Ukraine War
The gunner of a Dushka (“Dear”) pulls a V-shaped “butterfly” trigger between two wooden handles to shoot gun at a rate of fire of six hundred rounds per minute to an effective range of one-and-a-half miles. Two side-by-side “spider-web” ring sights help adjust for the “lead” when targeting aircraft. The hefty gun is air-cooled and has a ribbed barrel. You can get a sense of the prodigious sound, flash and recoil produced by a DShK in this video. The Dushka uses 12.7×108-millimeter rounds nearly 10 percent longer than the .50 caliber BMG used by the M2 and can penetrate up to fifteen to twenty millimeters of armor at a range of five hundred meters. Generally, the M2 is reputed to be a bit more accurate, while the Dushka is supposedly easier to maintain.
