Probably every person familiar with the history of the Great Patriotic War and interested in Russian small arms knows about the DS-39 machine gun. Developed by an experienced designer Degtyarev, who presented the RPD to the Russian army, he stood in service for a very short time, although he had certain advantages. What should you know about him?
History of Creation
The conversation about the need to create a new heavy machine gun for the Russian army came back in 1928. No wonder, because the only weapon in this niche was the world-famous "Maxim". However, due to the water cooling system and heavy weight, it did not meet the requirements of modern mobile warfare.
The famous designer Vasily Alekseevich Degtyarev set to work and by the end of 1930 presented the experts with a prototype machine gun. Like any experimental weapon, it had certain shortcomings that were eliminated and refined over the course of several years - until 1939. Unfortunately, the shortcomings were not completely eliminated,I had to put the unfinished machine gun into production, because Japan was saber-rattling in the east, and a much more dangerous enemy, the Third Reich, was concentrating its forces in the west.
From 1939 to 1941, more than ten thousand machine guns were produced, which were almost immediately sent to active military units. First, the weapon was used during the Soviet-Finnish war, and then in the Great Patriotic War.
Specifications
For the reader to have a better idea of this weapon, it is worth giving the characteristics of the DS-39 machine gun.
It was developed under the standard for its time cartridge 7, 62 x 54 mm - the same as used in the machine gun "Maxim" and the Mosin rifle. Very powerful, it has proven itself almost half a century ago.
The machine gun itself weighs 14.3 kilograms. But with a machine tool and a shield, the mass reached 42.4 kilograms - quite a lot. The machine weighed 11 kilograms, and the shield - 7.7. To this should be added a cartridge box weighing 9.4 kilograms. By the way, during the development, Degtyarev abandoned the standard tripod machine designed by Kolesnikov, instead developing a lightweight analogue. The shield provided better protection for the machine gunner. It had only a small aiming slot, and was also equipped with a special bracket that allows you to install an optical sight.
Together with the machine gun, the length of the machine gun was 1440 millimeters, while the machine gun itself had a length of 1170 millimeters.
Combat range
As mentioned above, the machine gun DS-39used cartridges 7, 62 x 54 mm. Together with a long barrel, this provided a serious aiming range, high penetration power.
The initial speed of the bullet was 860 meters per second. When using a light bullet, the machine gun made it possible to hit the enemy at a distance of up to 2.4 kilometers. If a bimetallic heavy bullet was used, this distance increased to 3 kilometers. So the sighting range of the DS-39 was at its best - not all heavy machine guns of that time could boast such impressive characteristics.
It is important that the combat rate of fire was quite high - more than 300 rounds per minute.
Food was carried out using a metal tape for 50 rounds or canvas for 250. The metal tape turned out to be heavier and less capacious. But when using it, the risk of uneven supply of the cartridge and, as a result, delays in firing was sharply reduced. And when using canvas, this happened quite often, if one machine gunner had to shoot without a second number to feed the tape.
Important virtues
Describing the DS-39, one cannot fail to mention some important advantages that the machine gun had.
Of course, one of the main ones mentioned above is high power and serious combat distance. At the same time, he was no longer water-cooled, like the Maxim machine gun, but more modern - air-cooled. This significantly reduced weight and increased mobility. Exactly obsolete"Maxim" was the main competitor of the Degtyarev machine gun, so comparisons will go further with it.
Relatively simple reloading increased the practical rate of fire. Simple and convenient aiming increased the ability to hit the target even for not the most experienced shooters. To achieve such results when using the Maxim machine gun, it took a long time to train the machine gunner.
Plus was the low weight. For comparison: only 42 kilograms against 64 kilograms of "Maxim".
The machine had a special design that allows you to shoot from the knee or lying down. This proved to be quite handy in setting up a safe and comfortable firing position.
In general, the design resembled the DP-27 light machine gun, which was well known among the troops. Of course, this similarity could also be attributed to the advantages, as it made it possible to simplify the process of familiarization with new weapons.
Main flaws
Alas, despite the important advantages, the Degtyarev machine gun had many serious drawbacks. One of them was the lack of reliability. Even after many years of improvements, it was not possible to completely get rid of them.
The rather complicated cartridge feed system was not very successful - cartridges or an empty cartridge case were often deformed, which made it necessary to stop firing to fix the breakdown. Of course, during the battle this would be an excessive luxury - the enemy would not give the machine gunner a few minutes to calmly work to bring the weapon to readiness. However, the problem was solved by usingsteel sleeves on cartridges for the DS-39 machine gun. But in the army, softer brass cases were predominantly used. This was a serious blow to the popularity of the machine gun.
When using a heavy bullet, the cartridge often simply disintegrated - strong recoil caused subsequent cartridges to disintegrate. This also led to the need to disassemble the machine gun.
Negative feedback often came from the troops, caused by the impossibility of using weapons at low temperatures or in high dust conditions - the machine gun just wedged.
That is why, despite the numerous advantages of the new weapon, it never gained great popularity, failing to become the only heavy machine gun of the Red Army.
Two fire modes
While developing the DS-39, the designer Degtyarev provided for the possibility of firing not only at ground targets, but also at air targets. Yes, yes, this machine gun could well be used to destroy low-flying enemy aircraft. A special shooting mode was even designed for this.
The weapon had two modes - 600 rounds per minute and 1200. High rate of fire significantly increased the ability to destroy a fast moving target. To increase the rate of fire, a special spring buffer was used, installed in the recoil pad.
The transition from one mode to another was very easy and fast - just turn the handle of the buffer device located on the bottom of the receiver.
Replaceable barrel
The barrel overheated from long firing is a serious problem for any machine guns, from the Maxims of the late 19th century to the most modern counterparts.
She did not bypass the DC-39 either. After 500 shots, the barrel overheated greatly, which led to expansion and a sharp decrease in the strength of the shot - the bullet simply fell out of the barrel, flying several tens of meters at best. Waiting for the barrel to cool down is simply impossible in combat conditions. Therefore, the designer provided for the possibility of a quick change of the barrel. It was equipped with a special wooden handle to avoid burns. Moreover, it took an experienced machine gunner only half a minute to replace the barrel! Of course, this provided much more firepower than using a single barrel. While the second barrel was heating up, the first one had already cooled down and could be installed again.
Where the machine gun was produced
The first samples of the machine gun came off the assembly line in Kovrov. However, subsequently the manufacturer of the DS-39 changed. Already in 1940, production was moved to Tula.
Unfortunately, the sudden outbreak of war led to the fact that part of the production was seized, part destroyed. And only a part of them managed to be saved, evacuated and assembled in a new place. But the production of an easel machine gun is notable for its complexity, therefore, in order to supply the army with powerful defensive weapons, it was decided to return to the production of Maxim machine guns again, fortunately, the equipment was not destroyed, but mothballed. As a result, during the war years, many of these heavy,massive, but powerful and reliable machine guns, which more than once made it possible to hold positions even with the most frantic pressure of the enemy.
Further fate of weapons
As mentioned above, the weapon went into production unfinished, with many shortcomings not fully eliminated. In the first years of the war, there was no opportunity to finalize it and put it into production for obvious reasons.
However, in 1943, the issue of DC-39 was again returned. Moreover, this direction was personally supervised by I. V. Stalin, who was well aware of the importance of having high-quality and reliable heavy machine guns in the troops.
A special commission was assembled to reconsider the potential of the machine gun. However, the decision of the commission was quite unexpected. Indeed, in addition to the DS-39, she considered other options. One of them was a machine gun by an unknown designer Goryunov. To everyone's surprise, it turned out that his machine gun is superior to the analogue from a venerable colleague in almost everything: design reliability, survivability of parts, reliability.
During a personal meeting with Degtyarev, Stalin asked him what he himself thought about this. Vasily Alekseevich, without hesitation, said that the Goryunov machine gun would increase the combat capability of the army, which means that preference should be given to him.
Thus ended the short and not very successful career of the DC-39.
Used by whom
Of course, the USSR became the main user of the machine gun. However, over time, 10 thousand machine guns sent to the units were lost during the hostilities or went out ofbuilding. They stayed in partisan units for quite a long time.
But during the fierce battles of 1941, Finland captured about 200 machine guns, which were put into service and used until the very end of the war. There is information that about 145 machine guns were stored in mobilization warehouses after the Second World War until 1986, when they were finally decommissioned.
Finally, a lot of captured machine guns fell into the hands of Wehrmacht soldiers. Here they received the name MG 218. True, they were used not on the front line, but mainly by security and police units in the occupied territories.
Conclusion
This concludes our article. Now you know much more about the DS-39 machine gun. We figured out its history, advantages and disadvantages and began to understand this issue much better.
