S-60

This article covers the Soviet S-60 anti-aircraft gun. For the chain tractor see Stalinez-60 .

S-60
An S-60 gun in the St. Petersburg Artillery Museum
General Information
Military designation:	57-мм зенитная автоматическая пушка С-60 57 mm anti-aircraft gun S-60
Manufacturer designation:	Автоматическая зенитная пушка С-60
Manufacturer country:	Soviet Union
Developer / Manufacturer:	ZAKB NII-58 / plants 4, 7, 92, 235 and 946
Development year:	1944
Start of production:	1950
Model variants:	AK-725 ZIF-72 ZSU-57-2 Type-59 Type-80
Weapon Category:	Anti-aircraft gun
Team:	8th
Technical specifications
Overall length:	8.6
Pipe length:	4,389 (77 caliber)
Caliber :	57 mm
Cadence :	100-120 rounds / min
Elevation range:	–2 ° to + 87 ° angular degrees
Side straightening area:	360 °
Furnishing
Sighting device :	Reflex sight ground riflescope
Charging principle:	Loading machine
Ammunition supply:	Loading strip with 4 grenade cartridges
Power supply:	An external motor SPO-30

The S-60 is a Soviet anti-aircraft gun of 57 mm caliber . The Soviet name is Автоматическая зенитная пушка С-60 , abbreviated АЗП , and means S-60 automatic anti-aircraft gun . The S-60 is also used to describe the anti-aircraft complex, which consists of the actual cannon, fire control devices and additional equipment.

Development of the weapon began in what was then the Soviet Union in the mid-1940s. The weapon was widely used in the member states of the Warsaw Pact as well as in third world countries and is partly still in use today. The weapon was produced under license in Poland and China .

development

Vasili Grabin ( Василий Гаврилович Грабин ) began in 1944 in the Central Design Bureau of Artillery ( ЦАКБ ) NII-58 under the direction of Lev Loktew ( Лев Локтев ) the development of an anti-aircraft gun of the caliber of Michael 57 mm (Ливиоч ). The gun was supposed to replace the existing 37 mm Flak M1939 .

The testing of a test sample took place in 1946 on the Dongusk training area ( Донгузский полигон ). After eliminating the defects that had occurred, the weapon was adopted into the armament of the Soviet Army as the 57-мм зенитная автоматическая пушка С-60 in 1950. Series production began in the same year. According to Western intelligence circles, the development was based on the German Flak 5.5 cm Device 58 . German 5 cm Flak 41 captured by the Soviet Army during the Battle of Stalingrad are also said to have influenced the design.

construction

gun

Directional drives and lock

The gun was largely conventional. It had a one-piece tube, hydraulic tube brakes and spring balancers arranged below the tube, as well as a ground lock. The ammunition was supplied via loading strips that held four grenade cartridges. This reduced the time for reloading to four to eight seconds. The cocking, the cartridge feed, the locking of the slide, the release of the shot and the case ejection were controlled by an automatic loading system. The aiming of the gun could be done manually or by electric aiming drives.

Visor

The AZP-57 reflex sight was used to combat air targets, which enabled combat up to a (theoretical) distance of 5.5 km. A telescopic telescope was used in the fight against earth targets.

Mount

S-60 in marching position, the side bars of the mount are already swiveled out, on the right in the background a PUAZO 6-60

The gun was placed on a four-wheeled, cross-shaped mount . This enabled a lateral directional range of 360 °. In the event of a battle, the side bars were swiveled out, the support plates under the bars manually extended and the wheels lifted from the ground until the carriage was horizontal. The transition from marching to combat situation took one minute, from combat to marching position two minutes. In exceptional cases it was also possible to fire directly from the marching position, i.e. without folding down the spars and extending the support plates, but the probability of hits was lower.

The wheels of the carriage were filled with foam. With acceptable driving behavior, this resulted in a high level of bullet resistance. A stub axle steering was used for the carriage construction. This enabled the lower mount to be positioned low, but the driveability of the rifled gun was unsatisfactory at high speeds. All-terrain trucks were used as tractors. In the Soviet Army trucks from the manufacturer Uralsky Avtomobilny Zavod or of the type ZIL-131 were used, in the NVA truck G-5 , later also truck W-50 . Chain hoists could also be used in difficult terrain. A cruising speed of 60 km / h on the road and 15 km / h off-road was permitted.

A protective shield that was firmly connected to the upper mount (and thus swiveled with it) protected the operator against splintering. When fighting against air targets, the upper part of the shield was folded down.

ammunition

The following types of ammunition were used:

• Anti-tank shell cartridges with tracer set and percussion fuse for fighting against ground targets: UBR-281, UBR-281U, BR-281
• Frag grenades with tracer set and percussion fuse: UOR-281, UOR-281U, OR-281, OR-281U
• Maneuver cartridges: MK-281

The combat set consisted of 195 fragmentation grenades and 5 tank shell cartridges.

Fire control

S-60 in marching position, in the background a SON-9a

RPK-1 on truck Ural-375D

The S-60 was one of the first Soviet anti-aircraft guns that could be used with an automated fire control. First came a command unit PUAZO-5 or PUAZO 6-60 , later the gun alignment station SON-9 (designation in the NVA: GRS-9 ) with a command unit and from the 1960s the fire control station RPK-1 ( GRAU index 1RL35 ) for use.

The command device ПУАЗО 6-60 (PUAZO 6-60) ( Прибор управления артиллерийским зенитным огнем , designation in the NVA: G 6-60 ) was used for optical target reconnaissance and accompaniment. A 3 m base D-49 was available for this. With the help of the command device, the angle and distance of the aerial target were determined and the lead point and the values ​​for the elevation and lateral straightening machine of the guns were calculated. These values ​​were transferred to the guns, the straightening process took place automatically. The crew of the guns was only responsible for reloading and firing. The electric straightening drives were powered by a diesel generator SPO-30 in the battery. The same mount as on the S-60 was used for the command unit. The recommended speed was 34 ° / s on the side and 40 ° / s on the height.

Since the existing PUAZO 6-60 were mostly worn out from the mid-1960s, but the type was no longer produced, they were partially replaced in the NVA from 1964 by the Hungarian analog computer E-2BD . In principle, it was intended for the same tasks as the G 6-60 , but no optical rangefinder was integrated. Therefore, the already discarded optical rangefinder (EM) DJA had to be taken back into use. The E-2BD was except in the GDR only in Vietnam and Syria used.

The gun alignment station GRS-9 was used from the beginning of the 1960s. The airspace was cleared up by the radar device. If an air target was detected for combat purposes, the angle and distance of the air target were continuously determined in the subsequent operation of the radar device and passed on to the command unit, which determined the values ​​for the guns' directional drives as described above. The reconnaissance distance was 55 km, a target escort was possible up to a maximum of 35 km. Functionally, the radar device replaced the optical rangefinder, since optical target reconnaissance should not be dispensed with for tactical reasons, but these remained in the troops. The reconnaissance could take place in different modes. Either an automatic all-round search, an automatic search in a specific sector or a manual search could be carried out. In the subsequent operation, automatic angle support as well as automatic or manual support during the removal were possible. The interference protection options were limited. To protect against active or passive interference, it was only possible to switch the transmission frequency automatically or manually; four fixed frequencies were available. The station was located on a two-axle carriage, and chain tractors of the ATS type or heavy trucks were used as traction means . The power supply came from an APG-15 unit that was transported on a ZIL-151 truck . By using the radar station, the combat capabilities of the weapon system were decisively improved, but the large number of individual components reduced the tactical mobility. The time for making combat or march readiness was determined by the radar device. The time to set up the station was 18 minutes, the switch-on time 3.5 minutes. Ready to march could be made in 9 minutes. The walking speed on the road was limited to 40 km / h.

In the RPK-1 , reconnaissance and target tracking radar as well as the analog computer for determining the lead and the guide values ​​were integrated in the station. The reconnaissance range was in the range of 50 to 58 km, automatic target accompaniment was possible up to 40 km. In addition, the station was equipped with a television sight, which enables target accompaniment during the day and with a clear view without radar radiation. A system for the selection of moving targets (SBZ) increased the protection against passive radar interference, further electronic measures improved the interference protection compared to the predecessor overall. Additional parameters, such as the temperature of the propellant charge , could be entered manually into the computing device and were included in the calculation of the lead. This improved the accuracy of the weapon system. A friend-foe identification system was also available, and a power supply and a trainer were integrated into the structure. The determination of the target data and the aiming of the guns were carried out as described above. The entire station was located in a box body that was placed on an Ural-375D truck . The setup time was 9 minutes, the switch-on time 3 minutes, the marching speed was just as high as that of the guns. Alternatively, a flak telescope could be connected to the computing device instead of the radar device.

The following operations were possible with the RPK-1:

• Target assignment by angle and distance by the radar device
• Target assignment by side angle and elevation angle by the television sight, mathematical determination of the distance
• Target assignment according to azimuth and elevation angle by the television sight, determination of the distance by the radar device
• Coupling of the anti-aircraft telescope (TSK) with the target antenna.

In principle, the gun could of course also be used without automated fire control, only using the AZP-57 reflex sight . The advantages were the insensitivity to radar interference, the independence from other components of the complex and the faster establishment of combat readiness, disadvantages the reduced combat range and accuracy, since the angle, distance and speed of the air target had to be determined manually.

variants

AK-725

The AK-725 is the marine version of the S-60 and was introduced from 1958. The tube and loading machine were retained, the other components were adapted for use at sea. On early Soviet destroyer types, the weapon was used as a single weapon, twin and quadruplet.

ZIF-72

The ZIF-72 is a fully automatic marine version introduced from the mid-1970s, which was also exported to India .

ZSU-57-2

Detailed view of the S-68 cannons of a ZSU-57-2

The ZSU-57-2 ( ЗСУ-57-2 ) is a twin version introduced in 1950 and placed on a modified chassis of the T-54 main battle tank . The structurally modified weapon was designated as the S-68 . Tactical agility has been significantly improved, range and accuracy have been significantly reduced due to the lack of electronic reconnaissance equipment. A parallel developed twin on a towed two-axle carriage was not introduced. At times, the ZSU-57-2 and S-60 were used mixed in the anti-aircraft regiments or anti-aircraft departments.

Type-59

Chinese Type-59 in combat position, but barrel still lashed

Type-59 is the Chinese version of the S-60 .

Type-80

Type-80 is the Chinese version of the ZSU-57-2 .

S-60 "Umbrella"

This variant is an attempt to modernize the entire weapon system by the Polish company RADWAR SA . The guns remain largely unchanged, but the fire control complex (SON-9a or RPK-1) will be replaced. Active radar reconnaissance is dispensed with; various passive infrared and TV systems are used. The calculation is done digitally; this also requires the receivers of the guns' directional drives to be converted. A target escort is only possible up to a distance of ten kilometers, however interference protection, accuracy, availability and clarity of the weapon system have been improved. Currently (2009) no further information is available on the introduction or export of the system.

commitment

The Soviet Union exported the weapon to all member states of the Warsaw Pact, to many countries in the Third World and to Finland. The largest number of guns of this type were used in Egypt, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Indonesia and the GDR.

Operational principles

The S-60 was normally used in a closed battery, which typically contained six guns. The battery was part of an anti-aircraft regiment or an anti-aircraft division. An anti-aircraft regiment consisted of four to six batteries, an anti-aircraft division of three batteries. The regiment's task was to protect armored and motorized rifle units during the attack, defense and march. In use, the AA batteries were centrally managed by the regiment. Due to the restrictions of the fire control complex, only one air target could be fought at a time per battery. In the area of ​​a supported division, four to six air targets could be fought by the S-60 at the same time. Therefore, the support of other air defense equipment and, as a rule, the establishment of priorities was necessary. Shooting while moving was not possible. As a rule, firing positions were taken, but shooting from the short stop was also possible; then, however, without automated fire control. This made air defense more difficult in mobile combat.

Financial and other framework conditions, however, led to different structures and changed operational principles, especially in the countries of the Third World.

The small number of aircraft to be fought at the same time, the relatively low maneuverability as well as range and shot height no longer met the increased requirements from the mid-1960s. The S-60 was therefore removed from the armament from the late 1960s and replaced by anti- aircraft missile complexes such as the 2K12 Kub or 9K33 Osa .

War effort

The S-60 was used for the first time during the Korean War on the side of the forces of the Korean People's Army and the Chinese People's Volunteer Associations. Initially, problems arose with the loading machine. In some cases, the S-60 was already used with radar devices during this war , the type of which, however, could not yet be precisely determined. The anti-aircraft artillery, which consisted of S-60s , scored around five-sixths of all kills during the war.

The weapon was also used during the Vietnam War by units of the North Vietnamese Army. Since large-scale movements of closed armored and mechanized formations were rather the exception in this war, the weapon was primarily used in property protection. The S-60 was the main element of the North Vietnamese air defense for low altitudes and proved to be particularly effective in the altitude range from 500 to 1500 m.

On the American continent, the weapon was first used in 1961 by Cuba to repel the invasion of the Bay of Pigs , but there are no records of kills.

In the Middle East , the armies of Syria and Egypt first used the weapon system in 1967 in the Six Day War . Although in some cases used successfully, inadequate education and leadership prevented resounding successes. During the Yom Kippur War , the weapon system was also still used by Egyptian and Syrian troops, although mobile anti-aircraft missile systems such as the 2K12 Kub were already available.

Further deployments took place during the civil war in Angola and the subsequent clashes, the First Gulf War on the side of Iraq and Iran , the armed conflict in the Balkans after the breakup of Yugoslavia and the Second Gulf War and Third Gulf War on the Iraqi side. Since a sufficient number of anti-aircraft missile systems could already be used for the anti-aircraft defense of mobile units, they were primarily used to protect divisional command posts and artillery positions. Completely contradicting Soviet operational principles, the Iraqi S-60s were sometimes used in open terrain from fixed firing positions. Nonetheless, and although the weapon system was already obsolete, various sources attribute the shooting down of American and British aircraft to the S-60 during the Second Gulf War.

Countries of operation

Countries of action for the S-60 (red)

The weapon system was exported from the Soviet Union and China to the following countries:

•  Afghanistan : unknown number still in use
•  Albania : unknown number still in use
•  Algeria : 70, still in use in 2007
•  Angola : unknown number still in use
•  Armenia : unknown number from holdings of the Soviet Army
•  Bosnia and Herzegovina : unknown number still in use
•  Bulgaria : unknown number still in use
•  Belarus : unknown number from the holdings of the Soviet Army, still in use
•  Cambodia
•  People's Republic of China
•  Republic of the Congo
•  Cuba : approx. 400 pieces delivered, unknown number still in use
•  Czechoslovakia : 575 pieces, divided among the successor states
•  German Democratic Republic
•  Egypt : 600 pieces still in stock
•  Ethiopia : unknown number still in use
•  Finland : 12
•  Georgia : 60 from holdings of the former Soviet Army
•  Guinea : 12 Chinese Type-59s in 2007 still in use
•  Guinea-Bissau : 10 2007 still in use
•  Hungary : 186 pieces (43 currently still in reserve)
•  India
•  Indonesia : 256 in the army, unknown number in the marine infantry
•  Iran : unknown number still in use
•  Iraq
•  Israel :
•  Kyrgyzstan : 24 from the holdings of the former Soviet Army
•  Laos : unknown number still in use
•  Libya : 90, unknown number still in use
•  Mali : 6 2007 still in use
•  Morocco
•  Mauritania : 12 2007 still in use
•  Moldova : 12 from holdings of the former Soviet Army
•  Mozambique : 60 in use, 30 in storage (2007)
•  Mongolia : unknown number still in use
•  Nicaragua
•  North Korea : unknown number still in use
•  Pakistan : 144 Type-59
•  Poland : 500, of which 224 are said to have been in active service in 2007
•  Romania
•  Russia from stocks of the former Soviet Army
•  Somalia
•  Soviet Union : Distribution to the successor states
•  Sudan : both Soviet S-60 and Chinese Type-59
•  Slovakia : from the holdings of the Czechoslovak Army
•  Syria : 675, of which 600 were still in existence in 2007
•  Thailand : 6, another 18 not ready for use
•  Turkmenistan : 22 from holdings of the former Soviet army
•  Ukraine : 400 from stocks of the former Soviet army
•  Vietnam : unknown number still in use
•  Yemen : 120 pieces
•  Yugoslavia : Distribution to the successor states
•  Zambia : approx. 30

Furthermore, Bangladesh is said to have an unknown number of Chinese Type-59 . Its presence in other countries not listed here cannot be ruled out. Some of the weapons systems are still in active use in these states, and some are stored in the reserve.

GDR

In the National People's Army , the S-60 was used for air defense and initially for air defense. The use in the anti-aircraft regiments of the military districts and the air defense actually did not correspond to the Soviet operational principles and was justified more by the lack of heavy anti-aircraft artillery. From 1961, the AA regiments of the air defense gave up their 57 and 100 mm flak and were restructured into anti-aircraft missile regiments, but the tank and motorized rifle divisions initially retained the anti-aircraft regiments equipped with the S-60. In the early 1970s, with the introduction of the 2K12 Kub anti-aircraft missile system, the regiments there began to be restructured into anti-aircraft missile regiments. From this point on, the S-60s were stored for the anti-aircraft regiments of the mobilization divisions . With the beginning of the conversion of the FlaRak regiments of the motorized rifle divisions to 9K33 Osa , the 2K12 came into the stock of the mobilization divisions and partly displaced the S-60 there, which were now also handed over to the combat groups .

In total, more than 250 guns were used by the NVA. However, this high number did not meet the target specifications, in 1961 240 guns (equivalent to 40 batteries) were missing from the structural target.

Finland

Finland obtained twelve copies from the Soviet Union, which were designated as 57 ItK60 and are said to have been in active service in 1999.

Israel

Israel temporarily used captured Egyptian and Syrian weapons in the Six Day War and Yom Kippur War .

literature

• Шунков В. Н. Артиллерия. - Мн .: Попурри, 2001. - 704 с.
• Collective of authors: Handbook for air defense gunners , Military Publishing House of the GDR, 4th edition 1975
• Wilfried Copenhagen : The land forces of the NVA , Motorbuch Verlag, 1st edition 1999
• Wilfried Copenhagen: The other German Air Force , transpress, 1st edition 1992
• Olaf Groehler : History of the Air War 1910-1980 , Military Publishing House of the GDR, 7th edition Berlin 1988

Web links

Commons : S-60 57 mm gun  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• С-60 on Вестник ПВО
• 57-mm anti-aircraft complex S-60

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Different information is possible depending on the country of deployment and the literature
2. ↑ the term 57 mm AZP S-60, which is often found in English-language literature, is a transcription of the Russian abbreviation
3. ↑ Different information possible depending on the country of use and the literature, but the same characteristic for the ammunition of the S-60 is always the number sequence 281
4. ↑ Information for NVA, information may vary depending on the country of assignment, period and literature
5. ↑ S-60 Umbrella on Flak-11
6. ↑ Internet presence of the company RADWAR SA (English) ( Memento from September 4, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
7. ↑ FA-11 (Flaka Department-11 of the NVA): two batteries S-60, one battery ZSU-57-2
8. ↑ ^{a b} 57 mm flak complex S-60 on Flak-11
9. ^ Olaf Groehler: History of the Air War 1910–1980 , Military Publishing House of the GDR, 7th edition Berlin 1988
10. ↑ Numbers of items and information about their whereabouts can differ depending on the literature
11. ↑ Military Balance 2007, p. 223
12. ↑ Military Balance 2007, p. 322
13. ↑ Military Balance 2007, p. 134
14. ↑ Military Balance 2007, p. 244
15. ↑ Military Balance 2007, p. 375