The Rikhter R-23 is an aircraft autocannon developed for the Soviet Air Force starting in the late 1950s. It was designed to be as short as possible to avoid problems found on high-speed aircraft when the guns were pointed into the airstream. The R-23 was a gas operatedrevolver cannon that used gas bled from holes in the barrel to provide the motive force. Firing up to 2,600 rpm, the R-23 was the fastest firing single-barrel cannon ever introduced into service.
The R-23 took some time to develop, and was not used operationally until 1964. It was used only in the tail turret of the Tu-22, and experimentally on the Salyut 3space station. Its role was taken over by the twin-barrel Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23.
A modified version of the weapon was the only cannon to have been fired in space.[1]
In the late 1940s and the early 1950s tests with defensive bomber turret cannons resulted in problems caused by the air flow affecting the weapons' barrel. Among these were the widely used Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23, found in many bomber installations, with barrels that extended far past their mounting points. A contest for a new design that was much shorter led to entries from Aron Abramovich Rikhter at A.E. Nudelman's OKB-16 in Moscow, and a competing design from Igor Dmitriev's TsKB-14 in Tula.[2]
Rikhter's design was radical; he selected a revolver cannon layout, but chose a front-loading design where the rounds were fed rearward into the revolver chambers. This allowed the feed mechanism to be placed in front of the rotating block, under the barrel. This created a gun with shorter overall length, and greatly improved the balance, with the center of gravity almost directly under the middle of the barrel. Despite some initial problems, the first 261-P prototype cannon was produced in 1957. On 7 August 1964 the cannon was adopted and received the official designation R-23. By this time the competing design from TsKB-14 had also been put into production as the Afanasev Makarov AM-23.
R-23 in a Tu-22PD tail turret, with the 'Argon' radome above it.
The R-23 is installed in the DK-20 tail turret of the “A”, “B”, “K” and “R” versions of the Tu-22 bomber only. The hydraulically elevated and traversed DK-20 turret uses the “Krypton” radar sight and TP-1 or TP-1A television sights. Spent cartridge cases are ejected outside the aircraft. The DK-20 turret weighs 593 kg including the R-23 cannon and 500 rounds of ammunition.
A subsequent application found the cannon in the Soviet space program. It was mounted on the military space station ALMAZ/Salyut 3/OPS-2 as a self-defence weapon. At the end of the mission, when the station flew unmanned, it was tested and successfully fired. This "space cannon" had a supply of 32 rounds.
Mechanism
The 23 mm R-23 is a gas-operated revolver cannon. The revolving cylinder has four cartridge chambers. Three separate gas systems are used; one ejects the fired cartridge case from the chamber, another chambers a fresh round, and the last drives the revolver cylinder and the feed mechanism.
In most gun designs, rounds are fed from the rear and rammed forward into the chamber. This leads to the traditional cartridge layout with the bullet or shell at the front, and a tapering cylindrical casing behind it. As the round is pushed forward, the tapering shape of the bullet and casing guides it into the center of the chamber. Rikhter's 261P design did the opposite, feeding the round rearward. To accomplish this, GSKB-398 (now GNPP PRIBOR) designed a round with the bullet completely enclosed in a galvanized steel casing, which was tapered to a bullet-like ogee at the rear and tipped by the electrically-fired primer. The front of the round was open, with the tip of the shell even with the end of the opening. The shell was held into the case by heavy crimping near the end of the shell.[3]
The ammunition is fed from the right side only and consists of a belt that contains the cartridges in disintegrating belt links. The latter drop out on the left side of the receiver. Fired cases are ejected forwards on the right side of the receiver.
The R-23 cannon has an automatic charging mechanism that fires the cannon in case of a misfire. When one of the two pyrotechnical cartridges is fired, a small bolt inside that cartridge is accelerated to penetrate the side wall of the R-23 cartridge. The hot propellant gases of the pyrotechnical cartridge follow the bolt into the dud R-23 cartridge and ignite the propellant charge to fire the round. This unique and curious mechanism was used in the R-23 cannon for the first time. The same kind of mechanism with a single pyrotechnical cartridge was later incorporated into the 30 mm GSh-30-1 aircraft cannon.
Secrecy
The R-23 cannon and its unique telescoped ammunition remained a military secret for a long time. This can be partially explained by the fact that the R-23 cannon was used in outer space, arming Salyut 3. The R-23 cannon was known only in the Soviet Union until the Tu-22 bomber was exported to Iraq and Libya during the 1970s. Various customers in the Middle East were the first outside the Soviet Union to learn about the R-23.
The Israeli army had discovered the 23mm ammunition without knowing what kind of weapon it was for. During the Israeli occupation of South Lebanon from June 1982 to June 1985, the Israeli army captured a crate of R-23 ammunition. This crate was delivered by mistake within a shipment of Soviet 23mm cartridges for the ZSU-23-4. This anti-aircraft ammunition was originally shipped to Syria and ended up in Lebanon, where it was found by the Israeli army.
The first examination of the gun by Western forces took place in 1987 when French bomb disposal personnel were called in to clear the wreckage of a Libyan Tu-22B shot down over Chad by a French MIM-23 Hawk battery.
Ammunition specifications
Cartridge dimensions: caliber 23×260 (telescoped) with a steel case
Projectile weight: 175 grams
Propellant charge: 67 g of 4/7fl VBP smokeless powder
Types of ammunition: HEI (nose fuzed), HEI (base fuzed), TP airburst, TP (inert)
References
^"Here Is the Soviet Union's Secret Space Cannon". Popular Mechanics. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
^"Research and design establishments", University of Warwick
^"The Russian Ammunition Page - 20mm To 25mm", from Soviet Cannon
Koll, Christian (2009). Soviet Cannon - A Comprehensive Study of Soviet Arms and Ammunition in Calibres 12.7mm to 57mm. Austria: Koll. p. 211. ISBN978-3-200-01445-9.
SOV - R-23 (23mm kanón) : Single Barrel Revolver Breech Guns (Clarke System Guns) (with photos and scanned page)
See also
Here Is the Soviet Union's Secret Space Cannon (R-23M Kartech)
Here's Our Best Look Yet At Russia's Secretive Space Cannon, The Only Gun Ever Fired In Space
January 26, 2023
rikhter, aircraft, autocannon, developed, soviet, force, starting, late, 1950s, designed, short, possible, avoid, problems, found, high, speed, aircraft, when, guns, were, pointed, into, airstream, operated, revolver, cannon, that, used, bled, from, holes, bar. The Rikhter R 23 is an aircraft autocannon developed for the Soviet Air Force starting in the late 1950s It was designed to be as short as possible to avoid problems found on high speed aircraft when the guns were pointed into the airstream The R 23 was a gas operated revolver cannon that used gas bled from holes in the barrel to provide the motive force Firing up to 2 600 rpm the R 23 was the fastest firing single barrel cannon ever introduced into service R 23 Aircraft CannonTypeSingle barrel revolver cannonPlace of originSoviet UnionService historyUsed bySoviet Union RussiaProduction historyDesignerAron Abramovich RikhterDesigned1964ManufacturerTulamashzavod TulaNo built500 SpecificationsMass58 5 kg 129 lb Length1 468 mm 4 ft 10 in Barrel lengthapprox 1 140mm barrel lengthWidth170 mm 7 in Height165 mm 6 in Cartridge23 x 260 mm telescoped ammunitionCaliber23 mm 0 9 in Barrels1Actiongas operated four chamber revolverRate of fire2 500 rpmMuzzle velocity850 m s 2 800 ft s Feed systembeltThe R 23 took some time to develop and was not used operationally until 1964 It was used only in the tail turret of the Tu 22 and experimentally on the Salyut 3 space station Its role was taken over by the twin barrel Gryazev Shipunov GSh 23 A modified version of the weapon was the only cannon to have been fired in space 1 Contents 1 Development 2 Mechanism 3 Secrecy 4 Ammunition specifications 5 References 6 See alsoDevelopment EditIn the late 1940s and the early 1950s tests with defensive bomber turret cannons resulted in problems caused by the air flow affecting the weapons barrel Among these were the widely used Nudelman Rikhter NR 23 found in many bomber installations with barrels that extended far past their mounting points A contest for a new design that was much shorter led to entries from Aron Abramovich Rikhter at A E Nudelman s OKB 16 in Moscow and a competing design from Igor Dmitriev s TsKB 14 in Tula 2 Rikhter s design was radical he selected a revolver cannon layout but chose a front loading design where the rounds were fed rearward into the revolver chambers This allowed the feed mechanism to be placed in front of the rotating block under the barrel This created a gun with shorter overall length and greatly improved the balance with the center of gravity almost directly under the middle of the barrel Despite some initial problems the first 261 P prototype cannon was produced in 1957 On 7 August 1964 the cannon was adopted and received the official designation R 23 By this time the competing design from TsKB 14 had also been put into production as the Afanasev Makarov AM 23 R 23 in a Tu 22PD tail turret with the Argon radome above it The R 23 is installed in the DK 20 tail turret of the A B K and R versions of the Tu 22 bomber only The hydraulically elevated and traversed DK 20 turret uses the Krypton radar sight and TP 1 or TP 1A television sights Spent cartridge cases are ejected outside the aircraft The DK 20 turret weighs 593 kg including the R 23 cannon and 500 rounds of ammunition A subsequent application found the cannon in the Soviet space program It was mounted on the military space station ALMAZ Salyut 3 OPS 2 as a self defence weapon At the end of the mission when the station flew unmanned it was tested and successfully fired This space cannon had a supply of 32 rounds Mechanism EditThe 23 mm R 23 is a gas operated revolver cannon The revolving cylinder has four cartridge chambers Three separate gas systems are used one ejects the fired cartridge case from the chamber another chambers a fresh round and the last drives the revolver cylinder and the feed mechanism In most gun designs rounds are fed from the rear and rammed forward into the chamber This leads to the traditional cartridge layout with the bullet or shell at the front and a tapering cylindrical casing behind it As the round is pushed forward the tapering shape of the bullet and casing guides it into the center of the chamber Rikhter s 261P design did the opposite feeding the round rearward To accomplish this GSKB 398 now GNPP PRIBOR designed a round with the bullet completely enclosed in a galvanized steel casing which was tapered to a bullet like ogee at the rear and tipped by the electrically fired primer The front of the round was open with the tip of the shell even with the end of the opening The shell was held into the case by heavy crimping near the end of the shell 3 The ammunition is fed from the right side only and consists of a belt that contains the cartridges in disintegrating belt links The latter drop out on the left side of the receiver Fired cases are ejected forwards on the right side of the receiver The R 23 cannon has an automatic charging mechanism that fires the cannon in case of a misfire When one of the two pyrotechnical cartridges is fired a small bolt inside that cartridge is accelerated to penetrate the side wall of the R 23 cartridge The hot propellant gases of the pyrotechnical cartridge follow the bolt into the dud R 23 cartridge and ignite the propellant charge to fire the round This unique and curious mechanism was used in the R 23 cannon for the first time The same kind of mechanism with a single pyrotechnical cartridge was later incorporated into the 30 mm GSh 30 1 aircraft cannon Secrecy EditThe R 23 cannon and its unique telescoped ammunition remained a military secret for a long time This can be partially explained by the fact that the R 23 cannon was used in outer space arming Salyut 3 The R 23 cannon was known only in the Soviet Union until the Tu 22 bomber was exported to Iraq and Libya during the 1970s Various customers in the Middle East were the first outside the Soviet Union to learn about the R 23 The Israeli army had discovered the 23mm ammunition without knowing what kind of weapon it was for During the Israeli occupation of South Lebanon from June 1982 to June 1985 the Israeli army captured a crate of R 23 ammunition This crate was delivered by mistake within a shipment of Soviet 23mm cartridges for the ZSU 23 4 This anti aircraft ammunition was originally shipped to Syria and ended up in Lebanon where it was found by the Israeli army The first examination of the gun by Western forces took place in 1987 when French bomb disposal personnel were called in to clear the wreckage of a Libyan Tu 22B shot down over Chad by a French MIM 23 Hawk battery Ammunition specifications EditCartridge dimensions caliber 23 260 telescoped with a steel case Projectile weight 175 grams Propellant charge 67 g of 4 7fl VBP smokeless powder Types of ammunition HEI nose fuzed HEI base fuzed TP airburst TP inert References Edit Here Is the Soviet Union s Secret Space Cannon Popular Mechanics 16 November 2015 Retrieved 18 June 2018 Research and design establishments University of Warwick The Russian Ammunition Page 20mm To 25mm from Soviet Cannon Koll Christian 2009 Soviet Cannon A Comprehensive Study of Soviet Arms and Ammunition in Calibres 12 7mm to 57mm Austria Koll p 211 ISBN 978 3 200 01445 9 SOV R 23 23mm kanon Single Barrel Revolver Breech Guns Clarke System Guns with photos and scanned page See also EditHere Is the Soviet Union s Secret Space Cannon R 23M Kartech Here s Our Best Look Yet At Russia s Secretive Space Cannon The Only Gun Ever Fired In Space Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rikhter R 23 amp oldid 1117801025, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
