Dushka Machine Gun

The DShK 1938 (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. 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.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.