Volkov-Yarzew WYa-23
The Volkov-Yartsev WJA-23 (Волков-Ярцев ВЯ-23) was a machine gun in caliber 23 mm, which in Soviet aircraft in World War II as a board weapon was used.
development
In 1940 A. A. Wolkow and S. A. Jarzew developed under the designation TKB-201 a machine gun for the new 23-mm cartridge . The firearm was intended as the primary armament for the attack aircraft Ilyushin Il-2 . Since the Il-2 was not yet available, the first flight tests were carried out with German Messerschmitt Bf 110 . After production of the Il-2 started in 1941, the TKB-201 was introduced into the Soviet armed forces as the WJa-23 . A total of 64,655 units were produced.
description
The WJa-23 was a gas pressure loader with belt feed and a high rate of cadence for the caliber used . The strong recoil and the jerky self-loading processes had a disadvantageous effect , which reduced the service life and which often led to load jams which could not be resolved in the air. As ammunition were explosive fire bullets , explosive-fire projectiles with tracer and armor-piercing incendiary bullets are used. The bullet weight of the weapon was 200 grams with an explosive proportion of the high explosive projectiles of 10 grams, twice as great as the 20 mm projectiles of the SchWAK or Beresin B-20 machine cannons. The armor-piercing projectiles penetrated 25 millimeters of steel at a distance of 400 meters.
When used as an anti-tank gun for aircraft, however, these performances were disappointing. Only light German tanks could be fought effectively from the side or from behind. Medium tanks could only be fought with aimed shots at the rear engine cover. At distances of around 400 meters at a dive angle of at least 40 °, this was an extremely difficult maneuver with an Il-2, even under ideal conditions.
Technical specifications
- Type: single barrel machine gun
- Caliber: 23 mm
- Rate of fire: 550–650 rounds per minute
- Muzzle velocity: 905 m / s
- Total length: 2150 mm
- Tube length: 1660 mm
- Empty weight: 66 kg
literature
- А. Б. Широкорад : История авиационного вооружения. Харвест 2001 (Alexander Shirokorad: Istorija aviazionnowo wooruschenja Harvest, 2001, ISBN 985-433-695-6 ) ( History of Aircraft Weapons )
