NSV
Encyclopedia
The NSV is a 12.7 mm caliber heavy machine gun
of Soviet
origin, named after the designers, G. I. Nikitin (Г. И. Никитин), Y. S. Sokolov (Ю. М. Соколов) and V. I. Volkov (В. И. Волков). It was designed to replace the DShK
machine gun and was adopted by the Soviet Army
in 1971. It is slowly being phased out of Russian service in favor of the Kord machine gun
and is no longer being manufactured in Russia; the manufacturing license for the NSV ended up in Kazakhstan
after the break-up of the Soviet Union
. The NSV has been manufactured in Bulgaria, India, Poland and Yugoslavia under license.
The NSV weighs 25 kg, has a rate of fire of 13 rounds per second, and an effective range of 1,500 meters. A fully loaded ammunition belt with 50 rounds weighs 11 kg.
The NSV is used on the T-72
tank, while the NSVT variant is used on the T-64
and T-80
tanks.
began looking for a new heavy machine gun to replace its older SGM and RPD machine guns in the early 1950s. The Soviet Army liked the idea behind the German MG-42; a versatile weapon used on a variety of mounts to perform many different roles. Two Soviet weapon designers were asked to design one weapon each utilizing the same principle.
Testing approved Mikhail Kalashnikov
's solution; it was found to be more reliable and cheaper to manufacture than the design of Grigory Nikitin and Yuri Sokolov. Kalashnikov's machine gun became the new standard machine gun, and was named PK
.
Nikitin's and Sokolov's design was however not forgotten. It was developed into the heavy NSV machine gun about 10 years later and selected in 1969 as the successor to the DShK
/DShKM machine gun. It was accepted in service by the Soviet Army in 1971. The machine gun was also license-manufactured in Bulgaria
, India
, Yugoslavia
and Poland
. The Yugoslavian version of the NSVT is called the M87
.
Production of the NSV has ended in Russia
, and it is currently being replaced by the Kord
heavy machine gun. The Russian Army
needed a more accurate heavy machine gun, and it has also been increasingly difficult to get hold of spare parts. NSV production was located in Ukraine
and in Kazakhstan
and was disrupted by the end of the Soviet Union.
. It is often used as a vehicle mounted machine gun, and can be seen on the Pasi armoured personnel carrier, the Nasu
transport vehicle and the Leopard 2R
tank.
Due to its high rate of fire, the NSV is intended to be used as a close-range anti-aircraft weapon against helicopter
s, UAVs
and aircraft
. In dismounted ground combat it is placed on a special mount.
The Finnish Navy
also uses the NSV in the anti-aircraft role, where it complements other unguided anti-aircraft weapons like the 23 ITK 95, Bofors 40 Mk3
or Bofors 57 Mk2 and Mk3
.
Heavy machine gun
The heavy machine gun or HMG is a larger class of machine gun generally recognized to refer to two separate stages of machine gun development. The term was originally used to refer to the early generation of machine guns which came into widespread use in World War I...
of Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
origin, named after the designers, G. I. Nikitin (Г. И. Никитин), Y. S. Sokolov (Ю. М. Соколов) and V. I. Volkov (В. И. Волков). It was designed to replace the DShK
DShK
The DShK 1938 is a Soviet heavy machine gun firing the 12.7x108mm cartridge. The weapon was also used as a heavy infantry machine gun, in which case it was frequently deployed with a two-wheeled mounting and a single-sheet armour-plate shield...
machine gun and was adopted by the Soviet Army
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
in 1971. It is slowly being phased out of Russian service in favor of the Kord machine gun
Kord machine gun
The Kord-12.7 mm heavy machine gun is a Russian design that entered service in 1998 replacing the older NSV machine gun. Externally the weapon resembles the NSV, however the internal mechanism has been extensively reworked, changing from a horizontally pivoting breech block to a rotating bolt...
and is no longer being manufactured in Russia; the manufacturing license for the NSV ended up in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
after the break-up of the Soviet Union
History of the Soviet Union (1985-1991)
The history of the Soviet Union from 1982 through 1991, spans the period from Leonid Brezhnev's death and funeral until the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Due to the years of Soviet military buildup at the expense of domestic development, economic growth stagnated...
. The NSV has been manufactured in Bulgaria, India, Poland and Yugoslavia under license.
The NSV weighs 25 kg, has a rate of fire of 13 rounds per second, and an effective range of 1,500 meters. A fully loaded ammunition belt with 50 rounds weighs 11 kg.
The NSV is used on the T-72
T-72
The T-72 is a Soviet-designed main battle tank that entered production in 1970. It is developed directly from Obyekt-172, and shares parallel features with the T-64A...
tank, while the NSVT variant is used on the T-64
T-64
The T-64 is a Soviet main battle tank, introduced in the early 1960s. It was used solely by the Soviet Army in its front-line divisions and was a more advanced counterpart to the T-62...
and T-80
T-80
The T-80 is a main battle tank designed and manufactured in the former Soviet Union. A development of the T-64, it entered service in 1976 and was the first production tank to be equipped with a gas turbine engine for main propulsion.the Swedish Stridsvagn 103 of 1971 used a gas turbine alongside...
tanks.
History
The Soviet ArmySoviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
began looking for a new heavy machine gun to replace its older SGM and RPD machine guns in the early 1950s. The Soviet Army liked the idea behind the German MG-42; a versatile weapon used on a variety of mounts to perform many different roles. Two Soviet weapon designers were asked to design one weapon each utilizing the same principle.
Testing approved Mikhail Kalashnikov
Mikhail Kalashnikov
Lieutenant General Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov is a Russian small arms designer, most famous for designing the AK-47 assault rifle, the AKM and the AK-74.-Early life:...
's solution; it was found to be more reliable and cheaper to manufacture than the design of Grigory Nikitin and Yuri Sokolov. Kalashnikov's machine gun became the new standard machine gun, and was named PK
PK machine gun
The PK is a 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun designed in the Soviet Union and currently in production in Russia. The PK machine gun was introduced in the 1960s and replaced the SGM and RPD machine guns in Soviet service...
.
Nikitin's and Sokolov's design was however not forgotten. It was developed into the heavy NSV machine gun about 10 years later and selected in 1969 as the successor to the DShK
DShK
The DShK 1938 is a Soviet heavy machine gun firing the 12.7x108mm cartridge. The weapon was also used as a heavy infantry machine gun, in which case it was frequently deployed with a two-wheeled mounting and a single-sheet armour-plate shield...
/DShKM machine gun. It was accepted in service by the Soviet Army in 1971. The machine gun was also license-manufactured in Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. The Yugoslavian version of the NSVT is called the M87
Zastava M87
The Zastava M87 is a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun produced by the Zastava Arms works of Serbia. The M87 is a licenced copy of the Soviet NSV 12.7 mm heavy machine gun. It is intended for anti-aircraft duties, but it also used for action against ground and water targets at long...
.
Production of the NSV has ended in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and it is currently being replaced by the Kord
Kord machine gun
The Kord-12.7 mm heavy machine gun is a Russian design that entered service in 1998 replacing the older NSV machine gun. Externally the weapon resembles the NSV, however the internal mechanism has been extensively reworked, changing from a horizontally pivoting breech block to a rotating bolt...
heavy machine gun. The Russian Army
Russian Ground Forces
The Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the force...
needed a more accurate heavy machine gun, and it has also been increasingly difficult to get hold of spare parts. NSV production was located in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
and was disrupted by the end of the Soviet Union.
Use in Finland
The NSV is called 12,7 Itkk 96 or 12,7 ilmatorjuntakonekivääri 96 (and, in military slang, the itko) in FinlandFinland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. It is often used as a vehicle mounted machine gun, and can be seen on the Pasi armoured personnel carrier, the Nasu
Sisu Nasu
The Nasu is a tracked articulated, all-terrain transport vehicle developed by Sisu Auto for the Finnish Army. It consists of two units, with all four tracks powered. It can carry up to 17 people, although the trailer unit can be adapted for different applications...
transport vehicle and the Leopard 2R
Leopard 2
The Leopard 2 is a main battle tank developed by Krauss-Maffei in the early 1970s for the West German Army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the German Army. Various versions have served in the armed forces of Germany and twelve...
tank.
Due to its high rate of fire, the NSV is intended to be used as a close-range anti-aircraft weapon against helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s, UAVs
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
and aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
. In dismounted ground combat it is placed on a special mount.
The Finnish Navy
Finnish Navy
The Finnish Navy is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Navy employs 2,300 people and about 4,300 conscripts are trained each year. Finnish Navy vessels are given the ship prefix "FNS" simply short for "Finnish Navy Ship"...
also uses the NSV in the anti-aircraft role, where it complements other unguided anti-aircraft weapons like the 23 ITK 95, Bofors 40 Mk3
Bofors 40 mm gun
The Bofors 40 mm gun is an anti-aircraft autocannon designed by the Swedish defence firm of Bofors Defence...
or Bofors 57 Mk2 and Mk3
Bofors 57 mm gun
The Bofors 57 mm guns are a series of dual-purpose naval guns designed and produced by the Swedish defence firm of Bofors Defence...
.
Variants
- M87 NSVT: Serbian license built version by Zastava ArmsZastava ArmsZastava Arms is a Serbian manufacturer of firearms and artillery. It was founded in 1853 when it cast its first cannons. It is currently the leading producer of firearms in Serbia and is a large contributor to the local defence industry...
. The M87 has seen use with the armies of the former Yugoslav states. - WKM-B: Polish version adapted for NATO-standard .50 BMG.50 BMGThe .50 Browning Machine Gun or 12.7×99mm NATO is a cartridge developed for the Browning .50 caliber machine gun in the late 1910s. Entering service officially in 1921, the round is based on a greatly scaled-up .30-06 cartridge...
ammunition.