18B Weapons Characteristics Practice Test

What is the locking system used by the DShK?

Firing mechanism Locking Flaps Rotating bolt Hinged lock

Correct Answer:

Locking Flaps

Explanation:

Locking flaps describe a simple, robust way to hold the bolt closed during high-pressure firing. In the DShK, spring-loaded flaps on the bolt extend into recesses in the receiver to lock the bolt in battery. When the weapon fires, the gas impulse drives the bolt carrier rearward and cams interact with the flaps to retract them, freeing the bolt to move back for extraction. As the next round is chambered, the flaps snap back into place to re-lock the bolt. This approach offers reliable locking under dirty, hot, high-rate-fire conditions typical of a belt-fed heavy machine gun. Other concepts like a rotating bolt or a hinged lock describe different locking approaches and aren’t the mechanism used here.

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