KPV Vladimirov
Kovrov Machine Gun Plant · Machine Gun · In Service · 1949
Also known as: Vladimirov KPV, KPVT (tank), Krupnokaliberny Pulemyot Vladimirova, ZPU-4 (quad mount), Type 56 (Chinese copy)
Overview
The KPV (Russian: Krupnokaliberny Pulemyot Vladimirova, 'Vladimirov heavy-caliber machine gun') is a Soviet 14.5x114mm heavy machine gun designed by Semyon Vladimirov in 1944 from his earlier 14.5mm Vladimirov anti-tank rifle, adopted by the Soviet Armed Forces in 1949. Firing one of the most powerful production machine gun cartridges ever fielded - the 14.5x114mm round developed for the wartime PTRD and PTRS anti-tank rifles, capable of penetrating 32mm of armor at 500 meters with armor-piercing-incendiary projectiles - the KPV occupies a unique class between conventional heavy machine guns and light cannons. The weapon uses a short-recoil action with a rotating bolt that locks via a screw-thread mechanism into the barrel, firing from an open bolt at approximately 600 rpm and producing roughly 32,000 joules of muzzle energy per shot - nearly double the energy of .50 BMG. The 49.1 kg gun body is mounted on the heavy ZPU-series anti-aircraft platforms (ZPU-1 single, ZPU-2 twin, and the iconic ZPU-4 quad), the BTR-60/70/80 wheeled APC turrets (KPVT tank variant), the BRDM-2 amphibious scout car, the BMP-T 'Terminator', and on the Ukrainian post-Soviet Stryker-class wheeled APCs. While originally designed as both an anti-aircraft weapon and a means of engaging early-postwar light tanks and APCs, the KPV proved enormously useful in the ground role against fortifications, technicals, and personnel; in Vietnam, North Vietnamese ZPU-4s downed hundreds of low-flying U.S. helicopters and aircraft, and modern KPVs continue to serve in essentially every armed conflict from Vietnam through the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 49100 g (1732.0 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 88100 g (3107.6 oz) |
| Overall Length | 2000 mm (78.74") |
| Barrel Length | 1350 mm (53.15") |
| Action Type | Short Recoil |
| Firing Mechanism | Open Bolt |
| Trigger Type | Automatic Only |
| Magazine Capacity | 40 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Belt |
| Muzzle Velocity | 1000 m/s (3281 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 32000 J (23602 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 3000 m (3281 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 8000 m (8749 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 600 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Number of Grooves | 8 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 14.5x114mm · primary — also known as 14.5 Soviet, 14.5mm KPV, 14.5x114
Features
- Firing modes: Full Automatic
- Feed systems: Belt Fed Disintegrating Steel Link, 40 Round Belt, 50 Round Belt
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety, Open Bolt Design
- Features: Rotating Bolt, Quick Change Barrel, Muzzle Brake, Belt Fed, Anti Aircraft Capable, Anti Armor Capable, Crew Served, Wheeled Or Tripod Mount, Naval And Vehicle Mount, Open Bolt Firing
Variants
- KPV (infantry wheeled mount) — Infantry Wheeled Mount
- KPVT — Tank Solenoid Fired
- ZPU-1 — Single Anti Aircraft Mount
- ZPU-2 — Twin Anti Aircraft Mount
- ZPU-4 — Quad Anti Aircraft Mount
- ZU-2 — Twin Lightweight Aa Mount
Service history
Operators
- Soviet Armed Forces · adopted 1949 · as KPV
- Russian Armed Forces · adopted 1991 · as KPV / KPVT
- Ukrainian Armed Forces · adopted 1991 · as KPV
- People's Liberation Army · adopted 1956 · as Type 56
- Vietnam People's Army · adopted 1965 · as KPV
- Korean People's Army · as KPV
- Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces · as KPV
- Egyptian Armed Forces · as KPV
- Syrian Arab Army · as KPV
- Iraqi Armed Forces · as KPV
- Polish Armed Forces · as KPV
- East German National People's Army · as KPV
Conflicts
- Korean War (1950-1953)
- Vietnam War (1955-1975)
- Six-Day War (1967)
- Yom Kippur War (1973)
- Soviet-Afghan War (1979-1989)
- Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)
- Gulf War (1990-1991)
- First Chechen War (1994-1996)
- Iraq War (2003-2011)
- Syrian Civil War (2011-present)
- Russo-Ukrainian War (2014-present)
Production
Production years: 1949-present
Manufactured at the Kovrov plant from 1949, license-produced by China as Type 56, Poland, Romania, and Egypt. Production continues for the KPVT variant for Russian armored vehicle programs. Total production estimated in the high hundreds of thousands across all variants and license-produced copies.
Origin
Country of origin: Soviet Union
Designer: Semyon Vladimirov
Notes
The 14.5x114mm cartridge was originally designed in 1938-1941 as a Soviet anti-tank rifle round for the PTRD-41 and PTRS-41; by 1944, German tank armor had grown beyond what 14.5mm AP could defeat, but the cartridge remained too useful to retire and Vladimirov adapted it for sustained automatic fire. Pre-1955 the KPV's primary role was envisioned as anti-aircraft and anti-armor; the introduction of jet aircraft and main battle tanks in the 1950s effectively eliminated those roles, but the weapon found new life as a heavy ground-support and fire-base weapon. Standard ammunition includes API (B-32 armor-piercing incendiary), API-T (BZT tracer), and HEI (MDZ explosive incendiary, originally developed for anti-aircraft use). The KPVT (T for 'Tankoviy', tank) variant adds an electric solenoid for remote firing, and is fitted in the BTR-60PB, BTR-70, BTR-80, BRDM-2, and as the secondary weapon of the BMP-T. ZPU-4 quad mounts were ubiquitous Soviet/Warsaw Pact light AA, and remain in use across many former-Eastern Bloc nations. The KPV is one of the few small arms whose effective ground range (3,000 m) exceeds the maximum range of most assault rifles by an order of magnitude.
Background
The KPV was born when the 14.5mm anti-tank cartridge that had failed against German Tiger and Panther frontal armor proved devastatingly effective against everything else - soft-skinned vehicles, low-flying aircraft, fortifications, and dismounted infantry - and Soviet engineers refused to retire a perfectly good cartridge just because tanks had outgrown it. North Vietnamese ZPU-4 quad-mounts fired 14.5mm at U.S. F-105s and helicopters at rates approaching 2,400 rounds per minute combined; even an empty ZPU-4 emplacement was enough to force American attack aircraft to abort their bombing runs.