ShKAS
| ShKAS machine gun | |
|---|---|
ShKAS at the Zadorozhny Equipment Museum
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| Type | Machine Gun |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| Used by | See Users |
| Wars |
World War II Spanish Civil War Second Sino-Japanese War |
| Production history | |
| Designer |
Boris Shpitalniy Irinarkh Komaritsky |
| Designed | 1932 |
| Produced | 1933–1945 |
| No. built | ~ 150,000 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 10.5 kg |
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| Cartridge | 7.62×54mmR |
| Caliber | 7.62 mm |
| Action | Gas with rotary feeding mechanism |
| Rate of fire | 1800 RPM (ShKAS) 3000 RPM (UltraShKAS) |
| Muzzle velocity | 775–825 m/s (2,540–2,710 ft/s) |
| Feed system | Belt |
| Sights | Iron |
The ShKAS (Shpitalny-Komaritski Aviatsionny Skorostrelny, Shpitalny-Komaritski rapid fire for aircraft; Russian: ШКАС - Шпитальный-Комарицкий Авиационный Скорострельный) is a 7.62 mm calibre machine gun widely used by Soviet aircraft in the 1930s and during World War II. It was designed by Boris Shpitalniy and Irinarkh Komaritsky and entered production in 1934. ShKAS was used in the majority of Soviet fighters and bombers and served as the basis for the ShVAK cannon.
ShKAS is a gas-operated revolver-type machine gun; it has a single chamber in which the pin strikes the primer.
A key element of the ShKAS' high rate of fire is the revolving drum (feed cage) that holds ten rounds and provides a very smooth, progressive removal of the cartridges from their disintegrating link belt. Another element is the lightweight recoiling portion of the gun, weighing only 921 grams (2.07 lb).
A declassified US analysis of the feed system, based on models captured during the Korean War, reads:
An interesting departure was made from the heretofore orthodox practice of feeding ammunition to a gun of this caliber. The feed, somewhat resembling a grooved revolver cylinder, is an integral part of the gun, and the cartridges remain axial throughout the entire operation.
The cylindrical feed cage is rotated by an arm that engages a slot in the gas piston. A helical groove in the drum arrangement withdraws the cartridges from the metal disintegrating link belt as it moves through the feedway by engaging their rims and gradually camming the cartridges rearward. The freed cartridges are then presented at the bottom of the receiver for chambering by final rotation.
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