Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-30

Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-30
Type Gatling gun
Place of origin Soviet Union
Service history
In service 1975–present
Specifications
Weight 149 kg (328 lb)
Projectile: 390 g (13¾ oz)
Length 2040 mm
Cartridge 30×165mm
Caliber 30 mm (1.18 in)
Barrels 6
Action Gas actuated, electrically fired
Rate of fire 4000–6000 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity 845 m/s (2770 ft/s)

The Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-30 (Russian: Грязев-Шипунов ГШ-6-30) is a Russian 30 mm Gatling-style aircraft-mounted and naval autocannon used by Soviet and later CIS military aircraft. The GSh-6-30 fires a 30×165mm, 390 g (13¾ oz) projectile.

Description

The GSh-6-30, designed in the early 1970s and entering service in 1975, has a six barrel design that is similar to the Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-23. It was based on the naval AO-18 used in the AK-630 system. Unlike most modern American rotary cannons, it is gas-operated rather than hydraulically driven, allowing it to "spin up" to maximum rate of fire more quickly, allowing more rounds to be placed on target in a short-duration burst. This makes the weapon advantageous in dogfights, where pilots often have a very small window for engaging the enemy. Ignition is electrical, as with the smaller GSh-6-23.

On the Mikoyan MiG-27 the GSh-6-30 had to be mounted obliquely to absorb recoil. The gun was noted for its high (often uncomfortable) vibration and extreme noise. The airframe vibration led to fatigue cracks in fuel tanks, numerous radio and avionics failures, the necessity of using runways with floodlights for night flights (as the landing lights would often be destroyed), tearing or jamming of the forward landing gear doors (leading to at least three crash landings), cracking of the reflector gunsight, an accidental jettisoning of the cockpit canopy and at least one case of the instrument panel falling off in flight. The weapons also dealt extensive collateral damage, as the sheer numbers of fragments from detonating shells was sufficient to damage aircraft flying within a 200-meter radius from the impact center, including the aircraft firing.

The principal application for the GSh-6-30 is the MiG-27 "Flogger", which carries the weapon in a gondola under the fuselage, primarily for strafing and ground attack. It was fitted to some Su-25TM aircraft, but subsequently replaced with the GSh-30-2 twin-barreled cannon of the original Su-25. It is also used as the gun component of the CADS-N-1 Kashtan Close-in weapon system.

See also

References

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