The DP 27 (Degtyarev Pehotny) or Degtyarev Infantry light machine gun was one of the first automatic small arms designed in the Soviet Union before WW2. It was adopted by the Red Army in 1927 as a light infantry support weapon and used as such until the end of WW2, before it was slightly modernised in 1943-44 to became DPM (Modernised). It should also be noted that variations of the DP and DPM were used as a tank and aircraft guns, named DT (DTM) and DA, respectively. Those guns featured flat pan magazines that were smaller in diameter but larger in height, heavier barrels and different stocks and mounts, but internally they were quite similar to its infantry "brothers". DP is a gas operated, magazine fed light machine gun. It utilises a long stroke gas piston, located under the barrel, which operates a bolt with two side-mounted locking flaps. The barrel is quickly detachable and can be replaced during prolonged firing sessions. The recoil spring is located under the barrel, around the gas piston, and was one of the few drawbacks in design, since the spring was tended to loosen its temper through overheating. Another drawback was the magazine. Due to ammunition used, which was rimmed and less than suitable for automatic weapons, Degtyarev had to use a flat pan magazine, which could feed those cartridges reliably, but was too heavy itself, uncomfortable to carry and prone to damage. After WW2, one of the proposed modifications was the replacement of this pan magazine by the belt feeding system; this particular improvement was released only in 1946, when a further improved version was adopted by Soviet Army as a RP-46 (Rotny Pulemet 1946 or Company Machine Gun). The RP-46 filled the gap between the light squad automatic weapons like RPD and heavy machine guns like SGM. RP-46 was used as a front line weapon until 1960s, when it was gradually replaced by the first Soviet universal machine gun - Kalashnikov PK. All those guns (DP, DPM and RP-46) were widely exported to the Soviet-friendly countries and regimes. The RP-46 was also manufactured in other countries, most notably by China, as a Type 58 machine gun. Our deactivated LMGs come with original leather sling, one 47-round magazine and deactivation certificate

Calibre, mm	7.62x54R
Rate of fire, rounds/min	600
Feeding	47-round pan magazine
Weight, kg (with / without magazine)	11.3 / 8.4
Length, mm	1266
Barrel length, mm	605
PRICE:	£425
Price for spare magazine: £25
Price for 3 boxed spare magazines: £69