The Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-23 (russian: Грязев-Шипунов ГШ-6-23) (GRAU designation: 9A-620 for GSh-6-23, 9A-768 for GSh-6-23M modernized variant) is a six-barreled 23 mm

rotary cannon A rotary cannon, rotary autocannon, rotary gun or Gatling cannon, is any large- caliber multiple-barreled automatic firearm that uses a Gatling-type rotating barrel assembly to deliver a sustained saturational direct fire at much greater r ...

used by some modern

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

/Russian military aircraft. The GSh-6-23 differs from most American multi-barreled aircraft cannon in that it is

gas-operated Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate locked breech, autoloading firearms. In gas-operation, a portion of high-pressure gas from the cartridge being fired is used to power a mechanism to dispose of the spent ...

, rather than externally powered via an

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

, hydraulic, or pneumatic system. Tula State Museum of Weapons (79-54)

The GSh-6-23 uses the 23×115 Russian AM-23 round, fed via linked cartridge belt or a linkless feed system. The linkless system, adopted after numerous problems and failures with the belt feed, is limited. Fire control is electrical, using a 27 V DC system. The cannon has 10

pyrotechnic cocking charge A pyrotechnic cocking charge is a device used to cock or re-cock a gas-operated automatic cannon, such as the Mauser BK-27 or the Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-23. Such devices are not necessary in an externally powered cannon, such as the electrically d ...

s, similar to those used in European gas-operated

revolver cannon A revolver cannon is a type of autocannon, commonly used as an aircraft gun. It uses a cylinder with multiple chambers, like those of a revolver handgun, to speed up the loading-firing-ejection cycle. Some examples are also power-driven, to fur ...

such as the DEFA 554 or

Mauser BK-27 The BK 27 (also BK27 or BK-27) (German abbreviation for ''Bordkanone'', "on-board cannon") is a caliber revolver cannon manufactured by Mauser (now part of Rheinmetall) of Germany. It was developed in the late 1960s for the MRCA (Multi Role Comb ...

. The rapid rate of fire exhausts ammunition quickly: the Mikoyan MiG-31 aircraft, for example, with 260 rounds of ammunition (800 rounds maximum), would empty its ammunition tank in less than two seconds. GSh-6-23M has the highest

rate of fire Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific weapon can fire or launch its projectiles. This can be influenced by several factors, including operator training level, mechanical limitations, ammunition availability, and weapon condition. In m ...

out of any

autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bul ...

so far. The GSh-6-23 is used by the

Sukhoi Su-24 The Sukhoi Su-24 (NATO reporting name: Fencer) is a supersonic, all-weather attack aircraft developed in the Soviet Union. The aircraft has a variable-sweep wing, twin-engines and a side-by-side seating arrangement for its crew of two. It was ...

attack aircraft An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical military aircraft that has a primary role of carrying out airstrikes with greater precision than bombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level air defenses while pre ...

, the MiG-31

interceptor aircraft An interceptor aircraft, or simply interceptor, is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically for the defensive interception role against an attacking enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Aircraft that are ...

, and the now-obsolete Sukhoi Su-15 among others. However, after two Su-24s were lost because of premature shell detonation in 1983, and because of some other problems with gun usage (such as system failures), usage of the GSh-6-23 was stopped by a decision of the Soviet Air Force Command. At present all aircraft in the Russian Air Force are flying with fully operational guns. It is also used in the SPPU-6

gun pod A gun pod is a detachable pod or pack containing machine guns, autocannons, revolver cannons, or rotary cannons and ancillaries, mounted externally on a vehicle such as a military aircraft which may or may not also have its own guns. Descriptio ...

, which can traverse to −45° elevation, and ±45°

azimuth An azimuth (; from ar, اَلسُّمُوت, as-sumūt, the directions) is an angular measurement in a spherical coordinate system. More specifically, it is the horizontal angle from a cardinal direction, most commonly north. Mathematical ...

Variants

* Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-23M; a modernized version.

References

Sources

* ''Rapid Fire'', Anthony G. Williams, Airlife UK, August 2000 *

External links

KPB Tula (designer/manufacturer)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gryazev-Shipunov Gsh-6-23 Artillery of Russia Rotary cannon Multi-barrel machine guns Aircraft guns Aircraft guns of the Soviet Union 23 mm artillery Multiple-barrel firearms KBP Instrument Design Bureau products Military equipment introduced in the 1970s

Variants

See also

References

Sources

External links