Ukrainian Army airborne troops from the 1st Battalion, 95th Separate Airborne Brigade conduct DShK heavy machine gun training at the Yavoriv Combat Training Center in Western Ukraine.
The DShK 1938 ( Degtyaryova-Shpagina Krupnokaliberny, “Degtyaryov-Shpagin Large-Calibre”) is a Soviet heavy machine gun firing the 12.7×108mm cartridge. The weapon was also used as a heavy infantry machine gun, in which case it was frequently deployed with a two-wheeled mounting and a single-sheet armour-plate shield. It took its name from the weapons designers Vasily Degtyaryov, who designed the original weapon, and Georgi Shpagin, who improved the cartridge feed mechanism. It is sometimes nicknamed Dashka (familiar form of female name Daria) in Russian-speaking countries, from the abbreviation.