Especially in most OP doctrine - the mighty Defensive Tactics.
MG-42 with Incendiary Armor Piercing Rounds (non doctrinal, 240)
damage - 8
penetration - 19.8/16.2/12.6
DShK with AP rounds (doctrinal*2, 300)
damage - 10
penetration - 13.5/9/4.5
AP grounds increases the pen by 4, so it's now
18/12/6
To put this in perspective, the only Light Vehicles it won't 100% pen with those on at mid and close range are the Puma and Panzer II
At 8 shots per burst that's 80 damage for the Dhsk
At 16 shots per burst that's 128 damage for the MG42.
Both AP rounds require a reload before firing, which the Dhsk does in 4 seconds while the MG42 takes 6 seconds.
The Dhsk probably needs to either get better AP rounds or a cost decrease or CP decrease. By no means is it OP, but then again the MG42 could also use a cost increase so *shrug*.