The Nudelman-Richter NR-23 is a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
autocannon widely used in
military aircraft
A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat:
* Combat aircraft are designed to destroy enemy equi ...
of the
Soviet Union
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, ...
and
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist repub ...
. It was designed by
A. E. Nudelman and A. A. Richter to replace the wartime
Nudelman-Suranov NS-23
The NS-23 was a aircraft cannon designed by A. E. Nudelman, A. Suranov, G. Zhirnykh, V. Nemenov, S. Lunin, and M. Bundin during World War II as a replacement for the Volkov-Yartsev VYa-23 cannon. It entered service in 1944. The NS-23 round was d ...
and
Volkov-Yartsev VYa-23
The Volkov-Yartsev VYa-23 (Волков-Ярцев ВЯ-23) is a autocannon, used on Soviet aircraft during World War II.
Development
In 1940, A.A. Volkov and S.A. Yartsev created an autocannon, called TKB-201 for the new 23 mm round. I ...
, entering service in 1949.
The NR-23 is a single-barrel, short recoil-operated 23 mm (0.90 in) cannon. It was similar to the NS-23 but mechanical improvements increased its rate of fire by more than 50%. Its theoretical rate of fire was 850 rounds per minute, although
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
tests of captured weapons achieved an actual rate of fire of only 650 rounds per minute.
The NR-23 was later replaced by the
Afanasev Makarov AM-23 automatic cannon which had a higher firing rate. The AM-23 was used in
turreted installations for
bomber
A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...
s. It was a gas-operated weapon, weighed 43 kg (95 lb) and was capable of a substantially higher rate of fire (1,200–1,300 rounds per minute).
The
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
manufactures copies of both versions of this weapon as
Norinco Type 23-1 (NR-23) and Type 23-2 (AM-23), respectively.
Applications
The NR-23 was used on
fighter aircraft, including the
MiG-15
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...
,
Lavochkin La-15
The Lavochkin La-15 ( Plant 21 product code Izdeliye 52, USAF reporting name Type 21, NATO reporting name Fantail), was an early Soviet jet fighter and a contemporary of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15.
Design and development
Lavochkin had produced ...
,
MiG-17
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-17; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 w ...
, and some models of the
MiG-19
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-19; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is a Soviet second generation, single-seat, twinjet fighter aircraft, the world's first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. It was the ...
. In addition, it was also used on the
Ilyushin Il-28 and
Beriev Be-6
The Beriev Be-6 (USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 34", NATO reporting name "Madge") was a flying boat produced by the Soviet Beriev OKB. It was capable of accomplishing a wide variety of missions, such as long-range maritime reconnaissance, coastal ...
. The AM-23 was used in the defensive turrets of the
Antonov An-12B,
Myasishchev M-4,
Tupolev Tu-14,
Tupolev Tu-16
The Tupolev Tu-16 (NATO reporting name: Badger) is a twin-engined jet strategic heavy bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has been flown for almost 70 years, and the Chinese license-built Xian H-6 remains in service with the People's Liberation ...
,
Tupolev Tu-95/Tu-142, and the
Tupolev Tu-98
The Tupolev Tu-98 (NATO reporting name Backfin) was a prototype swept wing jet bomber developed by Tupolev for the Soviet Union.
Development
The Tu-98 emerged from a program for a fast supersonic bomber to replace the Tupolev Tu-16. It was power ...
prototype.
The NR-23 is also the only cannon to have been fired in space. Published accounts state that a Nudelman-Richter gun was installed on
Almaz 2 space station.
On the final day of the Almaz 2's deployment, the cannons were tested by firing a total of 20 rounds. The details of this test and its results remain classified.
In the mid-1960s the cannon was replaced in
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
service by the twin-barrel
Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23L.
The mechanism of the NR-23 was scaled up to produce the more powerful
NR-30 30 mm gun used in the
MiG-19
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-19; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is a Soviet second generation, single-seat, twinjet fighter aircraft, the world's first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. It was the ...
and some marks of the
MiG-21
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickn ...
.
See also
*
Volkov-Yartsev VYa-23
The Volkov-Yartsev VYa-23 (Волков-Ярцев ВЯ-23) is a autocannon, used on Soviet aircraft during World War II.
Development
In 1940, A.A. Volkov and S.A. Yartsev created an autocannon, called TKB-201 for the new 23 mm round. I ...
Notes and references
*
{{Russian and Soviet Aircraft Ordnance
Autocannons of the Soviet Union
Aircraft guns of the Soviet Union
23 mm artillery
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1949