21.09.2019

Power named DShK. A unique heavy machine gun of the Red Army. DShK machine gun: characteristics. Heavy machine gun DShK Dshk machine gun decoding 12.7 1938

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 shutter. 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 zone air defense- 9, Kharkov - 66, Moscow - 112, on the Southwestern Front - 72, Southern - 58, Northwestern - 37, Western - 27, Karelian - 13.

Crew members of the torpedo boat TK-684 of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet pose in front of the aft turret of a 12.7-mm DShK machine gun

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

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

Anti-aircraft installation (three 12.7-mm DShK machine guns) in the center of Moscow, on Sverdlov Square (now Teatralnaya). The Metropol Hotel is visible in the background.

In 1941, with the approach of German troops to Moscow, backup plants were identified in case plant No. 2 stopped producing weapons. 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, self-propelled guns with DShK were used - mainly M-1 pickups or GAZ-AA trucks with a DShK machine gun installed in the body in anti-aircraft position on the machine. Anti-aircraft light tanks on the T-60 and T-70 chassis further prototypes have not advanced. 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 the 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 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"

12.7 mm DShK machine guns on universal machine Kolesnikov 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 of prototypes of the installations began in 1970, and field 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 accept these installations for service with the Soviet army as pack installations 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 divisions of S-300P anti-aircraft missile systems for cover from attacking helicopters and to fight a ground enemy (landing forces).
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).

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 an assignment to develop a large-caliber machine gun for anti-tank and air defense under the English 12.7-mm cartridge on the basis of his DP light machine gun. 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 to abandon direct copying of British 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.

1. 12.7mm tracer cartridge with lead
core T-38, 2. 12.7-mm cartridge with incendiary
instant bullet MDZ-46

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, at the end of the 1930s and during the Great Patriotic War, the 12.7 x108 large-caliber cartridge was 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 UB aircraft machine guns; 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.

1. Armor-piercing incendiary bullet B-32,
2. Armor-piercing incendiary tracer bullet BZT,
3. Fragmentation-incendiary bullet MDZ

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 that do not have (with rare exceptions, mostly in the past) of an ordinary bullet proper, 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., 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 an initial speed of 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.

1. 12.7 mm cartridge with an armor-piercing incendiary bullet
B-32 arr. 1932 (57-BZ-542), 2. 12.7 mm cartridge with
armor-piercing incendiary bullet BS-41 arr. 1941

In 1933, a new one was adopted for the Degtyarev DK-32 heavy machine gun. machine gun cartridge caliber 12.7 x108 mm with a brass sleeve and armor-piercing incendiary bullet B-32 arr. 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.

1. 12.7 mm cartridge with armor-piercing incendiary bullet
BS sample 1974 (7-BZ-1), 2. 12.7 mm cartridge with
armor-piercing bullet B-30 arr. 1930

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 mod. 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 parts; 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 a 12.7-mm 6 V7 sniper rifle. 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.

1. 12.7mm High Density Dual Bullet Cartridge
fire with an armor-piercing incendiary bullet "1 SL"
(9-A-4412), 2. 12.7 mm two-bullet cartridge with increased
density of fire with a tracer bullet "1 SLT" (9-A-4427)

DShK cartridges were also used in the 12.7-mm Berezin UB domestic aviation machine guns. 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; percussion mechanism non-cocking instant 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 punches are formed by punching on three sides round shape, That is external difference two-bullet large-caliber machine-gun cartridge from 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

For the needs of the Soviet army in the 30s of the last century, the Degtyarev-Shpagin DShK heavy machine gun was designed and put into series. The weapon had impressive combat qualities and was able to deal with both light armored vehicles and aircraft.

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

History of creation

In 1929, the Red Army (Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army) used a good, but already quite strong, which used a 7.62-mm cartridge to support infantry and fight enemy aircraft.

machine guns large caliber in the USSR it was not, so they decided to create this kind of small arms. The task was entrusted to the gunsmiths of the Kovrov plant. It was recommended to use the developments used in the DP (Degtyarev Infantry), but chambered for a larger caliber cartridge.

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

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

Several gunsmiths began to modernize the design. One of them was Shpagin. He designed for DC new system supply of cartridges, a tape drive mechanism that took the place of the disk store receiver.

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

At the end of WWII, a successful attempt was made DShK modification. New model received the name DShKM. The main differences from the DShK heavy machine gun were in the method of supplying ammunition - a simplified slider tape receiver and a different type of tape itself.

Design

The 12.7 mm DShK machine gun is a fully automatic weapon. Shooting in other modes is not provided.

To control the shooting, there are 2 handles located on the breech of the body of the machine gun for holding, on the back wall there are triggers for firing.

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

Automation DK-DShK is almost completely similar to the earlier DP-27. The principle of removal of powder gases from the bore, with the impact of their energy on the piston mechanism of the shutter. The barrel is locked with lugs. Shooting is carried out from an open shutter, which increases the rate of fire of the machine gun.

To reduce recoil, the designers installed a chamber-type muzzle brake at the end of the barrel.

The barrel is monoblock, non-removable on the DK-DShK, in the later DShKM the barrel is removable. Mounted on a screw connection, it was necessary for a quick change of a heated barrel in combat conditions. One person could change the barrel at a rate.

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

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

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

When the drum was rotated, the cartridge left the tape link, but remained in the drum chamber, with the next movement of the drum, the cartridge ended up near the chamber, where the bolt sent it. For manual reloading of the machine gun, a lever located on the right side of the receiver served, by means of rods it was connected to the drum and bolt.

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

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

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

Shooting could be carried out with several types of projectiles. Basically, 12.7x108 mm cartridges with bullets were used for shooting:

MDZ, incendiary, instant action;
B-32, armor-piercing;
BZT-44, universal, incendiary tracer with a steel core;
T-46 sighting tracer.

Tactical and technical characteristics (TTX)

Machine gun weight, kg: with Kolesnikov's machine tool - 157 / without - 33.5;
Product length, cm: 162.5;
Barrel length, cm: 107;
Applied projectile: 12.7 * 108 mm;
Combat rate of fire, rounds per minute: 600 or 1200 (in anti-aircraft condition.);
Bullet flight speed, initial: 640 - 840 meters per second;
Maximum effective range: 3.5 kilometers.

Combat use

In the terms of reference, the leadership of the Red Army, the designers were instructed to create a machine gun capable of performing a wide range of tasks. The first serious conflict in which the DShK was used was the Great Patriotic War.

The DShK was actively used in all units and branches of the military, both as an air defense system and as an independent or additional weapon for military equipment.

This weapon was supplied to the infantry on a universal machine developed by Kolesnikov.

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

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

Rifle units used DShK as a means of reinforcement, it is worth noting that the bulk of the DK machine guns transferred to the troops were subsequently converted into DShK by replacing the magazine receiver with a Shpagin tape drive drum. Therefore, DC in the b / d was practically not used.

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

After the war, the DShKM was mainly used as an air defense system and as additional funds reinforcements in the form of installation on armored vehicles.

DShK has been in existence for 81 years. And although they removed it from service in the 70s of the last century. Do not forget about DShK in the rest of the world. For example, in China they are still assembled under the Type - 54 marking. DShK is also produced in the Middle East. Even under a license received from the USSR, the conveyor for the creation of this machine gun was established in Iran and Pakistan.

During the war in Afghanistan, "welding", as those who worked with it called the machine gun, due to the reflections of the shots resembling the brilliance of electric welding - the DShKM proved to be an excellent weapon against helicopters and low-flying aircraft. In addition, he worked well on lightly armored vehicles, armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles.

News videos from the Syrian Republic show that its army is actively using DShKM.

This machine gun adequately took its place and in popular culture. IN Soviet time There have been many heroic films. There is a mention in art books and autobiographies about the DShK machine gun. With the development of information technology can be found in large numbers in computer games.

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

Video

DShK(Dektyarev-Shpagin Large-caliber) - Soviet machine gun of 12.7 mm caliber developed by designers Degtyarev and Shpagin. In February 1939, the DShK was adopted by the Red Army under the designation "12.7 mm heavy machine gun DShK model 1938". The mass production of the DShK was launched in 1940-41. The cartridge used is 12.7x108 mm DShK. Ammunition was carried out from a box with a tape for 50 rounds, the feed was on the left. The machine gun has a fairly high rate of fire, which determines the effectiveness of fire on fast-moving targets.

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

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

Cartridge 12.7X108 in comparison with other large-caliber cartridges

DShK model 1938

Vehicles equipped with these weapons

IS-2 (1944), IS-3, IS-4M
ISU-122, ISU-122S, ISU-152
T-54 (1947) , T-54 (1951) , T-55A , T-44-100 , Type 62 (USSR)

Main characteristics

The composition of the tapes

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

The purpose and features of different types of bullets in the game: Aviation ammunition

Ribbons for ZSU GAZ DShK

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

Ribbon Standard (for turret and coaxial machine guns DShK on tanks and self-propelled guns) - composition: BZT-MDZ-BZT-BZ (MKS)

DShKM model 1945

Anti-aircraft installation in the back of a truck (three 12.7 mm DShK machine guns) in the center of Moscow, on Sverdlov Square (now Teatralnaya). The Metropol Hotel is visible in the background.

Comparison with analogues

The widely used American machine gun Browning M2 (12.7 mm) can be compared with the DShK machine gun. The M2 is inferior in penetration (because it does not have cartridges with a ceramic-metal core, like the DShK), in the rate of fire, and the muzzle energy of the bullet. However, the M2 is superior in the number of rounds in the box (minimum 100, maximum 200 for ZSU), the barrel is longer, the penetration of BZ and BZT cartridges is a couple of millimeters higher. In terms of reload speed, they are the same.
The French machine gun Hotchkiss Mle.1930 is inferior to the DShK in rate of fire (450 rpm), penetration, number of loaded cartridges (30 in a box magazine). But Hotchkiss is superior to the DShK in reload speed, caliber (13.2 mm).

Use in combat

The DShK machine gun perfectly penetrates with BZ (MKS) cartridges, but you should remember about the quickly running out of 50 rounds of ammunition. Lightly armored vehicles are vulnerable to DShK cartridges (ZSU, light-medium tanks and self-propelled guns), but it is also desirable to study their weak points (for example, sides, rear, trunk). Machine gun bullets can also point at the enemy to allies, and prevent the enemy from seeing. Against aircraft, it makes sense to use the MDZ cartridge (explosive, with explosives inside).

Advantages and disadvantages

The DShK machine gun (12.7 mm) is quite good in the game, it allows you to fight both lightly armored vehicles and aircraft. It has good armor penetration and rate of fire. Although the machine gun is not without its shortcomings compared to other counterparts.

Advantages:

Good rate of fire.
The 12.7 mm machine gun is capable of fighting not only unarmored vehicles and aircraft, but also lightly armored vehicles.
An excellent penetrating and at the same time incendiary cartridge with a ceramic-metal core BZ (MKS).
Explosive cartridges MDZ.

Flaws:

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

Historical reference

ShVAK 12.7 mm

12.7 mm ShVAK machine gun on an anti-aircraft rack of Ershov, Ivanov, Chernyshev in the back of a GAZ-AA truck

Aviation DNA: Synchronized Wing

Winged DShKA 1938

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

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

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

In 1934, the production of DC was suspended, and in 1935 it was stopped. To a large extent, B.G. contributed to stopping work on improving the Degtyarev heavy machine gun. Shpitalny, who promised I.V. Stalin received a machine gun with the best performance based on the aviation ShKAS - a 12.7-mm ShVAK machine gun. However, the fate of the 12.7-mm ShVAK did not work out. Partly due to the complexity of the design inherited from ShKAS, partly due to the impossibility of using a standard 12.7x108 cartridge in ShVAK automatics. As a result, in parallel with the Degtyarev cartridge, a ballistically identical cartridge for ShVAK 12.7x108R with a protruding rim was put into production. Apparently, “at the top” nevertheless considered it inexpedient to issue two types of cartridges in parallel, preferring the more versatile and convenient in automatics without rims, and the release of 12.7-mm ShVAKs in 1936 was turned in favor of the 20-mm air gun.

Meanwhile, the need for a universal heavy machine gun was still very relevant. Fortunately, V.A. Degtyarev for 1935 - 1936 managed to bring his offspring to acceptable characteristics. To increase the survivability of parts and the rate of fire, a spring-loaded buffer of the bolt frame was introduced into the machine gun, which increased the rolling speed of the mobile system, which required the introduction of an anti-bounce device to prevent the frame from rebounding after a blow in the extreme forward position. A serious problem remained the development of the power supply system of the machine gun. In 1937, Georgy Shpagin significantly improved his version of the tape receiver, creating a drum feed mechanism for a metal one-piece tape in sections of 50 cartridges of the original design. In April 1938, the belt-fed machine gun was successfully tested; on December 17, it passed field tests. And on February 26, 1939, the model was put into service under the designation "12.7-mm easel machine gun of the 1938 model DShK" (Degtyarev - Shpagin large-caliber) ". The machine gun was considered as a means of combating air targets, light armored vehicles, as well as manpower and firing points of the enemy in shelters.The machine gun began to enter the troops in 1940.

In the same 1938, they were developed on the basis of the "land" DShK - the aviation TsKB-2-3835 in versions of the wing-mounted DShKA and the synchronous-wing DNA with tape power, as well as the turret DShTA (DShAT) for the 30-round Kladov drum magazine. Work on aviation versions in addition to V.A. Degtyarev and G.S. Shpagin was led by K.F. Vasiliev, G.F. Kubynov, S.S. Bryntsev, S.A. Smirnov. Structurally identical to each other, aircraft machine guns were made with a high degree unification with the DShK machine gun. The difference was a higher rate of fire - 750-800 rounds / min, which was achieved by using a loose metal tape with a smaller pitch between the links - 34 mm instead of 39 mm for the one-piece DShK tape. Characteristically, Degtyarev also insured himself by developing versions both for the regular cartridge 12.7x108 and for the ShVAK-ovsky 12.7x108R cartridge.

Unlike the DShK machine gun, its aviation versions had the ability to quickly change the barrel. The feed of the tape on the winged DShKA and synchronous DNA versions of the machine gun was carried out on the left side, although in serial versions a change in the direction of feed of the tape would certainly have been provided. By the end of 1938, the DNA synchronous machine gun, and apparently this version was given the highest priority, successfully passed field tests, with little to no remarks. But then chance intervened in the fate of this interesting weapon. Just in the autumn of 1938, a series of factory and field tests passed the UB aircraft machine gun, a young and practically unknown designer M.E. Berezina, showing exclusively high performance, good survivability and reliability of its automation. Using the same loose belt of "DK" cartridges, it fired faster, was lighter and technologically simpler. There is a legend that at the beginning of 1939, at a meeting with Stalin, where promising types of weapons were considered, the question of a new aviation heavy machine gun came up. Stalin, puffing on his pipe, looking into the eyes of V.A. Degtyarev, asked: "So which machine gun is better, yours or Comrade Berezin?" To which Degtyarev, without hesitation, replied that "comrade Berezin's machine gun is better."

The result is known. Our aviation received, perhaps, the best aviation machine gun in the world in its class. Well, Degtyarev got a "land" niche. The large-caliber DShK in various modifications was in service in the USSR for many decades, and after its collapse in the armed forces of the newly formed states. And even now it is often found all over the world.

The DShK was used by the USSR from the very beginning of World War II in all directions and went through the entire war. It was used as an infantry, from different machines, massively put on trucks - for air defense. The DShK was the main armament of the T-40 (amphibious tank), LB-62 and BA-64D (light armored vehicles), experimental ZSU T-60, T-70, T-90. In 1944, a 12.7-mm turret anti-aircraft gun with a DShK was installed on a heavy tank IS-2, and later on heavy self-defense vehicles for self-defense in case of attacks from the air and from the upper floors in urban battles. Anti-aircraft armored trains were armed with DShK machine guns on tripods or pedestals (during the war, up to 200 armored trains operated in the air defense forces). DShK with a shield and a folded machine could be dropped to partisans or landing forces in a UPD-MM parachute bag.

In 1945-46, the troops were armed with the already modernized DShKM. As an anti-aircraft DShKM machine gun installed on T-10, T-54, T-55, T-62 tanks and other combat vehicles. And in the IS-4M and T-10 tanks, it was paired with the main gun. In the version for installation on armored vehicles, the machine gun has the name DShKMT or briefly DShKT. After the end of the Second World War, the DShK machine gun was used in almost all local conflicts.

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