The Most Powerful Serial Machine Gun

In 1945 the career of 14,5 mm anti-tank rifles came to the end. However the service of the bullets for them was only in the beginning. The reason was the military need of a large-caliber machine gun.

Universal carrying facilities turned out to be either unstable or too heavy, and the choice was made in favor of detached facilities. In 1946 were designed the single, double and quadruple carriers.

In 1943 Vladimirov designed his variant of the machine gun, which passed preliminary tests. In 1945 50 machine guns and an anti-aircraft gun were manufactured for military tests.

In 1952 8000 machine guns were added to the Soviet armoury.

The trigger provides only automatic fire. The machine gun has automatic safety devices which make it impossible to fire when the barrel is unjoined.

Firing range of the 14,5 mm bullet reaches 7000 – 8000 meters, and its infantry killing power remains all the way. However the aiming range is limited by 2000 meters, and at big distances the dispersion of hits is very high, and  it is difficult to observe the fire results and their correction.

In 1955 the light wheeled tripod carrying facility was designed by Baryshev to install the machine gun on.

Quadruple anti-aircraft carrying facility. The advantages were the gunlayer’s seat as well as the assistant’s, vertical and horizontal laying and more comfortable aiming devices. One could fire ground targets at the 1000 meter distance with help of the telescopic sight.

The machine gun facilities were installed also onto the armoured troop carriers.

Tank modification of the machine gun. Long cast covered the barrel.

Vladimirov machine gun was a popular export product. The USSR supplied the machine gun carrying facilities and machine guns themselves to the Social Republic Vietnam as a means of defence from the American aggressor.

However Vladimirov machine gun is present in the army mainly as a tank modification, its infantry modifications were widely used during various wars and conflicts. The combination of the machine gun grazing fire and granade launcher proved to be effective in the batles in the ravines and bottom lands.

14,5 mm weapon was also used by Afghan mujaheddins – mostly Chinese copies of Vladimirov machine guns installed on Chinese carrying facilities.

via nnm