The
Berezin B-20 (Березин Б-20) was a
20 mm caliber autocannon used by
Soviet aircraft in
World War II.
Development
The
B-20 was created by
M.E. Berezin in
1944 by chambering his
Berezin UB 12.7 mm machine gun for the 20 mm rounds used by the
ShVAK cannon. No other changes were made to the weapon which was pneumatically or mechanically charged and was available in both synchronized and unsynchronized versions. In
1946, an electrically-fired version was created for the turrets of the
Tupolev Tu-4 bomber until the
Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 cannon became available. The B-20 was a welcome replacement for the
ShVAK because is was significantly lighter (25 kg (55 lb) vs ShVAK's 40 kg (80 lb)) without sacrificing rate of fire or muzzle velocity.
Specifications (B-20)
- Ammunition: 20 x 99 mm (0.8 x 3.9 in)
- Empty weight: 25 kg (55 lb)
- Muzzle velocity: 750-770 m/s (2,460-2,525 ft/s)
- Rate of fire: 800 rounds/min
- Mass of one-second burst: 0.95 kg (2.1 lb)
Related content
Related developments:
Similar weapons:
References
- Широкоград А.Б. (2001) История авиационного вооружения Харвест (Shirokograd A.B. (2001) Istorya aviatsionnogo vooruzhenia Harvest. ISBN 985-433-695-6) (History of aircraft armament)
