GSh-23L (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
• Armored 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
Armored 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

Describe the cannon/machine gun in the game - its distinctive features, tactics of usage against notable opponents. Please don't write a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought.

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

History

Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />.

Media

Videos

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

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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• 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)