DShK
A 1938 DShK at the Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineers and Signal Corps in St. Petersburg
TypeHeavy machine gun
Place of originSoviet Union
Service history
In service1938–present
Used bySee Users
Wars
Production history
DesignerVasily Degtyaryov
Georgi Shpagin
Designed1938
ManufacturerTula Arms Plant
Unit costUS$2,250 (2012)
Produced1938–1980 (Soviet Union)
No. built1,000,000
VariantsDShK 38/46
Type 54
Specifications
Mass34 kg (74 lb 15 oz) (gun only) 157 kg (346 lb 2 oz) on wheeled mounting
Length1,625 mm (5 ft 4.0 in)
Barrel length1,070 mm (42.1 in)
Cartridge12.7×108mm
12.7×99mm (Romania)[14]
ActionGas-operated, flapper locking
Rate of fire600 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity850 m/s (2,800 ft/s)
Effective firing range2,000 m (2,200 yd)
Maximum firing range2,500 m (2,700 yd)
Feed system50 round belt
SightsIron/optical

The DShK 1938 (Cyrillic: ДШК, for Russian: Дегтярёва-Шпагина Крупнокалиберный, romanized: Degtyaryova-Shpagina Krupnokaliberny, "Degtyaryov-Shpagin large-calibre") is a Soviet heavy machine gun. The weapon may be vehicle mounted or used on a tripod or wheeled carriage as a heavy infantry machine gun. The DShK's name is derived from its original designer, Vasily Degtyaryov, and Georgi Shpagin, who later improved the cartridge feed mechanism. It is sometimes nicknamed Dushka (a dear or beloved person) in Russian-speaking countries, from the abbreviation.[15]

Specifications

The DShK is a belt-fed machine gun firing the 12.7×108mm cartridge, and uses a butterfly trigger.[16] Firing at 600 rounds per minute, it has an effective range of 2.4 km (1+1⁄2 mi), and can penetrate up to 20 mm of armor up to a range of 500 m.[17] The DShK has two "spider web" ring sights for use against aircraft. It is used by infantry on tripod mounts or deployed with a two-wheeled mounting and a single-sheet armor-plate shield. It is also mounted on tanks and armored vehicles for use against infantry and aircraft; nearly all Russian-designed tanks prior to the T-64 use the DShK.[18]

History

Requiring a heavy machine gun similar to the M2 Browning, development of the DShK began in the Soviet Union in 1929 and the first design was finalised by Vasily Degtyaryov in 1931.[17][19] The initial design used the same gas operation from the Degtyaryov machine gun, and used a 30 round drum magazine, but had a poor rate of fire. Georgy Shpagin revised the design by changing it to a belt-fed with a rotary-feed cylinder, and the new machine gun began production in 1938 as the DShK 1938.[17][20] The DShK and the American M2 Browning are the only .50 caliber machine guns designed prior to World War II that remain in service to the present day.[21]

During World War II, the DShK was used by the Red Army, with a total of 9,000 produced during the war.[17] It was used mostly in anti-aircraft roles on vehicles such as the GAZ-AA truck, IS-2 tank, ISU-152 self-propelled artillery, and the T-40 amphibious tank.[17] Similar to the PM M1910 Maxim, when deployed against infantry, the DShK was used with a two-wheeled trolley, with which the machine gun weighed a total of 346 pounds (157 kg).[22] In 1944, a much cheaper muzzle brake patterned after the Polish Wz. 35 anti-tank rifle was introduced instead of the complicated early design.[23] After 1945, the DShK was exported widely to other countries in the Eastern Bloc.[16]

In 1946, an improved variant was produced, with a revised muzzle and feeding system. Named the DShK 38/46 or DShK-M, over a million were produced from 1946-1980.[17] The gun was also revised to become more reliable, and easier to manufacture.[24] The new DShK was produced under license in Pakistan, Iran, Yugoslavia, Romania and Czechoslovakia.[17] Czechoslovak variant, most often encountered on quads, is visually distinguishable by a rectangular muzzle brake.[25] China produced their own variant of the design, designated the Type 54.[26]

After World War II, DShKs were used widely by communist forces in Vietnam, starting with the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954. While not as powerful as anti-aircraft cannons, the DShK was easier to smuggle through Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.[17] DShKs were a major threat to American aircraft in the Vietnam War,[16] and of the 7,500 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft lost during the war, most were destroyed by anti-aircraft guns including DShK.[17]

In June 1988, during The Troubles, a British Army Westland Lynx helicopter was hit 15 times by two Provisional IRA DShKs smuggled from Libya, and forced to crash-land near Cashel Lough Upper, south County Armagh.[27]

Rebel forces utilized DShKs in the Syrian civil war, often mounting the gun on cars. In 2012, the Syrian government claimed to have destroyed 40 such technicals on a highway in Aleppo and six in Dael.[28]

The DShK began to be partially replaced in the Soviet Union by the NSV machine gun in 1971, and the Kord machine gun in 1998.[21] The DShK remains in service, although it is no longer produced.[18]

The weapon was used by Ukrainian forces in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine to shoot down Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones. The DShKs are fitted with a searchlight when attacking drones, which MANPADS have been unable to destroy. As many of the DShKs have been left over from the Soviet Union, they have been both cost-effective and one of the most reliable methods of destroying drones.[29][30][31]

Users

Map with DShK users in blue

Non-state users

See also

References

  1. ↑ Neville, Leigh (19 Apr 2018). Technicals: Non-Standard Tactical Vehicles from the Great Toyota War to modern Special Forces. New Vanguard 257. Osprey Publishing. p. 15. ISBN 9781472822512. Archived from the original on 26 October 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  2. ↑ Fitzsimmons, Scott (November 2012). "Executive Outcomes Defeats UNITA". Mercenaries in Asymmetric Conflicts. Cambridge University Press. p. 217. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139208727.006. ISBN 9781107026919.
  3. 1 2 Francesco Palmas (2012). "Il contenzioso del sahara occidentale fra passato e presente" (PDF). Informazioni della Difesa (in Italian). No. 4. pp. 50–59. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  4. ↑ Neville 2018, p. 16.
  5. 1 2 Neville 2018, p. 24.
  6. ↑ Small Arms Survey (2005). "Sourcing the Tools of War: Small Arms Supplies to Conflict Zones". Small Arms Survey 2005: Weapons at War. Oxford University Press. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-19-928085-8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  7. ↑ "Rwandan government soldiers fire 12 June 1994 heavy artillery at".
  8. ↑ Neville 2018, p. 30.
  9. ↑ Neville 2018, p. 35.
  10. ↑ Neville 2018, p. 37.
  11. 1 2 Cherisey, Erwan de (July 2019). "El batallón de infantería "Badenya" de Burkina Faso en Mali - Noticias Defensa En abierto". Revista Defensa (in Spanish) (495–496).
  12. ↑ Vining, Miles (May 7, 2018). "ISOF Arms & Equipment Part 3 – Machine Guns". armamentresearch.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  13. ↑ Neville 2018, p. 38.
  14. ↑ "Cal.12.7 x 99 mm Machine Gun" (PDF). Cugir Arms Factory.
  15. ↑ Green, Michael (2022). Red Army Weapons of the Second World War. Pen and Sword. p. 25.
  16. 1 2 3 Larson, Caleb (2021-02-03). "The Soviet DShK Heavy Machine Gun Won't Go Away". The National Interest. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Roblin, Sebastien (2018-11-10). "How a Deadly Russian World War II .50 Caliber Machine Gun Blasted its Mark into History". The National Interest. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  18. 1 2 Willbanks 2004, p. 134.
  19. ↑ Willbanks, James (2004). Machine Guns: An Illustrated History of Their Impact. ABC-CLIO. p. 200.
  20. ↑ Willbanks 2004, p. 109.
  21. 1 2 Rottman, Gordon (2010). Browning .50-caliber Machine Guns. Osprey Publishing. p. 72.
  22. ↑ "Finnish Army 1918–1945: Antiaircraft Machineguns". Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  23. ↑ "Dushka: The Soviet Fifty Caliber – Page 2 – Small Arms Defense Journal".
  24. ↑ Willbanks 2004, p. 121.
  25. ↑ "Dushka: The Soviet Fifty Caliber – Page 4 – Small Arms Defense Journal".
  26. ↑ Small Arms Survey (2008). "Light Weapons: Products, Producers, and Proliferation". Small Arms Survey 2008: Risk and Resilience. Cambridge University Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-521-88040-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  27. ↑ Harnden, Toby (2000).Bandit Country: The IRA and South Armagh. Coronet Books, pp. 360–361 ISBN 0-340-71737-8
  28. ↑ "الوكالة العربية السورية للأنباء". Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  29. ↑ Parth Satam (January 5, 2023). "Ukraine Uses Powerful Searchlights & Anti-Aircraft Guns To Neutralize Russian Geran-2 UAVs Used During Night Strikes". www. eurasiantimes.com. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  30. ↑ THOMAS NEWDICK (December 13, 2022). "Inside Ukraine's Desperate Fight Against Drones With MiG-29 Pilot "Juice"". www.thedrive.com. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  31. ↑ Sebastien Roblin (December 11, 2022). "To Stop Killer Drones, Ukraine Upgrades Ancient Flak Guns With Consumer Cameras And Tablets". www.forbes.com. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 Jones, Richard D.; Ness, Leland S., eds. (January 27, 2009). Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010 (35th ed.). Coulsdon: Jane's Information Group. ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
  33. ↑ Thierry Vircoulon (2014-10-02). "Insights from the Burundian Crisis (I): An Army Divided and Losing its Way". International Crisis Group. Archived from the original on 2017-05-21. Retrieved 2017-06-12.
  34. ↑ "Cameroon air strikes on Boko Haram". BBC News. 29 December 2014. Archived from the original on 30 April 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  35. ↑ Gander, Terry J.; Hogg, Ian V. Jane's Infantry Weapons 1995/1996. Jane's Information Group; 21 edition (May 1995). ISBN 978-0-7106-1241-0.
  36. 1 2 3 4 5 Miller, David (2001). The Illustrated Directory of 20th Century Guns. London: Salamander Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84065-245-1.
  37. ↑ "12,7-mm-überschweres Maschinengewehr DSchK Modell 1938 und Modell 1938/46". Militaertechnik der NVA (in German).
  38. 1 2 "G3 Defence Magazine August 2010". calameo.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  39. ↑ Neville 2018, p. 9.
  40. ↑ NRT (2017-01-25). "Peshmerga Ministry: There will be no withdraw from liberated areas". NRT TV. Retrieved 2017-06-25.
  41. ↑ de Tessières, Savannah (April 2012). Enquête nationale sur les armes légères et de petit calibre en Côte d'Ivoire: les défis du contrôle des armes et de la lutte contre la violence armée avant la crise post-électorale (PDF) (Report). Special Report No. 14 (in French). UNDP, Commission Nationale de Lutte contre la Prolifération et la Circulation Illicite des Armes Légères et de Petit Calibre and Small Arms Survey. p. 97. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-10-09. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  42. ↑ World Armies (2012-10-08). "Kenyan Army". flicker. Archived from the original on 2017-04-06. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  43. ↑ Small Arms Survey (2005). "Sourcing the Tools of War: Small Arms Supplies to Conflict Zones". Small Arms Survey 2005: Weapons at War. Oxford University Press. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-19-928085-8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  44. ↑ Mongolian military museum. Ulaanbaatar. Sights of intersest Archived 2013-11-06 at the Wayback Machine
  45. ↑ O'Halloran, Kevin (2012). Rwanda: Unamir 1994/1995. Big Sky Publishing. ISBN 978-1-921941-48-1.
  46. ↑ "12.7mm DShK heavy machinegun". Archived from the original on 16 May 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  47. ↑ "65 lat dostaw uzbrojenia z Tarnowa". 3 June 2018.
  48. ↑ "65 Years of Armament Production in Tarnow". 4 September 2020.
  49. ↑ Gander, Terry J. (4 May 2001). "ROMARM machine guns". Jane's Infantry Weapons 2002-2003. p. 3407.
  50. ↑ Small Arms Survey (2014). "Weapons tracing in Sudan and South Sudan" (PDF). Small Arms Survey 2014: Women and guns (PDF). Cambridge University Press. p. 224. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-10-14. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  51. ↑ "Reported use by intelligence agency". Archived from the original on 2016-07-24.
  52. ↑ "Ukrainian Modified DShK with Buttstock, Picatinny Rail, and Bipod in Ground Role". The Firearm Blog. 19 December 2017.

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