2A38 (30 mm)
Contents
Description
The 2A38 is a twin-barrel autocannon manufactured by Tula Arms Plant.
Vehicles equipped with this weapon
General info
Sharing a very similar look to aerial GSh-23L or GSh-30-2 (which are both Gast gun), this 30x165 mm can sent rounds at up to 960 m/s with a rate of fire at a whopping 1251 rpm.
Available ammunition
- Default: HEF-I* · AP-T
- 30 mm HE: HEF-I* · HEF-T* · HEF-I* · AP-T
- 30 mm APT: AP-T · AP-T · AP-T · 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 | 65 | 63 | 54 | 44 | 36 | 30 |
| 30 mm HE | 65 | 63 | 54 | 44 | 36 | 30 |
| 30 mm APT | 65 | 63 | 54 | 44 | 36 | 30 |
Comparison with analogues
- M242- a 25 mm chain gun used in NATO countries, while it has a higher penetration with its APDS belt, the overall rate of fire is nowhere near 2A38.
- PG87- the Chinese 25 mm autocannon, having a faster muzzle velocity, similar penetration while being slower than 2A38.
- Oerlikon KDA- the 35 mm autocannon used by multiple nations, having a higher muzzle velocity and penetration up to 120 mm using APDS, while having slower rate of fire as well.
Usage in battles
2A38 cannon serves one purpose well- destroying its enemies with its impressive rate of fire. Thanks to the Gast gun design which vastly improves its rate of fire over its predecessor AZP-23, 2A38 is also a twin-barrel gun as well. For aerial targets that travel too close to the 2S6 platform, it would be the bad news for them- a quick tap from the mouse can sent dozens of rounds upon the target, taking them down with ease but do keep in mind of its disperse (relative high due to the recoil); in case for ground suppression, thanks to its penetration, it can gun down most NATO tanks with ease from the sides, but beware for Merkavas that has impressive side protection.
Since the overall slower muzzle velocity and very high rate of fire, although it has 484 rounds per storage, only take down targets that are within 2 km; spraying them on aircrafts beyond that is simply waste of ammo.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Very high rate of fire (only minigun is higher)
- Destructive to targets at closer proximity
- Sufficient penetration to gun down armored targets
- Sufficient ammo pool per gun
Cons:
- Relatively slower muzzle velocity
- Having a great disperse due to the recoil
History
Although Karl Gast's design for a high rate of fire firearm was not adopted in the early days of its invention, this was then found as a viable choice to the Soviet Air Force and KBP factory for a design aside from rotary gun or revolver gun; the result is the Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23 found on 1960s Soviet jets and then GSh-30-2 for attackers, where this design was proved reliable even without internal power to power the gun.
Gast's design was also adopted for the Army in 1982, where KBP designed another 30 mm autocannon for their new SPAAG platform- the 2A38 on ZPRK 2S6 "Tungska" as the replacement for the aging ZSU-23-4.
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;
- references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| USSR anti-aircraft guns | |
|---|---|
| 7.62 mm | Maxim's |
| 12.7 mm | DShK |
| 14.5 mm | KPVT |
| 23 mm | AZP-23 · ZU-23 |
| 25 mm | 72-K |
| 30 mm | 2A38 · ZK453 |
| 37 mm | 2A11 · 61-K · Sh-37 · Type 65 |
| 57 mm | S-68 |
