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Vasily Alekseyevich Degtyaryov
About museum
Vasily Alekseyevich Degtyaryov was a Russian and Soviet small-arms designer. A Hero of Socialist Labour and a laureate of four Stalin Prizes. Vasily Alekseyevich Degtyaryov was born on 21 December 1879 (2 January 1880 in the New Style) in Tula into a family of hereditary gunsmiths. From the age of eleven he worked at the Tula Arms Plant, and later, after military service, he worked as a fitter in a workshop at the weapons proving ground.
From 1907, under the leadership of V. G. Fedorov, Degtyaryov participated in the creation of the first Russian automatic rifle. In 1916 he developed an automatic carbine, design elements of which formed the basis for many of his later developments. In 1927 his DP light machine gun was adopted by the Red Army and became the main light machine gun until 1945. Aviation and tank machine guns were developed based on it. In collaboration with G. S. Shpagin, he created the large-caliber DShK machine gun, which was adopted in the 1930s.
Degtyaryov also developed the PPD submachine gun (1934–1940) and, in 1941, quickly organized production of the PTRD anti-tank rifle. For his outstanding achievements in weapons design he received the degree of Doctor of Technical Sciences and the title Hero of Socialist Labour (1940), as well as the rank of Major General of the Engineering and Artillery Service (1944). Vasily Alekseyevich Degtyaryov died on 16 January 1949 and was buried in Kovrov. A monument to him was erected there in 1954, and in 1978 a Memorial House-Museum was opened.
Date of birth
02 January 1880
Date of death
16 January 1949
Occupation
Designer