The main caliber of the XXI century: Tsar Cannon. The main caliber of the 21st century: Tsar Cannon AK 130 ship gun

The Soviet AK-130 naval automatic cannon is one of the most formidable artillery pieces in use today. But the development of the gun turned out to be long and tricky business, since research in the field of naval artillery in the USSR progressed slowly, and the mass of the gun was huge. In tests, the AK-130 demonstrated an excellent rate of fire: it could fire more than 60 shots with 130-mm shells per minute. But why did the naval doctrine of the USSR provide for the creation of such a monster? Is this gun still relevant today?

The idea of ​​​​creating an automatic large-caliber gun appeared in the USSR during the Second World War. Soviet gunners believed that due to the low rate of fire, 100-130 mm caliber guns could not effectively deal with enemy aircraft. As a result, during the period from 1952 to 1955, many prototypes of automatic guns were created that used recoil energy for loading. These guns fired cylindrical projectiles. different types. In the future, the development and testing of guns were to take place as part of the shipbuilding program of 1956-1965, but in 1957 Nikita Khrushchev canceled work on the creation of ship guns with a caliber of more than 76 mm. Soviet large-caliber guns could not boast high speed shooting and efficiency, yielding to British, American, Swedish and Italian counterparts. In 1967, the designers were instructed to restart the development of automatic large-caliber guns.

In 1969, a single-barreled 130-mm gun called the ZIF-92 appeared. Many design features of the gun subsequently migrated to the AK-130. A cooling system for the barrels with outboard water was used. The recoil energy was used for loading, the gun was equipped with a wedge-shaped vertical bolt. Despite the outstanding characteristics of the gun, due to the huge mass, the gun could not be installed on Project 1135 patrol ships, and developments were postponed until better times.

In 1985, the ZIF-92 received a successor - the double-barreled gun AK-130, designed for installation on Project 956 destroyers. The gun was double-barreled, since the single-barreled design did not have the desired rate of fire of 60 rounds per minute. Double-barreled AK-130 can fire 80 rounds per minute, the rate of fire of each barrel reaches 40 rounds per minute. Gun ammunition - up to 180 shots. Each projectile has a mass of 3.4 kilograms, the maximum firing range is 23 thousand meters. In reality, when firing at aircraft, the firing range is up to 15,000 meters, and when destroying missiles, up to 8,000 meters. The double-barreled gun weighs about 100 tons, the mass of ammunition is 40 tons, so the AK-130 is an incredibly heavy gun.

For comparison: total weight The 127-mm Mark 45 Mod 2 gun mount, which is installed on American destroyers, is only 54 tons. But this is a single-barrel gun with 20 rounds of ammunition. The AK-130 uses radar guidance, it is equipped with an electronic ballistic computer and a laser rangefinder. Some projectiles are equipped with remote fuses and radio fuses, which makes it possible to effectively destroy air targets.

Thanks to this, the AK-130 can be called one of the best ship guns for protecting the ship from drone attacks. The high rate of fire and massive projectiles make the AK-130 a deadly weapon, while its huge ammo capacity allows it to hold the line for a long time. The cannon is great for supporting ground forces, and with the right ammunition, it can destroy any ship that comes within range of it. Large-caliber naval guns have been around for a very long time, but advanced systems like the AK-130 prove that these guns are still relevant today.

AK-130- Soviet naval automatic gun caliber 130 mm.

Development history

Development began in June 1976 at Arsenal Design Bureau. Initially, the A-217 single-barrel mount was being developed, but later the double-barreled A-218 was recognized as a priority. The choice was explained by the greater rate of fire and the sympathy of the Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Navy, Admiral S. G. Gorshkov. Many innovations were first used in the cannon: a unitary artillery cartridge, automatic reloading of ammunition, and others.

Production of the first samples - the plant "Barricades". Trial operation on the destroyer project 956 for 5 years. Adopted by the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of November 1, 1985.

Description

The double-barreled AU gives a high rate of fire (up to 90 rounds per minute), but this was achieved at the cost of a significant increase in the mass of the system (AU - 98 tons, SU - 12 tons, mechanized cellar - 40 tons). The presence of mechanisms for auto-reloading ammunition allows, without the participation of an additional team, to release the entire ammunition load until the cellars are completely empty. The AU has sight correction devices for bursts of falling shells and a sighting post for firing at coastal targets. Also, due to the high rate of fire and the presence of several types of specialized shells, the gun can conduct effective anti-aircraft fire (the ammunition includes shells with remote and radar fuses).

guidance

Guidance: the Lev-218 (MP-184) fire control system was created in the Amethyst design bureau on the basis of the Lev-114 control system (MP-114 from the AK-100 complex). According to some reports, Project 956 destroyers use the Lev-214 control system (MP-104). The system includes a target tracking radar, a TV sight, a DVU-2 laser rangefinder (a rangefinder sighting device developed by TsNIIAG and LOMO software using an autonomous indirect laser beam stabilization system in 1977), a ballistic computer, target selection equipment and noise protection. The firing control system ensures the reception of target designation from general ship detection equipment, measurement of target movement parameters, development of gun pointing angles, correction of burst firing, automatic tracking of the projectile.

  • Radar MR-184 - dual-band target tracking radar, simultaneously accompanies 2 targets;
  • instrumental range - 75 km;
  • target tracking range - 40 km;
  • system weight - 8 tons.

Tactical and technical characteristics

  • Caliber, mm: 130
  • Barrel length, mm/klb: 9100/70
  • Rollback length - 520-624 mm
  • Installation sweeping radius: 7803 mm along the trunks 3050 mm along the tower
  • HV angle, deg: −12 / +80
  • GN angle, deg: +200 / −200
  • Maximum guidance speed, deg / s: vertical: 25 horizontal: 25
  • Weight, kg: 89,000
  • Rate of fire, rds / min.: 90 (45 shots per barrel)
  • Shot weight, less than 60 kg
  • Muzzle velocity, m/s: 850
  • Firing range, m: 23,000

Main users of AK-130

The AU is located on the ships of the Russian Navy (projects 956,,) and others. On the destroyers of Project 956, two (bow and aft) A-218 towers are placed: in front of the superstructure on the tank and behind the helicopter hangar. The horizontal firing sector is within 100 degrees from the side, the ammunition of each turret is 320 rounds. Project 956 and 956E destroyers, as well as their variants, were the first ships of this class to be equipped with these installations.

On the missile cruisers of projects 1164 and 1164A "Moskva", one A-218 installation was installed on the tank in front of the bulwark of the bow section. The installation provides a horizontal firing sector of 210 degrees, has an ammunition capacity of 340 shots. On the cruiser "Moskva" is equipped according to the modernization system with the ACS artillery device "Puma" (similar to ground complex"Feed") for centralized "non-aimed" guidance on targets close to the far boundary of the lesion.

On heavy nuclear cruisers (on the very first of the series 2 turrets AK-100 on all subsequent turrets 1 AK-130) of project 1144 "Kirov" (renamed "Admiral Ushakov") one turret A-218 was installed in the stern behind the fence of the aft observation post with a 180 degree firing sector. The installation is mounted on all ships, except for the Kirov itself, that is, on the next three. Ammunition installation 440 shots, it is equipped with a control system "Rus-A" from the post of centralized guidance of naval artillery.

Another operator of the installation is the project 1155-3 destroyer, converted from the Udaloy project 1155 anti-submarine ship to project 956ESM-1 with the installation of two packages

Service History Was in service with:

the USSR

Weapon characteristics Caliber, mm: Barrel length, mm / calibers: rate of fire,
rounds per minute:

90 per installation

Characteristics of the gun mount Gun mount brand: Stem angle, °: Maximum firing range, :

- ship automatic gun caliber 130 mm

Development history

Development began in June 1976 at Arsenal Design Bureau. Initially, the A-217 single-barrel mount was being developed, but later the double-barreled A-218 was recognized as a priority. The choice was explained by the greater rate of fire and the sympathy of S. G. Gorshkov. For the first time, many innovations were applied in the cannon: a unitary artillery cartridge, automatic reloading of ammunition, etc. The first samples were produced by the Barrikady plant, the main series of installations was produced by the Yurgamashzavod Production Association (Yurga). Trial operation on the destroyer pr.956 for 5 years. Adopted by the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of November 1, 1985 No.

Description

The double-barreled AU gives a high rate of fire (up to 90 rounds per minute), but this was achieved at the cost of a significant increase in the mass of the system (AU - 98 tons, SU - 12 tons, mechanized cellar - 40 tons). The presence of mechanisms for auto-reloading of ammunition allows, without the participation of an additional team, to release the entire ammunition load until the cellars are completely empty. The control system has devices for correcting the sight for bursts of falling shells and a sighting post for firing at coastal targets. Also, due to the high rate of fire and the presence of several types of specialized shells, the gun can conduct effective anti-aircraft fire (the ammunition includes shells with remote and radar fuses).

guidance

Guidance: the Lev-218 (MR-184) fire control system was created in the Amethyst design bureau on the basis of the Lev-114 control system (MR-114 from the AK-100 complex). According to some information, the Lev-214 (MR-104) control system is used on destroyers pr. systems for autonomous indirect stabilization of the laser beam in 1977), a ballistic computer, target selection and jamming equipment. MR-184 radar - dual-band target tracking radar, simultaneously tracking 2 targets Instrumental range - 75 km Target tracking range - 40 km System weight - 8 tons

Tactical and technical characteristics

  • Caliber, mm: 130
  • Barrel length, mm/klb: 6990/54
  • Rollback length - 520-624 mm
  • Installation sweeping radius: 7803 mm along the trunks 3050 mm along the tower
  • HV angle, deg: −12 / +80
  • GN angle, deg: +200 / −200
  • Maximum guidance speed, deg / s: vertical: 25 horizontal: 25
  • Weight, kg: 89,000
  • Rate of fire, rds / min: 90 (45 rounds per barrel)
  • Shot weight, kg: 86.2
  • Muzzle velocity, m/s: 850
  • Firing range, m: 23,000

Main users of AK-130

The AU is located on the ships of the Russian Navy (projects 956, 1144, 1164 Atlant) and others. On the destroyers of Project 956, two A-218 towers (bow and aft) are placed: in front of the superstructure on the tank and behind the helicopter hangar. The horizontal firing sector is within 100 degrees from the side, the ammunition of each turret is 320 rounds. Project 956 and 956E destroyers, as well as their variants, were the first ships of this class to be equipped with these installations.

On missile cruisers pr. 1164 and 1164A "Moskva" one A-218 installation was installed on the tank in front of the bulwark of the bow cut. The installation provides a horizontal firing sector of 210 degrees, has an ammunition capacity of 340 shots. On the cruiser "Moskva" is equipped according to the system of modernization with the automatic control system for artillery "Puma" (an analogue of the ground complex "Feed") for centralized "non-aimed" guidance on targets close to the far border of destruction.

On heavy nuclear cruisers of project 1144 Kirov, one A-218 turret was installed in the stern behind the fence of the aft observation post with a firing sector of 180 degrees. The installation is mounted on all ships, except for the Kirov itself, that is, on the next three. Ammunition installation 440 shots, it is equipped with a control system "Rus-A" from the post of centralized guidance of naval artillery.

Another operator of the installation is the destroyer pr. 1155-3, converted from the project 1155 Udaloy anti-submarine ship to project 956ESM-1 with the installation of two 3M80 SCRC packages and one A-218 twin turret in the nose with 210 rounds of ammunition.

Ammunition

The shells are unified with the A-217, A-218, A-222 and A-192M mounts

  • F-44 - high-explosive projectile, projectile weight 33.4 kg, explosive mass - 3.56 kg, 4MRM fuse; ZS-44 - anti-aircraft projectile, projectile weight 33.4 kg, explosive weight - 3.56 kg, fuse DVM-60M1; ZS-44R - anti-aircraft projectile, projectile weight 33.4 kg, explosive weight - 3.56 kg, AR-32 fuse;

The radius of destruction of targets by anti-aircraft shells:

  • 8 m (radio fuse, anti-ship missiles) 15 m (radio fuse, aircraft)

Cartridge weight - 52.8 kg. Cartridge length - 1364-1369 mm. Charging is unitary.

Ships equipped with AK-130

Links

  • AK-130-MR-184

Categories:

  • Weapons in alphabetical order
  • Universal Artillery
  • Naval artillery of the USSR
  • Naval artillery of medium caliber
  • Artillery caliber 130 mm

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See what "AK-130" is in other dictionaries:

    - ... Wikipedia

    130 one hundred and thirty 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 Factorization: 13 × 2 × 5 Roman notation: CXXX Binary: 100000 ... Wikipedia

    130 mm ship gun model 1935 (B 13) Soviet universal ship gun. 130 mm ship gun (B 13) ... Wikipedia

The ship's automatic gun AK-130 is one of the most formidable artillery pieces to date. Although the development period was long and difficult - mainly due to the stagnation of naval artillery research in the USSR and its huge weight- it turned out to be an extremely fast weapon, capable of firing more than sixty rounds per minute with 130 mm caliber shells. But why Soviet Union then such a weapon was needed? And is it relevant today? This publication writes nationalinterest.org.

The USSR conceived an automatic large-caliber gun during the Second World War. Soviet artillerymen it seemed that the low rate of fire of 100-130 mm caliber guns limits the effectiveness of such weapons when air defense. As a result, after the war, in 1952-55, various prototypes of automatic guns were developed, which used the recoil energy to automatically load the next cartridge. In the future, guns of this type were supposed to be developed and produced from 1956 to 1965. However, Nikita Khrushchev forbade work on all naval guns with a caliber of more than seventy-six millimeters, and large-caliber guns on Soviet ships remained slow and ineffective for nearly a decade. Finally, in 1967, the order was given to start work on automatic large-caliber guns again.

In 1969, the first single-gun installation of 130 mm caliber was created under the factory index ZIF-92. This gun had many features that later helped turn it into the AK-130. The barrel was cooled by outboard water, which entered through special grooves in the casings. Automation worked on recoil energy, and the monoblock barrel of the installation had a wedge-shaped vertical shutter. Despite its innovative qualities, this design was too heavy to be installed on Project 1135 ships, and therefore work on it was suspended.

The design was then used to build the AK-130 double-barrel mount in 1985, which was operated on the destroyer Sovremenny. Two barrels made it possible to achieve the desired rate of fire - sixty rounds per minute. The modern version of the AK-130 can fire eighty rounds per minute, that is, forty rounds for each gun. At the same time, the installation can carry up to 180 shells, each weighing 33 kg. The firing range is 23 km along a ballistic trajectory. In reality, it can shoot at a distance of fifteen kilometers with anti-aircraft defense and eight kilometers with missile defense. The mass of the installation is about 100 tons, which makes the AK-130 a very heavy system. For comparison, a 127 mm Mark 45 Mod 2 machine gun mounted on American destroyers, weighs only 54 tons. But it is a single-barrel installation with only twenty rounds. The AK-130 has a radar fire control system and a ballistic computer with a laser rangefinder. Some projectiles are equipped with remote and radar fuses, which make it possible to effectively deal with enemy aircraft.

These features made the AK-130 one of the best naval gun mounts. With it, you can protect the ship even from massive drone attacks. Its high rate of fire and big size shells provide unprecedented lethality, and an extremely large set of ammunition - the ability to fight for a long time. This also means that she can perfectly fill roles such as support ground troops and anti-ship defense. While big guns are among the oldest naval technologies, advanced systems such as the AK-130 continue to prove their practical value in the modern era.

Gun mount AK-130


World record holder for salvo power


Destroyer "Modern", armed with two installations AK-130


The destroyer Hull. The only copy: in 1971, a 203 mm Mk 71 gun was installed on the nose of the destroyer DD 945 Hull instead of the 127 mm Mk 42


The universal 130-mm gun AK-130 is designed to protect against low-flying anti-ship cruise missiles sea-based, allows you to fire at sea and coastal targets, support fire landing operations


The gun uses several types of unitary cartridges ...

... high-explosive fragmentation with an impact fuse, high-explosive fragmentation with a radio fuse and high-explosive fragmentation with remote fuse

The initial speed of the projectile is 850 meters per second. The mass of the cartridge is 53 kg, the projectile is 32 kg. Ammunition 180 rounds. Horizontal firing range - over 20 kilometers


"Monster" and "Tumbler": on the left - a universal "tumbler gun" 406 caliber. On the right is a double-barreled ship's gun with muzzle brakepromising development Nizhny Novgorod Federal State Unitary Enterprise Central Research Institute "Burevestnik"


From the 17th century to 1941 the main strike force at sea were considered battleships, and the main weapons are large-caliber guns. However, the grandest naval war in the history of mankind - a campaign on pacific ocean 1941-1945 - passed without fights of battleships. Its outcome was decided by aircraft carrier and base aviation, and battleships were used exclusively to support landing forces. Since 1945, the era of fundamentally new weapons systems began - guided missiles, jet aircraft and atomic bombs.

Why does a ship need a gun

Aircraft carriers became the main striking force of the leading maritime powers, while anti-aircraft and anti-submarine defense remained for large surface ships of other classes. However, rockets failed to completely oust artillery from the fleet. Artillery mounts large caliber they are good because they can fire both conventional and guided projectiles, which, in terms of their capabilities, are close to guided missiles. Ordinary artillery shells are not subject to passive and active interference, and are less dependent on meteorological conditions. At naval guns significantly higher rate of fire, more ammunition on board, much lower cost. intercept artillery shell air defense systems are much more difficult than a cruise missile. A well-designed large-caliber advanced gun mount is much more versatile than any type of rocket. This is probably why work on heavy ship installations is carried out in an atmosphere of deep secrecy, even more so than in the creation of anti-ship missiles.

At the bow of the ship

Nevertheless artillery piece on the modern ship- an auxiliary weapon, and only one place was left for him on the bow of the ship. Multi-gun turrets of the main caliber have sunk into the past along with the last battleships. Today, the most powerful Western naval installation is the universal 127-mm single-gun turret Mk 45, developed by the American company FMC and designed to destroy surface, ground and air targets.

The world current record for salvo power belongs to the Soviet AK-130 gun mount: 3000 kg / min. Salvo weight destroyer"Modern", armed with two such installations, is 6012 kg / min. This is more than, for example, the battlecruiser of the First World War "Von der Tann" (5920 kg / min) or the modern Peruvian cruiser "Almirante Grau" (5520 kg / min).

Bigger caliber

It would seem so powerful and at the same time easy installation fully satisfies the need of sailors for a universal gun for firing at surface, ground and air targets. However, the 127 mm caliber turned out to be small for firing at coastal targets and for nuclear weapons. To sink even a small merchant ship with a displacement of about 10,000 tons, at least two dozen hits of 127-mm high-explosive shells. Certain difficulties arose in the creation of cluster munitions, active-reactive and guided projectiles. Finally, the dispersion of small-caliber projectiles at long range firing is significantly higher than that of heavier large-caliber projectiles.

Therefore, at the very end of the 1960s in the United States, in the strictest secrecy, work began on the 203-mm Mk 71 single-gun turret. It was created by the American company FMC Corporation Northern Ordnance Division. It was the world's first fully automated installation of this caliber. It was run by one person. The installation could provide a rate of 12 rds / min and fire at this rate for 6 minutes. In total, 75 shots of six different types were ready to fire. Shooting was carried out with separate-sleeve loading shots.

The tests of the Mk 71 were successful, and the 203-mm gun was in service with the DD 945 until the end of the 1970s. However, in mass production the installation of the Mk 71 was not received - due to the "inappropriateness of the introduction of new 203-mm caliber guns." The real reason kept secret.

naval howitzer

In 2002, the Germans placed on the Hamburg-type frigate a turret from the world's best 155-mm self-propelled howitzer PzH 2000. Naturally, this installation could not be a regular weapon of the Navy and was used for research purposes when creating large-caliber ship installations. To turn the PzH 2000 into a ship weapon, it was necessary to develop a fundamentally new system supply of ammunition and the fire control system, change the guidance drives, etc. The work has not yet left the research stage.

Our response to Chamberlain

At the end of 1957, factory tests of the twin 100-mm SM-52 turret gun mount, created at TsKB-34, began in the USSR. The rate of fire of one machine gun was 40 rounds per minute at initial speed 1000 m / s and a firing range of 24 km, equipped with a radar fire control system. According to the ship program for 1956-1965, the SM-52 was supposed to be installed on cruisers of project 67, 70 and 71, air defense ships of project 81 and patrol ships of projects 47 and 49.

Alas, both the listed ships and all naval guns of caliber over 76 mm fell victim to Khrushchev. Work on them was stopped for almost 10 years and resumed only after the resignation of the Secretary General.

On June 29, 1967, the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR was issued on the start of work on the A-217 single-gun automatic 130-mm turret mount. In the Arsenal Design Bureau, she received the factory index ZIF-92 (Frunze plant).

Prototype passed ground tests at Rzhevka near Leningrad, but it was not possible to obtain the specified rate of fire of 60 rounds per minute. In addition, the weight of the installation exceeded the calculated one by almost 10 tons, which did not allow it to be installed on Project 1135 ships, and as a result, work on the ZIF-92 was stopped. Barrel ballistics, ammunition, and most of the ZIF-92 design were used to create the A-218 (ZIF-94) two-gun mount.

The gun mount was controlled by the Lev-218 (MR-184) system, which included a dual-band target tracking radar, a thermal imager, a laser rangefinder, equipment for selecting moving targets and jamming protection.

Shooting was carried out unitary cartridges. The ammunition was placed in three drums, which made it possible to have three ready to fire. different kind ammunition. In 1985, the ZIF-94 installation was put into service under the symbol AK-130 (A-218). In addition to the destroyers of project 956, A-218 was installed on cruisers of project 1144 (except for the Admiral Ushakov), as well as project 1164 and the BOD Admiral Chabanenko.

A comparison of the characteristics of the gun shows, but our designers were guided by the same 127-mm American gun mount Mk 45. With the same range of fire with a conventional projectile, the pace of the AK-130 is 2.5 times higher. True, and the weight is 4.5 times more.

In the second half of the 1980s, the design bureau "Arsenal" began the development of a 130-mm single-turret A-192M "Armata". Ballistic data and rate of fire new installation compared to the AK-130, they remained unchanged, but the weight decreased to 24 tons. The fire control of the installation was to be carried out by the new Puma radar system. The ammunition should have included at least two guided projectiles. It was planned to equip the new destroyers of the Anchar project and other ships with the A-192M installations. However, with the collapse of the USSR, all work was suspended.

At present, work on the A-192 M has been continued, since it is she who will be armed with new frigates of project 22350 for Russian fleet, the head of which - "Admiral Gorshkov" - was laid down in 2006 at the production association "Severnaya Verf".

roly-poly cannon

At the end of 1983, a project of a truly fantastic weapon was developed in the USSR. Let us imagine a ship with a 4.9 m high and about half a meter thick pipe vertically sticking out in its bow, almost like a chimney on steamships of the 19th and 20th centuries. But suddenly the pipe bends and flies out of it with a roar ... anything! No I am not joking. Attacks, for example, our ship, plane or cruise missile, and the installation releases an anti-aircraft guided projectile. Somewhere over the horizon, an enemy ship was detected, and a cruise missile flies out of the tube at a range of up to 250 km. A submarine appeared, and a projectile flies out of the pipe, which, after splashing down, becomes a depth charge with a nuclear warhead. It is required to support the landing force with fire - and 110-kg shells are already flying at a distance of 42 km. But here the enemy sat down near the shore in concrete forts or strong stone buildings. 406-mm super-powerful high-explosive projectiles weighing 1.2 tons are immediately used at a distance of up to 10 km.

The installation had a rate of fire of 10 rounds per minute for guided missiles and 15-20 rounds per minute for shells. Changing the type of ammunition took no more than 4 seconds. The weight of the installation with a single-tier shell cellar was 32 tons, and with a two-tier one - 60 tons. The calculation of the installation was 4-5 people. Similar 406-mm guns could easily be installed even on small ships with a displacement of 2-3 thousand tons. But the first ship with such an installation was to be the Project 956 destroyer.

What is the "highlight" of this gun? Its main feature is the limitation of the angle of descent +300, which made it possible to deepen the axis of the trunnions below the deck by 500 mm and exclude the tower from the design. The swinging part is placed under the combat table and passes through the dome embrasure.

Due to the low (howitzer) ballistics, the thickness of the barrel walls is reduced. Lined barrel with muzzle brake. Loading is carried out at an elevation angle of +900 directly from the cellar by an "elevator-rammer" located coaxially with the rotating part.

A shot consists of an ammunition (projectile or rocket) and a pallet in which a propellant charge is placed. The pallet for all types of ammunition is the same. It moves along with the ammunition along the bore and separates after leaving the bore. All operations on filing and resending are performed automatically.

The project of the super-universal gun was very interesting and original, but the Navy command had a different opinion: the 406 mm caliber was not provided for by the standards of the Russian fleet.

flower guns

In the mid-1970s, the design of the 203-mm Pion-M ship installation began on the basis of the oscillating part of the 203-mm gun 2A44 self-propelled guns Pion. It was the Soviet response to the Mk 71. The amount of ammunition ready for firing was the same for both systems - 75 rounds of separate-sleeve loading. However, in terms of rate of fire, the Pion outperformed the Mk 71. The Pion-M fire control system was a modification of the Lev system for the AK-130. Compared to the 130 mm caliber, 203 mm active-reactive, cassette and guided projectiles had incomparably greater potential. For example, funnel size high-explosive projectile from AK-130 was 1.6 m, and for Pion-M - 3.2 m. The Pion-M rocket projectile had a range of 50 km. Finally, both the USSR and the USA, no matter how hard they fought, failed to create 130-mm and 127-mm nuclear weapons. The limiting caliber from the 1960s to this day remains 152 mm. In 1976-1979, several reasoned "justifications" for the advantages of the 203-mm gun were sent to the leadership of the Navy. Nevertheless, "Pion-M" did not enter service.

Russian sea monster

But here's a picture of a 152-mm double-barreled naval gun with a muzzle brake called 152 mm Russian Naval Monster appeared on the Internet. The double-barrel scheme made it possible to significantly reduce the weight and size characteristics of the installation and increase the rate of fire.

This gun mount was designed on the basis of the new self-propelled guns "Coalition SV" currently being developed by the Nizhny Novgorod Federal State Unitary Enterprise Central Research Institute "Burevestnik". The double-barrel system has the same automation for both barrels. The barrels are loaded at the same time, and they shoot sequentially. This is done to increase the rate of fire while reducing weight.

I note that back in the 1960s, the designers V.P. Gryazev and A.G. Shipunov designed a ship installation with two double-barreled 57-mm machine guns with a rate of fire of 1000 rounds per minute. A 152-mm double-barreled shotgun could become an effective ship weapon in the first half of the 21st century.



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