at an angle of 90°, pierced 16 mm steel armor. The testing commission recommended making some design changes, for example, change the cartridge feeding mechanism from disk to belt. The machine gun was approved for military testing, and in 1931 a trial batch of 50 units was ordered.
It was not possible to determine exactly how many of these machine guns were manufactured. Information in 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, troops received total about 2,000 12.7 mm heavy machine guns. There were hardly more than a thousand examples of the DK model produced before 1935.

DShK 1938 on an anti-aircraft machine

Degtyarev was never able to eliminate the shortcomings identified during the tests, in particular, the poor maneuverability of the machine gun and the too low rate of fire. In order to redirect ground machine guns to air targets, it took too much time, since the developed machine was imperfect. The low rate of fire depended on the operation of a bulky and heavy cartridge feeding mechanism.
G.S. Shpagin took over the conversion of the feed mechanism from a disk magazine to a belt, as a result of which the rate of fire increased significantly, and I.N. Kolesnikov improved the machine he had developed, which made it possible to speed up and simplify the retargeting of the machine gun from ground to air targets.
The improved model passed all tests in April 1938 and was accepted into service on February 26, 1939. Starting next year, its delivery to the troops began. Weapons of this type proved themselves to be excellent during the Second World War as a means of destroying ground, water and air targets. It was not only not inferior to other machine guns of this class, but also superior to them.
In 1940, 566 such machine guns were delivered to the army, and in the first half of the next year - another 234. On 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 increased to 5218, and a year later - to 8442. These facts allow us to draw conclusions about the growth of 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. The DShK machine gun was also used in foreign armies, for example, Egypt and 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 operates on the principle of using the energy of powder gases, has an air-cooled barrel and a rigid bolt-to-barrel coupling. 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 along almost its entire length. The flame arrester has a considerable length.
The practical rate of fire is 80 rounds/min, and the theoretical rate of fire is 600 rounds/min. The cartridges are fed from a metal belt using a special drum device. When the drum rotates, it moves the belt, picks up cartridges from it and feeds them into the machine gun mechanism, where the bolt sends them into the chamber. The belt 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. To engage air targets there is a special sight, developed in 1938, and modernized 3 years later. Although the optimal firing range is indicated as 2000 m, the machine gun can successfully engage 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

Used as machines various designs. To combat ground and air targets, the already mentioned special Kolesnikov machine with all-round visibility was used. When mounted on a wheeled machine with or without a protective shield, the machine gun was primarily used to destroy armored vehicles. After removing the wheels, the machine could be transformed into a tripod anti-aircraft machine.
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. They were often equipped with a searchlight.
Characteristics: heavy machine gun DShK 1938
Caliber, mm........................................................ .....................................12.7
Initial bullet speed (Vq), m/s............................................ .....850
Weapon length, mm................................................... ...........................1626
Rate of fire, rds/min.................................................... ...............600
Ammunition supply...................................metal belt
for 50 rounds
Weight in uncharged state without machine, kg...........33.30
Weight of the wheeled machine, kg................................................... .....142.10
Weight of full belt, kg................................................... ...................9.00
Cartridge................... 12.7x108
Barrel length, mm................................................... ...........................1000
Rifling/direction................................................... .....................4/p
Sighting firing range, m....................................3500
Effective firing range, m...................................2000*
* Optimal distance.

DShK 1938 on an anti-aircraft machine

DShKM machine gun incompletely disassembled: 1 — barrel with gas chamber, front sight and muzzle brake; 2 — bolt frame with gas piston; 3 - shutter; 4 — combat stops; 5 - drummer; 6 - wedge; 7 — butt plate with buffer; 8 — trigger housing; 9 — cover and base of the receiver and feed drive lever; 10 - receiver.

Soviet machine gun DShKM in anti-aircraft version

With the start of work on a machine gun with a caliber of 12-20 millimeters in 1925, it was decided to create it on the basis of a magazine-fed light machine gun in order to reduce the weight of the machine gun being created. Work began at the design bureau of the Tula Arms Plant on the basis of the 12.7-mm Vickers cartridge and on the basis of the German Dreyse (P-5) machine gun. 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 large-caliber Degtyarev machine gun with a Kladov disc magazine with a capacity of 30 rounds was assembled. In February 1931, after testing, preference was given to the DK (“Degtyarev large-caliber”) as easier to manufacture and lighter. The recreation center was put into service; in 1932, a small series was produced at the plant named after. Kirkizha (Kovrov), however, in 1933 only 12 machine guns were produced.

Experimental installation of the DShK machine gun

Military tests did not live up to expectations. In 1935, production of the Degtyarev heavy machine gun was stopped. By this time, a version of the DAK-32 had been created that had a Shpagin receiver, but tests in 1932-1933 showed the need to refine the system. Shpagin remade his version in 1937. A drum feed mechanism was created that did not require significant changes to the machine gun system. The belt-fed machine gun passed field tests on December 17, 1938. On February 26 of the following year, by resolution of the Defense Committee, they adopted the designation “12.7-mm heavy machine gun mod. 1938 DShK (Degtyarev-Shpagina large-caliber)” which was installed on the Kolesnikov universal machine. Work was also carried out on the DShK aircraft installation, but it soon became clear that a special large-caliber aircraft machine gun was needed.

The automatic operation of the machine gun was carried out due to the removal of powder gases. A closed gas chamber was located under the barrel and was equipped with a pipe regulator. The barrel had fins along its entire length. The muzzle was equipped with a single-chamber active-type muzzle brake. By moving the bolt lugs to the sides, the barrel 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 rolling impulse. The return spring, which was placed on the gas piston rod, activated impact mechanism. The trigger lever was blocked by a safety lever mounted on the buttplate (setting the safety to the front position).

DShK 12.7 heavy machine gun, machine in position for firing at ground targets

Feeding – belt, feeding – from the left side. The loose tape, which has semi-closed links, was placed in a special metal box attached to the left side of the machine bracket. The bolt carrier handle activated the DShK drum receiver: while moving backward, the handle bumped into the fork of the swinging feed lever and turned it. A pawl located at the other end of the lever rotated the drum 60 degrees, and the drum, in turn, pulled the tape. There were four cartridges in the drum at a time. As the drum rotated, the cartridge was gradually squeezed out of the belt link and fed into the receiving window of the receiver. The shutter moving forward caught it.

The folding frame sight, used for firing at ground targets, had a notch of up to 3.5 thousand m in increments of 100 m. The machine gun's markings included the manufacturer's mark, year of manufacture, serial number (series designation - two-letter, serial number of the machine gun) . The mark was placed in front of the butt plate on top of the receiver.

Large-caliber machine gun DShK 12.7, the machine is in the position for anti-aircraft shooting, the wheels are 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 ring remote sight of the 1938 model was intended to destroy air targets flying at speeds of up to 500 km/h and at a distance of up to 2.4 thousand meters. The 1941 model sight was simplified, the range was reduced to 1.8 thousand meters, however possible speed the target being destroyed increased (along the “imaginary” ring it could be 625 kilometers per hour). The sight of the 1943 model 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 universal Kolesnikov machine of the 1938 model was equipped with its own charging handle, had a removable shoulder pad, a cartridge box bracket, and a rod-type vertical aiming mechanism. Fire at ground targets was carried out from a wheeled vehicle, with the legs folded. To fire at air targets, the wheel drive was separated, and the machine was laid out in the form of a tripod.

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

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

From the first days of the Second World War, the DShK machine gun proved itself to be an excellent anti-aircraft weapon. So, for example, on July 14, 1941, on the Western Front in the Yartsevo area, a platoon of three machine guns shot down three German bombers; in August, near Leningrad in the Krasnogvardeisky area, 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 considering the enemy's significant 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 South-Western Front – 72, Southern – 58, North-Western – 37, Western – 27, Karelian – 13.

Crew members of the torpedo boat TK-684 of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet pose against the background of the stern 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 since February 1943 their number increased to 16 units. The anti-aircraft artillery divisions of the RVGK (Zenad), formed since November 42, included one such company per anti-aircraft small-caliber artillery regiment. Since the spring of 1943, the number of DShKs in Zenad decreased to 52 units, and according to the updated state of the 44th 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).

Usually anti-aircraft DShK used by platoons, often included in medium-caliber anti-aircraft batteries, using them to provide cover from air attacks from low altitudes. Anti-aircraft machine gun companies, armed with 18 DShKs, were added to the staff of rifle divisions at the beginning of 1944. Throughout the war, losses of heavy machine guns amounted to about 10 thousand units, that is, 21% of the resource. This was the smallest percentage of losses in the entire system. small arms, however, it is comparable to losses in anti-aircraft artillery. This already speaks about 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, as German troops approached Moscow, backup factories were identified in case Factory No. 2 stopped producing weapons. The production of DShK was carried out in the city of Kuibyshev, where 555 devices and machines were transferred from Kovrov. As a result, during the war, the main production took place in Kovrov, and “duplicate” production took place in Kuibyshev.

In addition to easel ones, self-propelled units with DShK were used - mainly M-1 pickups or GAZ-AA trucks with a DShK machine gun installed in the body in the anti-aircraft position on the machine. "Anti-aircraft" light tanks on the T-60 and T-70 chassis further prototypes no progress. 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 system, which did not allow changing the direction of feed of the tape. 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 heavy-caliber DShK machine guns (the machine guns are mounted on sea pedestals). 76.2 mm guns of 34-K naval turret mounts 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 weapon - it was the main armament of the T-40 (amphibious tank), BA-64D (light armored car), in 1944 a 12.7-mm anti-aircraft turret was installed on heavy tank IS-2, and later on heavy self-propelled guns. DShK machine guns Anti-aircraft armored trains were armed on tripods or pedestals (during the war, up to 200 armored trains operated in the air defense forces). A DShK with a shield and a folded machine could be dropped to partisans or landing forces in a UPD-MM parachute bag.

The fleet began receiving DShKs in 1940 (at the beginning of the Second World War there were 830 of them). During the war, industry transferred 4,018 DShKs to the fleet, and another 1,146 were transferred from the army. In the navy, anti-aircraft DShKs were installed on all types of ships, including mobilized fishing and transport ships. They were used on twin single pedestals, turrets, and turrets. Pedestal, rack and turret (coaxial) installations for DShK machine guns, adopted for service navy, developed by I.S. Leshchinsky, designer of plant No. 2. The pedestal installation allowed for all-round firing, vertical guidance angles ranged from -34 to +85 degrees. In 1939 A.I. Ivashutich, another Kovrov designer, developed a twin pedestal installation, and the later appeared DShKM-2 gave all-round fire. Vertical guidance angles ranged from -10 to +85 degrees. In 1945, the 2M-1 twin deck-mounted installation, which had a ring sight, was put into service. The DShKM-2B twin turret installation, created at TsKB-19 in 1943, and the ShB-K sight made it possible to conduct all-round fire at vertical guidance angles from -10 to +82 degrees.

Soviet tank crews of the 62nd Guards Heavy Tank Regiment in a street battle 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 turret twin installations MSTU, MTU-2 and 2-UK were created with pointing angles from -10 to +85 degrees. The “naval” machine guns themselves differed from the base model. For example, in the turret version, a frame sight was not used (only a ring sight with a weather vane front sight was used), the bolt handle was lengthened, and the hook for the cartridge box was changed. The differences between machine guns for coaxial installations were the design of the butt plate with the frame handle and trigger lever, the absence of sights, and fire control.

The German army, which did not have a standard heavy machine gun, willingly used captured DShKs, which were designated 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 food system. In 1946, a modernized machine gun under the DShKM brand was put into service. The reliability of the system has increased - if on the DShK according to the specifications 0.8% of delays during firing were allowed, then on the DShKM this figure was already 0.36%. The DShKM machine gun has become one of the most widely used in the world.

The Dnieper is being crossed. The crew 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 weight of the machine gun “body” is 33.4 kg (without tape);
The total weight of the machine gun is 181.3 kg (on the machine, without a shield, with a belt);
The length of the machine gun “body” is 1626 mm;
Barrel weight – 11.2 kg;
Barrel length – 1070 mm;
Rifling - 8 right-hand;
The length of the rifled part of the barrel is 890 mm;
Initial bullet speed – 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;
Height reach – 2500 m;
Power supply system – metal tape (50 rounds);
Type of machine – universal wheeled tripod;
The height of the firing line in the ground position is 503 mm;
The height of the firing line in the anti-aircraft position is 1400 mm;
Pointing angles:
- horizontally in ground position – ±60 degrees;
- horizontally in the zenith position – 360 degrees;
- vertically in a ground position – +27 degrees;
- vertically in the zenith position – from -4 to +85 degrees;
Transit time from stowed position in combat for anti-aircraft shooting - 30 sec;
Calculation – 3-4 people.

A Soviet soldier shoots at a training ground from an anti-aircraft large-caliber 12.7-mm DShK machine gun mounted on an ISU-152 self-propelled gun

Based on materials from the article by Semyon Fedoseev “Machine guns of the Second World War”

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

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

History of creation and production

The task to create the first Soviet heavy machine gun, intended primarily to combat aircraft at altitudes of 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 in 1932, small-scale production of the machine gun began under the designation DK (Degtyarev, Large-caliber). In general, the recreation center repeated the design light machine gun DP-27, and was fed from detachable drum magazines with 30 rounds of ammunition, mounted on top of the machine gun. The disadvantages of such a power supply scheme (bulky and heavy weight magazines, low practical rate of fire) forced to stop production of the recreation center in 1935 and start improving it. By 1938, designer Shpagin developed a tape power module for the recreation center.

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

Mass production of DShK began in 1940-41.

DShKs were used as anti-aircraft guns, as infantry support weapons, and were installed on armored vehicles (T-40) and small ships (including torpedo boats). In accordance with the staff of the Red Army rifle division No. 04/400-416 dated April 5, 1941, the standard 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 Resolution No. 874 “On strengthening and strengthening air defense” was adopted 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 8,400 DShK machine guns were 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 heavy machine gun is an automatic weapon built on the gas exhaust principle. The barrel is locked by two combat larvae, hinged on the bolt, through recesses in the side walls of the receiver. The fire mode is automatic only, the barrel is non-removable, finned for better cooling, and equipped with a muzzle brake.

The feed is carried out from a non-scattered metal tape; the tape is fed from the left side of the machine gun. In DShK, the tape feeder was made in the form of a drum with six open chambers. As the drum rotated, it fed the tape and at the same time removed the cartridges from it (the tape had open links). After the chamber of the drum with the cartridge arrived in the lower position, the cartridge was fed into the chamber by the bolt. The tape feeder was driven using a lever located on the right side, which swung in a vertical plane when its lower part was acted upon by the loading handle, rigidly connected to the bolt frame.

Spring buffers for the bolt and bolt frame are mounted in the buttplate of the receiver. The fire was fired from the rear sear (from an open bolt); two handles on the butt plate and a pair of triggers were used to control the fire. The sight was framed; the machine also had mounts for an anti-aircraft sight.

The machine gun was used with universal machine Kolesnikov systems. The machine was equipped with removable wheels and a steel shield, and when using the machine gun as an anti-aircraft wheel, the shield was removed, and the rear support was spread apart to form a tripod. In addition, the machine gun in the anti-aircraft role was equipped with special shoulder rests. 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 turret installations, on remote-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 survived the entire war. Used as an easel and anti-aircraft machine gun. Large caliber allowed the machine gun to effectively deal with many targets, even medium armored vehicles. At the end of the war, DShK was massively installed as an anti-aircraft gun on towers Soviet tanks and self-propelled guns for self-defense of vehicles in the event of attacks from the air and from upper floors in urban battles.

Video

DShK machine gun. TV program. Weapons TV