Degtyarev light machine gun. Reliable "machine"

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Work principles

DP(Degtyarev infantry, GAU index - 56-R-321) - a light machine gun developed by V. A. Degtyarev. The first ten serial DP machine guns were manufactured at the Kovrov plant on November 12, 1927, then a batch of 100 machine guns was transferred to military tests, as a result of which on December 21, 1927, the machine gun was adopted by the Red Army. DP became one of the first samples small arms created in the USSR.

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Subtitles

Story

In 1939, a lightweight anti-aircraft tripod mount for the DP machine gun was developed for the ski units of the Red Army.

The machine gun was widely used as the main fire support weapon for platoon-company infantry until the end of the Great Patriotic War.

At the end of the war, the DP machine gun and its modernized version DPM, created based on the experience of combat operations in - years, were removed from service in the Soviet Army and were widely supplied to countries friendly to the USSR. The ATS was in service with the participating states until the 1960s. Used in Korea, Vietnam and other countries.

Based on the experience gained in World War II, it became clear that the infantry needed single machine guns that combined increased firepower with high mobility. As an ersatz substitute for a single machine gun in a company link, based on earlier developments in 1946, the RP-46 light machine gun was created and put into service, which was a modification of the DPM for belt feeding, which, coupled with a weighted barrel, provided greater firepower at maintaining acceptable maneuverability.

Highly appreciated this weapon given by Vladimir Fedorov - Soviet weapon designer, during the war he worked as a consultant on small arms at the People's Commissariat, author of books on the history of small arms.

System

The DP light machine gun is an automatic weapon based on the removal of powder gases and magazine feed. Gas engine has a long stroke piston and a gas regulator located under the barrel.

• composite cleaning rod for cleaning the bore;
• screwdriver key for disassembling and assembling a machine gun;
• crank rubbing with a bristle brush for wiping and cleaning the chamber through the upper window of the receiver without disassembling the machine gun;
• gas duct cleaning device;
• two drifts for pushing out axles and studs;
• extractor for removing detached cartridge cases.

All accessories are placed in a box-bag or canvas bag.

Shot sound suppressor

At the end of 1941, the SG-DP device (Special sound silencer for the DP light machine gun) was developed (probably with the participation of I.G. Mitin). Cartridges with reduced powder charge and light bullets, starting speed which was 330 m/s. The device allowed silent automatic firing at a distance of up to 300 m (with a lethal effect of a bullet up to 500 m). On May 27, 1942, the silencer was adopted by the Red Army. In June 1942, NKV plant No. 2 in Kovrov was supposed to produce 500 units. of these products. The silencer weighed 1.3 kg, the total length of the machine gun with silencer was 1332 mm.

After field tests in July 1942, the SG-DP was sent for revision. It took place at the Kovrov OKB-2 by designers A. M. Marantsev and I. V. Dolgushev. The modified muffler received an internal diameter of the barrel nozzle channel reduced from 16 to 14.5 mm. Its weight is 1.15 kg, the length of the nozzle is 85 mm, the total length is 291 mm.

At the end of 1942, the muffler entered testing at NIPSVO under the designation SG-42 (Special muffler of the 1942 model). Presumably, it was used at the front and mass-produced, but there is no information on production volumes. Post-war tests of these mufflers in February-March 1948 showed the inexpediency of their further operation, since they did not provide the required failure-free operation of the DP and DPM and for this reason were subject to disposal.

In 1948-1950, OKB-2 modified the SG-42 muffler, receiving the KB-P-535 device. Its weight with shutters was 0.96 kg, length 301 mm, height 68 mm, width 34 mm, machine gun length with silencer 1310 mm.

In March-April 1950, KB-P-535 silencers, together with RP-46 machine guns, underwent field tests, but they again did not meet all the requirements.

Ammo

The following cartridges are used for firing a light machine gun:

• cartridge with bullet mod. 1908 (light), intended to destroy enemy personnel at a range of up to 800 m; the bullet retains its destructive power at a distance of up to 2500 m;
• cartridge with bullet mod. 1930 (heavy), intended to destroy enemy personnel; destructive force persists at a distance of up to 3500 m; for shooting it is used only in the absence of cartridges with a light bullet mod. 1908;
• cartridge with armor-piercing bullet mod. 1930 (B-30), intended to destroy light armored targets (armored vehicles, tankettes) at a distance of up to 300 m;
• cartridge with armor-piercing incendiary bullet mod. 1932 (B-32), intended to destroy armored targets (tanks, armored vehicles, wedges, firing points, aircraft) and to ignite fuel (gasoline);
• cartridge with a tracer bullet (T-30 and T-46), intended for target designation, zeroing and fire adjustment.

Application

First case combat use machine gun DP took place in 1929, during combat operations on the Chinese Eastern Railway

The DP infantry machine gun was installed on small torpedo boats of the G-5 type as a self-defense weapon (for firing at sea mines, low-flying aircraft and other targets).

During exercises and combat operations, the machine gun was serviced by two people: the shooter and his assistant, who carried a box with 3 disks. Also, when shooting from a prone position, a long ribbon was tied to the machine gun at both ends, and the fighter, pulling it with his foot, pressed the butt harder to his shoulder. Thus, the vibrations of the machine gun were reduced and the shooting accuracy increased. The DT machine gun was installed on M-72 motorcycles. The design of the attachment of the machine gun to the sidecar made it possible to fire even at airplanes. However, this method of fighting aircraft was not very convenient: to shoot, it was necessary to stop, then the fighter got out of the wheelchair and fired at air targets from a “sitting” position. After the adoption of the DP machine gun, the British Lewis machine guns of the 1915 model, which had previously been in service with the Red Army, gradually went into storage.

Options

Small-caliber DP

In the mid-1930s, one prototype of the DP small-caliber machine gun (chambered with a 5.6-mm rimfire cartridge, as a weapon for training Red Army soldiers in shooting) was designed by M. Margolin, but it did not enter service. In fact, for these purposes, a small-caliber machine gun substitute for the Blum system was used, mounted on a regular DP and using its fire controls.

DP arr. 1938

A prototype was made in 1938 7.62-mm machine gun of the V. A. Degtyarev system with a magazine designed by G. F. Kubynov and S. G. Razorenov(structurally similar to the DP machine gun model 1927, with the exception of the feeding method - the 20-round magazine is filled with four standard clips from a Mosin rifle). The weapon was not accepted for service and, after testing, was transferred for storage, and then entered the museum of the plant named after. Degtyarev in the city of Kovrov

DP with muffler

In 1941, during the Battle of Moscow, a DP machine gun with a silencer was handed over to the troops for testing, but serial production of this modification was not started.

DPM

Type 53

A copy of the DP (DPM) machine gun adapted to the characteristics of Chinese industry. Produced by the Chinese state arms corporation Norinco.

DP-O

Converted to fire in semi-automatic mode, the DP-O machine gun is certified in Russia as a hunting carbine

In films and computer games

The Degtyarev machine gun is present in a significant number of films and in a number computer games(mainly dedicated to the Second World War)

The actual functioning of the 3D model of the Degtyarev Machine Gun can be found in the weapons simulator game “World of Guns: Gun Disassembly”.

Operating countries

• USSR USSR
• Second Spanish Republic Second Spanish Republic - supplied under the military assistance program from the USSR to the Spanish Republic, entered service with the Republican Army and some international brigades
• Finland Finland- during the Winter War, Finland captured more than 3,000 DP and about 150 DT. By 1944, there were about 9,000 DP in the Finnish army; it remained in service until the 60s under the name 762 PKD(7.62 pk/ven.). DT machine gun - 762 PK D PSV(7.62 pk/ven. psv.) - became the main tank machine gun of the Finnish army, also used after the war. Finnish industry has launched the production of DP parts: barrels, magazines, butts, etc.
• Germany

In 2002, it was 75 years since the adoption of the 7.62-mm light machine gun designed by Vasily Alekseevich Degtyarev -DP (Degtyarev, infantry) into service with the Red Army. The DP was the first example of this type of weapon developed in the USSR. Novelty and originality technical solutions and predetermined the future fate of the machine gun. For a long time it became the main automatic weapon of the rifle department of the Red Army, and passed with honor the most important test that can befall a sample of small arms - the second world war. To this day, gunsmiths around the world note the highest level of reliability and efficiency of the machine gun, simplicity of design and pay tribute to the outstanding design talent of V. A. Degtyarev.

Until the end of the 20s of the last century, Russia did not have a light machine gun of its own design. During the First World War, the needs of the troops were met by purchasing foreign models. Inherited from Tsarist Russia The Red Army received a small number of 8 and 7.62 mm Madsen submachine guns mod. 1903, 8-mm Shosha machine guns mod. 1915, 7.71 and 7.62 mm Lewis machine guns mod. 1915, 8-mm Hotchkiss machine guns mod. 1909. By the mid-20s of the 20th century, these models were considered obsolete and were significantly modernized by developers abroad or replaced by new systems. The inability to replenish spare parts and imported ammunition steadily reduced the number of machine guns in the troops every year. In this regard, at the state level it was decided to develop our own light machine gun.

The first sign was the Tokarev conversion system, created on the basis of the Maxim heavy machine gun - the only machine gun produced at that time in Russia. After comparative tests (in which, in addition to him, Kolesnikov took part with a light machine gun, also created on the basis of the Maxim, and Degtyarev with the prototype of the DP), the 7.62 mm Maxim-Tokarev light machine gun was adopted by the Red Army in May 1925 with air-cooled barrel. However, this did not reduce the urgency of developing a new highly mobile and trouble-free model, since the adopted machine gun did not satisfy a number of requirements for this type of weapon. In addition, due to the fact that during its design the designers were given a strict condition - not to interfere with the design of the main components and mechanisms of the Maxim machine gun (this was dictated by technological reasons) - the Maxim-Tokarev machine gun inherited many of the shortcomings inherent in its progenitor.

Tokarev's attempt to radically redesign the machine gun's design shortly thereafter in order to best meet the modern needs of the troops failed. Despite the fact that the structurally redesigned machine gun was very different from the Maxim system, the principles embedded in it did not allow achieving an acceptable result. In addition, establishing its mass production required significant costs, since from the point of view of manufacturing technology it was actually a new machine gun. The need to create a completely new system original design.

The ideology of constructing the scheme of the future model was dictated by the prevailing views on the light machine gun as such at that time: weight 8-12 kg, food only from magazines, the principle of operation of the automation is the removal of powder gases from the barrel bore with the obligatory presence of a gas regulator, or the recoil of the barrel with a short stroke . The new army light machine gun was destined to become the 7.62-mm Degtyarev light machine gun mod. 1927 (DP-27). It turned out to be not only the lightest, most trouble-free and with an unprecedented resource (up to 100,000 rounds) among its contemporaries - light machine guns of the 30s of the 20th century, but also with wide modernization capabilities, which determined its long life.

Degtyarev began work on creating a light machine gun of his own design on his own initiative in 1923. To make this decision big influence had close communication with V. G. Fedorov. His ideas and reflections on the prospects for the development of the country's small arms system pushed Degtyarev to develop a light machine gun. By that time, Degtyarev already had extensive experience in working on promising systems weapons designed by Fedorov. He had experience in constructing his own model - an automatic carbine, which Degtyarev worked on back in 1915-16. in Sestroretsk. By the way, this particular carbine is the first example of a weapon designed by Degtyarev, in which the barrel bore was locked by moving the lugs to the sides, and the carbine’s automatics operated by using the energy of part of the powder gases removed from the barrel bore.

Tests of the machine gun, which can be called the first version of the DP, began on October 6, 1924. On that day, he competed with conversion designs of Tokarev and Kolesnikov (somewhat later, it was the DP that would take the place of the Tokarev model in the Red Army weapons system).

For testing in Moscow, the designer traveled with the shooters on a regular train, literally sitting astride his machine gun, which was packed in a box when disassembled.

The Chairman of the State Commission was S. M. Budyonny, who in his time widely used horse-drawn “Maxim” (remember the famous carts of the First Horse). Semyon Mikhailovich took a very active part in the tests.

At the very first stage, when the samples were tested for survivability, Degtyarev’s machine gun failed - the firing pin broke. Low-quality steel let me down. Budyonny, who had previously personally tested the machine gun by shooting, despite the breakdown, rather highly appreciated the capabilities of the design. In its conclusions made after the end of the tests, the State Commission called the Degtyarev machine gun a machine gun of the near future.

However, even such advances did not guarantee the designer quick success. Work to eliminate design defects had to be completed as quickly as possible, especially since the Maxim-Tokarev machine gun, which was put into service, based on the results of trial operation in the army, in parts of the Western, Ukrainian and Moscow military districts, earned not the most flattering assessments from the Red Army. First of all, complaints were related to its large mass.

Degtyarev did a huge amount of work to refine the model, and soon tests of two new machine guns took place. 20,000 shots were fired from each, with delays associated mainly with missing and sticking a cartridge in the magazine, failure to remove the spent cartridge case, and misfires amounting to only 0.6%. Regardless of the progress of the tests, the Kovrov plant was given the task of producing a pilot batch of 100 machine guns.

At the same time, the designer worked on improving the future DP, and in 1927 the design bureau was provided with three more modified machine guns, slightly different in design. Two of them were tested at the plant by a special commission with the participation of representatives of the Artillery Committee. The changes made to the third sample were approved without testing and were taken into account when developing design documentation for the first batch of machine guns.

In the summer of 1927, comparative tests of the modernized Maxim Tokarev light machine gun, the German Dreyse system machine gun and the Degtyarev machine gun took place, in which the latter confidently confirmed its right to leadership. The Degtyarev light machine gun was adopted by the Red Army under the name 7.62 mm DP light machine gun in February 1927.

The Degtyarev machine gun is a model whose automation operates due to the energy of part of the powder gases removed from the barrel. The DP gas engine can be classified as a system with a long piston stroke - the machine gun piston is rigidly connected to the bolt frame, on which the parts of the locking unit, the impact mechanism and the cartridge case extraction mechanism are assembled. The return spring is located under the barrel. The machine gun is equipped with a gas regulator that has three positions. The machine gun is fed from a disk magazine mounted on top of the receiver. Serial DP machine guns had a magazine capacity of 47 rounds, although on experimental models and on DP machine guns of the first releases the disk held 49 rounds.

The machine gun is equipped with an automatic safety lock that blocks the trigger. The safety key was located at the bottom of the butt neck behind the trigger guard. The safety was automatically turned off when properly prepared for shooting. The trigger mechanism allows firing only in bursts. The machine gun barrel is quick-changeable. On the machine guns of the first releases, the flame arrester and the thread for it on the barrel were absent. At first, the DP barrels had fins, but later the outer surface of the barrel became smooth.

Of course, the most interesting thing in the design of the machine gun is the barrel bore locking system. The machine gun bolt consists of a frame, two lugs, a firing pin with a firing pin, an ejector and an ejector spring. The barrel bore is locked by moving the lugs to the sides.

The machine gun works as follows. When you press the trigger, the trigger lever, lowering, releases the bolt frame, which, under the influence of a pre-compressed recoil spring, begins to move forward. The thickening on the back of the firing pin, acting on the lugs, pushes the bolt forward, while trying to move them apart. The bolt, moving forward, sends another cartridge from the magazine into the barrel. When it comes to the extreme forward position, the bolt stops, hitting the breech of the barrel, the lugs are against the lugs of the receiver, the firing pin, under the influence of the bolt frame, continuing to move forward, spreads the lugs to the sides, and then breaks the cartridge primer. Immediately before the shot, the bolt lugs are moved apart and enter the lugs of the receiver; their reduction is prevented by the thickening in the rear part of the firing pin. After the capsule is broken, a shot occurs, the powder gases enter the gas chamber through a hole in the wall of the barrel bore and, acting on the gas piston, push it back. Together with the gas piston, the bolt frame and the firing pin mounted in its rack begin to move backwards. At the same time, the return spring is compressed. The thickening of the striker ceases to prevent the contact of the lugs, after which the figured groove on the bolt frame, acting on the lower protrusions of the lugs, brings them together. In this case, the total width of the lower protrusions of the lugs is slightly greater than the width of the straight part of the bolt frame groove. The lugs are fixed in the figured part of the groove, which ensures their tight fit to each other, without gaps or rolling. The barrel channel is unlocked, the bolt begins to move back along with the bolt frame. At the same time, the spent cartridge case is removed from the chamber, which then, hitting the reflector mounted on the top of the receiver, is thrown out the window at the bottom of the receiver.

After the machine gun was put into service, Degtyarev did not stop working on modernizing the design. Thus, field tests carried out at the beginning of 1928 showed the need for a flame arrester, revealed insufficient interchangeability of machine gun parts and a number of other shortcomings, both structural and technological. Military tests conducted in the Moscow, Ukrainian and Belarusian military districts confirmed the findings of the test site. In a short time, these shortcomings were eliminated.

It has been pointed out more than once that the disk magazine, which was used with the DP, had significant mass and dimensions, was expensive to manufacture and inconvenient to use. Attempts have been made repeatedly to solve this problem. Even before the war, in 1938, a machine gun was tested, the power of which was supplied from an integral magazine mounted on the left side of the receiver, designed like the magazine of the Japanese Nambu M1 922 light machine gun. It was equipped with standard rifle clips, placed horizontally in the magazine. The cartridge was fed through a window on the left side of the receiver. The feed mechanism was driven by the bolt frame of the machine gun. After the cartridges in the lower clip were used up, it was pushed out of the store and the next one took its place.

During the war, versions of a belt-fed machine gun were developed. One of the prototypes (underground testing in 1943) used a metal tape and a receiver designed by Shpagin, the design of which was similar to that of the receiver heavy machine gun DShK, adopted for service in 1938. The feed mechanism was driven by a reloading handle that moved during firing.

Another prototype was adapted to use the fabric belt of a Maxim machine gun. At the same time, the machine gun itself did not require modification; the receiver was simply attached to the standard place of the disk magazine. As in the previous case, the feed mechanism was driven by the machine gun’s reloading handle. This model was tested at a research site in 1944.

It should be noted that all of the listed machine guns that underwent field testing were essentially no different from the serial DP (with the exception of the 1931 model, which will be discussed a little later). Before the war, DP was tested with various types sighting devices, including with “optics” (by the way, the already mentioned 1943 machine gun with a Shpagin drum receiver had a frame sight). At the same time, on the basis of the DP, several prototypes were created with a different locking scheme - a skewed shutter.

Experience in combat operation of the DP revealed a number of shortcomings in the design of the machine gun. About him weak points The standards for spare parts for the Degtyarev machine gun for the wartime period, which are given in table, clearly indicate. 1 (“7.62-mm DP light machine gun. Quick Guide services. 1944).

the name of detail	Individual kit	Regimental kit	Total for 10 machine guns
Reflector -	0,3	0,3
Barrel lock	—	0,1	0,1
Contactor spring	—	0,1	0,1
Striker	—	4	4
Striker pin	—	4	4
Ejector	—	10	10
Ejector spring	—	10	10
Recoil spring	10	2	12
Assembled barrel	—	10	10
Cotter pin for gas chamber regulator	10	10	20
Increased combat emphasis (right)	—	0,2	0,2
Increased combat support (left)	—	0,2	0,2

If everything is clear with cotter pins (such parts tend to break and get lost), then the mandatory presence of a recoil spring in an individual machine gun kit is a fairly eloquent fact. The fact is that during intense shooting, the recoil spring, located in the immediate vicinity of the heating barrel, overheated and lost its properties, which led to malfunctions in the machine gun’s automatic operation. Therefore, the current instructions recommended firing in bursts of 3-6 shots. It is interesting that back in 1931, a prototype of a machine gun was designed, in which the return spring was placed on top part trigger frame.

In order to eliminate the settling of the spring and the loss of its combat properties when heated, Degtyarev used a solution already tested on the experimental model of 1931 - he transferred the spring to the trigger frame. In addition, the modernized machine gun received a safety lever, a pistol grip for fire control, and a butt new form, integral bipods. In order to increase operational reliability, almost all components and parts of the machine gun were redesigned to one degree or another. As a result, another character appeared on the weapons scene - the DPM (Degtyarev, infantry, modernized) light machine gun, which was put into service Soviet army in 1944.

On the basis of the DP light machine gun, the following were developed and put into service: in 1928, the DA (Degtyarev aviation) machine gun and in 1929 - the DT (Degtyarev tank). The work on converting the machine gun into a tank version was entrusted to G.S. Shpagin, who coped with the task brilliantly.

The DT was equipped with a metal stock of variable length and could be used as a light machine gun. For this purpose, the kit included a bipod with a front sight and a flame arrester (when firing from a tank, the shooter took aim using the front sight located directly in the window of the tank's ball mount). The DT was equipped with a diopter sight, adjustable in vertical and horizontal planes. Both machine guns used a newly designed disc magazine that held 63 rounds.

It should be noted that the DP received recognition not only in the USSR. During the war, captured Degtyarev machine guns were officially adopted by Germany. But DP was most widely used in the Finnish army.

The Finns first encountered DP and DT machine guns during the 1939-40 campaign. It was then that they acquired the first captured samples of these weapons. In total, during the Winter War, the Finns captured more than 3,000 DP machine guns and about 150 DT (this data is given in Finnish sources). The DP was so widespread in the Finnish army that in Suomi they even launched the production of magazines and spare parts for Degtyarev machine guns. By 1944, the Finnish army had about 9,000 DP machine guns. In the post-war period, it remained in service with the Finnish army, where it received the name 762 RK D (7.62 pk/ven.) and was actively used until the 60s. Later, the machine gun was widely used to train reservists.

The DT machine gun (762 RK D PSV (7.62 pk/ven. psv.)) became the main tank machine gun of the Finnish army and was used for many years after the war.

What can we say when assessing the machine gun as a whole? Of course, for its time it was an outstanding design. The extreme simplicity of the device determined the high reliability of the DP, proven by extensive experience in operating the machine gun in real combat operations. Degtyarev's light machine gun became the first-born in the field of mass production of a domestic design for our defense industry. The Kovrov plant solved a rather difficult task - to achieve interchangeability of parts of the locking unit and automation in machine guns of the DP family. And we must not forget that the Degtyarev light machine gun is the first independently developed model of small arms adopted for service in the USSR. Before him, the Red Army adopted either advanced models or modifications of systems developed before the revolution. Having designed his machine gun, Degtyarev immediately raised the bar for requirements for the reliability of domestic small arms, setting a benchmark for the next generation of gunsmith designers.

Tactical and technical characteristics of the DP machine gun

Weight (without magazine, with bipod), kg	8,8
Length, mm	1270
Barrel alina without flash suppressor, mm	605
Length of the rifled part of the barrel, mm	550
Alina sighting line, mm	616
Magazine weight (empty/loaded), kg	1,6/2,7
Sighting range, m	1 500
Rate of fire, rds/min.	600
Combat rate of fire, rds/min.	about 80
Initial bullet speed, m/s	840

7.62-mm Degtyarev light machine gun (RPD, GRAU Index - 56-R-327) - Soviet light machine gun, developed in 1944 under the 7.62-mm cartridge mod. 1943

RPD machine gun - video

In 1943, the Red Army's arsenal was replenished with the first domestic 7.62x39 mm intermediate cartridge. Soon after this, the development of new types of weapons designed to use such ammunition began. The result of several programs to create new small arms was the emergence of a number of samples of different classes: the SKS self-loading carbine, the RPD light machine gun and other weapons. Thus, the “Degtyarev Light Machine Gun” became the first domestic model of its class to use the new intermediate cartridge.

Even at the design stage of a new cartridge designed by N.M. Elizarova and B.V. Semin found that weapons for such ammunition would have noticeable advantages over existing systems, although in a number of cases lags in performance were expected. The cartridge was lighter, which affected the volume of carryable ammunition, but had a shorter firing range. Tests of the 7.62x39 mm cartridge showed its sufficient effectiveness when firing at distances up to 800 m. Analysis of battles, in turn, showed that such a firing range is quite sufficient for new weapons that will be used in future conflicts.

At the beginning of 1944, a competition began to create a light machine gun chambered for an intermediate cartridge. The military wanted a relatively light weapon with the maximum possible firepower. Besides, new sample should not have the disadvantages inherent in existing DP/DPM machine guns. Several leading gunsmith designers were involved in the development of competitive projects. S.G. presented his versions of the light machine gun. Simonov, F.V. Tokarev, A.I. Sudaev and other honored masters of their craft. In addition, V.A. took part in the competition. Degtyarev, several of whose machine guns have been in service with the Red Army since the late twenties.

Using his experience in creating light machine guns, Degtyarev proposed several options for new weapons. Having similar gas automatics, the proposed projects differed in the design of the shutter and the ammunition supply system. Initially, Degtyarev proposed using a disk magazine similar to that used on the DP machine gun, and also considered the possibility of creating a detachable box magazine. However, an analysis of various proposals showed that the best option will use tape power.

According to the results of tests carried out in mid-1944, the leader of the competition was the Degtyarev machine gun under the symbol RP-44. This weapon was even produced in a small batch and sent to the troops for testing at the front. Military tests ended with the development of proposals for fine-tuning and new requirements for weapons. The developer was required to correct the identified deficiencies and complete the development of the machine gun.

Based on the results of tests by the troops, some changes were made to the design of the RP-44 machine gun. In this form, the weapon was again sent for testing and received a recommendation for adoption. A new model entered mass production under the name “Degtyarev light machine gun mod. 1944" or RPD. The designation RPD-44 is also sometimes found. Thanks to its adoption and the start of production, the RPD machine gun became one of the first production types of weapons designed to use the 7.62x39 mm cartridge.

The RPD machine gun was built on the basis of gas automatics with a long piston stroke. The general automation scheme was partially borrowed from later modifications of the DP machine gun. In particular, to improve some characteristics, a gas regulator was introduced into the automation, which made it possible to change the amount of powder gases supplied to the piston. The design of the regulator included three so-called grooves for gas removal, numbered from “1” to “3”. IN normal conditions the regulator should have been set to position “2”, which ensured normal operation of the automation. Groove No. 3 had a larger cross-section and was intended for firing when the weapon was dirty. Groove No. 1, in turn, had a minimum diameter and made it possible to reduce the rate of fire.

Despite similar solutions and some borrowings, the RPD machine gun was seriously different from the DP and DPM. Thus, the receiver of the new weapon was developed from scratch. It consisted of a main lower part and a hinged upper cover. In addition, the rear part of the receiver was made in the form of a so-called. trigger frame, on which parts of the trigger mechanism, fire control handle and butt were attached. Inside the receiver there was a bolt group. In the front wall of the box, fastenings were provided for installing the barrel and gas piston tube.

A curious feature of the RPD machine gun was its non-replaceable barrel. Operating experience with existing light machine guns showed that firing in short bursts allows the machine gunner to shoot all the ammunition he carries without overheating the barrel. Thus, the detachable barrel did not provide any noticeable advantages, but made the weapon more complicated and heavier. The need to carry a spare barrel also did not add convenience in battle.

The barrel locking system using diverging lugs was similar to a similar unit on the DP machine gun, but had some differences. The bolt frame connected to the gas piston was in contact with a massive metal bolt. The latter had a central square-section channel for the striker and two deep grooves on the side surfaces. The latter contained combat stops mounted on axles. The return spring was located in the rear of the receiver and inside the metal part of the butt.

When the bolt frame moved forward under the action of a spring, the bolt had to send the cartridge into the chamber. After stopping the bolt in the extreme forward position, the frame continued to move the firing pin. Moving forward, he pushed the lugs apart and they entered the grooves of the receiver, blocking the movement of the bolt. Further movement of the striker led to a shot. The pressure of the powder gases leaving the barrel through the gas outlet moved the piston and bolt frame. This caused the firing pin to move back and allow the stops to move out of place. Using shaped cutouts on the receiver, the stops returned to the neutral position and allowed the bolt to move back.

The moving bolt captured the spent cartridge case, pulled it out of the chamber and brought it to the ejection window. The cartridge case was ejected through the windows in the receiver and bolt frame, downwards. When moving forward, the bolt frame, using a system of two levers, set the feeder in motion, which shifted the belt with the cartridge by one link, thereby bringing new ammunition onto the feed line.

The receiver of the RPD machine gun had a slot in the lower part of the right side, designed to remove the bolt handle. The handle was rigidly connected to the bolt frame and moved during shooting.

The trigger mechanism of the RPD machine gun had a simple design and allowed firing only in bursts. When the trigger was pressed, the trigger lever and the sear moved, after which the bolt frame was unblocked, followed by a shot. The fire was fired from an open bolt. The design of the trigger included a non-automatic fuse. On the right surface of the receiver, above the trigger, there was a safety box. When the flag was in the forward position, the safety lock blocked the trigger lever; in the rear position, it allowed firing.

For comfortable use, the Degtyarev machine gun was equipped with a wooden butt, pistol grip and forend. The butt was mounted on a metal base at the rear of the trigger frame. Also on the frame were mounts for a pistol grip fire control. The forend consisted of two wooden parts and metal spacers. It was fixed in front of the receiver. Unusual shape a forend with two notches on top and bottom was associated with recommended shooting methods. When firing from the shoulder, the machine gunner had to support the weapon by the forend from below. Shooting “from the hip” was carried out using a belt. In this case, the belt redistributed the load on the shoulder, which made it possible to hold the fire control handle with one hand, and with the other to compensate for the recoil, holding the machine gun by the fore-end from above.

The RPD machine gun was supposed to use cartridge belts, placed in metal boxes for convenience. In early versions of the project it was proposed to use belts for 100 and 200 rounds, equipped with round and square boxes, respectively. Later it was decided to abandon the 200-cartridge belt and the rather heavy square box. Serial RPD machine guns were equipped with collapsible cylindrical boxes for belts. Ammunition was supplied using a non-loose metal belt for 100 rounds, assembled from two parts.

Machine gun with open lid receiver

At the top of the box there was a hinged lid and fastenings for installation on a machine gun. When preparing the weapon for firing, the box should have been mounted on a mount under the receiver. The top cover of the box was placed to the left of the machine gun. Then the receiver cover was opened, the tape was refilled and the cover was returned to its place. After this, it was possible to cock the weapon using the side handle. The cartridge belt entered the receiver through a special window in its left surface. The spent section of the tape was output through a similar window on the other side of the machine gun. To avoid contamination of the mechanisms, both windows were equipped with spring-loaded covers.

Metal boxes for tapes had a handle for carrying, but it was recommended to transport them in special fabric pouches. If necessary, the box was removed from the pouch and installed on the machine gun. The use of special pouches to a certain extent simplified the operation of weapons, especially in combat conditions.

Incomplete disassembly of the RPD machine gun

The sights of the RPD machine gun were similar to those used on weapons of that time. In the front part of the receiver cover, directly above the tape receiving unit, there was an open sight, designed for firing at a range of up to 1000 m. There was a front sight with protection on the muzzle of the barrel.

To improve shooting accuracy, the machine gun was equipped with a bipod. The fastenings for these parts were located immediately behind the front sight assembly. The design of the bipod made it possible to fold them and fix them in this position. When folded, they were secured under the barrel. When the latch was removed, the bipod was moved apart and held in this position by a spring.

“Degtyarev light machine gun mod. 1944" had a total length of 1037 mm with a barrel length of 520 mm. The weight of the weapon without ammunition was 7.4 kg. The machine gun and ammunition of 300 rounds (three belts in boxes) weighed 11.4 kg. For comparison, the DP/DPM light machine gun with one disc magazine for 47 rounds weighed 11.3 kg. Such weight savings were achieved primarily through the use of lighter ammunition and a different design of ammunition systems. Thus, a box with a belt for 100 cartridges of 7.62x39 mm weighed 400 g less than a magazine with 47 cartridges of 7.62x54 mm R.

The normal rate of fire (regulator position “2”) was 650 rounds per minute. When the regulator was set to one, the rate of fire decreased noticeably. The practical rate of fire reached 100-150 rounds per minute. By eliminating magazine feed and using tape, it was possible to ensure a fairly high rate of fire in combat conditions, since the machine gunner could fire up to 100 shots in a row without the need to replace the belt.

Reducing the weight of the weapon with ammunition compared to existing machine guns made it possible to increase the shooter's mobility on the battlefield. In addition, the suggestion about using mounts for a box with cartridge strip was useful. In 1946, the RP-46 belt-fed light machine gun, which did not have such parts, was adopted for service. Because of this, machine gunners often had to unload their weapons before changing positions. A tape box installed under the receiver eliminated such problems.

The sights of the RPD machine gun were designed for firing at a range of up to 1000 m. It was recommended to shoot at air targets from a distance of no more than 500 m. The lethal effect of the bullets was maintained at long distances, but in this case serious problems arose with target detection and aiming. At ranges up to 1000 m, the machine gun had a fairly high firing efficiency. The requirements for normal combat when firing in bursts from a distance of 100 m looked like this: at least 75% of the bullets had to land in a circle with a diameter of 20 cm, and the average point of impact should not deviate from the aiming point by more than 5 cm.

In practice, this meant that on average no more than two shots were required to hit a “chest figure” target at a distance of 100 m. To hit a similar target at the maximum aiming distance, it took about 27 shots. Thus, the RPD machine gun could effectively hit various targets at ranges of up to 800 m or more, as required by the original technical specifications.

By the end of the forties, the Soviet defense industry had mastered full-scale mass production of new machine guns, which made it possible to provide the troops with the required quantity of weapons. RPD machine guns were adopted as a means of strengthening infantry squads and platoons. Since 1946, this weapon was used in parallel with RP-46 machine guns, intended for use at the company level. Thus, thanks to two new models of small arms, it was possible not only to update the equipment of the infantry, but also to significantly increase its firepower.

Self-loading version of the RPD v2.0 machine gun from the American company DS Arms

Over time, a modernized version of the machine gun called RPDM appeared. The upgraded machine gun was almost no different from the base one. When updating the weapon, the shape of the gas piston and its support was changed. In addition, the bolt handle was not connected to the bolt frame, which is why it remained motionless when firing. Due to the absence of major changes in automation, the characteristics of the RPDM remained at the level of the basic RPD.

“Degtyarev light machine guns mod. 1944" were actively used until the early sixties. With the advent of the newer and more advanced RPK light machine gun designed by M.T. Kalashnikov began sending these weapons to warehouses. The new machine gun had some advantages, primarily related to unification and other aspects of production.

Having provided its army with new weapons, the Soviet defense industry began producing RPD machine guns for export. Besides, foreign countries machine guns were supplied, removed from service or from storage. RPD and RPDM machine guns were supplied to more than three dozen countries of Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa. In the mid-fifties, as a form of friendly assistance, the USSR transferred to China a license for the production of Degtyarev machine guns and all the necessary documentation. The Chinese-made machine guns were designated "Type 56" and "Type 56-I". Over time, China also began to sell weapons of its production to third countries.

On this moment there are more than 40 states around the world that have used or are using RPD machine guns and their foreign-made modifications. The widespread distribution of such weapons has affected their use in various armed conflicts.

The next prototype was presented by Degtyarev in the fall of 1926 and, after modification, was tested by the commission of the Art Committee of the Artillery Directorate of the Red Army at the Kovrov plant on January 17-21, 1927. The machine gun was declared to have “passed the test.” Without waiting for the results of the improvements, it was decided to issue an order for one hundred machine guns.

The first ten production machine guns DP were manufactured at Kovrov plant On November 12, 1927, then a batch of 100 machine guns was transferred to military tests, as a result of which on December 21, 1927, the machine gun was adopted by the Red Army.

The production of machine guns of the DP series was supplied and carried out by the Kovrov plant (since 1949 - Plant named after V.A. Degtyareva). The DP was distinguished by its ease of manufacture - its production required two times less pattern measurements and transitions than for a revolver, and three times less than for a rifle. The number of technological operations was four times less than for the Maxim machine gun mod. 1910/30 and three times less than for MT.

In 1944, under the leadership of Degtyarev, plant No. 2 Work was carried out to improve the DP machine gun, namely to increase the reliability and controllability of the machine gun. New modification received the designation DPM(“Degtyarev infantry modernized”, GAU index - 56-R-321M). In general, all combat, tactical and specifications remained the same.

Machine gun "Degtyarev infantry modernized"

The main differences between DP and DPM:

• The return spring from under the barrel, where it heated up and settled, was moved to the rear part of the receiver (they tried to move the spring back in 1931, this can be seen in the experimental Degtyarev machine gun presented at that time). To install the spring, a tubular rod was put on the tail of the striker, and a guide tube was inserted into the buttplate, which protruded above the neck of the butt. In this regard, the coupling was eliminated, and the rod was manufactured as a single part with the piston. In addition, the order of disassembly has changed - now it begins with the guide tube and the return spring. The same changes were made to the Degtyarev tank machine gun (DTM). This made it possible to disassemble the machine gun and eliminate minor faults without removing it from the ball mount;
• simplified the shape of the butt;
• they installed a pistol grip control in the form of a slope, which was welded to the trigger guard, and two wooden cheeks attached to it with screws;
• on the light machine gun, instead of an automatic fuse, a non-automatic safety lever was introduced, similar to the Degtyarev tank machine gun - the beveled axis of the fuse pin was located under the trigger lever. Locking occurred with the flag in the forward position. This fuse was more reliable, as it acted on the sear, which made it safer to carry a loaded machine gun;
• The leaf spring in the ejection mechanism was replaced with a cylindrical screw one. The ejector was installed in the bolt socket, and a pin was used to hold it, which also served as its axis;
• the folding bipod was made integral, and the mounting hinges were moved slightly back and higher relative to the axis of the barrel bore. On the top of the casing, a clamp was installed from two welded plates, which formed eyes for attaching the bipod legs using screws. The bipods have become stronger. To replace their barrel, it was not necessary to separate them.

Design and operating principle

The DP light machine gun is an automatic weapon based on the removal of powder gases and magazine feed. The gas engine has a long stroke piston and gas regulator located under the barrel.

The barrel itself is quick-change, partially hidden by a protective casing and equipped with a conical removable flash suppressor. The barrel sometimes could not withstand intense fire: since it was thin-walled, it quickly heated up (especially on later releases, in which, for simplicity, the barrel was made without a ribbed radiator), and in order not to disable the machine gun, it was necessary to fire in short bursts (combat machine gun rate of fire - up to 80 rounds per minute). Changing the barrel directly during combat was difficult: it required a special key to remove its lock and protect your hands from burns.

The barrel was locked by two lugs, moved to the sides as the firing pin moved forward. After the bolt comes to the forward position, the bolt frame continues to move, while the widened middle part of the firing pin connected to it, acting from the inside on the rear parts of the lugs, moves them apart into the grooves of the receiver, rigidly locking the bolt. After the shot, the bolt frame begins to move backward under the action of the gas piston. In this case, the firing pin is pulled back, and special bevels of the frame bring the lugs together, disengaging them from the receiver and unlocking the bolt. The return spring was located under the barrel and, under intense fire, overheated, losing elasticity, which was one of the relatively few but significant disadvantages of the DP machine gun. In addition, the lugs required precise adjustment to achieve symmetrical locking (which did not pose a significant drawback in practice).

DP light machine gun diagram. Moving parts in forward position;
1 – barrel, 2 – disk magazine, 3 – receiver, 4 – butt, 5 – trigger, 6 – firing pin, 7 – bolt, 8 – recoil spring, 9 – gas regulator

The food was supplied from flat disk magazines - “plates”, in which the cartridges were located in a circle, with bullets towards the center of the disk. This design ensured reliable supply of cartridges with a protruding rim, but also had significant disadvantages: large dimensions and weight of an empty magazine, inconvenience in transportation and loading, as well as the possibility of damage to the magazine in combat conditions due to its tendency to deform. The magazine capacity was initially 49 rounds; later 47-round cartridges with increased reliability were introduced. The machine gun was equipped with three magazines with a metal box for carrying them.

It should be noted that, although the DP magazine externally resembles a Lewis machine gun magazine, in fact it is a completely different design in terms of its operating principle; for example, in the Lewis, the cartridge disk rotates due to the bolt energy transmitted to it by a complex system of levers, and in the DP, due to a pre-cocked spring in the magazine itself.

The machine gun's trigger allowed only automatic fire from an open bolt. It was made in the form of a removable module attached to the box with a transverse pin. There was no conventional safety; instead, there was an automatic safety in the form of a button, which was turned off when the hand covered the neck of the butt. When conducting intense fire, the need to constantly hold the safety button pressed tired the shooter, and the rifle-type stock did not contribute to a strong hold of the weapon when firing in bursts. The design of the trigger block of the DT tank machine gun, which had a conventional safety and a pistol grip, turned out to be more successful. The modernized version of the machine gun - the DPM - received a USM block similar to the DT, and a non-automatic fuse, in addition to the native automatic one, was introduced into the design of the Finnish DP during their overhaul.

Red Army soldiers near a dugout in Stalingrad are busy cleaning weapons, PPSh-41 submachine guns and a DP-27 machine gun

Fire from the DP was carried out from removable bipods, which in the heat of battle were sometimes lost due to poor fastening or became loose, which, in turn, significantly impaired the ease of use of the machine gun. Therefore, non-removable bipods were introduced at the CSA. The spent cartridges were ejected downwards.

In July 1942, a gunshot silencer was tested SG-42(“Special silencer model 1942”) designed by OKB-2, intended for firing from a DP machine gun with cartridges with a reduced charge. The device was built on the same principle as the Bramit, and showed satisfactory suppression of the sound of a shot. At the end of 1942, the SG-42 was submitted for testing with the internal diameter of the channel reduced from 16 to 14.5 mm, and it was adopted for service. Post-war tests of these mufflers in February-March 1948 showed the inexpediency of their further operation, since they did not provide the required failure-free operation of the DP and DPM and for this reason were subject to disposal.

Combat use

In rifle units, the Degtyarev infantry machine gun was introduced into the rifle platoon and squad, and in the cavalry - into saber squads. In both cases, a light machine gun along with a rifle grenade launcher were the main support weapons. During exercises and combat operations, the machine gun was serviced by two people: the shooter and his assistant, who carried a box with 3 disks. Also, when shooting from a prone position, a long ribbon was tied to the machine gun at both ends, and the fighter, pulling it with his foot, pressed the butt harder to his shoulder. Thus, the vibrations of the machine gun were reduced and the shooting accuracy increased. The DT machine gun was installed on motorcycles M-72. The design of the attachment of the machine gun to the sidecar made it possible to fire even at airplanes. However, this method of fighting aircraft was not very convenient: to shoot, it was necessary to stop, then the fighter got out of the wheelchair and fired at air targets from a “sitting” position. After the adoption of the DP machine gun, the British Lewis machine guns of the 1915 model, which had previously been in service with the Red Army, gradually went into storage.

Soviet machine gun crew at a firing position among the ruins of Stalingrad

The DP machine gun quickly gained popularity, as it successfully combined firepower and maneuverability.

However, along with its advantages, the machine gun also had some disadvantages that appeared during operation. First of all, this concerned the inconvenience of operation and the peculiarities of the disk magazine equipment. Quick replacement of an overheated barrel was complicated by the lack of a handle on it, as well as the need to separate the flash suppressor and bipod. Replacement even in favorable conditions it took about 30 seconds for a trained calculation. An open gas chamber located under the barrel prevented the accumulation of soot in the gas outlet assembly, but together with the open bolt frame, it increased the likelihood of dust on sandy soils. Clogging of the gas piston socket and screwing of its head caused the moving part to not move to the front extreme position. However, the machine gun demonstrated fairly high reliability. The fastening of swivels and bipods was unreliable and created additional clinging parts that reduced the ease of carrying. Working with the gas regulator was also inconvenient - to rearrange it, the cotter pin was removed, the nut was unscrewed, the regulator was pushed back, turned and secured again. It was possible to fire while moving only using a belt, and the lack of a fore-end and a large magazine made such shooting inconvenient. The machine gunner put a belt around his neck in the form of a loop, attached it in front of the magazine to the cutout of the casing with a swivel, and to hold the machine gun by the casing, a mitten was needed.

Video

DP light machine gun:

D/f "Weapon of Victory" - DP light machine gun