Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-30
Type	Gatling gun
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Production history
Designed	1970s
Specifications
Weight	149 kg (328 lb) 390 g (13¾ oz) — projectile
Length	2040 mm
Cartridge	30x165 mm
Caliber	30 mm (1.18 in)
Barrels	6
Action	Gas actuated, electrically fired
Rate of fire	6000 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	845 m/s (2770 ft/s)

The Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-30 is a Russian 30 mm cannon used by Soviet and later CIS military aircraft.

The GSh-6-30, designed in the early 1970s and entering service in 1975, is a six-barreled Gatling gun similar in design to the Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-23. It was based on the naval AO-18 used in the AK-630 system.^[1] Unlike most modern American rotary cannons, it is gas-operated rather than electric, allowing it to "spin up" to maximum rate of fire more quickly, allowing more rounds to be placed on target in a short-duration burst. Ignition is electrical, as with the smaller GSh-6-23.

The GSh-6-30 fires a 30x165 mm round with a hard-hitting 390 g (13¾ oz) projectile. With such a high rate of fire, it is a potentially devastating weapon, although its tactical usefulness is restricted by ammunition supply. That limitation may be why the cannon has seen few aircraft applications.

The principal application for the GSh-6-30 is the MiG-27 'Flogger,' which carries the weapon in a gondola under the fuselage, primarily for strafing and ground attack. It was fitted to prototype Su-25T aircraft, but subsequently replaced with the GSh-30-2 twin-barreled cannon of the original Su-25. It is also used as the gun component of the CADS-N-1 Kashtan air defense weapon.

[edit] References

• Koll, Christian (2009). Soviet Cannon - A Comprehensive Study of Soviet Arms and Ammunition in Calibres 12.7mm to 57mm. Austria: Koll. p. 305. ISBN 978-3-200-01445-9. http://www.russianammo.org. 

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: GSh-6-30

• KBP Instrument Design Bureau

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