2A42 (30 mm)

Description

The 30 mm 2A42 Shipunov is an autocannon developed by the Soviet Union to replace the 2A28 Grom found on the BMP-1. It is also found on various helicopters as well.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

Ground vehicles

• BMP-2
• BMP-2M
• T-72M2 Moderna

Helicopters

• Ka-29 (Modification)
• Ka-50
• Ka-52
• Mi-28A
• Mi-28N
• Mi-28NM

General info

Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the cannon or machine gun.

Available ammunition

Ground vehicles

• Default: AP-T · HEF-I*
• 30 mm HE: HEF-I* · AP-T · HEF-I* · HEF-T*
• 30 mm APT: AP-T · AP-T · AP-T · HEF-T*
• 30 mm APDS: APDS · APDS · APDS · APDS · HEF-T*
• 30 mm APDS-FS: APFSDS · APFSDS · APFSDS

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	65	63	53	44	36	29
30 mm HE	65	63	53	44	36	29
30 mm APT	65	63	53	44	36	29
30 mm APDS	82	81	79	75	72	69
30 mm APDS-FS	102	99	94	88	81	75

Helicopters

• Default: AP-T · HEF-I*
• Ground targets: APDS · AP-T · HEF-I* · HEF-I*
• Air targets: HEF-T* · AP-T · HEF-I* · HEF-I*
• Armoured targets: APDS

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	65	63	53	44	36	29
Ground targets	82	81	79	75	72	69
Air targets	65	63	53	44	36	29
Armoured targets	82	81	79	75	72	69

Comparison with analogues

Ground vehicles

• L21A1 (30 mm) - A British autocannon with a higher penetration and APDS but at a very slow rate of fire
• MK 30-2/ABM - A German autocannon with access to APFSDS, but at a slow rate of fire
• Bushmaster 2 Mk.44 (30 mm) - An American autocannon of the same found on the VCC-80/30. Offers more penetration with APFSDS but with a slower rate of fire
• 2A72 (30 mm) - A derivative of the 2A42 with a more simplified assembly and longer barrel. Has a higher muzzle velocity but a slower rate of fire

Helicopters

• M230E-1 (30 mm) - An American autocannon found on the Apache series of helicopters, with HE-DP and a slightly higher rate of fire
• GSh-30-2K (30 mm) - A Soviet autocannon fixed on the Mi-24P, with a much higher rate of fire but no access to APDS

Usage in battles

The 30 mm 2A42 is a potent weapon against any MBTs and light vehicles, and even the toughest of enemies when flying in a helicopter with the cannon. The best tactic with the 2A42 is to flank the enemies s you will have the best chance of penetrating enemy side or rear armour with APDS. Coupled with the high rate of fire of the cannon, you can eliminate most targets quickly. The gun is also good for dealing with air targets, mainly helicopters as the high rate of fire can destroy helicopters and their critical components in mere seconds. Jet aircraft can be dealt with too but their high speed may make them difficult to take down, unless they're on an easy trajectory to shoot at. The 2A42 does have a low rate of fire mode but with the large amount of ammo, there is little reason to use the low rate of fire mode.

Pros and cons

Summarise and briefly evaluate the weaponry in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark pros and cons as a list.

Pros:

• High rate of fire
• High ammo count
• Decent armour penetration
• Slow overheating

Cons:

History

The BMP-1 was armed with the 73 mm 2A28 Grom intended to offer anti-tank capabilities to the vehicle. However, when they designed the BMP-2 to replace it, NATO introduced a new type of composite armour that made the Grom obsolete as an anti-tank weapon. Combined with the better maximum elevation and the increased threat of helicopters as demonstrated by the Vietnam War, this resulted in the adoption of a 30 mm high-velocity cannon for the BMP-2 which became the 2A42 Cobra. After being used in the BMP-2, the same turret was used on the BMD series of airborne Infantry Fighting Vehicles, BTR-80 Armored Personnel Carrier, the joint Polish-Czechoslovakian OT-64 SKOT APC, and in different turrets on Soviet APCs and IFVs to the present day such as the Typhoon MRAP. It has also been used on modern Russian attack helicopters such as the Ka-50 "Hokum" and the Mi-28 "Havoc". It is well suited for the attack helicopter role due to being able to switch between a cyclic rate of 200-800 rounds per minute.

Media

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See also

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• reference to the article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;
• references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.

External links

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• 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)