Large-caliber machine guns of Russia and the world. Comparison of large-caliber machine guns

In the First World War, a fundamentally new and terrible weapon appeared on the battlefield - large-caliber machine guns. In those years, there was no armor that could protect them, and the shelters, which were traditionally used by infantry (from the ground and wood) generally broke through heavy bullets with a flash. And today large-caliber machine guns are an excellent means for destroying enemy infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers and helicopters. In principle, even aircraft can be dropped from them, but modern combat aviation is too fast for them.

The main drawbacks of all such weapons are its weight and dimensions. Some models (together with the bed) may well weigh more than two centners. Since the calculation of it usually consists of only two or three people, there is no need to speak about any quick maneuvering. However, heavy machine guns can still be quite mobile weapons. This was first confirmed during the same First World War, when they were put on jeeps and even small trucks.

DShK

In 1930, the famous designer Degtyarev began to develop a fundamentally new machine gun. So the story of the legendary DShK began, which is still in service in many countries of the world. The gunsmith decided to design it for a new B-30 cartridge with a 12.7 mm caliber bullet. Not-for-nothing Shpagin created for the new machine gun a fundamentally different tape feed system. Already in the beginning of 1939 it was accepted for service by the Red Army.

Updating Shpagin

As we said, the initial version of the weapon was developed in 1930. Three years later, a serial production started. Despite many positive features, he had two very serious drawbacks: the rate of fire was only 360 rounds per minute, and the practical rate of fire was even lower, because in the original design it was supposed to use heavy and inconvenient stores. That is why in 1935 a resolution was passed to stop the serial production of a machine gun, which did not correspond very much to the realities of its time.

To remedy this situation, the legendary Shpagin was involved in the development, and immediately suggested using a drum drive scheme with tape feeding ammunition. Having introduced into the weapon system a rocking lever that converted the energy of the powder gases into a rotation of the drum, he received an ideally functioning system. The advantage was that such an alteration did not imply any serious and costly modifications, which was of fundamental importance for the young Soviet Republic.

Re-adoption into service

The machine gun was re-adopted in service in 1938. It is especially good thanks to the multipurpose machine with which the DShK turns into a universal weapon: it can easily be used to suppress the enemy ground force (including destruction of fortifications), destroy helicopters and low-flying aircraft, and also to immobilize lightly armored vehicles. To destroy air objects, the machine is decomposed with simultaneous lifting of the support bipods.

Because of its superior combat qualities, the DShK enjoyed a well-deserved popularity in almost all arms. At the very end of the war, the machine gun was slightly modified. She touched on some components of the power mechanism and the gate assembly. In addition, the method of securing the barrel was changed somewhat.

The last modification of the machine gun, adopted in service in 1946 (DShKM), uses a slightly different principle of automation. Powder gases are diverted from the barrel through a special hole. The barrel is non-replaceable, ribs are provided for cooling it (like a radiator). Muzzle brakes of various designs are used to level out strong recoil.

The main difference between two modifications of the machine gun is in the device of the feeding mechanism. So, in DShKM the system of a slide type is used, while in its predecessor - a drum type. However, the machine tool of the Kolesnikov system has remained completely unchanged since 1938, as something fundamentally impossible to change in it. The machine gun on this bed weighs 160 kilograms. Of course, this does not affect well the convenience of its use. However, this weapon is most often used as an antiaircraft gun, and also used to combat light armored vehicles of the enemy, which makes the use of a heavy machine necessary.

Modern use of DShK

During the years of the Great Patriotic War, about nine thousand machine guns of this model were made at the factories of the USSR. However, even after the war, DSK enjoyed immense popularity throughout the world. So, its modification, DShKM, still continues to be produced in Pakistan and China. There is also information about the stocks of these machine guns in the reserve depots of the Russian army. Very popular is Russia's weapons in conflicts in Africa.

Veterans recall that the turn of this weapon literally cuts down the thin trees and flashes through the trunks very decent in the girth. So against the poorly armed infantry (which is common in those parts), this "old man" acts perfectly. But the main advantage of the machine gun, which is especially in demand in the case of poorly trained troops is its tremendous reliability and unpretentiousness in operation.

Note

However, some military experts to DShK and even to DShKM are skeptical. The fact is that these weapons were developed for the realities of the Second World War. Then our country had practically no normal gunpowder, but because the specialists went along the way of enlargement of the cartridge case. As a result, the ammunition has considerable weight and not too high power. So, our cartridge is 12.7x108 mm. NATO uses a similar ammunition from Browning ... 12,7x99 mm! And this is provided that both cartridges have approximately the same power.

However, this phenomenon has a positive side. Domestic ammunition caliber of both 12.7 and 14.5 mm is a real storehouse for modern gunsmiths. There are all prerequisites for the creation of more powerful cartridges that will retain their mass-dimensional characteristics.

NSW "Utes"

Back in the 1970s, the Soviet army began to massively go over to the machine gun of the design of Nikitin, Volkov and Sokolov - "Utes". The weapon, which received the abbreviated name of the NSV, was adopted in service in 1972, but to this day remains the main large-caliber machine gun of the Russian army.

One of its distinctive features is extremely light weight. Weighs a large-caliber machine gun NSV only 41 kilograms together with the machine! This allows the calculation to really quickly change its dislocation to the battlefield. If we compare the new machine gun with the same DShKM, it immediately catches the eye its simple, concise and rational design. The flame arrester on the trunk has a conical shape, on which it is immediately possible to "recognize" the "cliff". The weapon is known for a completely different reason.

"Antisniper"

He became famous for the NSV in that at a distance of one kilometer (!) The radius of the spread of bullets does not exceed one and a half meters, which is almost an absolute record for this type of weapon. During both Chechen campaigns, the machine gun received the respectful nickname "Antisniper". In many ways, this specificity of its application is due to relatively weak returns, which allows you to put on it almost all modern modifications of powerful sights for this type of weapon.

There is also a tank version, which has the abbreviation NSVT. It is mounted on tanks starting from T-64. The flagship of domestic armored vehicles, the T-90, also has it in service. Theoretically, the NSVT on these machines is used as an anti-aircraft weapon, but in practice it is used just the same way to suppress ground targets. To knock down a modern combat helicopter (not to mention aircraft) from an anti-aircraft machine gun is theoretically possible, but for these purposes Russia's missile weapons are much better suited.

CORD

KORD is deciphered as "Kovrov Armory-Degtyarevtsy". Work on its creation in Kovrov began immediately after the collapse of the USSR. The reason is simple: the production of "Cliffs" by that time was on the territory of Kazakhstan, which did not meet the strategic interests of the country.

The main designers of the new project were Namidulin, Obidin, Bogdanov and Zhirekhin. The basis was taken by the classic NSV, but the armourers did not confine themselves to banal modernization. First, the machine gun finally got a quick-change barrel. Above its creation, almost the whole of the research institute was piled up, but the result was worth it: it was made using a special technology that ensures the most uniform cooling of the material during the shooting. Only because of this particular feature, accuracy of shooting and accuracy (in comparison with the NSW) have increased almost twofold! In addition, KORD became the first machine gun for which there is an "official" version for the NATO patron.

Finally, this weapon is the only one in its class, which allows for effective fire from bipods. Its weight is 32 kilograms. Far not a feather, but you can take it off together. The aiming range for ground targets is about two kilometers. What other large-caliber machine guns of Russia are there?

KPV, KPVT

And again Kovrov's offspring. It is the most powerful representative of the class of large-caliber machine guns all over the world. Armament is unique with its fighting power: it combines the power of an anti-tank rifle and a machine gun. After all, and the cartridge of the large-caliber machine gun KPV - "the very same," the legendary 14.5x114! In the recent past, with its help, it was possible to hit almost any combat helicopter or light armored vehicles of a potential enemy.

His development of a talented gunsmith Vladimir took up in 1943, in an initiative. As a basis, the designer took the aircraft gun V-20 of its own design. It should be noted that shortly before that, she lost on the State trials of ShVAK, but still her device was quite simple and reliable for the goal set by Vladimirov. Slightly distracted. The gunsmith was able to fully realize his plan: his large-caliber machine guns (photos of which are in this article) are known to every tankman who has served on Soviet tanks!

When constructing, Vladimirov used the classical scheme with a short stroke of the trunk, which proved to be excellent in the "Maxim". Automatic machine gun allows only automatic fire. In the infantry version, the CPV is used in the machine version, resembling an easy gun. The machine was repeatedly upgraded, and during the military operations soldiers often did this independently, according to the nature of the battle. So, in Afghanistan, all parties to the conflict used CPV with a hand-built optical sight.

In 1950, the development of a tank modification of a well-proven weapon began. Soon a large-caliber machine gun Vladimirova began to install almost all tanks produced by the USSR. In this modification, the weapon is seriously modified: there is an electric descent (27V), there are no sighting devices, instead of which optical tank sights are used in the workplace of the gunner and commander.

In Africa, these Russian large-caliber machine guns are terribly popular with everyone without exception: they are used by both official troops and entire hordes of motley bands. Our military advisers recall that the soldiers operating in the UN troops were very afraid of the CPV, as it easily dealt with all light armored vehicles that were everywhere in the arsenal of Western troops in those parts. Now practically all the "light" armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles of the probable enemy are not badly protected from this large-caliber machine gun. In any case, the frontal projection for it is "closed" completely.

However, all large-caliber machine guns of Russia (the USSR at that time) were extremely popular among the mujahideen of Afghanistan. It is believed that about 15% of Soviet Mi-24, lost for combat reasons, were shot down precisely from this weapon.

NATO heavy machine guns

In the NATO bloc countries, the development of these weapons largely went in the same directions that were characteristic of our country (for example, the calibres of machine guns are almost identical). The soldiers needed a powerful and reliable machine gun, with equal success struck as sheltered behind the parapets infantry, and light armored vehicles of the enemy.

However, there are also cardinal differences between the two weapons schools. So, the German Wehrmacht large-caliber machine guns in general in armament did not stand. That is why NATO uses mainly the single M2NV, which we will now talk about.

M2NB Browning, USA

The US Army is famous for its preference for quickly replacing used weapons with newer and more promising ones. In the case of M2NB, this rule does not work. This "grandfather", developed by the legendary Browning, in the ranks since 1919! Of course, MG-3 machine gun, which is in service with the Bundeswehr and is a modernized copy of the MG-42, "Hitler's saws," can compare with it in antiquity in the pedigree, but it uses the NATO caliber of 7.62x51.

The machine gun went into service in 1923. In 1938, it was modernized, adding an elongated trunk. In fact, in this form it exists until now. Since then, the "old man" has repeatedly tried to write off, constantly holding contests for his replacement, but so far there is no adequate alternative to well-proven weapons.

The history of its development is very interesting. The American army urgently needed a large-caliber machine gun, which would provide a reliable defeat to enemy aircraft (the order came from General Pershing, commanding the expeditionary forces). Browning, who was pressed for time, acted simply and elegantly.

Since the basis of any weapon is a cartridge, and the Yankees did not have an adequate machine-gun caliber in those years, he simply took a cartridge of 7.62 of his own design and increased it two-fold. This measure was regarded as temporary, but the decision was amazingly successful: almost all large-caliber machine guns in the West use this munition.

By the way, in this place it is necessary to make a lyrical digression. You probably noticed that the cartridge, which uses domestic and Western weapons of this category, is almost the same. We have already talked about the reasons for this phenomenon, but we will say a few more words. If you look closely at the comparative tables, you will see a total absence of cartridges of 14.5 mm among NATO heavy machine guns.

This is again explained by the difference in military doctrine: the Yankees suggest (not without reason) that the old ammunition developed by Browning is coping well with the tasks of this type of armament. Everything that has a larger caliber, according to the western classification, already refers to "small guns", and therefore is not a machine gun.

The "Browning M2 HQCB" (Belgium)

Despite the fact that Browning's classic brainchild was surprisingly successful, its characteristics were not satisfied by all the Western armies. The Belgians, who were always famous for their high-quality weapons, decided to carry out an independent modernization of the American machine gun. In fact, initially the firm Herstal intended to do something of its own, but because of the need to reduce the cost of the process and maintain continuity with the old developments, specialists were forced to compromise.

However, the improvement of weapons is in no way affected. Belgian gunsmiths equipped him with a heavier barrel with a simplified mechanism for his "hot" replacement. This greatly improved the combat qualities of weapons. In the early modifications of the "thoroughbred" American "deuce" to replace the trunk required a minimum of two people, and the work was extremely dangerous. A lot of calculations of anti-aircraft modifications of M2NV lost fingers during it. Naturally, they did not like this weapon. The Browning machine guns of the anti-aircraft modification were largely replaced for this reason by the "Oerlikon" guns, which not only were much more powerful, but also did not have such a defect.

In addition, an improved chrome plating of the inner diameter of the trunk was added, which dramatically increased its survivability even under conditions of intense combat. Shooting from a machine gun of this variety is good because only one person is required to replace the barrel, the number of preparatory operations is minimized, and there is practically no risk of burning.

Strange as it may seem, but it was the chrome-plating that made it possible to reduce the cost of the machine gun. The fact is that before that, trunks with stellite spraying were used. It was much more expensive, and the life of such a trunk is at least half that of analogues coated with chromium. To date, the Belgians have been producing various upgrade kits, thanks to which any old M2NV can be turned into M2 HQCB by regimental experts.

Machine gun L11A1 (HMG)

And again before us is the "same" Browning. True, in the English version. Of course, significantly modernized and improved. Many experts consider it the best among the entire line of "offspring" M2VN.

Among the innovations - "soft fasteners". If you drop the lyrics, it is a system of damping recoil and vibration, thanks to which a heavy machine gun becomes a very, very accurate weapon. In addition, the armsmiths of His Majesty presented their version of the system of rapid replacement of the trunk. In general, it is in many respects similar to the scheme proposed by the Belgians.

Some conclusions

If we compare the data from this table with information on domestic heavy machine guns, it becomes clear that this class of weapons is largely similar. The difference in the main technical characteristics is small, the differences are noticeable in the mass. Western large-caliber machine guns weigh significantly more. This is due to the fact that their military doctrine does not practically imply the infantry use of them, providing for the installation of such weapons on military equipment.

The most common in the armies of the NATO block are machine guns of caliber 5.56 and 7.62 (their standard, of course). Insufficient firepower of the units is compensated by a large number of well-trained snipers and cover for the units operating in the combat situation by aviation groupings and / or armored vehicles. And in fact: one large-caliber tank machine gun has tens of times more powerful combat power, so this approach has the right to life.