12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine gun dshk in the Navy. Heavy machine gun dshk. DShK machine gun. Photo. History of creation

DShK is a heavy machine gun based on the DK machine gun and using a 12.7×108 mm cartridge. The DShK machine gun is one of the most common heavy machine guns. He played a significant role in the Great Patriotic War, as well as in subsequent military conflicts.

It was a formidable means of fighting the enemy on land, at sea and in the air. The DShK had a peculiar nickname "Dushka". Currently, in the armed forces of Russia, DShK and DShKM are completely replaced by Utes and Kord machine guns as more modern and advanced.

Story

In 1929, the experienced and well-known gunsmith Degtyarev was instructed to develop the first Soviet heavy machine gun, designed primarily to combat aircraft at altitudes up to 1.5 km. About a year later, the gunsmith presented his 12.7 mm machine gun for testing. Since 1932, this machine gun under the designation DK was launched into small-scale production.

However, the DK machine gun had certain disadvantages:

• low practical rate of fire;
• large weight of stores;
• bulkiness and heavy weight.

Therefore, in 1935, the production of the DK machine gun was discontinued, and the developers began to improve it. By 1938, the designer Shpagin had designed a DC tape power module. As a result, the improved machine gun was adopted by the Red Army on February 26, 1939 under the designation DShK - the Degtyarev-Shpagin heavy machine gun.

Mass production of the DShK began in 1940-1941. DShK machine guns used:

• as an infantry support weapon;
• as anti-aircraft guns;
• installed on armored vehicles (T-40);
• installed on small ships, including torpedo boats.

By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Kovrov Mechanical Plant produced approximately 2,000 DShKs. By 1944, more than 8400 machine guns had already been produced. And by the end of the war - 9 thousand DShK, the production of machine guns of this system continued in the post-war period.

According to the experience of the war, the DShK was modernized, and in 1946 a machine gun called DShKM entered service. DShKM was installed as an anti-aircraft machine gun on T-62, T-54, T-55 tanks. The tank version of the machine gun was called DShKMT.

Design features

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

Power is supplied from a metal non-loose tape, the tape is fed from the left side of the DShK. The tape feeder is made in the form of a drum. During rotation, the drum simultaneously fed the tape, and also removed the cartridges from it (the tape had open links). After the chamber of the drum with the cartridge came to the lower position, the bolt fed the cartridge into the chamber.

The feed of the tape was carried out using a lever located on the right side and swinging in a vertical plane during the action of the loading handle, rigidly connected to the bolt frame.

The drum mechanism at the DShKM was replaced by a compact slider, which worked on a similar principle. The cartridge was removed from the tape down, after which it was fed directly into the chamber. In the butt pad receiver spring buffers of the bolt frame and bolt are installed. The fire is conducted from the rear sear. To control the fire, two handles on the butt plate are used, as well as twin triggers. For aiming, a frame sight was installed, and special mounts were installed for the anti-aircraft foreshortening sight.

The machine gun was mounted on universal machine Kolesnikov system, which was equipped with a steel shield and removable wheels. When using a machine gun as anti-aircraft gun the rear support was bred into a tripod, and the wheels and shield were removed. The main disadvantage of this machine was the weight, which limited the mobility of the machine gun. The machine gun was installed:

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

Specifications DShK model 1938

• Cartridge - 12.7 × 108.
• The total weight of the machine gun (on the machine, with a belt and without a shield) is 181.3 kg.
• The weight of the “body” of the DShK without tape is 33.4 kg.
• Barrel weight - 11.2 kg.
• The length of the "body" DShK - 1626 mm.
• Barrel length - 1070 mm.
• Rifling - 8 right-handed.
• The length of the rifled part of the barrel is 890 mm.
• The initial speed of the bullet is 850-870 m / s.
• The muzzle energy of a bullet is an average of 19,000 J.
• The rate of fire is 600 rounds per minute.
• Combat rate of fire - 125 rounds per minute.
• Sighting line length - 1110 mm.
• Sighting range for ground targets - 3500 m.
• Sighting range for air targets - 2400 m.
• Reach in height - 2500 m.
• Type of machine - wheel-tripod.
• The height of the line of fire in the ground position is 503 mm.
• The height of the line of fire in anti-aircraft position is 1400 mm.
• For anti-aircraft fire, the transition time to combat position from marching is 30 seconds.
• Calculation - 3-4 people.

Modifications

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

Video about the DShK machine gun

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In 1929 designer Vasily Degtyarev received the task of creating the first Soviet heavy machine gun, designed primarily to combat aircraft at altitudes up to 1500 meters.

However, military tests showed that this model did not live up to the expectations of the military, and the machine gun was sent for revision. At the same time, he worked on the design Georgy Shpagin, who invented the original tape power module for DC.

The combined forces of Degtyarev and Shpagin created a version of the machine gun, which in December 1938 passed all field tests.

Armor-piercing incendiary power

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 of the 1938 model of the year - DShK." The machine gun was mounted on a universal machine Kolesnikova model 1938, which was equipped with its own charging handle, had a removable shoulder pad for firing at aircraft, 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.

The 12.7 mm DShK cartridge could have an armor-piercing bullet, armor-piercing incendiary, sighting-incendiary, tracer, sighting. Armor-piercing incendiary tracer bullets were used against flying targets.

Serial production of the DShK began in 1940, and the machine gun immediately began to enter the troops. To the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in the Red Army, about 800 DShK machine guns were in service.

Machine gun DShK 12.7 mm model 1938. Photo: RIA Novosti / Khomenko

Nazi aviation nightmare

Almost from the first days of the war, DShKs began to cause serious damage to enemy aircraft, demonstrating their high efficiency. The problem, however, was that with the predominance of the Nazis in the air, several hundred DShK installations on the entire front could not radically change the situation.

Increasing the pace of production made it possible to solve this problem. By the end of the Great Patriotic War, up to 9,000 DShK machine guns were produced, which not only equipped anti-aircraft gunners of the Red Army and the Navy. They began to be installed en masse on the towers of tanks and self-propelled artillery mounts. This allowed tankers not only to fight against air attacks, but to increase their effectiveness in urban combat, when they had to suppress firing points on the upper floors of buildings.

The Wehrmacht did not have a full-time heavy machine gun of this type, which became a serious advantage for the Red Army.

Soldier Syrian army behind the DShK machine gun. Photo: RIA Novosti / Ilya Pitalev

Continuation of the tradition

The modernized model of the DShKM machine gun was in service with the armies of at least 40 countries over several post-war decades. brainchild Soviet designers and is still in service in the countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America and in Ukraine. In Russia, the DShK and DShKM were replaced by the Utes and Kord heavy machine guns. The name of the latter stands for "Kovrov gunsmiths Degtyarevtsy" - the machine gun was developed at the Kovrov plant named after. Degtyarev, where the history of Soviet heavy machine guns once began.

12.7-mm DShK machine guns on the Kolesnikov universal machine tool were used quite effectively to combat enemy aircraft during the Second World War. The experience of combat operations in Vietnam showed that 12.7-mm machine guns can also be successfully used to destroy combat and transport helicopters, which became in the 1950s. new mass medium conduct of hostilities. For this reason, in the spring of 1968, the Main Rocket and Artillery Directorate issued a task to the KBP enterprise to develop a light anti-aircraft installation for a 12.7 mm machine gun. The installation should have been developed in two versions: 6U5 for the DShK / DSh - KM machine gun (machine guns of this type were available in huge quantities in mobilization stocks) and 6U6 for the new NSV-12.7 machine gun.
R. Ya. Purtsen was appointed chief designer of the installations. Factory testing prototypes installations were started in 1970, and ground and military tests began in 1971. In May of the same year, Marshal P. N. Kuleshov, head of the Main Rocket and Artillery Directorate, got acquainted with one of the installation options. “Among other installations,” recalls Purzen, “he was shown the installation under the NSV. The marshal carefully
rel it, tested the action of the mechanism! and gave positive feedback about its simplicity and convenience and confirmed the need for such a simple anti-aircraft installation in the army along with complex self-propelled systems.
Ground and subsequent military tests of anti-aircraft machine gun installations of the Purtsen system; confirmed their high combat and operational characteristics. “According to the results of the conducted polygon-military tests, two are universal: installations for the DShKM machine gun and two installations for machine gun NSV-12.7, - elk cancellation in final act, - commission: considers it expedient to adopt these installations Soviet army as pack instead of standard anti-aircraft installations with a machine gun DShKM on the Kolesnikov machine arr. 1938".
In accordance with the decision of the commission, in 1973, only the statutes 6U6 entered service with the Soviet Army under the name “Universal: machine designed by Purzen for the NSV (6U6) machine gun”. The 6U5 installation for the DShK/DShKM machine gun was to be put into production only during the "special period". It should be noted here that in connection with the termination of the supply of the NSV-12.7 machine gun from Kazakhstan, a 12.7-mm KORD machine gun can be mounted on the 6U6 installation. The possibility of rapid deployment of the production of 6U5 installations is also preserved.
The 6U6 anti-aircraft machine gun mount is considered as a battalion and regimental air defense weapon. These installations are also attached to anti-aircraft divisions missile systems S-300P for cover from attacking helicopters and to fight a ground enemy (landing troops).
The anti-aircraft machine gun mount bubs consists of a 12.7-mm machine gun NSV-12.7, a light alarm carriage (machine) and sights.
Machine gun automation mechanisms work by using the energy of powder gases vented from the barrel bore.
The rate of fire of the machine gun is 700-800 rds/min, and the practical rate of fire is 80-100 rds/min.
The installation carriage is the lightest of all modern similar designs. Its weight is 55 kg, and the weight of the installation with a machine gun and a cartridge box for 70 rounds does not exceed 92.5 kg. To ensure minimum weight, the stamping and welding parts that make up the main unit are made of steel sheet with a thickness of only 0.8 mm. At the same time, the required strength of the parts was achieved by heat treatment. The peculiarity of the carriage is such that the gunner can fire at ground targets from a prone position, while the seat back is used as a shoulder rest. To improve the accuracy of the arrow
for ground targets, a fine pickup gearbox was introduced into the vertical guidance mechanism.
For shooting at ground targets, the BUB installation is equipped with a PU optical sight (GRAU index 10 P81). Air targets are hit using the VK-4 collimator sight (GRAU index 10P81).

On February 26, 1939, by a decree of the Defense Committee under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, a 12.7-mm easel machine gun of the 1938 model DShK (“Degtyareva-Shpagin large-caliber”) of the system of V. A. Degtyarev with a drum receiver of the belt of the G. S. system was adopted. Shpagin. The machine gun was adopted on the universal machine of the I.N. Kolesnikov with a detachable wheel drive and a folding tripod. During the Great Patriotic War, the DShK machine gun was used to combat air targets, lightly armored vehicles of the enemy, his manpower at long and medium ranges, as armament of tanks and self-propelled guns. At the end of World War II, 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 by a slider one. In addition, manufacturability has been improved, the mount 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 been improved. The first 250 modernized machine guns were produced in February 1945 at a factory 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, T-54 / 55, T-62 series, on the BTR-50PA, modernized ISU-122 and ISU-152, special vehicles on a tank chassis.
Since the differences between the 12.7 mm machine gun mod. 1938, DShK and modernized machine gun mod. 1938/46 DShKM consists mainly in the device of the feed mechanism, we will consider these machine guns together.
Machine gun automation 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 fixed under the barrel and is equipped with a three-hole pipe regulator. Along the entire length of the barrel, transverse ribbing is made for better cooling; a single-chamber active muzzle brake is mounted on the muzzle of the barrel. The barrel bore is locked when the bolt lugs are pulled apart. The DShK barrel was equipped with an active type muzzle brake, which was subsequently replaced by a flat brake of an active type as well (such a muzzle brake was also used on the DShK. and for tank modifications became the main).
The leading link of automation is the bolt carrier. A gas piston rod is screwed into the bolt frame in front, and a drummer is attached to the rack in its rear part. When the bolt approaches the breech breech, the bolt stops and the bolt carrier continues to move forward; The reduction of the lugs and the unlocking of the shutter is carried out by the bevels of the figured seat of the bolt carrier when it moves backward. extraction spent cartridge case provides a bolt ejector, the cartridge case is removed from the weapon down through the bolt frame window, using a spring-loaded rod reflector mounted at the top of the bolt. The reciprocating mainspring is put on the gas piston rod and closed with a tubular casing. In the butt plate there are two spring shock absorbers that soften the impact of the bolt carrier and the bolt at the rearmost point. In addition, shock absorbers give the frame and bolt initial speed return movement, 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 reload 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 trigger lever, hinged on the butt plate of the machine gun. The trigger mechanism is assembled in a separate housing and is equipped with a lever non-automatic fuse that blocks the trigger lever (the front position of the flag) and prevents spontaneous lowering of the sear.
The impact mechanism is powered by a reciprocating mainspring. After locking the bore, the bolt frame continues to move forward, in the extreme forward position it hits the clutch, and the drummer hits the striker mounted in the bolt. The sequence of operations of rearing the lugs and hitting the striker eliminates the possibility of firing if the barrel bore is not completely locked. To prevent the bolt frame from rebounding after being hit in the extreme forward position, a “delay” is mounted in it, including two springs, a yoke and a roller.

DShKM machine gun V 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 - butt pad with buffer; 8 - trigger housing; 9 - cover and base of the receiver and feed drive lever; 10 - receiver.

Cartridge supply - tape, with the left supply of a metal link tape. The tape consists of open links and fits into a metal box attached to the installation bracket. The visor of the box serves as a feed tray for the tape. The drum receiver DShK was actuated from the handle of the bolt carrier moving backward, it bumped into the fork of the swinging feeder lever and turned it. The pawl at the other end of the lever turned the drum 60°, which pulled the tape. Extraction of the cartridge from the link of the tape - in the lateral direction. In the DShKM machine gun, the slide type receiver is mounted on top of the receiver. The slider with feed fingers is driven by a toggle lever rotating in a horizontal plane. The crank arm, in turn, is driven by a swing arm with a fork at the end. The latter, as in the DShK, is driven by the bolt carrier handle.
By flipping the slider crank, you can change the ribbon feed direction 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 apply a direct feed 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 gears 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 fuse 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, which was mounted on tanks as an anti-aircraft gun, was equipped with a K-10T collimator sight. The optical system of the sight formed an image of the target and a target reticle projected onto it with rings for firing with lead and divisions of the protractor.

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 light machine gun magazine-fed to reduce the mass of the created machine gun. 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 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 was reduced to 1.8 thousand meters, however possible speed the target being destroyed increased (according to 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 Second anti-aircraft machine gun ny battalion destroyed 33 enemy aircraft. However, the number of 12.7 mm machine gun mounts was clearly not enough, especially given the significant enemy air superiority. As of September 10, 1941, there were 394 of them: in the Oryol zone air defense- 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. 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). 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 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;
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"