Type 23-3 (23 mm)

Description

The NORINCO/CSGC Type 23-3 (23-3型23毫米航空机炮) is the reverse-engineer version of Soviet's GSh-23L 23 mm autocannon.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• J-7D
• J-8B

General info

The general dimension and specifications are identical to Soviet's GSh-23L.

Available ammunition

Note: both Type 23-3 and GSh-23L share the very same 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/Type 23-2K: Guns that it was intended to replace, having vastly improved rate of fire and firepower per gun.
• GSh-23L: The cannon that Type 23-3 based on; both perform identically.
• M61: 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.

Usage in battles

Like its Soviet ancestor, it was aimed for high rate of fire while takes little space to install (which rotatory guns or revolver guns couldn't); they shared the very same flaw: its slow muzzle velocity and small ammo pool (200 rounds), which players have to practice for its odd ballistics and not being trigger-happy.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• High rate of fire
• Sufficient damage against aerial targets

Cons:

• Low muzzle velocity, needs to compensate more at lower air speed
• Small ammo pool

History

The earliest records of GSh-23L in Mainland China were those from Egypt, who sent a few MiG-21MFs and a MiG-23SM to China for evaluation in early 1980s; PLAAF at the time only has Type 30-1 and Type 23-2(K) as their aircraft cannons which both lacked rate of fire. As the reverse-engineering efforts to build the domestic version of MiG-21MF, the CAC J-7III (C/D), Xi'an Kunlun Machinery Factory [昆仑机械厂; Now CSGC Kunlun Industry (Group) Co., Ltd] built the Type 23-3 autocannon as the alternative to the previous guns. While J-7III failed eventually due to military doctrine differences, later jets since J-8A opted it as the replacement gun as well, then Type 23-3 became the weapon of choice for SAC J-8II series, CAC J-10, XAC JH-7 as well as CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

• GSh-23L (23 mm) - base model from the Soviet Union

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.