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, being able to deal with ground targets with ease.

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

The 2A42 is a very capable autocannon, being able to deal with ground targets from the sides and roof with ease. When fighting MBTs, the APFSDS belt can deal with most tanks through the turret ring or the gun mantlet. When used on helicopters, the gun can shred tanks and planes alike but be wary of anti-air missiles that will inevitably come your way when fighting at closer ranges.

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

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
Ammunition	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
HEF-I*	8	7	6	5	4	3
AP-T	65	63	53	44	36	29
HEF-T*	9	8	7	5	4	3
APDS	82	81	79	75	72	69
APFSDS	102	99	94	88	81	75

Shell details
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
						0%	50%	100%
HEF-I*	960	0.39	0.1	0.1	75.46	79°	80°	81°
AP-T	970	0.4	-	-	-	47°	60°	65°
HEF-T*	960	0.39	0.1	0.1	17.86	79°	80°	81°
APDS	1,120	0.3	-	-	-	75°	78°	80°
APFSDS	1,260	0.1	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°

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 but with significantly less accuracy.
• 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 rounds.

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 armor with AP sabot rounds. 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. When using helicopters, make use of the auto-track function on helicopters by locking the target as the ballistic computer will do the aiming for you, making evading and maneuvering easier. 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

Pros:

• High rate of fire, able to shred enemies in seconds if rounds penetrate.
• High ammo count.
• Excellent weapon for flanking, APFSDS can penetrate the sides of all MBTs with relative ease.
• Does not tend to overheat when firing prolonged bursts.
• On helicopters, good armor penetration and good accuracy.

Cons:

• When fighting MBTs frontally, precise aiming is sometimes required.

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

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

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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)