March 4, 1928 in Tula in a family of workers was born Vasily Petrovich Gryazev, who gained great fame as the creator of rapid-fire weapons.

The life of the future designer was not easy: in 1930 he was left without a mother, and in 1941 his father died.

However, the boy managed to overcome the trials that fell to his lot.

It is believed that a positive role in the fate of Gryazev was played by a passion for mechanics, as well as friendship with the family of a classmate Yura Pochukaev, whose father was a well-known microengraver in Tula.

Working in tandem

In the victorious 1945, Gryazev entered the weapons and machine-gun department of the Tula Mechanical Institute.

After graduating from high school in 1951, he began his career as an engineer at the Podolsk Research Institute of Small Arms and Cannon Aviation (now TSNIITOCHMASH).

There Gryazev met his future colleague in the weapons business, Arkady Georgievich Shipunov.

Both designers dealt with the topic of small-caliber aircraft guns and worked out technical solutions to increase their rate of fire, reliability and reduce weight.

“This is how the famous creative tandem Gryazev - Shipunov took shape.

Their joint products received the abbreviation "GSh".

Shipunov was an outstanding scientist, theorist, and a generator of breakthrough ideas.

Gryazev - a talented designer who understood how to put Shipunov's plans into practice and bring prototypes closer to technical perfection, ”said weapons historian, military expert Maxim Popenker in a commentary on RT.

  • Monument to Vasily Petrovich Gryazev in Tula

  • © Government of the Tula region

In 1962, Shipunov headed the Tula TsKB-14 (now the Tula Instrument Design Bureau), while Gryazev remained in Podolsk.

Nevertheless, the creative union not only did not break up, but also began to bear its first fruits.

So, in 1965, the first rapid-fire aircraft gun under the symbol GSh-23 was adopted by the Soviet Armed Forces.

The gun became extremely popular in the USSR Air Force.

In various modifications, it was installed on the MiG-21, MiG-23, Yak-28, Yak-130, Su-15, Su-17 fighters;

helicopters Ka-25, Ka-29, Mi-24VM, Mi-35M, heavy transport aircraft Il-76M, strategic bombers Tu-22M and Tu-95MS.

The peculiarity of the GSh-23 was the use of a double-barreled scheme and an impactless ramming mechanism of an accelerating type.

As a result, Gryazev and Shipunov were able to increase the rate of fire to 3400 rounds per minute against 1800 rounds for previous models.

At the same time, the dimensions and weight of the gun did not differ from single-barreled aviation counterparts.

In 1966, Gryazev began working in Tula as Shipunov's deputy.

Despite the success of the GSh-23, a new ambitious goal was set before the designers - to create a more powerful aircraft gun.

A promising gun was supposed to hit Western armored vehicles, which had become more protected.

To accomplish such a difficult task, it was decided to increase the caliber to 30 mm and integrate six barrels at once into one rotating weapon unit.

The AO-18 assault rifle was taken as the basis for such a product, the development of which was set by the USSR government in 1963 for the AK-630 naval artillery mount.

The aircraft gun under the name GSH-6-30A was put into service in 1974.

Compared to the GSh-23, the mass of the projectile of the new gun has more than doubled - up to 400 g, and the explosive content - almost three times.

After one volley from the new cannon, the target was subjected to serious destructive effects.

“Shooting from a six-barrel gun was striking in its strength: in a few seconds of a massive blow, the gun fired a hundred-kilogram volley.

The new 30 mm caliber artillery system at the time of release was superior to most Western models, ”the Rostec materials say.

  • Six-barreled gun GSh-6-30A designed by Gryazev and Shipunov

  • © Wikimedia Commons

The weight of the GSh-6-30A was 145 kg, the rate of fire was 5500-6100 rounds per minute, the muzzle velocity was 850 m/s, the effective effective range of fire against ground targets was 1200-1600 m, and against air targets 200-600 m. Ammunition GSH-6-30A consisted of 300 shells, including armor-piercing-explosive type.

According to Popenker, when developing this gun, Gryazev and Shipunov at that time best implemented the so-called Richard Gatling scheme.

Recall that this American engineer is considered the inventor of the world's first viable sample of a multi-barrel gun.

In order to radically increase the rate of fire, Gatling designed a block of several barrels that rotated around its axis.

“The Gatling scheme itself was not new, but it was Gryazev and Shipunov who were able to create a truly reliable weapon from several barrels.

They managed to think better than the rest of the automation, the cooling system, ways to lighten the gun and maintain a sufficiently high barrel life, ”explained Popenker.

Another masterpiece of the design tandem, according to the expert, was the single-barreled 30-mm aircraft gun GSh-301 (GSh-30-1), developed in the early 1980s.

For its lightness and outstanding rate of fire, the gun was nicknamed the “ballerina” by the troops.

The mass of the gun was only 43.5 kg, the rate of fire was 1500-1800 rounds per minute, the weight of the projectile was 386-395 g, and the muzzle velocity was 875-900 m/s.

To lighten the gun, Gryazev and Shipunov integrated more mechanical devices.

In particular, instead of complex accelerators, a lever-spring ammunition rammer was installed in the GSh-301.

As Popenker explained, the main feature of the new gun was that the cartridge and its elements were used as automation links.

Another innovation was a unique system of local cooling of the barrel using ordinary water, thanks to which excess heat was removed in the form of steam to the environment.

At the same time, the gun was not without some shortcomings.

These include strong recoil and a small barrel resource.

In practice, the problem of barrel wear of the GSh-301 was largely leveled by short bursts and an increase in temporary cut-offs - this is how the gun “rested” for several seconds before resuming firing.

  • Su-30SM fighter with GSh-301 gun

  • © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

“GSh-301, like other rapid-fire guns, worked at the limit.

In such weapons, it is impossible to avoid the problem of overheating, wear of the barrel and other elements, ”says Popenker.

Currently, the GSh-301 is equipped with almost all operational-tactical aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

The gun is installed on modernized MiG-29, Su-27, Su-30 fighters, as well as on Su-35 and Su-34.

An improved version of the GSh-301 called 9A1-4071K (9-A1-4071K) is used on the fifth generation Su-57 fighters.

Officially, the characteristics of the gun are not disclosed.

However, in open sources it is reported that the mass of the gun is 50 kg, the rate of fire is 1500-1800 rounds per minute, the technical solutions implemented in 9A1-4071K make it possible to dissipate excess energy of moving parts and stabilize the operation of automation when firing bursts.

"Still in demand"

Gryazev and Shipunov made a significant contribution to the improvement of air defense technology, means of destruction of armored vehicles of the Ground Forces and army aviation.

For example, the 2A38 gun created by the tandem was integrated into the Tunguska tracked air defense system.

The rate of fire from two such guns exceeded 4,000 rounds per minute, and the muzzle velocity of the projectiles was 960-980 m/s.

The modern modification 2A38 is installed on the Pantsir air defense missile system, which is now widely used in special operations.

“Even when firing on the move, the machine gun (improved gun 2A38. -

RT

) hits targets with high accuracy.

Electronic control independently aims the gun at the target.

2A38 can destroy low-flying aircraft and helicopters, some types of cruise missiles, as well as lightly armored ground targets, ”the Rostec materials say.

To equip armored vehicles and army aviation, Gryazev and Shipunov developed the 2A42 gun.

It is installed on the BMP-2, BMD-2, BMD-3, BTR-90, BMPT "Terminator", reconnaissance and attack helicopters Ka-50 "Black Shark", Ka-52 "Alligator", Mi-28 "Night Hunter" .

According to Rostec, 2A42 is capable of hitting most types of air and ground lightly armored targets, as well as manpower at a distance of up to 4 km. 

  • Cartridges for 30 mm gun 2A42

  • RIA News

  • © Vitaly Belousov

“This is a very reliable and unpretentious gun, which allows you to shoot the entire ammunition load without delay and cooling, even in dusty conditions.

2A42 fires an ammunition load of 500 30 mm rounds in one minute, ”the materials of the state corporation say.

The modern modification of the gun is included in the Boomerang-BM remotely controlled combat module, which forms the basis of the armament of the promising BMP on the Kurganets-25 tracked platform and the T-15 based on the Armata.

As Alexander Butyrin, a columnist for the magazine "Firing Line", stated in an interview with RT, Gryazev achieved outstanding results in increasing the rate of fire of small-caliber guns.

In addition, under the guidance of the designer, several types of small arms were developed for special forces: submachine guns PP-90M, PP-93, PP-90M1 and PP-2000, automatic 9A-91, sniper rifles VSK-94 and OSV-96;

AG-30 and LPO-97 grenade launchers, P-96S, P-96M, GSh-18 pistols. 

One of the last creations of Gryazev was a 5.45-mm automatic two-medium special ADS capable of firing under water.

Shortly before his death in 2008, the designer announced that he would like to develop a new 152-mm gun.

According to Butyrin, the diversity of Gryazev's products convincingly demonstrates his outstanding talent as a gunsmith.

“Of course, Gryazev entered his name in history primarily as the creator of aviation machines.

However, one should not forget about his contribution to the development of individual weapons.

Few of the domestic designers can boast of such a wide range of created products.

In addition, many of Gryazev’s developments are still in demand and widely used by our troops, ”Butyrin concluded.