DShK

DShK
DShKM
Type	Heavy machine gun
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1938–present
Used by	See Users
Wars	Winter War World War II Korean War Chinese Civil War First Indochina War Operation Trikora Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation Vietnam War Laotian Civil War Dhofar Rebellion Cambodian Civil War Cambodian-Vietnamese War Sino-Vietnamese War Six-Day War Yom Kippur War Iran–Iraq War The Troubles Lebanese Civil War Gulf War Yugoslav Wars Kargil War Iraq War Afghan War Cambodian–Thai border dispute Syrian Civil War Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Linda Nchi 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine
Production history
Designer	Vasily Degtyaryov, Georgi Shpagin
Designed	1938
Manufacturer	Tula
Unit cost	$2,250 USD (2012)
Number built	1 million
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)
Crew	1+
Cartridge	12.7×108mm
Action	gas-operated reloading locking flaps
Rate of fire	600 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	850 m/s (2,788 ft/s)
Effective firing range	2,000 m
Maximum firing range	2,500 m
Feed system	50 round belt
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 12.7×108mm 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 Dashka (familiar form of female name Daria) in Russian-speaking countries , 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 which unfolded into a tripod for anti-aircraft use, similar to the mount developed by Vladimirov for the 1910 Maxim gun.^[1] 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 modernized) 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 been mostly replaced in favour of the more modern NSV and Kord designs. Nevertheless, the DShK is still one of the most widely used heavy machine guns.

In June 1988, during the conflict in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles, a British Army Westland Lynx helicopter was hit 15 times by two Provisional IRA DShKs smuggled in from Libya and forced to crash-land near Cashel Lough Upper, south County Armagh.^[2]

DShKs were also used in 2004, against British troops in Al-Amarah, Iraq.^[3]

In the 2012 Syrian civil war, the Syrian government said rebels used the gun mounted on cars. It claimed to have destroyed, on the same day, 40 such cars on a highway in Aleppo and six in Dael.^[4]

Users

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

Albanian DShKM probably of Chinese origin – Close Air Defence version.

Afghanistan[5]  Albania[5] "DShkM" locally produce Chinese copied  Algeria[5]  Angola[5]  Armenia[5]  Azerbaijan[5]  Bangladesh[5]  Belarus[5]  Bulgaria[5]  Cambodia[5]  Cameroon[6]  Cape Verde[5]  Central African Republic[5]  Chad[5]  Chile[7]  Congo-Brazzaville[5]  Cuba[5]  Cyprus[5]  Czechoslovakia: Produced DShKM variant.[8] (former user)  Czech Republic[5]  Democratic Republic of Congo[5]  Egypt[5]  Equatorial Guinea[5]  Eritrea[5]  Ethiopia[5]  Finland[5]  Georgia[5]  Ghana[5]  Guinea[5]  Guinea-Bissau[5]  Hungary[5]  Indonesia  Iran: Manufactured DShKM variant named MGD 12.7.[9]  Iraq[5] called the "Doshka" by Iraqis  Ireland: Used by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in the Irish Northern Conflict, also known as the Troubles  Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant  Israel[5]  Kazakhstan[5]  Kosovo  Kurdistan  Kyrgyzstan[5]

Laos[5]  Libya[5]  Macedonia[5]  Madagascar[5]  Mali[5] – Armed and Security Forces of Mali  Malta[5]  Mongolia[10]  Mozambique[5]  Nicaragua[5]  Nigeria[5]  North Korea[5]  North Vietnam[8](former user)  Pakistan: Used by the Pakistan Army. DShKM variant produced locally.[11][12]  People's Republic of China: Produced DShKM variant.[8]  Peru[5]  Poland[13]  Romania Produce locally (former user)  Russian Federation[5]  Serbia[5]  Seychelles[5]  Sierra Leone[5]  Slovakia[5]  Somalia[5]  Soviet Union[8]  Syria[5]  Tanzania[5]  Togo[5]  Turkmenistan[5]  Uganda[5]  Ukraine[5]  Vietnam[5]  Yemen[5]  Yugoslavia: Manufactured DShKM variant.[9] (former user)  Zambia[5]  Zimbabwe[5]  India

Gallery

• 

  DShKM TR-85M1

• 

  DShKM URO VAMTAC

• 

  DShKM T-55

• 

  DShK M1938

• 

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

See also

• FN BRG-15
• Kord machine gun
• KPV heavy machine gun
• List of Russian weaponry
• M2 Browning machine gun
• NSV machine gun

References

1. "FINNISH ARMY 1918–1945: ANTIAIRCRAFT MACHINEGUNS". Retrieved 15 December 2014.
2. Harnden, Toby (2000).Bandit Country: The IRA and South Armagh. Coronet Books, pp. 360–361 ISBN 0-340-71737-8
3. Mills, Dan (2007). "16". Sniper One. Penguin Group. p. 192. ISBN 978-0-7181-4994-9. They were Dshkes, a Russian-made beast of a thing that fires half-inch calibre rounds and was designed to bring down helicopters.
4. "الوكالة العربية السورية للأنباء". الوكالة العربية السورية للأنباء. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
5. 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.
6. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30623199
7. 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.
8. Miller, David (2001). The Illustrated Directory of 20th Century Guns. London: Salamander Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84065-245-1.
9. "G3 Defence Magazine August 2010". calameo.com. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
10. Mongolian military museum. Ulaanbaatar. Sights of intersest
11. O'Halloran, Kevin. Rwanda: Unamir 1994/1995. Big Sky Publishing. ISBN 978-1-921941-48-1.
12. "12.7mm DShK heavy machinegun". Retrieved 15 May 2013.
13. "Wyposażenie Wojsk Lądowych RP". Gdzie zaczyna się wojsko…. Retrieved 15 December 2014.

Further reading

• Leszek Erenfeicht (29 August 2012) "Dushka: The Soviet Fifty Caliber", Small Arms Defense Journal, Vol. 4, No. 3
• 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.

External links

• DShK and DShKM at guns.ru.
• Video of Operation