57 mm AZP S-60

Infobox Weapon
name= 57 mm AZP S-60


caption= S-60 in an Israeli museum
origin= flagcountry|Soviet Union
type= Autocannon
is_ranged=YES
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is_artillery=YES
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used_by=Soviet Union and others
wars= Vietnam War
Iran–Iraq War
Gulf War
Iraq War
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weight= 4,660 kg (10,273 lbs)
length= 8.5 m (28 ft)
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crew=7
cartridge= 57 x 348SR
caliber=57 mm (2.24 in)
action=
rate= 105-120 rpm (cyclic)
70 rpm (sustained)
velocity= 1,000 m/s (3,281 fps)
range= 6 km (3.72 mi) (radar guided)
4 km (2.48 mi) (optically guided)
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57 mm AZP S-60 ( _ru. Автоматическая зенитная пушка С-60, abbrev. АЗП (AZP); literally: "Automatic anti-aircraft gun S-60") is a Soviet towed, road-transportable, short- to medium-range, single-barrel anti-aircraft gun from the 1950s. The gun was extensively used in Warsaw Pact, Middle Eastern and South-East Asian countries.

History

In the late 1940s, the Soviets started to develop a 57 mm anti-aircraft gun, to replace its 37 mm guns. Three different models were presented, and the winning design was made by V. I. Grabinin. According to western intelligence sources, the German prototype gun "5,5 cm Gerät 58" formed the basis for the design. The Soviet had also captured German "5 cm Flak 41" guns from the Stalingrad pocket.

The prototype passed the field tests in 1946 and was accepted into service in 1950, after some minor modifications. The anti-aircraft gun was given the name "57 mm AZP S-60". Grabinin continued the development and fielded the SPAAG version ZSU-57-2 in 1955.

The fire direction device was developed from the German "Lambda" calculator ("Kommandogerät 40", "40A", and "40B") and was called "PUAZO-5A". It had also a distance measuring device called "D-49". The fire direction was also made more effective by including "Grom-2" (10 cm wavelength) radars to the AA-batteries. The whole system was called "SON-9". Later on, the calculators would be changed into the more modern "RPK-1 Vaza", which had been designed by M. M. Kositskin. The calculator and the radars were transported by Ural 375 trucks.

The 57 mm gun replaced the 37 mm divisional guns in Soviet service in the 1950s. A divisional anti-aircraft regiment consisted of two AA-batteries with six 57 mm guns each. The PVO air-defence troops AA-regiments consisted of four 57 mm AA-batteries (24 guns).

In the mid-1960s, the Soviet divisional anti-aircraft units began replacing their AA-guns with missiles and by the end of the 1970s, the AA-guns had almost disappeared. They were however used in many other countries.

Operational history

The S-60 and its Chinese copy (the Type 59) have seen combat in several wars all over the World, e.g. the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War in the Middle East and the Soviet war in Afghanistan. During the Vietnam War, the S-60 was the keystone of North Vietnamese low-altitude air defense and was most effective between 460 meters and 1,500 meters.

In Iraq (Iran–Iraq War, Gulf War and Iraq War), the S-60, normally deployed in battalions of 36 guns, served consistently in defense of divisional headquarters and field artillery assets.

Ammunition types

*Blank: MK-281 (Soviet designation)
*APHE-T: UBR-281, UBR-281U (Soviet designation)
*API-T:
*HEI-T:
*HE-T: UOR-281, UOR-281U (Soviet designation)
*TP-T: UOR-281U-IN, UBR-281U-IN (Soviet designation)

Versions

*AK-725: Naval version of the S-60 gun. Introduced in 1958. Mounted in single, double and quadruple mounts (designated ZIF-31) on many early Soviet destroyers.
*ZIF-72: Naval version which is enclosed in a metal housing and fully automatic. Also exported to India. Introduced in the mid-1970s.
*ZSU-57-2: Self-propelled version with two 57 mm S-60 guns (designated S-68)
*Type-80: Chinese version of the ZSU-57-2.

Operators

The S-60 was sold to at least 37 different countries during the Soviet era. The gun was also license manufactured in Poland by Tarnów Metal Works in Tarnów (pl. "Zakłady Metalowe Tarnów w Tarnowie") and in China as the Type 59.

*AFG
*ALB
*ALG: 70 units
*ANG
*ARM
*BIH
*BUL
*BLR
*CAM
*PRC
*COG
*CUB: 400 units
*flagcountry|Czechoslovakia: 575 units. Passed on to successor states.
*CZE
*EGY: 600 units
*ETH
*FIN: 12 units. Nicknamed "Nikolai".
*FR-YUG: retired
*GEO: 60 units
*GIN: 12 units
*GNB: 10 units
*HUN: 186 units (43 in store)
*IND
*IDN: 256 units
*IRN
*IRQ
*ISR: Captured units
*KGZ: 24 units
*LAO
*LBY: 90 units
*MLI: 6 units
*MAR
*MRT: 2 units
*MDA: 12 units
*MOZ
*MNG
*NIC
*PRK
*PAK
*POL: 500 units
*ROU
*RUS
*SOM
*USSR: Passed on to successor states
*SUD: Both S-60 and Type 59 versions
*SVK
*SYR: 675 units
*THA
*TKM: 22 units
*UKR: 400 units
*VNM
*YEM: 120 units
*YUG: Passed on to successor states
*ZAM: ca 30 units

External links

* [http://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/row/s-60.htm FAS page on the S-60]
* [http://www.pzaku.net/c60.htm Full technical characteristics] ru icon