KPV heavy machine gun
KPV 14.5×114 mm machine gun | |
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![]() Four KPV heavy machine guns used on the ZPU-4 anti-aircraft gun. | |
Type | Heavy machine gun |
Place of origin | Soviet Union |
Service history | |
In service | 1949–present |
Used by | See Operators |
Wars | Korean War Vietnam War Western Sahara War[1] Afghan-Soviet War[2] Libyan-Chadian conflict Gulf War First Chechen War Second Chechen War Russo-Georgian War Iraq War Lebanese Civil War First Libyan Civil War Second Libyan Civil War Syrian Civil War[3] Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017) Yemeni Civil War (2015–present) Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen Saudi–Yemeni border conflict (2015–present) |
Production history | |
Designer | |
Designed | 1944 |
Manufacturer | V.A. Degtyarev Plant |
Produced | 1949–present |
Variants | KPVT |
Specifications | |
Mass | 49 kg (108.03 lb) |
Length | 1,980 mm (78.0 in) |
Barrel length | 1,346 mm (53.0 in) |
Width | 162mm |
Height | 225mm |
Cartridge | 14.5×114 mm |
Caliber | 14.5 mm |
Action | Short recoil operation |
Rate of fire | 600 rpm |
Muzzle velocity | 1,005 m/s (3,297 ft/s) |
Effective firing range | 3000m |
Maximum firing range | 4000m |
Feed system | 40-round belt |
Sights | iron or optical |
The KPV-14.5 heavy machine gun (KPV is an initialism for Krupnokaliberniy Pulemyot Vladimirova, in Russian as Крупнокалиберный Пулемёт Владимирова, or КПВ) is a Soviet designed 14.5×114mm-caliber heavy machine gun, which first entered service as an infantry weapon (designated PKP) in 1949. In the 1960s, the infantry version was taken out of production because it was too large and heavy. It was later redesigned for anti-aircraft use, because it showed excellent results as an AA gun, with a range of 3,000 meters horizontally and 2,000 meters vertically against low flying planes.[4] It was used in the ZPU series of anti-aircraft guns. Its size and power also made it a useful light anti-armour weapon on the BTR series of vehicles and the BRDM-2 scout car.
KPVT[]
The version for use in armoured vehicles is called the KPVT (tankoviy, 'tank'). KPVT is used for armoured vehicle installations, boats, movable and stationary mounts and various antiaircraft mounts. It features a shorter receiver and a heavier barrel jacket. The KPVT also uses a 50-round belt instead of the original 40-round belt. KPVTs are the primary armament of the wheeled BTR-60PB/70/80 series armoured personnel carriers and BRDM-2 armoured reconnaissance vehicles. It is intended for fighting against light armoured targets, weapons systems and light shelters at the distances of up to 3000 m, as well as air targets at distances up to 2000 m.
The distance at which the bullet retains lethal force is 8 km.[5] The maximum flight range of the bullet is 9 km.
[]
The naval version was called the marine tumbovaya (MTPU). It was mounted in the following turrets; 2M-5 was for torpedo boats, the 2M-6 for patrol boats, and the 2M-7 for trawlers. The 14.5mm marine pedestal machine gun mount (14.5mm MTPU) is intended for combat against armoured surface, coast and air targets. It is mounted on decks of boats and can defeat surface and coast targets with a range of 3,000 meters horizontally and 2,000 meters vertically against low flying planes.[6]
Mechanics[]
The KPV was a heavy machine gun developed by S. V. Vladimirov. It was developed in 1944 and adopted in 1949. It combines the rate of fire of a heavy machine gun with the armor-piercing capabilities of antitank rifles and was designed to combat lightly armored targets, firepower and manpower of the enemy located behind light cover, as well as to be an anti-aircraft machine gun. The muzzle energy of the KPV reaches 31 kJ (for comparison, the 12.7 mm Browning M2HB machine gun has 17 kJ, the 20 mm ShVAK aircraft mounted gun has about 28 kJ). It is one of the most powerful machine guns ever used by the Soviet and later Russian armed forces. The development of the machine gun began in 1944. The 14.5×114mm M41 cartridge can be used with High Explosive Incendiary - Tracer (HEI-T) or Armour-Piercing Incendiary (API) bullets, and they have approximately twice the energy of a 12.7 mm (.50 BMG) projectile. The KPV is air-cooled and fitted with barrel with a hard chrome plated bore. It uses a short recoil operation system with gas assistance and a rotary bolt. It can be fed with the 40-round metallic belt from either the left or right side. The barrel can be removed by turning the prominent latch on the forward end of the receiver and pulling on the barrel's carrying handle.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/KPVrear.jpg/220px-KPVrear.jpg)
Versions[]
The ZPU is a towed anti-aircraft gun based on the KPV. It entered service with the Soviet Union in 1949 and is used by over 50 countries worldwide.
ZPU Variants[]
- ZPU-1 single barrel,
- ZPU-2 double-barreled and,
- ZPU-4 quadruple-barreled.
Remote weapon stations[]
The Emirati remote weapon station uses the KPV machine gun.[7]
Gallery[]
SU-122-54 with a KPVT mounted on top of the hull and another in a coaxial mounting next to the main cannon
ZPU-1 single barrel AAA mount
ZPU-2 twin barrel AAA mount
Bangladesh Army ZPU-4
Iraq Police Dodge Ram gun truck with adapted KPV
Shipboard ZM-5
Ammunition[]
- B-32 - Armor-piercing incendiary full metal jacket round with a tungsten-carbide core. Projectile weight is 64.4 g and muzzle velocity is 976 m/s. Armour penetration at 500 m is 32 mm of rolled homogeneous armour (RHA) at 90 degrees.
- BZT - Armor-piercing incendiary tracer full metal jacket round with a steel core. Projectile weight is 59.56 g and muzzle velocity is 1,005 m/s. Tracer burns to at least 2,000 m.
- MDZ - High-explosive incendiary bullet of instant action. Projectile weight is 59.68 g.
Rounds are also produced by Bulgaria, China, Egypt, Poland, and Romania.
Operators[]
Afghanistan[8][2]
Albania[9]
Algeria
Angola
Armenia
Bangladesh
Benin[10]
Bulgaria: locally produced[11]
Cambodia[12]
Cameroon[13]
Congo[14]
China: Type 56 machine gun, produced by Norinco[11]
Cuba
Czechoslovakia (ex)
Egypt[2]
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Finland (KPVT)
Georgia
Guinea-Bissau[15]
Hungary
India - Manufactured at Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli[16]
Iraq- Iraqi Armed Forces
Iran
Islamic State[3]
Ivory Coast[17]
- Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades
Laos
Lebanon
Libya
Malawi[18]
Mali - Armed and Security Forces of Mali
Malta - North Korea-made KPVs[11]
Mongolia
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
North Korea
Nicaragua
Pakistan: Used by the Pakistan Army.[19]
Panama
Poland[11]
Romania: KPV and KPVT built under license[20]
Russia[11]
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic[1]
São Tomé and Príncipe[21]
Serbia (KPVT)
Sierra Leone: Chinese QJG56 and Polish KPVT[22]
Slovenia (KPVT)
Somalia
South Africa[23]
Soviet Union (ex)
Sudan
Syria
Togo[24]
Ukraine
Yemen
Vietnam
Tanzania[25]
Zimbabwe
See also[]
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to KPV. |
- List of Russian weaponry
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Francesco Palmas (2012). "Il contenzioso del sahara occidentale fra passato e presente" (PDF). Informazioni della Difesa (in Italian). No. 4. pp. 50–59.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Campbell, David (30 November 2017). Soviet Paratrooper vs Mujahideen Fighter: Afghanistan 1979–89. Combat 29. Osprey Publishing. p. 26. ISBN 9781472817648.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Syrie: l'EI inflige un revers aux FDS dans l'est, mais reste acculé". France Soir (in French). 25 October 2018.
- ^ "KPVT large-calibre tank machine-gun". Retrieved 26 November 2014.
- ^ "КПВ — крупнокалиберный пулемёт Владимирова | Армейский вестник".
- ^ "MTPU 14.5mm marine pedestal machine gun mount". Retrieved 26 November 2014.
- ^ "[DSEi 2017] Vehicle Mounted Remote Control Weapon Station Round up -". 6 October 2017.
- ^ Bhatia, Michael Vinai; Sedra, Mark (May 2008). Small Arms Survey (ed.). Afghanistan, Arms and Conflict: Armed Groups, Disarmament and Security in a Post-War Society. Routledge. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-415-45308-0.
- ^ Gander, Terry J. (22 November 2000). "National inventories, Albania". Jane's Infantry Weapons 2001-2002. p. 445.
- ^ Gander, Terry J. (22 November 2000). "National inventories, Benin". Jane's Infantry Weapons 2001-2002. p. 948.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Gander, Terry J. (4 May 2001). "14.5 mm KPV heavy machine gun". Jane's Infantry Weapons 2002-2003. pp. 3732–3734.
- ^ Gander, Terry J. (22 November 2000). "National inventories, Cambodia". Jane's Infantry Weapons 2001-2002. p. 1134.
- ^ Gander, Terry J. (22 November 2000). "National inventories, Cameroon". Jane's Infantry Weapons 2001-2002. p. 1135.
- ^ Gander, Terry J. (22 November 2000). "National inventories, Congo". Jane's Infantry Weapons 2001-2002. p. 1441.
- ^ Gander, Terry J. (22 November 2000). "National inventories, Guinea-Bissau". Jane's Infantry Weapons 2001-2002. p. 2361.
- ^ "OFT develops Gen-X weapons". www.oneindia.com. 19 March 2007. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
- ^ de Tessières, Savannah (April 2012). Enquête nationale sur les armes légères et de petit calibre en Côte d'Ivoire: les défis du contrôle des armes et de la lutte contre la violence armée avant la crise post-électorale (PDF) (Report). Special Report No. 14 (in French). UNDP, Commission Nationale de Lutte contre la Prolifération et la Circulation Illicite des Armes Légères et de Petit Calibre and Small Arms Survey. p. 97.
- ^ Gander, Terry J. (22 November 2000). "National inventories, Malawi". Jane's Infantry Weapons 2001-2002. p. 3094.
- ^ "KPV".
- ^ Gander, Terry J. (4 May 2001). "ROMARM machine guns". Jane's Infantry Weapons 2002-2003. p. 3407.
- ^ Gander, Terry J. (22 November 2000). "National inventories, São Tomé and Príncipe". Jane's Infantry Weapons 2001-2002. p. 3849.
- ^ "World Infantry Weapons: Sierra Leone". 2013. Archived from the original on 24 November 2016.[self-published source]
- ^ Engelbrecht, Leon (17 December 2009). "Fact file: Special Forces main equipment". defenceweb.co.za.
- ^ Gander, Terry J. (22 November 2000). "National inventories, Togo". Jane's Infantry Weapons 2001-2002. p. 4569.
- ^ "Google Sites".
- Suermondt, Jan (2004). Illustrated Guide to Combat Weapons. Kent: Grange Books. p. 104.
- Koll, Christian (2009). Soviet Cannon - A Comprehensive Study of Soviet Arms and Ammunition in Calibres 12.7mm to 57mm. Austria: Koll. p. 98. ISBN 978-3-200-01445-9.
- Moise, Edwin (1996). Tonkin Gulf and the Escalation of the Vietnam War. United States: The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-2300-7.
External links[]
External video | |
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- KPVT large-calibre tank machine-gun
- MTPU 14.5mm marine pedestal machine-gun mount
- Russian/Soviet KPV MACHINE GUN ON WHEELED MOUNT (MARKOV'S MOUNT) IN 14.5 x 114 calibre (M41/44) – Walk around photos
- ZPU-2 - TWIN MOUNT 14.5MM ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS (Twin mount anti-aircraft 14.5mm KPV machine guns) – Walk around photos
- Modern Firearms page on the KPV-14.5 heavy machine gun
- 14.5×114mm machine guns
- Heavy machine guns
- Machine guns of the Soviet Union
- Degtyarev Plant products
- Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1949