Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23L
| GSh-23 | |
|---|---|
GSh-23L
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| Type | Automatic cannon |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1965-present |
| Used by | See Users |
| Production history | |
| Designer | KBP Instrument Design Bureau |
| Designed | 1960s |
| Manufacturer | KBP Instrument Design Bureau |
| Variants | GSh-23L |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | GSh-23: 49.2 kg (108 lb) GSh-23L: 50 kg (110 lb) |
| Length | GSh-23: 1,387 mm (4 ft 7 in) GSh-23L: 1,537 mm (5 ft 1 in) |
| Barrel length | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 in) |
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| Cartridge | 23x115 mm AM-23 |
| Barrels | 2 |
| Action | Gast principle |
| Rate of fire | 3,400-3,600 rounds/min{http://ofbindia.gov.in/products/data/weapons/wmc/3.htm} |
| Muzzle velocity | 715 m/s (2,350 ft/s) |
The Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23 (Russian: ГШ-23) is a twin-barreled 23 mm developed in the Soviet Union, primarily for military aircraft use. It entered service in 1965, replacing the earlier Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 cannon.
The GSh-23 works on the Gast Gun principle developed by German engineer Karl Gast of the Vorwerk company in 1916. It is a twin-barreled weapon in which the firing action of one barrel operates the mechanism of the other. It provides a much faster rate of fire for lower mechanical wear than a single-barrel weapon.
Although it cannot match the sustained rate of fire of an electric Gatling gun like the M61 Vulcan GAU, because it doesn't need to spool up, its initial rate of fire is higher. It requires no external power source to operate, but is instead powered by the recoiling of the floating barrels, somewhat like the action of the German MG-42. The Gast principle has been little used in the West, but was popular in the former Soviet Union on a variety of weapons. It is reported to be a very reliable, robust weapon easily maintained in the field.
The cannon comes in a basic GSh-23 variant, and the more popular GSh-23L (ГШ-23Л), differing mostly in adding a muzzle brake, lowering recoil force. This cannon was standard fit on late-model MiG-21 fighters (M, SM, MF, SMT, bis), all variants of the MiG-23, the SOKO J-22 Orao, the HAL Tejas and IAR 93, and the tail turrets of the Tupolev Tu-22M bomber and some late-model Tu-95s. In that application, it had the unusual ability to fire infrared flares and chaff rounds, allowing it to function as both a weapon and a dispenser of anti-missile countermeasures. It is also mounted on late small series Mi-24VP helicopters (in the NPPU-23 movable mounting) and Polish W-3WA Sokół helicopter in fixed mounting. The cannon was also used on cargo aircraft; specifically, Russian/Soviet Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft were designed to accommodate twin Gsh-23L's in a tail turret. An Il-76M with just such a configuration could be seen at the 2002 Ivanovo airshow.
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Wikipedia