| DShK | |
| Origin: | Soviet Union |
| Type: | Heavy machine gun |
| Is Ranged: | yes |
| Service: | 1938–present |
| Used By: | See Users |
| Designer: | Vasily Degtyaryov Georgi Shpagin |
| Design Date: | 1938 |
| Manufacturer: | Tula Arms Plant |
| Unit Cost: | US$2,250 (2012) |
| Production Date: | 1938–1980 (Soviet Union) |
| Number: | 1,000,000 |
| Variants: | DShK 38/46 Type 54 |
| Weight: | 34kg (75lb) (gun only) 157kg (346lb) on wheeled mounting |
| Length: | 1625mm |
| Part Length: | 1070mm |
| Cartridge: | 12.7×108mm 12.7×99mm (Romania)[1] |
| Action: | Gas-operated, flapper locking |
| Rate: | 600 rounds/min |
| Velocity: | 850m/s |
| Range: | 2000m (7,000feet) |
| Max Range: | 2500m (8,200feet) |
| Feed: | 50 round belt |
| Sights: | Iron/optical |
The DShK 1938 (Cyrillic: ДШК, for Russian: Дегтярёва-Шпагина Крупнокалиберный|Degtyaryova-Shpagina Krupnokaliberny|links=no, "Degtyaryov-Shpagin large-calibre") is a Soviet heavy machine gun. The weapon may be vehicle mounted or used on a tripod or wheeled carriage as a heavy infantry machine gun. 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.[2]
The DShK is a belt-fed machine gun firing the 12.7×108mm cartridge, and uses a butterfly trigger. Firing at 600 rounds per minute, it has an effective range of NaNorder=flipNaNorder=flip, and can penetrate up to 20 mm of armor up to a range of 500 m. The DShK has two "spider web" ring sights for use against aircraft. It is used by infantry on tripod mounts or deployed with a two-wheeled mounting and a single-sheet armor-plate shield. It is also mounted on tanks and armored vehicles for use against infantry and aircraft; nearly all Russian-designed tanks prior to the T-64 use the DShK.
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.[3] [4] 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. The DShK and the American M2 Browning are the only .50 caliber machine guns designed prior to World War II that remain in service to the present day.[5]
During World War II, the DShK was used by the Red Army, with a total of 9,000 produced during the war. 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. 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 346lb.[6] In 1944, a much cheaper muzzle brake patterned after the Polish Wz. 35 anti-tank rifle was introduced instead of the complicated early design.[7] After 1945, the DShK was exported widely to other countries in the Eastern Bloc.[8]
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. The gun was also revised to become more reliable, and easier to manufacture. The new DShK was produced under license in Pakistan, Iran, Yugoslavia, Romania, Poland[9] and Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovak variant, most often encountered on quads, is visually distinguishable by a rectangular muzzle brake.[10] China produced their own variant of the design, designated the Type 54.[11]
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. DShKs were a major threat to American aircraft in the Vietnam War, and of the 7,500 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft lost during the war, most were destroyed by anti-aircraft guns including DShK.
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.[12]
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.[13]
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. The DShK remains in service, although it is no longer produced.
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.[14] [15] [16]
Afghanistan[17]
Albania "DShkM" locally produced from a Chinese copy.
Algeria
Angola
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh Type 54.
Belarus
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso[18]
Burundi[19]
Cambodia
Cameroon[20]
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile[21]
China: Produced DShKM variant Type 54.
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Finland
Georgia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Hungary
Indonesia
Iraq called the "Doshka" by Iraqis.
Israel
India Captured during Kargil War.
Cote d'Ivoire[26]
Kazakhstan
Kenya[27]
Libya
Lithuania
Mali – Armed and Security Forces of Mali
Malta
Mongolia[29]
Mozambique
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Pakistan: Used by the Pakistan Army. DShKM variant produced locally.[30] [31]
Peru
Poland Produced locally.[32] [33]
Saudi Arabia
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Slovakia
Somalia
Sudan
Turkey[36]
Turkmenistan
Uganda
Ukraine: Also produces a variant with a bipod and large muzzle brake for infantry usage.[37]
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Cuba
Kyrgyzstan
Liberia
Madagascar
Romania
Rwanda
Sri Lanka
Togo
Yemen