The DShK is a World War 2 era heavy machine gun of Russian origin. DShK stands for Degtyarov Shpagin Krupnokalibernyi. Together with the Western M2HB it is one of the most produced heavy machine guns in the world. It is used on tripod mounts and many Soviet fighting vehicles.

The DShK is a belt fed, gas operated, air cooled heavy machine gun. The weapon cycles trough the use of a gas piston below the barrel. The original DShK uses a rotary feed system which was replaced on the modernized and more common DShKM with a shuttle feed system similar to the one on the RP-46.

The DShK fires the 12.7x108mm round at a cyclic rate of fire of about 600 rounds per minute. It is usually fed by 50 round belts. The accuracy is limited although the maximum effective range is still beyond 1 km.

Even though the design is dated the DShK remains in use with many armed forces and irregular forces around the world. After World War 2 it remained in use with the Soviet forces, only to be partially replaced by the NSV from the 1970's onwards. It is still in production in various nations.