DSchK (machine gun)
| DSchK | |
|---|---|
.jpg) DSchK with wheel mount and spade handles
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| general information | |
| Civil name: | Heavy machine gun Degtjarjow-Shpagin DSchK |
| Military designation: | 56-P-542 (M) ( GRAY index ) |
| Country of operation: | Soviet Union , Warsaw Pact , China , Pakistan, Vietnam |
| Developer / Manufacturer: | Wassili Alexejewitsch Degtjarjow / Degtjarjowwerk |
| Manufacturer country: | Soviet Union |
| Production time: | 1938 to 1975 |
| Model variants: | DSchK, DSchKM 38/46 |
| Weapon Category: | Heavy machine gun / cannon |
| Furnishing | |
| Overall length: | 1625 mm |
| Weight: (unloaded) | 34.00 kg |
| Sight length : | 1111 mm |
| Barrel length : | 1070 mm |
| Technical specifications | |
| Caliber : | 12.7 x 108 mm |
| Ammunition supply : | Belt drum (initially), ammunition belt |
| Cadence : | 600 rounds / min |
| Fire types: | Continuous fire |
| Number of trains : | 4th |
| Twist : | right |
| Visor : | Rear sight and front sight |
| Closure : | Support flap lock |
| Charging principle: | Gas pressure charger |
| Lists on the subject | |
The DSchK ( D egtjarjowa Sch pagina K rupnokaliberny , Russian Дегтярёва Шпагина Крупнокалиберный , ДШК for short ; pronunciation: De-Scha-Ka) is a super- heavy Soviet machine gun with a caliber of 12.7 × 108 mm .
Emergence
At the end of the 1920s, Vasily Degtjarjow received an order from the leadership of the Soviet armed forces to develop an extremely heavy machine gun. It promised itself an effective weapon that could be used against lightly armored vehicles and aircraft. He had already established himself as a skilled designer and developed an entire system series with the 7.62 mm machine guns DP , DT and DA . On the basis of these weapons, Degtjarjow designed a machine gun with a caliber of 12.7 mm.
technology
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The MG was a gas pressure loader that was originally fitted with a 30-section belt drum. It was air-cooled and easy to recognize by its radial cooling fins. This first design, known as the DK , was cumbersome and had a slow rate of fire: firing such powerful cartridges took its toll on the added mass of the weapon. Only the conversion of ammunition supply in cartridge belts by Georgii Semenovich Schpagin could significantly improve the construction. In 1938 the DSchK passed all aptitude tests and was included in the equipment of the Red Army . Series production began in the instrument factory No. 2 in Kovrov , where Shpagin and Degtjarjow worked as designers.
Regular use
The machine gun was used in a wide variety of roles. It was issued to the infantry on a wheeled gun and mounted on combat vehicles. It was used as an anti-aircraft weapon on armored turrets, such as the IS-2 , the T-55 and until the 1980s on the T-72 . The DSchK was also used on ships, not infrequently as a double or quadruple machine gun. It was also used in the armies of the Warsaw Pact and passed on to allied nations or exported.
Irregular use
Many DSchKs can be found in areas where civil wars or conditions similar to civil war are prevailing. There, this machine gun is often mounted on the back of off-road vehicles . Such improvised chariots are commonly known as technicals .
In the 1980s, the Libyan head of state, Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi, made several hundred AK-47s and 20 to 30 DSchK available to the Irish underground organization IRA . The IRA intended to use its "dushkies" to target the British Army , particularly helicopters that aired military bases in southern County Armagh . For guerrilla fights of this kind, however, the MG turned out to be too heavy and conspicuous and was therefore not used.
Versions
- DSchK-38: Original version
- DSchk-38/46 (DSchKM): modernized model with interchangeable barrel,
modified ammunition feed and flat flash hider - Type 54: Chinese replica, also made in Pakistan with the help of China
- MGD-12.7: Iran
- DSchK UM: Romanian export version without cooling fins and with a different muzzle flash in 12.7 × 99 mm NATO
literature
- Günter Wollert, Reiner Lidschun, Wilfried Copenhagen : Rifle weapons (1945–1985) . In: Illustrated encyclopedia of rifles from around the world . 5th edition. tape 1 + 2 . Brandenburgisches Verlagshaus, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-89488-057-0 , p. 414, 415 .
Web links
- www.militaertechnik-der-nva.de: DSchK extra heavy machine gun
- Maxim Popenker: DShK / DShKM. In: Modern Firearms. world.guns.ru, accessed April 1, 2016 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Leigh Neville: Technicals: Non-Standard Tactical Vehicles from the Great Toyota War to modern Special Forces , Osprey Publishing , 2018, ISBN 9781472822536 , p. 9 [1]
- ^ Ed Moloney: A Secret History of the IRA . Penguin, 2003, ISBN 0-14-101041-X . [2]
- ↑ DShK. In: Small arms defense journal. October 10, 2014, accessed April 1, 2016 .