European style air chuck

chapter 4. Missile and artillery weapons aircraft during the Second World War (1939-1945)

4.4. Ammunition for air combat weapons .

Ammunition for air combat weapons originate from 1827, when the German gunsmith Dreyse created a unitary cartridge that combines a powder charge into a sleeve, primer igniter and bullet. However, this cartridge had a hairpin igniter and did not meet the convenience of loading and safety in circulation.
In 1861, the centerfire cartridge appears, proposed by the Frenchman Patte and improved by the Englishman Boxer.
Separate loading of weapons has since been done away with. Unitary cartridge established itself in almost all types of firearms.
Black powder was used as a powder charge. Part primer - igniter included explosive mercury, antimony (antimony) and Bertolet's salt, which were ignited by the impact of the striker of the weapon. AT later this composition was replaced by THPC with tetrazene and nitrate barium, as less damaging to the bore of a weapon.
In 1884, the French chemical engineer Viel managed to obtain smokeless powder is 2-3 times more powerful than smoky. It was pyroxylin colloidal gunpowder.
It burned in parallel layers, which made it possible regulate the burning rate.
Viel's work marked the beginning of a new period in the development of artillery and were immediately used by most countries, including in Russia.
The first pyroxylin and then nitroglycerin gunpowders, invented by the famous Nobel in 1888, were produced on Okhta gunpowder factory in St. Petersburg.
Since 1890, the construction of new gunpowder factories began on DIMendeleev's own raw material base for pyrocollodium. However the need of the Russian army for gunpowder was compensated for a long time for import account.
In 1923-24, we, in the USSR, received grained seven-channel gunpowder, which made it possible to reduce the number of grades of gunpowder and increase maneuverability in supplying the army with gunpowder and ammunition raw materials. AT wood pulp and viscose were used as raw materials, replacing expensive cotton pulp.
During the Patriotic War, the troops were fully provided own gunpowder. For example: only in 1944 was produced 240 million munitions, while in 1914-1918 years, Russia produced only 65 million.
Modern powder charges provide not only the phenomenon shot, but also favorably affect both the weapon itself and its combat use.
Phlegmatizers have been introduced into the powder charges, increasing the decopperization barrel channels, flame arresters that provide masking of fire at night and not blinding shooters, including the pilot.
Along with the improvement of gunpowder, no less successfully developed pyrotechnic compositions and explosives for loading bullets and special purpose projectiles. For example, to ensure incendiary action of bullets and shells, their design was introduced potassium perchlorate, AM alloy powder, barium nitrate, oxide iron, red phosphorus and aluminum powder.
The explosive charge of aircraft shells consisted of TNT mixed with other explosives. For example: TGA alloy consisted of TNT, RDX and aluminum.
The fuses for the shells were instantaneous and had a mechanism long-range cocking, ensuring the safety of the gunner aircraft.
Cartridges for air combat weapons, as a rule, were borrowed from small arms and cannon weapons of ground troops, which developed over a long period of time.
The cartridge is calculated according to the laws of internal and external ballistics, is designed taking into account the purpose of the bullet (projectile), manufactured in several options close to the calculated ones, and then tested with using ballistic barrels. As a result of testing the optimal variant of the cartridge is selected that meets the prospective the purpose of the combat use of weapons and gross production.
Cartridge crafting operations take longer time compared to weapons.
For example, the creation of a rifle cartridge in caliber 7. 62mm sample 1908 took 17 years.
Under this cartridge, rifles and machine guns were created, including aviation PV-1, DA, ShKAS, etc.
Cartridge mod. 1908 ensured the reliable operation of the PV-1 machine guns and YES, and the ShKAS rapid-fire machine gun required a significant amount of it improvements. The brass sleeve was replaced with a tombac-coated steel one, strengthened the primer and its crimp, created bullets for special purposes, replacing the fastening of the bullet in the muzzle of the sleeve with an annular compression in avoid spreading, introduced a new gunpowder, changing its weight (charge in the sleeve). A steel sleeve and a reinforced primer provided the best conditions for the combustion of the powder charge, and the stability over time shot, which was very important for synchronized weapons.
The new gunpowder had an improved form and completeness of combustion. Abscissa the burning of gunpowder corresponded to the length of the machine gun barrel and provided the initial velocity of the bullet is approximately equal to that when firing from rifle with a longer barrel.
Modernization of a regular rifle cartridge into a cartridge for the ShKAS machine gun It also took a long period of time - from 1931 to 1938.
Special purpose bullets have increased not only lethal force, but also ensured the defeat of military equipment with penetrating and incendiary action.
By the beginning of the war, cartridges for the ShKAS machine gun were equipped armor-piercing incendiary tracer-3B-46 (BZT) and sighting-incendiary-PZ bullet.
The cartridge belt was completed in the following sequence: B-32+3B-46+3B-46+P3...+B-32+3B-46+3B-46+P3. Such sequence, or as it was sometimes called "cartridge percentage tape cartridges with bullets for special purposes "provided ignition of flammable aircraft components protected armor and fire correction along the track.
The tracing range of 3B-46 and PZ bullets reached 750m, and armor penetration at a distance of 200 m was for the B-32 bullet -10 mm, and 3B-46-6 mm. (A bullet of the 1908 model pierced armor with a thickness of 6 mm) The hallmark of bullets for special purposes was painting the ogival part (nose) of the bullet with colored varnish. bullets differed in the following coloration:
- B-32 - black nose with a red belt;
- 3B-46 - purple spout with red belt;
- P3-red spout.
The cartridge belt was made up of steel links of a closed type. The stuffing of the links with cartridges was carried out manually, and then was aligned by passing the tape through a specially created leveling mechanism B-1.
Aircraft ammo boxes were loaded in the ordinary order (layer by layer). Ammunition for one ShKAS machine gun was 650-1200 cartridges depending on the type of machine gun installation on the aircraft. 12.7mm cartridges for heavy machine guns were worked out in the same way like 7,62mm cartridges, long enough. These cartridges were developed at the end of the First World War and were intended for anti-tank guns, like the French and German. Testing such anti-tank rifles showed the low power of 12.7mm cartridges. Shotguns began to be designed for a 14mm caliber cartridge, and a 12.7mm cartridge remained in reserve. Soon the 12.7mm cartridge was used for designing heavy machine guns, anti-aircraft machine guns, and in 1933 aviation heavy machine guns. With such a machine gun became a large-caliber machine gun UB-12.7. Cartridge for aircraft gun UB-12.7 also underwent several improvements in terms of changes powder charge, fastening the primer, crimping the bullet in the sleeve and the bullets.
It turned out to be a successful unitary cartridge, but its bullets are still long were being finalized. A bullet with a universal striking effect is not managed to create, but created four types of bullets, each of which had intended purpose in terms of damaging effect. These were the following bullets:
- B-32 - armor-piercing - incendiary without a tracer;
- B-3t - armor-piercing - incendiary tracer;
- BZF - armor-piercing - incendiary phosphorus;
- MDZ, MDZ-46, MDZ-3 - incendiary - explosive.
BZT bullet tracing range reached 1000 m. Armor penetration bullet B-32 at a distance of 100 m was 25 mm and 16 mm at a distance 400 m at an angle of 10 degrees with an obstacle.
The MDZ bullet, which is a small projectile, exploded after breaking through the skin of the aircraft and creating a ragged hole with a diameter about 200 mm with the defeat of nearby units by fragments.
Bullets BZT, BZF, MDZ ensured the ignition of not only fuel, but also structural materials of the aircraft, created on the basis of aluminum-magnesium alloys. Cartridges with special bullets appointments differed in color: B-32 - black nose with red belt; BZT - purple nose with a red belt; BZF - black nose with a yellow belt; MDZ - without coloring. Cartridge belts with with a closed steel link were equipped with cartridges with bullets B-32+BZT+BZF+MDZ+...+ B-32+BZT+BZF+MDZ. Cartridges stuffed into links manually and then aligned with the B-2 alignment tool.
Ammunition for one large-caliber machine gun consisted of 120-150 cartridges. The cartridge belt was placed in rows in the cartridge boxes. 20mm cartridge for the ShVAK and B-20 air guns was chosen from among the cartridges for anti-tank rifles from the period of the end of the First World War. Sleeve the cartridge had a rim, which did not favorably affect the weight of the weapon and on the design of the cartridge supply path from the receiver to the chamber weapons. The rim of the sleeve increased the diameter of the cartridge by 2 mm, therefore, the cross-sectional diameter of the cartridge feed path in the weapon must also be increased by at least two millimeters, and this is an extra weight of weapons up to 10 kg.

Cartridge shells were finalized in throughout the entire war.
Refinement began with a ballistic shape, explosive filling, fuse and increasing the effectiveness of an armor-piercing incendiary projectile. The main shells of the 20mm cartridge were:
OZ - fragmentation-incendiary with a K-20 and A-20 fuse, membrane which was painted with red paint;
OST - fragmentation-incendiary-tracer; red nose and green ring, tracing distance 1000 m;
BZ - armor-piercing incendiary, and then BZT - armor-piercing-incendiary-tracer and BZ-A - armor-piercing- incendiary with increased tracing range. distinctive coloration - red belt. The BZ-A projectile was a one-piece shell with flat head to improve penetration performance when encountering an obstacle at large angles from the normal.
Armor penetration B3 projectile at a distance of 400 m at an angle of impact zero degrees was 20 mm. Fragmentation shells created a torn hole at the inlet 40x40 mm, and at the outlet 445x662 mm.
The cartridge belt was equipped with alternating cartridge with OZT and B3 shells. Ammunition for one 20mm air gun was 65-170 cartridges. 23 and 37mm cartridges for MP-6, VYa, OKB-15 and OKB-16 air guns were developed by the newly created design bureau GSKB-47. By 1938 year, these two cartridges were practically brought to perfection, both for weapons and for industry.
Aircraft guns of 23mm caliber were designed for these cartridges. OKB-16 and TsKB-14 and 37mm air gun OKB-15, and somewhat later in 1941 year 37mm air gun OKB-16 NS-37.
Both cartridges were distinguished by high energy ballistic performance and perfect design, designed for use in fast-firing aircraft.
23mm VYa airgun cartridge with armor-piercing projectile pierced 25mm armor at a distance of 400 m, and its incendiary composition based on explosives with aluminum-magnesium powder ignited aircraft components protected armor.
Fragmentation-incendiary projectile OZ and OZT with explosives A-9-2 when it hits made a ragged hole the size of inlet 75x90 mm, and at the outlet -900x700 mm, ignited the fuel and aircraft design. Tracing range - 1200 m.
The disadvantage of the cartridge was that the abscissa of the combustion efficiency gunpowder was large - about 10% of unburned gunpowder was thrown out from the barrel of the VYa gun.
The cartridges were distinguished by the color of the head part of the projectile:
- O3 - red nose; OST - red nose and green ring;
- B3 - black nose and red ring.
Cartridges in the cartridge belt alternated: OZT + BZ or OZ + OZT + B3. Ammunition for each gun was from 120 to 200 rounds, combined into a cartridge belt of steel links of a closed type.
The high energy-ballistic qualities of the cartridges caused great force recoil when fired from an air gun, which affected both the cannon, and on the plane.
37mm cartridge for OKB-15 and NS-37 airguns and 45mm cannon cartridge NS-45 were the most energetically powerful cartridges in the world.
They were completed with two types of shells: OST - fragmentation-incendiary-tracer and BZT - armor-piercing incendiary tracer with a trace range of 1500 to 3000 m. The effectiveness of these projectiles against air targets was characterized by unconditional defeat when hit by one - two projectiles. Armored ground targets with armor thickness not over 50 mm were disabled by one hit of the BZT projectile.
Powerful 23mm and 37mm cartridges by the end of the war by OKB-16 and GSKB-47 were replaced by cartridges with a shortened sleeve and with less weight powder charge. These cartridges provided a reduction in the weight of the weapon by 15-20% in comparison with weapons chambered for air guns VYa and NS-37 and reduced the recoil force when fired by at least 30%, and there are several of them reduced ballistic performance of significant importance in did not have a decrease in the effectiveness of actions on goals.
By the end of the war, new shortened cartridges for air guns appeared NS-23, NR-23, H-37 and NR-30 - and others adopted after war - in the first decade.
Great merit in the creation of cartridges for aviation weapons belongs to GSKB-47 under the leadership of A.A. Bobrovsky, engineer N.M. Elizarov, who created a cartridge for the ShKAS and UB-12.7 machine guns, A.P. Zabegin, who did a lot to develop cartridges for a machine gun UB-12.7 and ShVAK cannon, M.F. Vasiliev, S. Golimbievsky, G.A. Okun, N.F. Solovyov - developers of fuses and A.N. Ganichev, who introduced scientific and design contribution to the creation of cartridge cases.
The main indicators of cartridges for aviation weapons are given in table number 4.5.
Comparing the main indicators of cartridges to the domestic aviation weapons with similar indicators of cartridges for aviation weapons other belligerent states, it should be said that our cartridges for weapons of calibers 12.7mm,
23mm, 37mm and 45mm, used during the war, significantly surpassed foreign ones in energy-ballistic qualities and action by purpose.

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