In the postwar period, Soviet designers created many samples of various tools. One of them was the creation of Shipunov A.G. and Gryazev V.P. - automatic gun 2A42. According to military experts, this weapon is capable of hitting both the enemy’s manpower, lightly armored vehicles, and low-flying airborne targets. Information on the creation history, characteristics and technical description of the 2A42 automatic gun can be found in this article.
The beginning of design work
In the mid-1970s, the Soviet Union began to develop 30-mm ammunition, which they later planned to use as interspecific. In other words, 30 mm rifle systems used by the ground forces, navy and air force could equip such a cartridge. Initially, the cartridge was listed under the index AO-18. The shot pressure was 3600 atm. However, according to experts, this unified ammunition did not fully comply with the stated requirements of the military command for the guns. For this reason, there was a need for a new automatic gun, which became 30 mm 2A42.
About creating a new gun
The design of the 30 mm 2A42 automatic gun was carried out by employees of the Tula Design Bureau. Supervised by V.P. Gryazev and A.G. Shipunov. In 1978, the first prototype artillery gun was already ready. Later, the leadership of the USSR decided that serial production of guns should be carried out at this particular enterprise.
Gun automation uses the energy of powder gases that are removed from the barrel. For this purpose, it was equipped with a special side hole. In an effort to reduce sufficiently powerful returns, the designers amortized the barrel. In addition, it is intended to roll back during a 3.5 cm shot. In order to make it easier to feed the cannons with ammunition to the gun, it was mounted motionlessly on the unit. Due to the fact that initially the new automatic gun was intended for infantry fighting vehicles, the idea of using a gun in helicopters was skeptical. Some experts believed that using a 2A42 in a helicopter was not advisable.
This point of view was also shared in industrial institutes. That is why, working on a gun for the Ka-50 helicopter, employees of the Design Bureau named after Kamov especially much attention was paid to the whole structure. Since in a helicopter cartridge cartridges were fed to the single-barrel gun from two sides, the fighters were given the opportunity to equip the cannon with the necessary type of ammunition (armor-piercing or incendiary high-explosive fragmentation), depending on the target that should be destroyed. This design feature allowed to save the transported combat kit.
Device
30 mm gun consists of the following main components:
- The trunk.
- The breech.
- Bite.
- Axis of the butt plate.
- Electrical trigger.
- Contactor.
- Receiver
- Springs
- Shutter frame.
With four screws, Kamovtsy attached a plate to the gun pullers with the following details on it:
- A special guide for the carriage in the form of feed fingers.
- The strap, the task of which is to direct the cartridge during feeding from the tape and hold the axis of the fingers, preventing them from falling out.
- Special emphasis, which guides the cartridge and turns off the lever feed latch.
The objective of the receiver is to direct the movement of the entire bolt group. Also on the box are placed and connected all components and spare parts of the gun. The receiver is represented by the actual box, skewers, cartridges: two front and two rear, two side cartridge clips, guide links in the amount of 2 pcs., Latch, reflector and traction.
The receiver is a stamped steel structure. The shutter latch is released using the guide handle for reloading. As an emphasis for a spring levels are used (2 pcs.). In an effort to increase the rigidity of the box, the design was equipped with two liners and a plate. Fixture of cartridges is carried out by means of an arm.
Front and rear pullers are sent cartridge strip. In order to prevent the displacement of ammunition from the line along which they are sent to the gun, the rear pullers were equipped with special rods with flags. After firing, use the switch to release the latch and turn the flag. As a result, the cartridge is removed from the feed line.
How does it work?
The gun is adapted to produce both single and automatic fire in small 300 and large at 550 rounds per minute bursts. Manual reloading. Also for this purpose, pyrocartridges in the amount of three pieces can be used. For 2A42 provides mechanical and remote guidance. In the second case, the control is carried out by electric start. As a power source, direct current is used, the voltage indicator of which is 27 V.
terms of Use
According to military experts, the temperature does not affect the effective operation of this automatic gun. 2A42 functions equally well at temperatures of -50 and +50 degrees. This small gun can be used in rainy weather, in dusty and icy terrain.
About transportation
An automatic cannon 2A42 is equipped with BMP-2 infantry fighting armored vehicles, BMD-2 and BMD-3 airborne assault vehicles, BTR-90 and BMPT armored personnel carriers. Also, 2A42 equipped with combat helicopters Ka-50. In addition, employees of the South African branch of BEA Systems Corporation developed and successfully tested the TRT-R30 guided turret. Using this combat module, you can also install the 2A42 automatic cannon on an armored vehicle.
About ammunition
From the very beginning to the present day, the gun is equipped with three types of cartridges:
- Armor-piercing tracer. In the technical documentation, they are indicated by the abbreviation BT.
- High explosive with incendiary mixture (OFZ).
- Shrapnel tracer (OT).
In the 1980s, it turned out that all-body armor-piercing shells were ineffective when used with basic Marder-1 infantry fighting vehicles with a mass of 29.2 tons and 22.6-ton Bradley.
TTX
- Automatic gun 2A42 type refers to small-caliber single-barreled guns.
- The Soviet Army entered service in 1980.
- Shooting is carried out by a cartridge 30x165 mm.
- Caliber 2A42 - 30 mm.
- During firing, an energy of 150-180 kJ is generated.
- The total length of the gun is 302.7 cm, the barrel is 240 cm.
- The barrel is equipped with 16 rifling. The step length is 715.5 mm.
- The barrel weighs no more than 38.5 kg.
- The mass of the entire gun is 115 kg.
- From 550 to 800 rounds can be fired in one minute.
- The projectile launched travels at a speed of 970 m / s.
- The rate of recoil generated during firing is 40-50 kN.
About Strengths
The 2A42 automatic gun has the following advantages:
- Due to the variable rate of fire and selective ammunition, carried out from two boxes with different cartridges, the effectiveness of the defeat was increased by 30%. Also, the consumption of cartridges is more economical.
- The barrel of the gun has sufficient combat survivability to immediately release the entire ammunition. At the same time, 2A42 does not require intermediate cooling, which is important in a real battle.
- The gun is effective in conditions with increased dust content, which is important when used on combat helicopters, since during their operation it is often necessary to operate at low altitudes with their characteristic dust formations and to perform autonomous basing on dirt sites with limited maintenance.
- The projectile, due to the high initial speed, has exceptional combat accuracy and high armor penetration. From a distance of 1, 500 m, they can pierce a 15 mm armored steel sheet located at an angle of 60 degrees. Living force is affected at a distance of not more than 4 thousand meters, lightly armored vehicles - one and a half kilometers, airborne objects - up to 2 thousand meters.
However, unlike similar aircraft guns, the gun has a large mass. According to military experts, this is its only minus.
