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DShk

Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 July 2009 12:35 Written by Administrator Thursday, 02 July 2009 03:27

The DShK was a heavy machine gun of Soviet design that was designed in 1938 and continues to be in service. The gun was used as an anti-craft machine gun and was also used as a heavy infantry machine gun. The gun was the Soviet Union’s response to the American Browning M2HB. “DShK” stands for “Degtyarova-Shpagina Krupnokaliberny” which translates to “Degtyaryov-Shpagin Large Calibre”. The gun is named after its designers Vasily Degtyaryov and Georgi Shpagin and commonly known by its nickname “Dushka”.

The need for a heavy machine gun was felt in the year 1929 and thus an earlier version known as the Degtyaryov, Krupnokalibernyi was designed to meet this need. However, this gun had many drawbacks. The DShK was based on this design and had an improvised feed mechanism that was developed by Shpagin. After many trials the gun was adopted in the year 1938 and thus came to be designated as DShK 1938.

The DShK was designed to use the 12.7x108 mm round and was gas-operated. It had a rate of fire approximating to 600 rounds per minute and had an effective range of 3,500 meters. The gun measured 1625 mm with the barrel being 1070 mm in length. It was fed by a 50-round belt.

A variant called the DShK 1938/46 or the DShKM was also introduced in the year 1946. This variant was a “modernized” version and features several enhancements over the earlier design. One such feature was the replacement of the problematic rotary-feed system with a simpler flat-feed system.

The DShK found use in several roles. When it was used as an anti-aircraft weapon, it used a tripod mounts on Soviet trucks. It was also on tanks and self propelled gun systems such as the IS-2, the T-40 light amphibious tank and the ISU-152. When used as an anti-personnel weapon, it was used with a two-wheeled similar to the earlier Maxim gun.

The DShK 38 was the standard machine gun of the Soviet Union and saw action in a number of wars such as the Second World War, Korean War, Vietnam War, Cambodian Civil War, Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War. It was used very effectively as an anti-aircraft gun during the Vietnam War. In the recent years, it saw extensive action in both the First and Second Gulf Wars. It was also employed against British forces in 2004 in Iraq. It also saw some action in the ethno-political conflicts in Northern Ireland when several British Lynx Helicopters were shot down with it.

The DShK was also manufactured in many countries other than the Soviet Union and Russia. Most notably, it was manufactured under licence in Pakistan, China, Sudan and Romania. However, in the recent years its use is declining and it is largely being replaced by NSV and Kord machine gun designs.