GSh-23L (23 mm)

This page is about the Soviet autocannon GSh-23L (23 mm). For the other version, see GSh-23-2 (23 mm).

Description

The GSh-23L is a twin-barreled aviation autocannon that was introduced in Update 1.81 "The Valkyries". Featuring a very high rate of fire, the GSh-23L is the developmental follow-on to the Nudelman-Rikhter series of autocannons and was first introduced in 1965. The weapon operates on the Gast principle, whereby the recoil from one barrel operates the mechanism of the other, providing an inexpensive and simple method of a high rate of fire weapon without resorting to revolver or Gatling mechanisms. The GSh-23L is found on both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft and provides these vehicles with very accurate and deadly firepower. Featuring nearly 3,400 rounds/minute and very limited ammunition choices, this cannon performs the job it was made to do without any unnecessary complications, although it will take discipline to not expend all of the ammunition in waste.

General info

The Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23L has an unique design compared to cannons of the same era. The "Gast Gun" was designed by Karl Gast during WWI but never widely adopted until the design was later rediscovered by the Soviet forces in late 1950s looking for a quick-firing cannon that was more compact than a rotary or gatling gun. The GSh-23L (and other Gast guns) rely only on the recoil of the barrel to reset and rechamber the gun for firing. Along with the Chinese reverse-engineered version (Type 23-3), this gun served as the gun armament of choice for Soviet fighter jets and trainers of the time.

Available ammunition

• Default: HEFI-T · AP-I · HEF-I
• Armoured targets: HEF-I · AP-I · AP-I · AP-I
• Air targets: HEFI-T · HEF-I · HEFI-T · HEF-I · AP-I
• Stealth: AP-I · HEF-I · HEF-I

Penetration statistics
Belt	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Default	31	29	21	15	10	7
Armoured targets	31	29	21	15	10	7
Air targets	31	29	21	15	10	7
Stealth	31	29	21	15	10	7

Comparison with analogues

• NR-23 (23 mm): The GSh-23L is a direct developmental replacement for the NR-23, featuring a vastly better rate of fire although it uses the same ammunition.
• NR-30 (30 mm): The NR-30 has far more explosive power due to the larger shells, although it only has a fire rate of 1,000 rounds/minute.
• GSh-23-2 (23 mm): This is used in the UPK-23-250 gun pod on a wide variety of helicopters and aircraft, but has a much lower rate of fire.
• GSh-30-2K (30 mm): The GSh-30-2K operates on the same principle and has a very high rate of fire (~2,600 rpm) but has better performance due to being 30 mm calibre.
• M61 (20 mm): The M61 cannon has comparable explosive filling to the fragmentation rounds of the GSh-23L, although the M61 has improved ballistics and an astounding 6,000 rounds/minute rate of fire.
• M197 (20 mm): The M197 uses the same ammunition as the M61, although it has a far lower rate of fire at 1,000 rounds/minute. Compared to the GSh-23L, it has a greater ammunition capacity on helicopters (750 vs 450 rounds).
• GIAT M781 (30 mm): The M781 is another helicopter-mounted cannon, and although it has much more offensive power than the GSh-23L it lacks the rate of fire at only 1,200 rounds/minute.

Usage in battles

The main feature of any Gast gun is their high rate of fire - the GSh-23L is no exception. Thanks to its unique trigger mechanism, it can achieve over 2000 RPM with its twin barrel. 23 mm is sufficient enough to tear down enemy jets with a short burst, but it does takes a while to get used to its ballistics as the muzzle velocity is relatively low; it's also a good time to learn trigger disincline as most jets with GSh-23L only has 200 rounds available.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Much higher rate of fire than previous cannons
• Powerful fragmentation rounds which can cause severe damage to enemy aircraft

Cons:

• Very limited ammunition choice (only AP-I and FI-T shells available)
• Small amount of ammunition available on fixed-wing aircraft
• Low muzzle velocity

History

The origin of GSh-23L has to be traced back to a decade-old forgotten invention - the Gast gun.

In 1915, Karl Gast, a German inventor of Vorwerk, invented a new type of firearm that utilize an unique gun mechanism and dubbed Gast Maschinengewehr Modell 1917 (Model 1917 Gast Machine Gun); the lightweight and high rate of fire was deemed useful at the dawn of aerial combats, serving as self-defense weapon for aircraft. This gun was kept confidential for years until 1923 when US discovered the existence of this gun and Karl himself patented it in US.

While the US military praised the weapon for its reliability, this gun didn't have clear superiority over those of the same era and was lost in history for decades until early 1960s; where Soviets rediscovered the Gast gun design for their new aircraft autocannons with high rate of fire. The result was the Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23 autocannons introduced in 1965, then later autocannons such as GSh-30-2 on aircraft and 2A38 30 mm autocannon on ZPRK 2S6, further proved the successful of this design.

Media

Videos

Top 7 Autocannons discusses the GSh-23L (23 mm) at 02:52 - War Thunder Official Channel

See also

• GSh-23-2 (23 mm)
• Type 23-3 (23 mm) - Chinese derivative

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.

Sweden aircraft cannons
20 mm	Akan m/41A · Akan m/45 · Akan m/47B · Akan m/47C · Akan m/49 · Oerlikon FF
27 mm	Akan m/85
30 mm	Akan m/55 · Akan m/75
57 mm	Akan m/47
	Foreign:
20 mm	MG FF (Germany) · MG 151 (Germany)
23 mm	GSh-23L (USSR)
30 mm	2A42 (USSR) · M230E-1 (USA) · MK 108 (Germany)