The best modern machine guns. Kings of the Fields: new Russian machine guns for the army and special forces

During war, technologies are always developed that are not in demand in peacetime. The armament of troops is constantly being improved, which, in turn, leads to the fact that inventors are constantly working to improve weapons for military forces.

The invention of the machine gun and its appearance on the battlefield dramatically changed the situation during combat operations.

From their first appearance to the present day, Russian machine guns have gone through a long evolution. At the beginning of their journey on the battlefields, machine guns had a narrow specialization. Now it is difficult to imagine a combat operation without the use of machine guns.

Manual Kalashnikov

The production of these weapons was stopped due to the cessation of production of military products at Kovrov Fur. factory in 1996.

The AEK-999 device itself is identical to the PKM. The differences from it were a new barrel and a body kit, which allows the installation of low-noise firing devices, flame arresters, etc.

This machine gun makes it possible to conduct intense fire without the need to change the barrel. Although this feature has been retained in the machine gun as an option not only for replacing the barrel, but also for cleaning and maintaining it.

In addition, there is a plastic fore-end on the barrel for hand-held firing on the move.

Now you can see that the development small arms, including machine guns, for Russian army goes on constantly and does not stop to this day and combat power Russia is replenished not only with new missile weapons, but also various shooting systems.

Light machine guns, superior in combat capabilities to assault rifles and machine guns, are designed to destroy manpower at distances where the latter’s fire is ineffective - up to 1000 meters. Light machine guns usually have the same caliber as the machine gun in service, differing in a heavier barrel, larger magazine capacity or the possibility of belt feeding, and firing supported by a bipod. This provides better accuracy and a higher combat rate of fire - up to 150 rounds per minute in bursts. The weight of light machine guns when fully loaded is usually 6 - 14 kg, and the length is close to the length of rifles. This allows machine gunners to operate directly in the combat formations of units. Modern light machine guns fill the gap between individual and group weapons. The main method of firing from a light machine gun is with support on the bipod and the butt resting on the shoulder, but it is also necessary to be able to fire from the hip while moving.
The main problem a light machine gun is the need to combine small size and weight with a higher intensity of fire, accuracy and supply of ammunition than a machine gun. This problem has several solutions. Simple and cheap is to equip an automatic machine or assault rifle bipod and a slightly more capacious magazine (Israeli machine gun "Galil" ARM (Galil ARM), German MG.36 (MG.36)). The second option involves creating a light machine gun based on an assault rifle with the installation of a heavier barrel and changing the controls, as was done in the Soviet RPK and RPK 74 or the British L86A1 (L86A1). In this case, in the platoon section, the weapons are unified in terms of cartridge and system. Finally, it is also possible to develop an independent design. An example of this approach is the Belgian Minimi machine gun and the Singaporean Ultimax 100.

Easel and single machine guns.
Easel and single machine guns allow you to hit various fire weapons and enemy manpower located openly and behind light cover, at a distance of up to 1500 m. The recoil of the weapon when firing is perceived by the installation (machine), as a result, the stability and controllability of the machine gun increases. Stability, a massive replaceable barrel and a significant cartridge belt capacity provide the ability to conduct targeted fire in long bursts. The combat rate of fire reaches 250-300 rounds per minute.
The design of the machine makes it possible to quickly and accurately transfer fire from one target to another, fire with predetermined settings, and also hit air targets. It is clear that such weapons are heavier than light machine guns: the weight of a machine gun on a tripod machine is 10-20 kg, with a wheeled machine gun (remaining on some outdated models) - 40 kg or more. A heavy machine gun is usually serviced by two crew numbers. Changing positions takes two to three times longer than with a light machine gun.
The so-called “single” machine guns, so named for qualities that combine the properties of light and heavy machine guns, turned out to be more promising. Single machine guns retain the firing capabilities of easel ones, but maneuverability is significantly increased due to light tripod machines (the weight of a single machine gun with the machine gun is 12-25 kg) and the ability to fire from a bipod (the weight of a machine gun on a bipod is 7-9 kg). Fire from a bipod is carried out at a range of up to 800 m. Single machine guns have wide capabilities to destroy enemy fire weapons and manpower, low-flying and hovering air targets.
Since the power of low-pulse machine gun cartridges does not allow effective fire beyond 600 m, single machine guns chambered for rifle cartridges continue to hold a strong position in the infantry weapons system. The “uniform” nature of machine guns is also reflected in their installation (with some modifications) on tanks, armored vehicles, and airborne transport helicopters. The best single machine guns include the Soviet PKM and the Belgian MAG.
Attempts are being made to develop single machine guns for low-pulse small-caliber cartridges (for example, the Spanish “Amelie” or the Israeli “Negev”). Such machine guns already fall into the “weight category” of manual ones. They, in particular, found application as light group weapons in airborne and reconnaissance sabotage units. In some armies, single machine guns are used instead of light machine guns. A number of experts say that in the near future it is possible that the light machine gun will “fall out” of the weapon system due to an increase in the accuracy of fire of machine guns, on the one hand, and the lighter weight of single machine guns, on the other. But for now, light machine guns retain their importance and their positions. Of the various designs of field machines, the obvious victory was won by light tripod machines with variable height of the firing line and horizontal and vertical guidance mechanisms, and the requirement for anti-aircraft shooting is not considered mandatory - in a number of armies, special installations are preferred for firing machine guns at air targets.
Modern sights - optical, collimator, night, and combined - significantly expand the capabilities of machine guns. Optical and red dot sights are becoming increasingly common for machine guns.
Reducing the mass of single machine guns, as well as increasing the accuracy of their firing from a bipod, remains an important direction for their improvement. It must be remembered that the crew, in addition to the machine gun and ammunition, has to carry an automatic grenade launcher system, hand and rocket-propelled grenades.

Heavy machine guns.
Large-caliber machine guns are designed to hit airborne and lightly armored ground targets. The 12.7-15 mm caliber allows you to have a powerful cartridge with armor-piercing, armor-piercing incendiary and other bullets in the ammunition load. This ensures the destruction of ground targets with an armor thickness of 15-20 mm at ranges of up to 800 m, and fire weapons, manpower and air targets - up to 2000 m. The combat rate of fire of heavy machine guns when firing at ground targets is up to 100 rounds per minute in bursts.
Large-caliber machine guns significantly complement the fire system in all types of combat. Anti-aircraft heavy machine guns found wide application as a means air defense divisions. For the same purposes, such machine guns are installed on tanks, armored personnel carriers, combat vehicles infantry. Thus, heavy machine guns are the most powerful type of small arms for hitting ground and air targets, but also the least mobile. Nevertheless, interest in them does not decrease. This is due to the firing range of heavy machine guns, which allows them to fight important targets (snipers, machine gunners in cover, fire crews) and air attack weapons.
The most common in the world are two old models of 12.7 mm machine guns - the Soviet DShKM and the American M2HB (M2HB) "Browning" (chambered with a less powerful cartridge). The mobility of heavy machine guns is limited by their significant mass and size. Machine guns are placed on universal or special (ground or anti-aircraft) field machines. With a universal machine gun, the weight of machine guns can be 140-160 kg, with a light ground machine - 40-55 kg. But the appearance of significantly lighter heavy machine guns - the Russian NSV 12.7 and KORD, the Singaporean CIS MG50 (CIS MG50) - brought their mobility and camouflage capabilities closer to single machine guns on the machine. It is worth noting that for several years now other attempts have been made to replace large-caliber machine guns with light automatic cannons of 20-30 mm caliber. However, the development of sufficiently light (taking into account the weight of the weapon itself, installation and ammunition) and mobile samples poses serious difficulties. So far, such guns have found application as weapons for light army vehicles and light helicopters.

In this section we will tell you about machine guns, both domestic and foreign. You can learn about the history of the creation of this weapon, get acquainted with the structure of machine guns and their combat use. We have prepared materials about the best machine guns different historical periods.

A machine gun is an individual or group automatic small weapon that uses the energy of powder gases for operation and has a high rate of fire. Machine guns have a longer sighting range and more capacious power supply devices.

Machine gun calibers can vary significantly: most modern light machine guns have a caliber of 6-8 mm, and heavy machine guns have a caliber of 12-15 mm. In addition to manual ones, there are also heavy machine guns, which are mounted on a special machine, also called a turret. Almost all large-caliber machine guns are mounted; ordinary light machine guns are often mounted on turrets - this significantly increases shooting accuracy.

Create rapid fire weapon They have been trying since the 16th century. However, before the invention of the unitary cartridge and smokeless powder these attempts were obviously doomed to failure. The first operational example of an automatic weapon was the Gatling machine gun, which was a block of manually rotating barrels.

The first truly automatic example of this weapon was the machine gun, invented by the American Maxim in 1883. This is truly a legendary weapon, which was first used in the Boer War and remained in service until World War II. The Maxim machine gun is still used today.

How mass weapons The machine gun came into use during the First World War. It was the machine gun that made a real revolution in military affairs. German gunsmiths managed to develop excellent machine guns. German MG 42 machine guns are rightly considered the best examples of such weapons of the Second World War.

It is necessary to say a few words about Russian machine guns. Active development of this weapon began in the pre-war years, during this period excellent domestic models of machine guns appeared: DShK, SG-43, Degtyarev machine gun. After the war, a whole series of Kalashnikov machine guns appeared, which in their reliability and efficiency were in no way inferior to the famous AK-47. Today Russian machine guns are a recognizable brand known all over the world.

There is another type of weapon, the name of which in Russian literature contains the word “machine gun”. These are submachine guns. This type of automatic individual weapon uses pistol ammunition. Submachine guns first appeared during the First World War, they were intended to increase firepower attacking infantry.

The “finest hour” of this weapon was the following World War. All the main countries participating in this conflict were armed with submachine guns. This weapon was very cheap and simple, but at the same time it had great firepower. However, submachine guns also had serious drawbacks, the main ones being a short effective firing range and insufficient power of pistol ammunition.

Soon an intermediate cartridge was invented, which led to the appearance modern machines and automatic rifles. Currently, submachine guns are used as police weapons.

We have prepared information about the most famous examples of submachine guns. You can learn about Soviet PPSh machines and PPS, German MP-38, about American machine Thompson, as well as other legendary examples of these weapons.

In 1974 entered service Soviet army was accepted new complex small arms, including cartridge 5.45×39 mm mod. 1974 (GRAU index 7 Nb), AK-74 assault rifle (GRAU b P20 index), RPK-74 light machine guns with a fixed stock (GRAU index 6 P18) and RPKS-74 with a folding butt (GRAU b P19 index). In 1979, the shortened AKS-74U assault rifle (GRAU index 6 P26) was also included in the complex.
The weapon systems included in the 5.45 mm complex are unified in many parts and mechanisms. The operation of their automatic reloading mechanisms is based on the use of the energy of powder gases removed from the barrel bore. The barrel bore is locked by rotating the bolt around the longitudinal axis, as a result of which the bolt lugs extend beyond the receiver lugs.
The RPK-74 and RPKS-74 light machine guns, in principle, have the same design as the RPK and RPKS chambered for 7.62 x 39 mm mod. 1943 Changes affected primarily the barrel and the power supply system. Four right-sided cuts are made in the barrel bore with a stroke length different from that of the RPK (200 mm). A slotted flash suppressor is attached to the muzzle of the barrel, which can be replaced with a blank firing bushing.
The barrel is made by rotary forging.

Unification, or bringing of samples military equipment and them components to a rational minimum of varieties, was one of the main directions in the development of Soviet small arms. Moreover, in the early 1950s. in the small arms system of the Soviet infantry, a paradoxical situation arose: in the arms of the rifle squad, in addition to manual anti-tank grenade launcher, there were three individual weapon systems (automatic Kalashnikov AK, self-loading carbine Simonova SKS and light machine gun Degtyareva RPD), developed for the same cartridge 7.62×39 mm mod. 1943, but completely different in design. This had a negative impact on the cost of production and repair of weapons and did not at all contribute to reducing the time it took to master them among the troops. For this reason, in the mid-1950s. In the USSR, the creation of a new complex of small arms began, consisting of a light machine gun and a light machine gun chambered for 7.62 x 39 mm mod. 1943. Work was carried out on a competitive basis in accordance with tactical and technical requirements No. 00682 (for an assault rifle) and No. 006821 (for a machine gun), drawn up by the Chief artillery department in 1955. The main goals of the work were:
— creation of lighter models of machine guns and light machine guns;
- in this case, the machine gun is being developed as a single model, intended for arming ordinary and

At the final stage of World War II, work was carried out in the USSR to create a so-called intermediate cartridge, more powerful than a pistol cartridge, but inferior in power to a rifle cartridge. It was put into service under the designation “7.62 mm cartridge mod. 1943." New machine guns and self-loading carbine. At the same time, field tests
cartridge arr. 1943 showed that destructive force its bullets and combat accuracy are quite satisfactory at a distance of up to 800 m, which, as combat experience has shown, is quite sufficient for light machine guns.
Creation of a light machine gun chambered for mod. 1943 was conducted on a competitive basis. S.G. presented their weapon options. Simonov, A.I. Sudaev, V.A. Degtyarev and other designers.

In the battles of the Great Patriotic War Soviet rifle companies had a powerful means of fire support in the form of heavy machine guns of the Maxim system. This machine gun was an almost ideal means of defense, but after the transition of the Red Army to predominantly offensive actions due to the large mass of weapons machine gun crews could not always follow the advancing infantry and effectively solve fire support tasks. The maneuverability of machine gun units on the battlefield increased somewhat after the replacement of Maxim machine guns with lighter SG-43 heavy machine guns of the Goryunov system, however, the optimal solution to the problem of increasing the tactical mobility of company-level machine gun units was the creation of a 7.62-mm company machine gun mod. 1946 (RP-46), GAU index 56-P-326.
The RP-46 was developed by designers A.I. Shilin, P.P. Polyakov and A.A. Dubinin in 1946. In the same year it was adopted by the Red Army. The machine gun is designed to destroy manpower and destroy enemy fire weapons. The most effective fire from a machine gun is carried out at a distance of up to 1000 m. Sighting range firing range - 1500 m. The range of a direct shot at a chest figure is 420 m, at a running figure - 640 m. Fire at aircraft and paratroopers is carried out at a distance of up to 500 m.

The light machine gun of the Degtyarev DP system, adopted by the Red Army in 1927, was not inferior in its characteristics to the best examples of foreign light machine guns of the 1920s. The documents of the Artillery Committee of those years indicated that at present “there is no way to more successfully resolve the issue of a model of a light machine gun than the Degtyarev system.” Nevertheless, V.A. Degtyarev continued work on improving the DP even after it was put into service.
In the pre-war years, he designed and submitted for testing improved light machine guns mod. 1931, 1934 and 1938
Light machine gun mod. 1931 differed from the base model in the absence of a barrel casing, which helped reduce its weight. The gas chamber was moved closer to the receiver, and the return spring was installed in the rear of the receiver, with most of it located in a special pipe located above the neck of the butt and screwed into the butt plate of the receiver.

Developed in the USSR from the mid-1920s. the production of armored vehicles was hampered by the lack of powerful and sufficiently compact machine guns suitable for installation in tanks and armored vehicles. Attempts to use coaxial machine guns of the Fedorov system and conversion of Maxim-Kolesnikov MT machine guns based on the Maxim machine gun for this purpose only helped to temporarily smooth out the severity of the problem of machine gun armament for armored vehicles, but did not lead to its optimal solution. The power of Fedorov's machine guns, which fired 6.5 mm Japanese cartridges, was insufficient. In addition, this cartridge did not fit into the unified ammunition system of the Red Army. The MT machine gun was unreliable and too complicated. Therefore, it is not surprising that soon after the adoption of a relatively simple and reliable light machine gun of the Degtyarev DP system, a decision was made to create a tank machine gun on its basis. This work was carried out by designer G. S. Shpagin under the direction of V. A. Degtyarev. A prototype of the machine gun was made in 1928, and in next year The machine gun was put into service under the designation “7.62-mm Degtyarev tank machine gun (DT).” He was assigned the GAU index 56-P-322. The production of the machine gun was launched at the Kovrov Union Plant No. 2. In the pre-war years and during the war, it was installed on all Soviet tanks and armored vehicles.
The DT machine gun is largely unified with the DP infantry light machine gun. Its automatic reloading mechanisms also operate by using the energy of powder gases diverted from the barrel. The leading element of automation is
bolt frame connecting all parts of the moving system.

A significant achievement of Soviet gunsmiths was the creation in the 1920s. light machine gun DP (Degtyarev infantry), GAU index 56-P-321. V. A. Degtyarev, an employee of the Design Bureau of the Kovrov Machine Gun Plant, began developing this machine gun on his own initiative at the end of 1923. At that time, two groups of designers under the leadership of I. N. Kolesnikov and F. V. Tokarev were working on remaking the heavy machine gun Maxim system into a light machine gun. This way of creating a light machine gun made it possible to significantly reduce the time for its development and launch into mass production. Nevertheless, the prototype of the Degtyarev light machine gun, presented for testing on July 22, 1924, was not ignored.
In the commission’s protocol on the results of tests carried out in the same month, it was noted: “Taking into account the outstanding originality of the idea, trouble-free operation, rate of fire and significant ease of use of Comrade’s system. Degtyarev, to recognize as desirable the order of at least 3 copies of his machine gun for testing at the weapons range ... "
The importance of testing and fine-tuning the Degtyarev machine gun increased many times after the unsuccessful military tests light machine gun designed by Tokarev on the basis of the Maxim system heavy machine gun. This circumstance, however, did not at all lead to a reduction in the testing program for the Degtyarev machine gun, which was extremely stringent.
For example, during tests in December 1926, 20,000 shots were fired from two machine guns. Meanwhile, the situation with the provision of Soviet infantry light machine guns took on a dramatic character. Preserved from the First World War and Civil War The imported machine guns were badly worn out, their repair was difficult due to the lack of spare parts. There was also a shortage of 8-mm French and 7.71-mm British cartridges for these machine guns.
According to specialists of the Artillery Committee, a way out of this situation could be the development of a so-called conversion light machine gun based on the Maxim system heavy machine gun that was in general production. A similar solution was quite successfully implemented during the First World War in Germany, where the MC08/15 light machine gun was produced on the basis of the Maxim MC08 heavy machine gun.

A machine gun is a small automatic weapon designed to engage various ground, surface and air targets by firing short (up to 10 shots) and long (up to 30 shots) bursts, as well as continuous fire.
The question of the need to adopt machine guns into service with the Russian Army was actively discussed in Russia in late XIX century.
The famous Russian military theorist General M.I. Dragomirov wrote about machine guns: “If the same person had to be killed several times, then it would be a wonderful weapon.” Moreover, a special commission created in 1887, after studying the first machine guns, came to the conclusion that “machine guns are of very little importance for field warfare.” However, fearing that in equipping the army modern weapons Russia will lag behind other countries, the War Ministry purchased from the English company Maxim-Vickers a batch of Maxim-system machine guns on bulky wheeled artillery-type carriages, and from the Danish company Dansk Rekylriffel Syndikat - two hundred so-called Madsen system submachine guns.

On May 17, 1718, James Puckle patented his gun, which became the prototype of the machine gun. Since that time, military engineering has come a long way, but machine guns still remain one of the most formidable types of weapons.

"Pakla's Gun"

Attempts to increase the rate of fire firearms were attempted repeatedly, but before the advent of the unitary cartridge they failed due to the complexity and unreliability of the design, the extremely high cost of production and the need to have trained soldiers whose skills would go significantly beyond the automatic manipulation of a gun.

One of the many experimental designs was the so-called “Pakla gun”. The weapon was a gun mounted on a tripod with a cylinder with 11 charges acting as a magazine. The crew of the gun consisted of several people. With coordinated crew actions and no misfires, a rate of fire of up to 9-10 rounds per minute was theoretically achieved. This system was supposed to be used at short distances in naval battle, however, due to unreliability, this weapon did not become widespread. This system illustrates the desire to increase the firepower of rifle fire by increasing the rate of fire.

Lewis machine gun

The Lewis light machine gun was developed in the United States by Samuel McClane, and was used as a light machine gun and aircraft gun during the First World War. Despite the impressive weight, the weapon turned out to be quite successful - the machine gun and its modifications are quite long time were held in Britain and its colonies, as well as the USSR.

In our country, Lewis machine guns were used until the Great Patriotic War and are visible in the chronicle of the parade on November 7, 1941. In domestic feature films, this weapon is found relatively rarely, but a frequent imitation of the Lewis machine gun in the form of a “camouflaged DP-27” is present very often. The original Lewis machine gun was depicted, for example, in the film “White Sun of the Desert” (except for the shooting shots).

Hotchkiss machine gun

During the First World War, the Hotchkiss heavy machine gun became the main machine gun French army. Only in 1917, with the spread of light machine guns, its production began to decline.

In total, the easel "Hotchkiss" was in service in 20 countries. In France and a number of other countries, these weapons were kept during the Second World War. Hotchkiss was supplied to a limited extent before the First World War and to Russia, where a significant part of these machine guns was lost during the East Prussian operation in the first months of the war. In domestic feature films, the Hotchkiss machine gun can be seen in the film adaptation of Quiet Don, which shows a Cossack attack on German positions, which from a historical point of view may not be typical, but is acceptable.

Maxim machine gun

The Maxim machine gun went down in history Russian Empire and the USSR, remaining officially in service much longer than in other countries. Along with the three-line rifle and revolver, it is strongly associated with the weapons of the first half of the 20th century.

He served from the Russo-Japanese War to the Great Patriotic War inclusive. Powerful and distinguished by a high rate of fire and accuracy of fire, the machine gun had a number of modifications in the USSR and was used as an easel, anti-aircraft and aviation one. The main disadvantages of the easel version of the Maxim were the excessively large mass and water cooling of the barrel. Only in 1943 was the Goryunov machine gun adopted for service, which by the end of the war began to gradually supplant the Maxim. In the initial period of the war, the production of Maxims not only did not decrease, but on the contrary, it increased and, in addition to Tula, was deployed in Izhevsk and Kovrov.

Since 1942, machine guns were produced only with a receiver under a canvas tape. Production legendary weapons was stopped in our country only in the victorious year of 1945.

MG-34

The German MG-34 machine gun has a very complicated story adoption, but, nevertheless, this model can be called one of the first single machine guns. The MG-34 could be used as a light machine gun, or as an easel machine gun on a tripod, as well as as an anti-aircraft and tank gun.

Its low weight gave the weapon high maneuverability, which, combined with a high rate of fire, made it one of the best infantry machine guns of the early World War II. Later, even with the adoption of the MG-42, Germany did not abandon the production of the MG-34; this machine gun is still in service in a number of countries.

DP-27

From the beginning of the 30s, the light machine gun of the Degtyarev system began to enter service with the Red Army, which became the main light machine gun of the Red Army until the mid-40s. First combat use DP-27 is most likely associated with the conflict on the Chinese Eastern Railway in 1929.

The machine gun performed well during the fighting in Spain, Khasan and Khalkhin Gol. However, by the time the Great Patriotic War began, the Degtyarev machine gun was already inferior in a number of parameters such as weight and magazine capacity to a number of newer and more advanced models.

During operation, a number of shortcomings were identified - a small magazine capacity (47 rounds) and an unfortunate location under the barrel of the return spring, which was deformed from frequent shooting. During the war, some work was carried out to eliminate these shortcomings. In particular, the survivability of the weapon was increased by moving the return spring to the rear of the receiver, although general principle work of this sample has not undergone any changes. The new machine gun (DPM) began to enter the army in 1945. On the basis of the machine gun, a very successful DT tank machine gun was created, which became the main Soviet tank machine gun of the Great Patriotic War.

Machine gun "Breda" 30

One of the first places in terms of the number of shortcomings among mass-produced samples can be given to the Italian Breda machine gun, which, perhaps, collected the maximum number of them.

Firstly, the magazine is unsuccessful and only holds 20 rounds, which is clearly not enough for a machine gun. Secondly, each cartridge must be lubricated with oil from a special oil can. Dirt, dust gets in and the weapon instantly fails. One can only guess how it was possible to fight with such a “miracle” in the sands of North Africa.

But even at sub-zero temperatures, the machine gun also does not work. The system was distinguished by its great complexity in production and low rate of fire for a light machine gun. To top it off, there is no handle for carrying the machine gun. Nevertheless, this system was the main machine gun of the Italian army in World War II.