ZPU-1
The ZPU-1 ( Russian ЗПУ-1 : зенитная пулеметная установка ) is a heavy single-barreled anti-aircraft machine gun of caliber 14.5 mm from Soviet production. The weapon was developed on the basis of the KPW machine gun ( Russian КПВ: Крупнокалиберный пулемёт Владимирова ).
Development history
The development of the KPW began in 1943, but series production could not begin until 1949. The MG was used in the Soviet Army as an infantry support weapon. Due to its efficiency, lightly armored targets could be fought at distances of up to 800 m and non-armored targets up to a distance of 2000 m. Since the need for powerful anti-aircraft weapons to support the infantry on the battlefield had become clear during the Second World War , the idea of using the MG as an anti-aircraft weapon was born. While the actual weapon remained unchanged, single and two-axis mounts were developed for the Fla-MG. A single-pipe (ZPU-1), two-pipe ( ZPU-2 ) and four-pipe ( ZPU-4 ) design were created.
Construction of the ZPU-1 began as early as 1947 in Plant No. 2 according to the tactical and technical requirements of the Artillery Headquarters (ГАУ) of the Soviet Army. Two projects were worked out. The construction developed under the direction of Shafirow (Шафиров) was selected for testing, but the test sample produced according to the specifications of this project was not convincing during the firing range testing. In March 1948, four new projects were appraised. Two of the projects were developed by Schafirow and I. S. Leschtschinski (И.С. Лещинский), who had also designed the ZPU-4, the other two by Je. D. Vodoljanow (Е.Д. Водопьянов) and Je. K. Ratschinsky (Е.К. Рачинский). One of the designs by Wodoljanow and Ratschinski was selected for the realization. In the same year, the prototype went through both the firing range and state testing. The following year, 1949, the weapon was included in the armament of the Soviet Army. In the same year, serial production of the ZPU-1 began.
The sighting device WK-4 (ВК-4) was developed by the company "Progress" ("Прогресс"). It was later also used for the anti-aircraft machine guns of the T-52 and T-57 tanks. Towards the end of 1949 the first visors were delivered to the troops.
construction
The weapon was mounted on a single-axis lower mount. This carriage was a welded construction. The lower mount consisted of three spars. In a battle, the wheels were removed and the spars unfolded in a star shape. Due to the low weight, the entire weapon with carriage weighed 453 kg, the ZPU-1 could be pulled by practically all vehicles. The wheels of the carriage were filled with foam, which resulted in high bullet resistance and resistance to damage. To fire, the weapon was lowered from the marching position to the combat position. This process, like the lifting from the march to the combat position, took 12-13 seconds. This enabled the fire to be opened quickly while moving. If necessary, it was possible to fire without lowering the gun carriage.
The crew consisted of a total of five men. In practice the number differed depending on the period and organization, the weapon could also be operated by just two men. For easier transport, the weapon could be dismantled from partial loads with a maximum weight of 85 kg.
The weapon fired belted ammunition. Belt boxes with 1200 rounds each were used on the weapon. With the 14.5 × 114 mm cartridge used , air targets up to a height of 1500 m and a distance of 2000 m could be fought effectively. The rate of fire was 550 rounds per minute.
commitment
States of operations
The weapon was delivered to numerous European, Middle Eastern, African and Asian countries and is partly still in use there today.
NVA
The weapon is not included in the inventory of the Missile and Weapons Technical Service (RWD) of the National People's Army . It must therefore be assumed that it was not introduced into the NVA.
Use in wars and armed conflicts
Korea
The ZPU-1 was used for the first time in the Korean War by North Korean and Chinese associations. When used against low-flying targets, the slow rate of fire proved to be a disadvantage.
Vietnam
In Vietnam, the weapon proved to be particularly effective against helicopters. The ZPU-1 was light and could be transported quickly, including with pack animals and on bicycles, and quickly camouflaged. The Vietnamese armed forces developed special operational tactics. To protect bridges and other objects, the ZPU-1 was combined with the ZPU-2, ZPU-4, ZSU-23 and large-caliber anti- aircraft guns and a radar device, usually a SON-9 , was used for early warning. This enabled a large distance and height range to be effectively covered. In general, the ZPU-1 was used in conjunction with other weapon systems. Its advantages came to bear particularly in the jungle and in the cut terrain, which forced the enemy aircraft and helicopters to fly low, made aerial reconnaissance difficult, but offered a free field of fire at the relatively short combat distances of the weapon. After the end of the Vietnam War, some ZPU-2s from Vietnamese stocks were given to Laos and Kampuchea .
middle East
The Arab states used the weapon in the various military conflicts with Israel in the 1960s and 1970s. The ZPU-2 was supplied in large numbers by the Soviet Union in the 1960s, as the weapon was no longer needed in the Soviet Army due to the conversion to modern air defense systems.
Syria and Egypt first used the ZPU-1 in the 1967 Six Day War . In Syria, the ZPU-2 did not take effect at all, as the Israeli air force had already switched off the Syrian air defense on the second day of the fight and achieved absolute control of the air. Basically, the Syrian army air defense suffered from an inadequate organizational structure, which made it difficult to allocate to the associations to be supported and to use anti-aircraft weapons effectively. The organization of the Egyptian anti-aircraft units was more effective, but these too were eliminated by Israel's air superiority. During the advance on the Sinai Peninsula , the Israeli army captured enough Egyptian ZPU-1, ZPU-2 and ZPU-4 to equip its own reserve unit with the captured weapons.
In the Yom Kippur War , the Egyptian army had sufficiently modern air defense systems, so that the ZPU-1 was mainly used to protect command posts and only sporadically in the troops.
Afghanistan
An unknown number of ZU-1's were ceded to the Army of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan between 1979 and 1988 by Soviet troops, a large part of which fell into the hands of various Afghan groups. These used the weapon mainly against ground targets, but a battery of five ZPU-1 was used for the air defense of the base in Zawhar Kili. The weapon was popular with the Afghans because it could be broken down into partial loads and thus transported by civilian vehicles and pack animals. It was only effective to a limited extent against combat helicopters Mi-24 , which is why it was used primarily to fight unarmored aircraft such as the Mi-8 or ground targets.
After the breakup of the Afghan state, the weapons fell into the hands of the various warlords. The supply of ammunition and spare parts from Chinese production was ensured by Pakistani intelligence circles.
After the start of the American invasion in 2001, the weapon proved ineffective in the fight against modern aircraft and stand-off weapons. Some of the weapons have been destroyed, but a large part is still in the hands of the Taliban.
Africa
Weapons from former Soviet or Cuban stocks ended up in relatively large numbers in the hands of SWAPO and other organizations and were used in large numbers in the military conflicts in South West Africa during the 1970s and 1980s. Since the effectiveness of the anti-aircraft agent is very limited, the weapon was primarily used against ground targets.
Gulf Wars
Iraq used the weapon together with the ZPU-2 and the ZPU-4 in the war against Iran from 1980 to 1988 . According to Iraqi information, several Iranian helicopters could be shot down with the weapon. Especially in the final phase of the war, a number of ZPU-1s were captured by Iranian troops who continued to use the weapon. Iraqi losses were offset with the supply of used weapons from Yemen and Egypt.
In both the Second and Third Gulf War, the ZPU-1 proved to be practically ineffective as an anti-aircraft weapon.
Libyan civil war
During the civil war in Libya in 2011, ZPU anti-aircraft weapons were used in various designs by both sides. Under Muammar al-Gaddafi , they had been stationed throughout the country for air defense, and large numbers of them ended up in the rebels' stocks through defected army units. After the establishment of the no-fly zone on the basis of Resolution 1973 of the UN Security Council on March 18, 2011, they were largely superfluous in their original application.
ZPU cannons were then mounted on pickup vehicles ( Technicals ) to one of the essential weapons of the insurgents, which were effectively used with high mobility and precision at distances of up to 5 km, especially in the campaign in the Nafusa Mountains , which paved the way to the Capital Tripoli paved.
Web links
literature
- А. Б. Широкорад : «Шилка» и другие. Отечественные зенитные самоходные установки. / М. Барятинский. - Москва: Моделист-конструктор, 1998. - 32 с. - (Бронеколлекция № 2 (17) / 1998). (Russian)
- Ilya Shaydurov: Russian firearms - types.Technology.Data. Motorbuch Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-613-03187-6 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ see Вестник ПВО
- ↑ The following information up to Iraq according to ZPU-1 and ZPU-2 towed AAA ( Memento from December 30, 2012 on WebCite )