Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23

Infobox Weapon
name= NR-23


caption= NR-23 cannons in tail barbette of the Il-28 bomber.
origin= Flagcountry|Soviet Union
type= Single-barrel Autocannon
is_ranged= yes
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weight= 39 kg (86 lb)
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caliber= 23x115mm (0.90 in)
barrels=
action= Short recoil
rate= 800 rpm
velocity= 690 m/s (2,264 ft/s)
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The Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 is a Soviet cannon widely used in military aircraft of the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact. It was designed by A. E. Nudelman and A.A. Rikhter to replace the wartime Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 and VYa cannon, entering service in 1949.

The NR-23 is a single-barrel, short recoil operated 23 mm (0.90 in) cannon. It was similar to the NS-23, but mechanical improvements increased its rate of fire by more than 50%. Its theoretical rate of fire was 850 rounds per minute, although USAF tests of captured weapons achieved an actual rate of fire of only 650 rounds per minute.

The NR-23 was later replaced by the AM-23 automatic cannon which had higher firing rate. The AM-23 was used in turreted installations for bombers. It was a gas-operated weapon, weighed 43 kg (95 lb) and was capable of a substantially higher rate of fire (1200-1300 rounds per minute).

The People's Republic of China manufactures copies of both versions of this weapon as Norinco Type 23-1 (NR-23) and Type 23-2 (AM-23), respectively.

Applications

The NR-23 was used on fighter aircraft, including the MiG-15, Lavochkin La-15, MiG-17, and some marks of the MiG-19. The AM-23 was used in the defensive turrets of the Antonov An-12, Ilyushin Il-28, Myasishchev M-4, Tupolev Tu-14, Tupolev Tu-16, Tupolev Tu-22, Tupolev Tu-95/Tu-142, and the Tupolev Tu-98 prototype.

Considering the various users and the large number of aircraft employing this weapon, it was perhaps the most widely used aircraft cannon of its day. In the mid-1960s the cannon was replaced in Soviet service by the twin-barrel Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23L.

The mechanism of the NR-23 was scaled up to produce the more powerful NR-30 30 mm gun used in the MiG-19 and some marks of the MiG-21.