History of Science and Engineering Annotation << Back Light Machine Guns of Domestic Production During the Great Patriotic War Kormazov A.Yu. By the end of the First World War, the armies of the warring countries had introduced hand-held machine guns. The experience of the war confi rmed the expediency of their use, especially in the conditions of large-scale manoeuvre actions in a rapidly changing operational environment. In the fi rst days of the Great Patriotic War, the leadership of the Red Army raised the issue of introducing hand machine guns into service. The army had experience in the use of hand machine guns: the Maxim, modifi ed as a hand machine gun, was put into service, and since 1927 the DP-27 machine gun developed by V.A. Degtyarev was used. The DP-27 machine gun was a relatively compact and lightweight model, this model utilised many years of engineering and design experience. Due to a number of technical characteristics and ease of use, this machine gun was in service with the Red Army for a long time, successfully fulfi lling its military tasks. Keywords: light machine gun, aviation, air defense, machine gun, infantry. Pp. 42-45.