DPM
- Category
- Machine Gun
- Barrel
- 605 mm
- Weight, empty
- 9.80 kg
- Introduced
- 1944
About
What it is, and why it matters
The DPM (Degtyaryov Pekhotny Modernizirovanny, model 1944) is the modernized wartime version of Vasily Degtyaryov's 1927 DP light machine gun, chambered in 7.62x54mmR and fed from a distinctive 47-round flat pan magazine mounted atop the receiver. The headline change was relocating the return spring out from under the overheating barrel into a tube in the trigger housing, curing the chronic spring-fatigue stoppages of the original DP. The DPM also added a pistol grip, a manual safety, and a sturdier bipod. It retained the gas-operated long-stroke piston action with flap-type bolt locking, firing from an open bolt at roughly 600 rounds per minute with an 840 m/s muzzle velocity. It served from late WWII into the 1960s, was license-built in China as the Type 53, spawned the DTM vehicle variant and the belt-fed RP-46, and equipped numerous communist and post-colonial militaries.
The DPM's whole reason to exist was one nagging flaw: on the original DP the return spring sat coiled around the gas piston directly under the barrel, and sustained fire cooked it until it lost tension and the gun jammed - so the modernization moved the spring into a tube behind the bolt. It was also the first of the line to get a proper pistol grip and a manual safety, things the 1927 DP simply never had. The flat top-mounted 'record player' pan magazine survived because the rimmed 1891-vintage cartridge fed poorly from box magazines.
Distinct from the base DP-28: the DPM relocated the recoil spring from under the barrel to a tube extending into the buttstock and added a pistol grip plus a manual safety. Year sometimes cited 1943 vs 1944; 1944 used. Rifling figures are standard-cartridge values, not source-confirmed.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Kovrov Machine Gun Factory (Plant No. 2)
- Category
- Machine Gun
- Country
- Soviet Union
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1944 to 1960
- Variant of
- Modernized recoil spring relocated
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 605 mm
- Overall length
- 1270 mm
- Weight, empty
- 9.80 kg
- Weight, loaded
- 11.30 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Gas operated long stroke
- Firing mechanism
- Open bolt
- Trigger
- Full auto only
- Capacity
- 47
- Magazine
- Drum
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 840 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 3380 J
- Effective range
- 800 m
- Maximum range
- 2500 m
- Rate of fire
- 600 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Recoil spring relocated to buttstock tube
Added pistol grip
Sturdier bipod
Top mounted pan magazine
Integral bipod
Air cooled
Tangent leaf rear sight
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 261 machine guns | 9.80 kg | 10.50 kg | Lighter than about 60% |
| Overall lengthAmong 260 machine guns | 1270 mm | 1156 mm | Longer than about 80% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 257 machine guns | 605 mm | 605 mm | Near the median |
| Magazine capacityAmong 222 machine guns | 47 | 50 | Near the median |
Answers
Questions about the DPM
How much does the DPM weigh?
The DPM weighs 9.80 kg (21.61 lb) empty and 11.30 kg (24.91 lb) loaded.
What caliber is the DPM?
The DPM is chambered in 7.62x54mmR.
How many rounds does the DPM hold?
The DPM holds 47 rounds, fed from a drum magazine.
How long is the DPM?
The DPM is 1270 mm (50.0 in) long overall, with a 605 mm (23.8 in) barrel.
Who makes the DPM?
The DPM is made by Kovrov Machine Gun Factory (Plant No. 2) (Russia). It was designed by Vasily Degtyaryov.
When was the DPM introduced?
The DPM was introduced in 1944 and discontinued in 1960.
How does the DPM operate?
The DPM uses a gas operated long stroke action, and its firing mechanism is open bolt.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Soviet Red Army
- 1944
- People's Liberation Army (China)
- China
- Korean People's Army
- North Korea
- People's Army of Vietnam
- Vietnam
- Cambodia
- Cambodia
- Finnish Defence Forces (captured)
- Finland
Provenance
Confidence in this record
76%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
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Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/dpm-machine-gun' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "dpm-machine-gun", "name": "DPM", "manufacturer": { "id": "kovrov-machine-gun-factory", "name": "Kovrov Machine Gun Factory (Plant No. 2)", "countryCode": "RU", "foundedYear": 1916, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-05-04 12:38:54", "updatedAt": "2026-05-04 12:38:54", "version": "b1699b6114ae689b9ca7627e41d0e07fff4f91013f7575c48661c2ad52f8f2cc" }, "category": { "id": "machine-gun", "name": "Machine Gun", "description": "Fully automatic firearms for sustained fire" }, "country_of_origin": "SU", "year_introduced": 1944, "barrel_length_mm": 605, "weight_empty_g": 9800, "action_type": "gas_operated_long_stroke"}