DShK AA MG Platoon
DShK AA MG is a 12,7mm heavy machine gun mounted on a ZiS-5 truck. That's really all there is to it.
Mid War
DShK AA MG is a Support Unit consisting of 3 trucks for 3 points. You don't get any other AA in Mid War, since ZSU M17 isn't available yet, so the choice is simple: you either take it or you don't. It's not like a measly HMG is going to reliably shoot down a plane, but a few lucky potshots can save your day. Failing that, you can engage infantry or halftrucks and generally be a nuisance, but 5+ Cross makes it problematic. There are worse way to spend 3 points, but don't expect much of them.
IRL
DShK is the Soviet heavy machine gun and the first of many to use the 12.7×108mm cartridge that's still in service today (okay, technically it was preceded by DK-32, but despite it officially entering serial production, less than 100 were made). Entering service in 1938, it quickly became a workhorse of the Red Army and was used by infantrymen teams, tanks, other vehicles and even patrol vessels. Over 11k had been produced before the end of WW2, and many more have been made after since it was the standard HMG of any Soviet tank up to T-72. Even today, in spite of no longer being manufactured and being heavy as hell compared to its' successors like NSV and Kord, DShK stubbornly soldiers on in the 21st century.
When used in AA role during WW2, it had one defining quality shared only with its' smaller cousin, M4 (which was basically 4 Maxim machine guns strapped together): mobility. While the Soviets did experiment with mounting actual AA guns on mobile platforms, the results were... mixed. 3-Ks (76mm) mounted on a YAG-10 heavy truck were briefly produced in 1933-1934 with a total series of 61; similarly, roughly 200 72-Ks (25mm) on Gas-MM were manufactured in 1941. Obviously, this numbers were insufficient to deter Luftwaffe's CAS, and since Soviet Air Defence Forces lacked their own fighter wings until early 1942, it was up to this humble trucks and their crews to protect their comrades from fascist vultures.
If you're wondering why Soviets didn't use 20-ish mm AA cannons everywhere the way Germans did, the answer is really simple: the industry was not up to the task. In 1930, Rheinmetall AG (yes, the one that licensed M1's cannon) sold two 2 cm FlaK 30 and design documentation for them in USSR. Lacking specialists and top-notch tools, Kalinin factory struggled and ultimately failed to mass-produce the newly named 2-K after 64 guns were made in 1931-1934.
| Soviet Forces in Flames of War | |
|---|---|
| Tanks: | T-70 - Valentine - M5/M3 Stuart - M3 Lee - T-34 - KV - Churchill - IS-2 - Captured Tank Platoon - T-28 - BT-7 - KV-2 - T-26 |
| Transports: | M3 Scout Car - Universal Carrier - SdKfz 251 |
| Infantry: | Rifles - Motor Rifles - Penal Company - Storm Group - SMG Company - Engineer Sapper Company |
| Artillery: | Katyusha - 152mm Artillery - 122mm Artillery - 76mm Artillery - 120mm Mortars - 82mm mortars |
| Tank Destroyers and Assault Guns: | 45mm Anti Tank - 57mm Anti Tank - 76mm Anti Tank - 100mm Anti Tank - SU-76 - SU-85 - SU-100 - SU-122 - SU-152 - ISU-122/ISU-152 |
| Recon: | Scout Platoon - BA-64 Platoon - Armored Reconnaissance Platoon - Reconnaissance Platoon |
| Aircraft: | Il-2 Sturmovik |
| Anti-Aircraft: | ZSU M17 - DShK AA MG Platoon |
| Midwar Monsters: | KV-3 - KV-5 - T-43 |