Soviet Machine Guns of World War II

Drawing on in-depth research, including work within the Royal Armouries, this study looks at how the Soviet armed forces developed and deployed a range of machine guns that fitted with their offensive and defensive infantry tactics across six years of total war.


In 1939, three machine guns dominated the Red Army''s front-line infantry firepower -- the DShK 1938 heavy machine gun, the PM M1910 medium/heavy machine gun, and the Degtyaryov DP-27, a lighter, bipod-mounted support weapon. Confronted by cutting-edge German technology during the Great Patriotic War (1941¿45), the Soviets responded with the development of new weaponry, including the RPD light machine gun, the 7.62¿4mmR SG43 medium machine gun and the improved version of the DP-27, the DPM. Taken together, all these weapons gave the Red Army a more practical range of support weapons, better able to challenge the Germans for fire superiority on the battlefield.

Fully illustrated, this study explains