Degtyaryov light machine gun

DP machine gun
Type	Light machine gun
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1928 - 1960s
Used by	USSR, China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Communist bloc, many other
Wars	World War II, Vietnam War, Cambodian Civil War
Production history
Designer	Vasily Degtyaryov
Designed	1927
Number built	795,000 [1]
Variants	DP, DPT, DPM, DPA, RP-46
Specifications
Weight	9.12 kg
Length	1,270 mm
Barrel length	604.5 mm
Cartridge	7.62x54mmR
Action	Gas-actuated
Rate of fire	500 to 600 round/min
Muzzle velocity	840 m/s
Effective range	~800 m
Feed system	49 (47 in practice)
Sights	Front: Post w/ears Back: Tangent leaf

The Ruchnoy Pulemyot Degtyaryova Pekhotnyi (Degtyaryov hand-held infantry machine gun) or DP was a light machine gun used by the Soviet Union starting in 1928. It fired the 7.62x54mmR cartridge. The DP was a good weapon on the battlefield for the most part: it had great stopping power and had an average rate of fire for weapons of this class. It was also cheap and easy to manufacture - early models had fewer than 80 parts and could be built by unskilled labour. The DP was especially able to withstand dirt. Humorously, it was said to fire better if sand were thrown on it. In tests it was buried in sand and mud and was still capable of firing more than 500 rounds. The DP's main drawback was its bipod; this part could not withstand much abuse and easily broke. Also, the magazine, which was usually a pan with 47 rounds that fed in from the top, was relatively small and continuous fire for long periods could not be relied on as much as other weapons of the time. It took some time to load a new magazine onto the weapon, and each magazine took a much longer time to load with ammunition. However, the DP's lower cyclic rate of fire meant a reduced risk of the barrel overheating. The DP machine gun was supplemented in the 1950s by the more modern but problematic RPD machine gun and entirely replaced in Soviet service by the general purpose PK machine gun in the 1960s. The weapon got nickname Emma in the Finnish army service after a popular waltz; its round magazine resembled a gramophone record as it revolved when the weapon was shot. Variants:

Type 53

DP

• DPM, modernized version adopted in 1943-44, with a more robust bipod fastened to the cooling jacket and the recoil spring housed in a tube projecting from the rear of the receiver which necessitated a pistol grip for this model of the weapon
• DA, for mounting in aircraft (Дегтярёва авиационный, Degtyaryova Aviatsionny; ДА)
• DT and DTM, for mounting in AFVs (Дегтярёва танковый, Degtyaryova Tankovy; ДТ and ДТМ)

RP-46

RP-46

• RP-46, belt fed version adopted in 1946 (manufactured in China as the Type 58)
• A semi-automatic-only version has recently been released in the United States [1].

The original DP is more commonly called the DP-28 (or DP-27), although there is some confusion as to whether these are official designations or not.

See also

• Kucher Model K1
• Lahti-Saloranta M/26

References

1. ^ www.weltkrieg.ru

External links

• Korean War Photo-Documentary
• The Battles of the Winter War
• Modern Firearms - Degtyaryov DP DPM RP-46