From 45mm to 57mm - The Russian Ammunition Page

THE RUSSIAN AMMUNITION PAGE - 45MM TO 57MM

Please note that these pages are no longer updated and contain partially obsolete data.
For comprehensive and up to date information, please refer to my new book "Soviet Cannon" at www.russianammo.org.
Compared to this webpage with its 69 pages, the book and the enclosed CD-Rom offer a total of almost 900 pages.

45x186 45mm NS-45 aircraft cannon

This rare caliber was an experimental project and shortly used in the Yak-9K fighter plane. The NS-37 aircraft cannon was fitted with a 45mm barrel, to get the new gun NS-45, designation OKB-16-45. It weighted 152kg and fired 250rpm. It was developed by A. Nudelman and A. Suranov of the OKB-16 in 1944 and was also installed in the engine vee, firing through the propeller hub. Recoil was heavily increased with the increased projectile weight, so a large muzzle break was fitted to the barrel.
Only 53 Yak-9K planes fitted with the NS-45 gun were evaluated by special pilots in the war in1944. The ammunition capacity in the fighter planes was 29 rounds. The NS-45 proofed itself unreliable and was not adopted for service.

Not very clear information is available about the ammunition used.
The NS-37 case was necked out to 45mm and slightly shortened to 186mm to maintain the same overall length of the NS-37 round. Probably only HE-T fragmentation shells were used as service rounds.

A different report also mentions a 1065g AP shell with a muzzle velocity of 850m/s that could penetrate 58mm of steel plate. Any other particulars are sadly not known.

Any further information appreciated!

45x310R 45mm Russian M1932 antitank gun and universal guns

This round was introduced in 1930 for use in the M1930 tank gun for the T-24 tank but was mainly used in WWII in the Russian light antitank guns M1932, M1937 and M1942. The Germans called their spoils of war 4,5cm Pak 184(r).
The M1937 antitank gun was basically a scaled up version of the Gernam 37mm Rheinmetall antitank gun and was actually out of date when Russia had to enter the war. The gun fired armour piercing grenades with a muzzle velocity of 760m/s at a rate of 15-20 rds per minute (manually loaded), the antitank gun weighted 560kg. Two carriages were designed for it, one for horse traction and one for towing behind a vehicle, both versions used wire-wheels. During the war the M1937 was modernized and received a longer barrel and the shield armour was increased from 4,5mm to 7mm. This new gun was designated M1942 and reportedly used improved ammunition with a greater propellant charge to reach a muzzle velocity of 820m/s. However, this gun was still underpowered for the German tanks at this time of the war.

This caliber was also used in the M1932 tank gun on the A-20, A-32, T-26 and T-100 tanks, the tank gun was called KwK 194/5(r) by the Germans. The tank gun was also referred to as 45mm 20K and was modernized in the M1934 and M1938 version. Also, a 45mm tank gun designated VT-42/43 is reported, however no info is available.

Ammunition was always fixed rounds, swaged-in percussion primers were used in the antitank guns, screwed in electrical primers were used in tank guns, so these two types were not interchangeable!
The 45mm APHE-T shell could penetrate 31mm of armor at 500m and 60° impact angle, but this value was reduced significantly because of low quality ammunition in the years 1941 - 1943.
Beside the fuzes KTM-1, KT-1 or KTMZ nose fuze for the HE FRAG shells, a fuze M50 with a plastic support thread piece was used occasionally, the M50 was actually a mortar shell fuze.
A smoke shell has been reported, however, no details are known. Also, a cartridge for an inserting barrel system (subcaliber device) is reportet with a special powder charge and lettering on the case, sadly, no further info is known either.

5 cartridges are packed in a suitcase like metal box with handle that measures about 490x345x60mm.
Ammunition was maufactured by Russia, the former Czechoslovakia and Hungary, Russia also produced steel cartridge cases. Finland used Russian cases to fit their own projectiles or used Russian ammunition with Finnish painted markings.

The following rounds were used in WWII:

USSR Designation	US Abbreviation	Bullet Weight [g]	Muzzle Velocity [m/s]	Description
UO-243 O-240	HE FRAG	2150	343	Long, thick walled shell filled 118g of TNT with KTM-1 nose fuze. Fuzes KT-1, KTMZ or M50 may be fitted as well. May also have two driving bands
UO-243A O-240	HE FRAG	2150	343	As above but with steel cartridge case. When the M50 fuze is fitted, HE filler mass is 135g and weight of projectile 1980g
UBR-243P BR-240P	HVAP-T	866	1070	Arrowhead shell, tungsten carbide penetrator, tracer in base. Case holds 365g or 380g of 7/7 propellant
UB-243 B-240	APHE-T	1429	820	171mm long shell with 19g HE and base fuze MD-2
UB-241M B-241M	APHE-T	1410	820	162mm long shell with 77g HE and base fuze MD-2, machined from 47mm Hotchkiss projectile
UB-242 B-242	APHE-T	1350	820	194mm long shell with 58g HE and base fuze MD-2
UBR-243 BR-240	APHE-T	1429	820	Ballistic cap, 19g TNT filler in base, MD-5 base fuze with tracer, pm=360g of 7/7 smokeless powder. Later models had two milled recesses in the center of the projectile, like some 57mm AT projectiles.
UBR-243SP	AP (-T)	1429	820	Solid shot 171mm long, possibly inert filled and dummyfuzed UBR-243 shell
UBRZ-243 BRZ-240	APHE-T	1429	820	Ballistic cap, 19g HE in base, MD-5 base fuze with tracer, pm=360g of 7/7 smokeless powder. Later models had two milled recesses in the center of the projectile, like some 57mm AT projectiles.
Shch-210	Canister Sh.	1650	~370	Canister shot shell 244,5mm long. Bakelite caseing holds 137 lead/antimony balls.
UShch-243 Shch-240	Canister Sh.	1620	~370	Canister shot shell 236mm long. Bakelite caseing holds 137 lead/antimony balls. Casing has bevelled ends.
UShch-243 Shch-243	Canister Sh.	2000	~350	Canister shot shell 205mm long. Steel casing holds approx. 105 lead/antimony balls

Note:
The cartridge designation system in this caliber can be quite confusing because projectile and cartridge case often have different index numbers. Generally speaking, the index on the projectile only referres to the projectile and the index on the cartridge case referres to the complete round.
For example the projectile fitted is marked "BR-240" and its cartridge case is marked "UBR-243".
The last figure "0" always indicates that this projectile can be used with all gun versions in this caliber family. In our case all 45mm tank and antitank guns. On the other hand, the last figure "3" on the cartridge case specifies this round only to be used in (a) specific gun(s). In our case the number "3" indicates the use in the anti tank guns M1932, M1937 and M1942.

Near end and post WWII produced rounds may also have a different HE contence (A-IX-2 instead of TNT) and therefor also a slightly different HE charge weight.
Also, it is not known which of the above listed types were used on the tank guns (with electrical primer screw) as well. Only precisely known types are the UBR-243E and UO-243E which are basically the same as listed above but only the cyrillic letter "E" was added to the index number to indicate the electrical primer screw.

Target practice and inert drill rounds exist as well, of course.

The tungsten carbide core is surrounded by an unknown substance supposed to contain mercury or lead. This white to gray substance builds small balls of some metal when heated.
It is used to securely fix the hard metal core to the outer shell. Similar Russian hard-core AP projectiles exist from 37mm to 85mm.
Because of the unknown nature of the filler, one should refraim from opening these shells.

The above cutaway picture was kindly provided by "Rigby".

UO-243 shell in cutaway, note how long and massive this projectile is.

UBRZ-243 shell in cutaway, note the cardboard assembly that distances the propellant charge.

45mm AAA gun:

Different 45mm universal and anti aircraft guns exists as well, they used the same cartridge case as the anti tank gun but the rounds had some different projectiles.
They are the 45mm universal guns "21-K", "21-KM" and "80-K" and the 45mm anti aircraft guns 40-K and 41-K, 45mm gun M-18.
No particulars are known about these guns.

45x386SR 45mm SM-20-ZIF1 and ZIF-68-1 anti aircraft gun

The SM-20 consists of a quadrupple mount with linkless feed sytem and a total rate of fire of 540-640 rounds per minute. Other details are unknown.

The following rounds were used:

USSR Designation	US Abbreviation	Bullet Weight [g]	Muzzle Velocity [m/s]	Description
?	HEFRAG	1410	?	Unknown design with MD-45 base fuze
?	HE-T	1410	?	Two section shell with MG-45 nose fuze

Inert filled target practise shells and inert drill rounds were most likely used as well.

The above pictures were submitted by Harry Galloway along with the following description:

The empty case with the empty shell weights 2948g together, the shell is 145,5mm long from the case mouth to the top. The shell is originally crimped to the case, so no shell weight could be measured. The fuze has a length of 62,5mm, the shell leads about 62mm into the case and has a tracer cavity in its base. If you look at the case mouth, there is a second driving band located inside the case, at the second crimp. The high explosive cavity of the shell is 25mm wide and 95mm deep.

The following markings are stamped in:

Fuze:
Shell:
Rotating band: MG-45 ZID Z-K XOL
599-m-K-9
2-57-80-A92

The headstamp has a milled recess for the loading-clip as have the S-60 gun cases. The headstamp is marked: 10k 184-0 and on the outer rim of the head: H C 2K n
The painted marks on the side of the case are mainly missing, only the letters UOR- and I E 1031 are visible. A KV-5-U primer screw is threaded into the base.

57x165RR 57mm N-57 aircraft cannon

Developed and tested in 1946 by the OKB-16, the N-57 was test-fitted to the first Russian jet aircraft, the MiG-9, but a N-37 cannon was then used instead. The NS-37 aircraft cannon was simply enlarged to 57mm, designation of the gun was OKB-16-57, it weighted 290kg.
Experiments on the YaK-9 concluded that recoil even with a large muzzle break was too heavy for successful applications, so no production aircraft was fitted with it.
As pilots were trained to fire three shot bursts with the NS-37 and only single shots with the NS-45 despite muzzle breake, an even heavier gun realy made no sense.
The 2780g shells are reported to have been fired with a muzzle velocity of 980m/s, however, these ballistic particulars seem very unlikely if one looks at the small cartridge on the pictures. A muzzle velocity of approximately 550m/s seems more realistic.
Length of the rebated rim cartridge case is approximately 164mm.

Cannons and their ammunition from left to right: N-57, barrel of the NS-45, NS-37 as displayed in a Russian museum.

Sorry, no other information is known, anything further is well appreciated!

57x348SR 57mm Russian S-60 AAA

This gun, the M1950, was introduced in the late 50s and is basically referred to as S-60 anti aircraft gun.
It is a medium range recoil operated cannon and replaced the earlier 37mm AA weapons almoust throughout the Warsaw Pact.
Considering the design of the gun, Soviet engineers must have studied the wartime German "5,5cm Geraet 58" AAA. The weight of the S-60 was 4,6 tons and it had a 4160mm long barrel with destinctive muzzle break and downfoldable shield. The S-60 gun is fixed to a four wheel carriage and it was also used against light armored ground vehicles in the ground support role. A S-60 battery generally consists of six guns, a fire-control radar, and a fire-control director. The earliest versions had a PUAZO-5 fire-control director and a SON-4 radar, however, improved director/radar combinations were used in subsequent years.
The ammunition is fed in 4-round clips into the gun, the rate of fire was 105 to 120rpm, range was 6000m with radar guidance, 4000m with optical sights.
China also built its version of the S-60 and called it Type 59 anti aircraft gun.

A self propelled version of the Russian gun, the ZSU-57-2 had a double barrel cannon designated S-68 mounted on a modified T-54 fuselage. It was introduced in 1957 and has basically the same characteristics as its single barrel brother, however, the ZSU-57-2 was not radar guided. The self propelled AA gun had 316 rounds of ammunition storage on board and is now considered as obsolete and was replaced by SAM systems arround 1980. China called its self propelled guns Type 80.

The AK-725 AA gun was the Naval version of the S-60 gun and was introduced in 1958. It was mounted in single, double and quadruple mounts designated ZIF-31on many early destroyers.
Elevation was 0/+90°, the mount could be turnt 360° around.
The ZIF-72 Naval AA gun was enclosed in a metal housing and fully automatic. It was a double barrel mount with water cooled barrels, it was also exported to India. The ZIF-72 was introduced in mid 1970 and was also a recoil operated weapon but ammunition was fed in belts, its overall weigth is 25 tons. Elevation was -10/+90°, the mount could be turnt 360° around.

The S-60 type of guns were widely used in all RFAS states, it also was the main small AA gun of the North Vietnamese army. They may still be in use in the former Yugoslavia and the Middle East.

The HE-T shells have a blunt ogive shape and a long burning (about 12 sec.) No. 8 tracer element. A single large gilding metal driving band is fitted that has pronounced grooves. Cartridge cases are brass, silicon-brass or steel, those made of silicon-brass have the letter "K" imprinted in the headstamp.
The UOR-281U high explosive fragmentation shell is filled with 154g A-IX-2 high explosive and has a MG-57 or MG3-57 delay self-destruction fuze and a tracer base screw fitted. It is lacquered olive drab with black lettering. The UBR-281U is a steel shot with a breaker cap and a ballistic windshield cap, the base is filled with 13g
A-IX-2 high explosive and has a MD-10 delay base fuze with tracer No. 2 fitted. It is lacquered dark gray and has black lettering. The AP shells may not be used against airborne targets, only on light and medium armored tanks and are effective only up to 1500m. Rounds UOR-281 and UBR-281 (without letter U) have the same shell, but have a thinner case mouth and shallower swage grooves.
The UBR-281 shell may also only have one swage groove and the UOR-281 shell may only be swaged with the above swage groove to the cartridge case.

The UOR-281U-IN is basically the same as the UOR-281U but filled inert and with a dummy fuze. This practice shell is painted black above the bourrelet and gray below and has white lettering and the word "INERT" painted on in Russian.
The UBR-281U-IN is basically the same as the UBR-281U but filled inert and with a dummy fuze. This practice shell is painted black above the bourrelet and gray below and has white lettering and the word "INERT" painted on in Russian.
All cartridges above have a propellant charge of 1180g of 11/7 smokeless powder and a KV-5 or KV-5-U percussion primer screw, maximum chamber pressure is 3100 kp/cm².
If a shell is stuck in the barrel, a shortened cartridge case may be used to shoot the barrel free. The mouth of an empty cartridge case is cut by 30 to 35mm and loaded with 75% of the standard propellant charge which is fixed by a piece of cardboard.
The MK-281 blank round has a charge of 560g of 4/1 blank-cartridge-powder.
A proove cartridge with water filled substitute projectile is used as well.
Inert drill rounds are used as well, the inert shell is fixed with a steel rod to the base of the cartridge case. The round has the same appearance and weight as life rounds but is lettered for identification.

5 rounds are packed in a gray-green lacquered wooden box that measures 650x580x210mm and weights 49kg. Ammunition is/was manufactured by Bulgaria, China, former Czech Republic, Egypt, Yugoslavia, Poland and Russia. Early Russian cases and newer Polish cases can be made of steel as well, cases of Silicon-brass were used as well.

Ammunition used in these guns:

USSR Designation	US Abbreviation	Bullet Weight [g]	Muzzle Velocity [m/s]	Description
UOR-281	HE-T	2850	1000	Fragmentation shell
UOR-281U	HE-T	2850	1000	Fragmentation shell
UBR-281	APHE-T	2820	1000	With ballistic cap, high explosive charge in base, base fuze with tracer
UBR-281U	APHE-T	2820	1000	With ballistic cap, high explosive charge in base, base fuze with tracer
UOR-281U-IN	TP-T	2850	1000	Inert filled practice shell, like HET
UBR-281U-IN	TP-T	2820	1000	Inert filled practice shell, like APHET
MK-281	Blank	/	/	Truncated cartridge case

HE-T, APHE-T and inert drill shell with cut-aways below.

57x480R 57mm ZIS-2 antitank gun

In 1940 the fear of heavily armoured German tanks created the demand for a more powerful antitank gun. Grabin's design bureau changed their experimental 76.2 mm F-24 regimental gun only minorly to receive a 57mm antitank gun designated F-31. In October 1940 a prototype F-31 gun was built by factory number 92 that should achive a muzzle velocity of 1000m/s with a 76mm divisional gun cartridge case necked down to 57mm caliber, carrying a 3140g AP projectile.
In early 1941 this gun was accepted for service as ZIS-2 antitank gun but mass production was cancelled in December the same year because the fear of heavily armoured German tanks prooved to be wrong.
However, this official statement did possibly not tell all the truth, because the manufacturing of a over 4m long barrel turned out to be very difficult and therefor very expensive.
In June 1943 costs seemed to have been reduced and the ZIS-2 was re-intruduced as M1943 antitank gun to deal with the heavy German tanks on Russian ground.
The ZIS-2 weighted 1150kg, had a crew of 4 men who manually loaded 13-15rds/min and fired to a maximum range of 8400m. The single axle carridge elevated the 4160mm long barrel up to 55°, overall lenght of the gun was 6,8m. The spoiled M1943 guns were called the "5,7cm Pak 208(r)" by the Germans in WWII.
After the war, the guns were upgraded and fitted with a second axle and a 10kW engine to become the self propelled Ch-26 (M 1955) gun. Both guns are obsolete now and are, if ever today, only kept in reserve units.
This ammunition was also used in the airborne assault gun vehicle ASU-57 that was a light tank hunter and on the T-34-57 tank hunter tank. Both are obsolete now.
The ZIS-2 guns were used in Bulgaria, former Czechoslovakia, former East Germany, Hungaria, Poland, Romania, and Russia.

Cartridge cases are brass or steel and hold 970g of propellant with the HE FRAG and Canister Shot rounds, 1500kg of propellant with the standard APHE-T rounds and 1600g - 1700g with the tungsten carbide core projectiles. Ammunition was manufactured by Russia. The following maximum armor penetration was achieved: APHE-T UBR-271 85mm/60°/500m, APHE-T UBR-271K 50mm/60°/1500m, HVAP-T UBR-271P 145mm/90°/500m.
A proove cartridge with water filled substitute projectile was used as well.
Also, a rotating HEAT projectile is reported to have been introduced in March 1958, but no further information is available.

5 Cartridges were packed in a wooden box measuring 804x534x190mm that had various descriptive letters stamped on and weighted 50kg (data for HEFRAG rounds).

9 different rounds are known:

USSR Designation	US Abbreviation	Bullet Weight [g]	Muzzle Velocity [m/s]	Description
UO-271	HE FRAG	3683	700	Fragmentation shell filled with 218g of TNT, scaled up 45mm UO-243 shell but with two driving bands, KTM-1 or KT-1 nose fuze. May also have only one driving band. Dark dray lacquered with black markings. l=285mm
UO-271U	HE FRAG	3679	700	As above, but with swaging groove below driving bands. 210g A-IX-2 or TNT filled, olive drab lacquered shell with black markings.
UShch-271	Canister shot	3660	700	Canister shot shell 342mm long, effective range was 200m
UBR-271	APHE-T	3140	990	With ballistic cap, 18g A-IX-2 in base, base fuze MD-5 or MD-7 with tracer. Two milled recesses in the center of the shell, length is 256,5mm. Olive drab or grey shell with red band below bourrelet, black markings. Czech variant is fitted with MD-10 base fuze.
UBR-271M	APHE-T	2800	1040	205mm long shell with 13g HE charge and MD-10 base fuze, improoved design APHE-T shell
UBR-271N	API-T	2403	1130	AP shot with tungsten carbide core, ballistic cap with incendiary (?) and base tracer screw, post WWII production. See picture below.
UBR-271SP	AP-T	3193	990	Solid steel shot with ballistic cap and tracer screw. Two milled recesses in the center of the shell. l=242mm, olive drab shell with black markings.
UBR-271K	APHE-T	3130	990	Pointed solid steel shot, 19g RDX+Alu. in base, base fuze MD-5 or MD-7 with tracer. Two milled recesses in the center of the shell, length is 223,3mm. Dark green shell with black markings.
UBR-271P	HVAP-T	1555	1270	Arrowhead steel shell with aluminum nosescrew and tungsten carbide core of 510g measuring 24mm in diameter and 91mm in length. l=160,3mm. Grey or dark green lacquered shell without markings.

Inert filled practice shells and drill rounds are likely to exist.

Drawing of UO-271U round and below from left to right: UBR-271, UBR-271SP, UBR-271K and UBR-271P

Legend: m= mass of projectile, om= mass of complete round, pm=mass of propellant, l= length of projectile, ol= overall length of complete round, Vo= muzzle velocity, cartridge case headstamps are given in the clockwise system, the clock-sections divided by "|" for better reading. The "|" does not mean an imprinted line in the headstamp.Example: symbol at 12 o´clock | 3 o´clock | 6 o´clock | 9 o´clock

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