The DP is a light machine gun firing the 7.62x54mmR cartridge that was used primarily by the Soviet Union starting in 1928. It was relatively cheap and easy to produce-early models had fewer than 80 parts. The DP was especially able to withstand dirt. 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; it cannot withstand much abuse and breaks easily. Also, the magazine, which is a pan with 47 rounds that feed in from the top, is relatively small and continuous fire for long periods could not be relied on as much as contemporary belt fed weapons. It takes some time to reload with ammunition. However, the DP's lower cyclic rate of fire means a reduced risk of the barrel overheating. It was nicknamed the "Record player" by Red Army troops because the disk-shaped pan magazine resembled a gramophone record and its top cover that moves when the weapon is fired. The DP had a reputation as an effective light support weapon. The DP machine gun was supplemented in the 1950s by the more modern RPD machine gun and entirely replaced in Soviet service by the general purpose PK machine gun in the 1960s.
Captured by the Finnish Army in the Winter War and the Continuation War to partially replace the Lahti-Salorata M/26, the weapon received the nickname Emma in the service after a popular waltz. In the summer of 1944, the Finnish army had about 3,400 Finnish made Lahti-Salorantas and 9000 captured Soviet made Degtyaryovs on the front.
A number of the RP-46 variant of the DP have been spotted in present day Somalia, in use with militant forces, and also among rebel forces in the 2011 Libyan uprising to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi.
Variants[]
- 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 (manufactured in China as the Type 53)
- DA: for mounting in aircraft
- DT and DTM: for mounting in AFVs.
- DTM-4: quad mounted variant.
- RP-46: belt-fed version adopted in 1946.
- A semi-automatic-only version that was released in the United States in 2006.
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.
DP in China[]
The Chinese nationalists received 5,600 DPs from the USSR and used them in the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War.
The Chinese Communists used the DP in the Korean War and copied the DPM as the Type 53.