KPV heavy machine gun

External video
	KPV in Libya

KPV 14.5×114 mm machine gun
KPV 14.5×114 mm machine gun
	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	Vietnam War
Production history
Designer	Семён Владимирович Владимиров
Designed	1944
Manufacturer	V.A. Degtyarev Plant
Produced	1949-present
Variants	KPVT
Specifications
Weight	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	1005 m/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 big 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.^[1] 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.

Naval armament

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.

In 1964, amongst other small craft combatants, the North Vietnamese Navy had 12 P4 Motor Torpedo Boats in their inventory. On 2 August 1964, three P4s belonging to NVN Torpedo Boat Squadron 135^[2] attacked the US destroyer USS Maddox in the Tonkin Gulf. The Maddox fired over 280 5 inch (127mm) shells at the charging boats, thus preventing them from discharging their 550 lb TNT armed torpedoes within the necessary 1,000 yard effective range.^[3] All six torpedoes missed. However, as the torpedo boats were moving at nearly 52 knots (96 km/h), they commenced to duel the destroyer with their 14.5mm heavy machineguns, scoring only one hit on the US warship in the process. At the time of the "Tonkin Gulf Incident", US identification manuals described the P4 as being equipped with 25mm guns, thus identifying the spent projectile (as well as in after action reports) as 25mm instead of the actual 14.5mm caliber bullet.

As the duel between the destroyer and torpedo boats ended, and each departed in opposite directions, 4 F8 Crusaders from the aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga attacked the retreating boats. The Crusaders fired Zuni rockets and 20mm cannons, while the 3 boats replied with their 14.5mm machineguns. The jets reported leaving one boat in sinking condition (it limped back to base), and one F8 was heavily damaged, which was reported as shot down by the NVN, but in fact also limped back to its carrier.^[4]

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.^[5]

Mechanics

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.

Rear view of a captured KPV machine-gun crudely modified for use as an anti-aircraft weapon on display at the headquarters of the 2-135 General Support Aviation Battalion at Buckley AFB, CO. It is missing its feed tray cover and entire upper receiver.

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.

Quadruple- (ZPU-4) Double- (ZPU-2) and single-barreled (ZPU-1) versions of the weapon exist.

Gallery

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 0 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.