DShK

DShK
DShK on wheeled mount with shield.
Type	Heavy machine gun
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1938 – Present
Used by	See Users
Wars	World War II Korean War Chinese Civil War Vietnam War Cambodian Civil War Cambodian-Vietnamese War Six-Day War Yom Kippur War Iran-Iraq war Gulf War Yugoslav wars Iraq War Afghan War Cambodian–Thai border stand-off 2011 Libyan civil war
Production history
Designer	Vasily Degtyaryov, Georgi Shpagin
Designed	1938
Variants	DK, DShKM , DSHKS, Type 54 HMG
Specifications
Weight	34 kg (74.96 lb) (gun only) 157 kg (346.13 lb) on wheeled mounting
Length	1,625 mm (64.0 in)
Barrel length	1,070 mm (42.1 in)
Cartridge	12.7x108mm
Action	gas-operated reloading
Rate of fire	600 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	850 m/s (2,788 ft/s)
Effective range	2000 m
Maximum range	2500 m
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 machine gun firing the 12.7x108mm cartridge. 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.

History

The requirement for a heavy 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.

Like its U.S. equivalent, the M2 Browning, 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.

A British Army Westland Lynx helicopter was hit 15 times and forced to make an emergency landing in June 1988 during The Troubles by two Provisional IRA DShK's smuggeled in from Libya near Cashel Lough Upper, south County Armagh.^[1] They were also used in 2004, against British troops in Al-Amarah, Iraq.^[2]

Users

DShKM on a Romanian TR-85 main battle tank

DShKM anti-aircraft machine gun on a T-55 tank loader's roof hatch

Jamiat-e Islami Mujahideen of Afghanistan in 1987 with a DShK

Afghanistan[3]  Albania[3]  Algeria[3]  Angola[3]  Armenia[3]  Azerbaijan[3]  Bangladesh[3]  Belarus[3]  Bulgaria[3]  Cambodia[3]  Cape Verde[3]  Central African Republic[3]  Chad[3]  Chile[4]  Congo-Brazzaville[3]  Cuba[3]  Cyprus[3]  Czechoslovakia: Produced DShKM variant.[5]  Czech Republic[3]  Democratic Republic of Congo[3]  Egypt[3]  Equatorial Guinea[3]  Eritrea[3]  Ethiopia[3]  Finland[3]  Georgia[3]  Ghana[3]  Guinea[3]  Guinea-Bissau[3]  Hungary[3]  Indonesia[3]  Iran: Manufactured DShKM variant.[6]  Iraq[3]  Israel[3]  Kazakhstan[3]

Kyrgyzstan[3]  Laos[3]  Libya[3]  Lithuania[3]  Macedonia[3]  Madagascar[3]  Mali[3]  Malta[3]  Mozambique[3]  Nicaragua[3]  Nigeria[3]  North Korea[3]  North Vietnam[5]  Pakistan: Manufactured DShKM variant.[6]  People's Republic of China: Produced DShKM variant.[5]  Peru[3]  Russian Federation[3]  Serbia[3]  Seychelles[3]  Sierra Leone[3]  Slovakia[3]  Somalia[3]  Soviet Union[5]  Syria[3]  Tanzania[3]  Togo[3]  Turkmenistan[3]  Uganda[3]  Ukraine[3]  Vietnam[3]  Yemen[3]  Yugoslavia: Manufactured DShKM variant.[6]  Zambia[3]  Zimbabwe[3]

Non-state users

• Iraqi insurgency^[2]
• Provisional IRA^[7]
• Viet Cong: Extensively used during the Vietnam War.^[5]
• Anti-Gaddafi forces: Used along with other heavy automatic weapons mounted on technicals during the 2011 Libyan civil war.^[8]

Gallery

• 

  DShK 1938 in Batey ha-Osef museum, Israel.

• 

  Albanian DShK probably of Chinese origin - Close Air Defence version.

• 

  DShK firing at Babadag Training Area, Romania.

See also

• M2 Browning machine gun
• NSV machine gun

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
• image
• Video of Operation

References

1. ^ Harnden, Toby (2000).Bandit Country:The IRA and South Armagh. Coronet Books, pp. 360-361 ISBN 0340717378
2. ^ ^{a b} Mills, Dan (2007). "16". Sniper One. Penguin Group. p. 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." 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi} Jones, Richard D.; Ness, Leland S., eds (January 27, 2009). Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010 (35th ed.). Coulsdon: Jane's Information Group. ISBN 9780710628695. 
4. ^ Gander, Terry J.; Hogg, Ian V. Jane's Infantry Weapons 1995/1996. Jane's Information Group; 21 edition (May 1995). ISBN 978-0710612410.
5. ^ ^{a b c d e} Miller, David (2001). The Illustrated Directory of 20th Century Guns. London: Salamander Books Ltd.. ISBN 9781840652451. 
6. ^ ^{a b c} http://en.calameo.com/read/000127853fed679f5ecec
7. ^ uncovering the irish republican army pbs.org
8. ^ Al-Jazeera coverage of Libyan uprising Youtube.com

• Koll, Christian (2009). Soviet Cannon - A Comprehensive Study of Soviet Arms and Ammunition in Calibres 12.7mm to 57mm. Austria: Koll. p. 53. ISBN 978-3-200-01445-9. http://www.russianammo.org.