The Yurchenko super-rapid-fire machine gun and the development of automation in domestic weaponry during the 1930s and 1950s

The subject of this article is the history of high-speed small arms development in the 1930s. In particular, the K.S. Yurchenko machine gun is discussed. Its structure and design features, including a rare type of automation with a crank mechanism for bolt actuation, are analyzed. This structural and layout solution allows for a high rate of fire without excessive stress on parts and mechanisms, as well as cartridges, compared to conventional shock automation systems. This leads to a high level of reliability for automatic weapons during firing. The article also considers the further history of this constructive solution's application in post-war aircraft weapons. When working on the article, we used the following research methods: processing archival materials from the funds of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Central State Administration of Moscow, and the VIMAIViVS Scientific Archive. We also used the comparative historical method and historical and scientific analysis of specialized literature. In addition, we consulted the Information Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. For the first time, new data on the development of ultra-fast-firing small arms in the USSR during the mid-1930s is being introduced into scientific circulation. Four Yurchenko machine guns in two modifications have been identified in various collections of weapons and documents in Russia: in the collection of technical weapons of the Central Design Bureau at the Tula Arms Plant, in the Technocenter collection of V.A. Degtyarov Plant in Kovrov, and in the collection of weapons at the Central Museum of the Russian Armed Forces. It has been concluded that the operating principle of the Yurchenko machine gun automation was used in the development of post-war aviation small arms and cannon guns, such as those designed by V.P. Gryazev and A.G. Shipunov for aircraft. Biographical information about engineers and their designs from the 1930s and 1950s has also been provided for the first time.

weapons design, small arms, history of weapons, aviation armament, design bureau, YuAS high-velocity machine gun, Shkval machine gun, Yurchenko machine gun, K.S. Yurchenko, crank mechanism