Type 23-2K (23 mm)

Description

The 23 mm Type 23-2K is a Chinese autocannon fitted to Q-5s, replacing the 30 mm from the J-6s. The weapon is functionally identical to the Soviet NR-23, but due to its shorter barrel and a muzzle brake, it has quite different ballistics to the NR-23 but it still has sufficient enough firepower to finish off careless aerial targets given the shots land on the target.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• Q-5 early
• Q-5A

General info

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Available ammunition

• Default: AP-I · FI-T
• Armored targets: FI-T · AP-I · AP-I · AP-I
• Air targets: FI-T · FI-T · FI-T · AP-I
• Stealth: AP-I

It is possible to achieve penetration of American MBT's roofs (Abrams, MBT-70) with the AP-I round, although this task can prove to be difficult.

An FI-T hitting the inner wing or central fuselage will act like a "mini-flak shell" and can cause fuel leaks, oil leaks, engine damage, and inner-wing damage.

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	29	26	20	16	14	9
Armored targets	29	26	20	16	14	9
Air targets	29	26	20	16	14	9
Stealth	29	26	20	16	14	9

Belt details
Belt	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
						0%	50%	100%
Stealth	710	0.2	N/A	N/A	N/A	47°	56°	65°

Comparison with analogues

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Usage in battles

This weapon makes for a fairly dangerous encounter, whether for you or your enemy. The slightly above average rate of fire of 900 RPM allows for long-range tap firing or long bursts. The largest issue is that despite the large calibre, it could be frustrating with its lack of enough punch to ensure each hit will cripple the target and lower velocity than its Soviet ancestor, yet it still tends to come with a sparse supply of ammunition. Trigger-happy pilots beware! Precise aim is required!

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Decent damage per short burst of shells
• High fire rate for a gun of this calibre

Cons:

• Low velocity
• One or two shells usually won't cause critical damage or destroy an enemy (two may impact performance for a follow-up)
• Occasional sparks
• Generally low ammunition supply

History

In attempt of build China's first ground attacker, Nanchang Aircraft Corporation had attempted to put 2 NR-30 (Type 30-1) cannons into the Xiongying 302 (Soaring Eagle 302) prototype (later known as Q-5) in 1965, but ground tests and aerial tests showed that 2 large-calibre cannons placed in the nose of a jet attacker wasn't a good idea - the fumes from both 30 mm autocannons caused engine stalls similar to that of a MiG-9, forcing Lu Xiaopeng (陆孝彭), the chief designer of XY-302, to move its cannons to the root of the wing and downgrade to 23 mm NR-23 (Type 23-1) cannons; although the smaller calibre and repositioned guns reduced fume-caused stalling of engines, the original NR-23 could still possibly cause a engine stall to both engine.

Thus, in the later prototypes and pre-production run Q-5 series, Nanchang Aircraft Corporation changed the cannons to even shorter and muzzle-braked Type 23-2K cannons, reducing some of its velocity while retaining the ammo count, sufficient firepower, and preventing engine stalls caused by the aforementioned muzzle fumes.

These cannons have already been decommissioned by PLAAF and only the remaining foreign users of A-5 series use this gun to this day.

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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• encyclopedia page on the weapon;
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