Very Rare WWII Russian Ilyushin Sturmovic ShKas machine gun

Possibly the only one of its type in the UK, this is a very rare WWII Russian Ilyushin Sturmovik ground attack fighter "ShKas" machine gun. This gun was mounted at the rear of the cockpit and fired manually by the rear gunner. This gun is reputed to have been recovered from a Sturmovik that was shot down over Berlin towards the end of the war. The gun has a unique drum magazine that still has the remnants of a round stuck in it. The prevoius owner stated that the drum was fully loaded with ammunition after its initial recovery and for obvious safety reasons these rounds were removed. However this confirms that it was loaded and in combat when the plane was shot down.