DShK

The DShK 1938 (Cyrillic: ДШК, for Russian: Дегтярёва-Шпагина Крупнокалиберный, romanized: Degtyaryova-Shpagina Krupnokaliberny, "Degtyaryov-Shpagin large-calibre") is a Soviet heavy machine gun with a V-shaped butterfly trigger, firing the 12.7×108mm cartridge. The weapon was also used as a heavy infantry machine gun, where it was frequently deployed with a two-wheeled mounting and a single-sheet armour-plate shield. 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.[16] Alongside the American M2 Browning, the DShK is the only .50 caliber machine gun designed prior to World War II that remains in service to the present day.[17]

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)[15]
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

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.[18][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.[18][20]

During World War II, the DShK was used by the Red Army, with a total of 9,000 produced during the war.[18] 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.[18] 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).[21] In 1944, a much cheaper muzzle brake patterned after the Polish Wz. 35 anti-tank rifle was introduced instead of the complicated early design.[22] After 1945, the DShK was exported widely to other countries in the Eastern Bloc.[23]

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.[18] 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.[18] 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.[18] DShKs were a major threat to American aircraft in the Vietnam War,[23] and of the 7,500 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft lost during the war, most were destroyed by anti-aircraft guns including DShK.[18]

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]

DShKs were also used in 2004, against British troops in Al-Amarah, Iraq.[28]

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.[29]

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.[17] The DShK remains in service, although it is no longer produced.[30]

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.[31][32][33]

Design

The DShK is a belt-fed machine gun that uses a butterfly trigger.[23] Firing the 12.7×108mm cartridge 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.[18] The DShK has two "spider web" ring sights for use against aircraft. It is used by infantry on tripod mounts, and is deployed on tanks and armored vehicles for use against infantry and aircraft; nearly all Russian-designed tanks prior to the T-64 use the DShK.[30]

Users
Map with DShK users in blue

Non-state users
  • A Romanian DShK chambered in 12.7×99mm NATO on display at Expomil 2005.
    A Romanian DShK chambered in 12.7×99mm NATO on display at Expomil 2005.
  • A soldier with the Ukrainian Land Forces fires a DShKM
    A soldier with the Ukrainian Land Forces fires a DShKM
  • DShKM TR-85M1
    DShKM TR-85M1
  • DShKM URO VAMTAC
    DShKM URO VAMTAC
  • DShK M1938
    DShK M1938
  • DShKM anti-aircraft machine gun on a T-55 tank loader's roof hatch
    DShKM anti-aircraft machine gun on a T-55 tank loader's roof hatch
  • The M53 is an anti-aircraft mounting of four 12.7 mm heavy machine guns vz. 38/46 (Czech copy of Soviet DShKM)
    The M53 is an anti-aircraft mounting of four 12.7 mm heavy machine guns vz. 38/46 (Czech copy of Soviet DShKM)
  • Ukrainian soldier firing from a modified DShKM with bipod and pistol grip

See also

References
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