DShK
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| DShK | |
|---|---|
 DShK on a TR-85 M1. |
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| Type | Heavy machine gun |
| Place of origin |  Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1938 - |
| Used by | Soviet Union, Russia, Cambodia, China, Iraq, North Korea, Laos, Vietnam |
| Wars | World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Cambodian Civil War, Gulf War, Iraq War |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Vasily Degtyaryov, Georgi Shpagin |
| Designed | 1938 |
| Variants | DK, DShKM |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 34 kg (gun only) 157 kg on wheeled mounting |
| Length | 1625 mm |
| Barrel length | 1070 mm |
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| Cartridge | 12.7x108mm |
| Action | gas |
| Rate of fire | 600 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 850 m/s |
| Feed system | belt 50 rounds |
| Sights | Iron/Optical |
The DShK 1938 (ДШК, for Дегтярёва-Шпагина Крупнокалиберный, Degtyaryova-Shpagina Krupnokaliberny, 'Degtyaryov-Shpagin Large-Calibre') is a Soviet heavy anti-aircraft machine gun firing 12.7x108mm Soviet cartridges. The weapon was also used as a heavy infantry machine gun, in which case it was frequently deployed with a two-wheeled mounting and a single-sheet armour-plate shield.
It took its name from the weapons designers Vasily Degtyaryov, who designed the original weapon, and Georgi Shpagin, who improved the cartridge feed mechanism. It is sometimes nicknamed Dushka (lit. "Sweetie", "Dear"), from the abbreviation.
Contents |
[edit] History
.jpg/180px-12,7-мм_станковый_пулемёт_ДШК_образца_1938_года_(3-1).jpg)
The requirement for a heavy anti-aircraft machine gun appeared in 1929. The first such gun, the Degtyaryov, Krupnokalibernyi (DK, Degtyaryov, Large calibre), was built in 1930 and this gun was produced in small quantities from 1933 to 1935.
The gun was fed from a drum magazine of only thirty rounds, and had a poor rate of fire. Shpagin developed a belt feed mechanism to fit to the DK giving rise, in 1938, to the adoption of the gun as the DShK 1938. This became the standard Soviet heavy machine gun in World War II.
The DShK 1938 was used in several roles. As an anti-aircraft weapon it was mounted on pintle and tripod mounts, and on a triple mount on the GAZ-AA truck. Late in the war, it was mounted on the cupolas of IS-2 tanks and ISU-152 self-propelled guns. As an infantry heavy support weapon it used a two-wheeled trolley, similar to that developed by Sokolov for the 1910 Maxim gun. It was also mounted in vehicle turrets, for example, in the T-40 light amphibious tank.
In 1946, the DShK 1938/46 or DShKM (M for modernised) version was introduced.
In addition to the Soviet Union and Russia, the DShK has been manufactured under license by a number of countries, including the People's Republic of China, Pakistan and Romania. Today, it has largely been phased out in favour of the more modern NSV and Kord designs.
They were also used in 2004, against British troops in Al-Amarah, Iraq.[1]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- DShK and DShKM at guns.ru.
- Russian 12.7 mm (0.5") DShK Wheeled Heavy Machine Gun – Walk around photos
- Soviet 12.7 mm DShK a/a navy machine gun – Walk around photos
- Soviet 12.7 mm DShK on ZIS-5V truck – Walk around photos
[edit] References
- ^ Mills, Dan (2007). "16", Sniper One. Penguin Group, 192. ISBN 978-0-718-14994-9. “They were Dshkes, a Russian-made beast of a thing that fires half-inch calibre rounds and was designed to bring down helicopters.”
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| Side-arms |
| TT pistol | Nagant M1895 |
| Rifles & carbines |
| AVS-36 | SVT-40 | Mosin-Nagant |
| Submachine guns |
| PPD-40 | PPSh-41 | PPS |
| Grenades |
| F1 | RGD-33 | RG-41 | RG-42 | RPG-40 | RPG-43 | RPG-6 |
| Machine guns & other larger weapons |
| M1910 Maxim | DS-39 | DP | SG-43 Goryunov | DShK | PTRD | PTRS ROKS-2/ROKS-3 |
| Cartridges used by the USSR during WWII |
| 7.62x25mm Tokarev | 7.62x38mmR | 7.62x39mm | 7.62x54mmR | 12.7x108mm | 14.5x114mm |
