ZSU-57-2

The first serial ZSU created in the USSR were 29K , later ZSU-37 , armed with a 37-mm 61-K cannon, but its production was limited to 75 combat vehicles released in 1945 . A more advanced anti-aircraft automatic gun designed to replace 25-mm and 37-mm pre-war guns was the 57-mm S-60 automatic gun, developed by V. Grabin's design bureau . However, in a towed version, this gun would have insufficient mobility to provide air defense for parts of the armored and mechanized forces of the USSR Armed Forces on the offensive, therefore, already from 1947 , even before the S-60 was adopted, the development of its twin version under the designation S-68 began intended for arming a self-propelled gun. The S-68 prototype was tested on the S-79A wagon , while a chassis based on the components of the T-54 main and medium tank was created for the serial ZSU. The new self-propelled installation received the factory designation "product 500" and the army - ZSU-57-2 and was adopted after comprehensive tests conducted in 1950 . Its serial production was carried out at the plant number 174 in Omsk from 1955 to 1960 ^[1] .

ZSU-57-2 had a layout with the location of the engine compartment in the rear of the hull, and weapons in a rotating turret . The crew of the ZSU consisted of six people: the driver , located in the frontal part of the hull on the left; gunner , gunner-installer of the sight, two loaders (right and left guns) and the installation commander, who were in the tower.

Armament

The armament of the self-propelled guns was a twin 57-mm automatic gun S-68 , consisting of two cannons S-60 with a barrel length of 76.6 calibers / 4365 mm, characterized by a mirror arrangement of mechanisms. Automation S-60 worked on the use of recoil energy with a short barrel stroke. The gun had a monoblock barrel, a piston sliding shutter , a hydraulic recoil brake, a spring knurled and equipped with a muzzle brake ^[2] .

The twin installation of the cradles connected in a single block of guns was placed on the trunnions on the floor of the tower . Vertical, within −5 ... + 85 °, and horizontal aiming was carried out by means of electro-hydraulic drives , operating from a constant speed electric motor through a hydraulic speed controller. The speed of horizontal guidance was 30 °, vertical - 20 ° per second ^[3] . In the event of a failure of the electric drive, the possibility of manual aiming remained: the commander of the car was responsible for horizontal guidance, and the gunner for vertical guidance. The gun was fed from box-shaped magazines for 4 shots , the practical rate of fire was 100-120 rounds per minute per barrel, but the maximum continuous shooting time was 40-50 shots, after which the barrel had to be cooled ^{[3] [4]} . Ammunition ZSU-57-2 amounted to 300 unitary shots, of which 176 in 44 stores were placed in stacks in the tower, 72 in 18 stores were in the bow of the hull, and another 52 rounds in unloaded form were placed under the tower turret ^[5] .

Object 510

On the basis of the order of the Ministry of Transport Engineering no. 0013 dated February 8, 1956, in the design bureau of plant No. 174, together with plant No. 342 , a modification ZSU-57-2 was developed, equipped with individual boats . The project manager was A.E.Sulin. The machine was assigned the index "Object 510" ^[7] .

In 1956, two prototypes were manufactured that passed state tests. In 1961, the "Object 510" was adopted. A total of 6 serial machines were made ^[7] .

"Object 510" differed from the basic version by installing a device for hanging steel pontoons. Pontoons were intended to force water barriers both under their own power and in tow ^[7] .

The mass of the car with pontoons was 37.8 tons. Stock of buoyancy - 40%. When driving on water, two propellers were used. Movement on water was allowed with excitement up to 5 points. The width of the water barrier, overcome independently, was 50-60 km . The maximum speed afloat was 12 km / h . The maximum speed when towing no more than 15 km / h ^[7] .

In addition, when the sea was disturbed up to 2 points, anti-aircraft targets were fired. There was also the possibility of transporting troops on a boat up to 40 people, however, shooting was banned ^[7] .

Object 520

By the end of the 1950s , in connection with the development of jet aircraft, maximum speeds increased to 1000–1200 km / h , and maneuverability increased. Therefore, to effectively counter such goals, automated aiming drives in combination with radar systems were needed ^[7] .

In accordance with the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. F416-211 dated April 17, 1957, the design bureau of Plant No. 174 was modernized with the ZSU-57-2. The modernization consisted in the installation of 57-mm SV-68 Berezina guns and small-sized radio-optical instrument systems of the Desna autonomous fire control. G.V. Mazepa was appointed the project manager, and the project received the Object 520 index ^[7] .

In 1959, 6 vehicles were manufactured that passed PSI, but the ZSU “Object 520” was not adopted for service ^[7] .

ZSU-57-2 were aimed at arming anti-aircraft artillery batteries of two-platoon tank regiments, 2 units per platoon (4 units in total). Due to the small volume of output, some of the batteries were equipped with ZTPU-2 installations on the chassis of the BTR-40 and BTR-152 armored personnel carriers instead of the ZSU-57-2.

The combat effectiveness of the ZSU-57-2 depended on the skills of the crew, the training of the platoon commander and was due to the lack of radar in the guidance system. Effective fire to defeat could be conducted only from a stop; firing "on the move" at air targets was not provided. The comparative firing efficiency of the ZSU-57-2 was lower than the battery of the S-60 guns, since the latter had the POISO- 6 with the SON-9, and later the RPK-1 VAZ radar instrument complex. The effectiveness of the use of ZSU-57-2 was higher due to the constant readiness to open fire, self-propelled, the presence of armored crew.

ZSU-57-2 were used in the Vietnam War , in conflicts between Israel and Syria and Egypt in 1967 and 1973 , as well as in the Iran-Iraq war . Due to the relatively low rate of fire and the lack of automated radar guidance devices, this machine did not differ in high efficiency.

In April 2014, video frames appeared using the ZSU-57-2 by the Syrian army in battles in the vicinity of Damascus ^[8] .

Combat effectiveness

In addition to the above factors (low rate of fire and the absence of automated radar guidance devices), to assess the effectiveness of the installation, the following should be taken into account: During the period 1950-1957 (the period of the creation of the ZSU-57-2), the best ZSU were not available in foreign armies. In the US Army, there was a M19 ZSU on the chassis of the M24 Chaffee light tank, developed in 1945 , and M42 on the chassis of the M41 light tank, which entered the army since 1954. Armament - twin 40-mm gun "Bofors" . The British Armed Forces had a ZSU based on the Cruzeider tank, created in 1943 , armed with a single-barrel 40-mm Bofors L60 cannon. All these installations were available in small quantities, especially in comparison with the number of front-line aviation of the USSR Air Force . The 40-mm Bofors L60 gun had a rate of 120 rounds / min per barrel, the initial projectile speed was 875 m / s , the projectile weight was 0.934 kg, that is, it was ballistically inferior to the S-68 gun in all significant respects. All these installations were equipped with optical sights and therefore were not more effective than the ZSU-57-2. Only in 1956 did the first M42A1 ZSU installations with T50 radars appear, but their number was also small.

The combat effectiveness of the ZSU-57-2, like other modern ZSUs, was determined not by the level of the installation itself, but by the rapid development of aviation, first of all, by the growth of speeds and all-weather use of front-line aviation, which practically had nothing to counter the ZSU of the regimental air defense level in the 1950s , as well as the fact that all the latest achievements of radio electronics were introduced primarily in artillery and aviation.

In addition, the armed forces of all states in the 1950s did not develop tactics and approaches to cover mechanized units on the march from modern airplanes, nor did aviation develop tactics for reliable destruction of small-sized armored targets at high speeds of flight.

Further, when evaluating the combat effectiveness of the ZSU-57-2, it must be taken into account that it was not the only means of air defense of a tank regiment, but a means of collective air defense from aircraft flying at altitudes up to 4000 m, since altitudes up to 1000 m were blocked by anti-aircraft machine guns DShK / DShKM , which in the tank regiment were as many as units of armored vehicles.

Therefore, criticism of the Soviet system itself is, for the most part, unreasonable and does not take into account the balance of forces of the USSR Air Force and possible opponents on specific theater of operations. According to the calculations of military specialists, the advancing tank and mechanized divisions were reliably covered by front-line fighter aircraft on the MiG-15 (produced more than 13,000 ), MiG-17 (more than 7000) and MiG-19 (about 1800), and enemy fighter aircraft , smaller than the Soviet one, was associated with counteraction of strike aircraft on the IL-28 (about 6000 were produced), therefore, the mass application of ZSU was not provided.

In addition, the criticism does not take into account the fact that the introduction of the ZSU-57-2 went in parallel with the saturation of the military air defense systems with the S-60 , which were more effective if they were put into a combat position, which was achieved in 2 minutes, and that the development of the ZSU- 57-2 helped in the development of an optimal structure of self-propelled defense units.

Modern

•   Algeria - from 20 to 45 ZSU-57-2, as of 2016 ^[9]
•   Egypt - 40 ZSU-57-2, as of 2016 ^[10]
•   Iran - 80 ZSU-57-2, as of 2016 ^[11]
•   DPRK - up to 250 units of ZSU-57-2, as of 2016 ^[12]
•   Cuba - a certain amount of ZSU-57-2, as of 2016 ^[13]
•   Mozambique - 20 ZSU-57-2, as of 2016 ^[14]
•   Nicaragua - up to 10 ZSU-57-2, as of 2016 ^[15]
•   Syria - a certain amount of ZSU-57, as of 2016 ^[16]

Former

•   USSR - passed to the states formed after the collapse
•   Angola - 40 ZSU-57-2 delivered from the USSR during the period from 1975 to 1976 ^{[17] [18]} , withdrawn from service ^[19]
•   Bosnia and Herzegovina - 6 ZSU-57-2, as of 2010 ^[20]
•   Hungary - 40 ZSU-57-2 delivered from the USSR in 1966 ^{[17] [18]} , withdrawn from service ^[21]
•   Vietnam - 100 ZSU-57-2 delivered from the USSR in the period from 1971 to 1973 ^{[17] [18]} , the current status is unclear ^[22]
•   GDR - 129 ZSU-57-2 delivered from the USSR in the period from 1957 to 1961 ^{[17] [18]}
•   Iraq - 100 ZSU-57-2 delivered from the USSR during the period from 1971 to 1973 ^[17]
•   Poland - 129 ZSU-57-2 delivered from the USSR during the period from 1957 to 1961 ^{[17] [18]} , withdrawn from service ^[23]
•   Russia - a certain amount of ZSU-57-2, as of 2010 ^[24]
•   Romania - 60 ZSU-57-2 delivered from the USSR during the period from 1965 to 1966 ^[17]
•   Serbia - some, as of 2007 ^[25]
•   Syria - 250 ZSU-57-2 delivered from the USSR in the period from 1967 to 1973 ^{[17] [18]} - removed from service ^{[26] [27]}
•   Ukraine - 30 ZSU-57-2 as of June 2015
•   Finland - 12 ZSU-57-2 delivered from the USSR during the period from 1960 to 1961, used under the designation LyPsv SU-57 ^{[17] [18]} , removed from service ^[28]
•   Ethiopia - 10 ZSU-57-2 delivered from the USSR in 1978 ^[17]
•   Yugoslavia - 100 ZSU-57-2 delivered from the USSR in the period from 1960 to 1961 ^[17]

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  View from above

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  ZSU-57-2 of the Republika Srpska Army with a makeshift armored pipe on top, which suggests its use as self-propelled guns

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  Layout diagram

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  Croatian ZSU-57-2

• A. Shirokorad. "Shilka" and others. Domestic anti-aircraft self-propelled guns / M. Baryatinsky. - M .: Model designer, 1998. - 32 p. - (Armored Collection No. 2 (17) / 1998).
• M.V. Pavlov, I.V. Pavlov. Domestic armored vehicles 1945-1965 // Equipment and weapons: yesterday, today, tomorrow. - M .: Tekhinform, 2009. - No. 8 . - S. 56 .
• 100 years of PO "October Revolution Transport Engineering Plant" 1897-1997. - Anniversary Edition. - Omsk, 1997 .-- 11 p.

• Object 530

• ZSU-57-2 Anti-Aircraft Artillery GlobalSecurity.org .
• Air defense Weapons of the Former USSR & Russia - ZSU-57-2 Self-Propelled Anti-aircraft Gun System