A10 Bathtub test round

[Weasel]

Here is a interesting round that i picked up years ago, well interesting in the fact that it has a story behind it.
This is i belive a 23mm Russian API/T round feel free to correct me if i am wrong, It came from a seller in the states who had been a high speed photographer working for the US Millitary, One of the jobs he did was to record the impact of these rounds and the results on the then prototype titanium "bathtub" that protects the pilots in the A10.
I was told on which range this was conducted only i cant seem to remember or find the info anymore. The round was given to the photographer as a thankyou/keepsake after the job.
Can anyone else share any light on this?

Best regards Weasel.

 

[hicky1300]

Interesting.
For a litle while I was at a place that used to fire a % of aden 30mm rounds for the RAF Jaguar down the range & we would take hi speed pics for quality purposes (traj, vel etc).
Always nice when an unusual item with a bit of history pops up.

 

[Chris 42 RQ]

23 mm ZU

Yes it is definately a 23mm A.P.I.T. Projectile for the Soviet ZU gun with the hardest part of the projectile sheared off due to impact.

Head should be about half an inch longer with a nicely radiused head with an Incendiary pellet glued to it under a Stainless steel windshield.

 

[Weasel]

Thanks for the input guys and for the confirmation of it being what i thought it was, thanks Chris.
Would i be right in assuming that the Russian round was chosen as a test weapon as it was most likely to be the one firing at this plane in combat given the time of the tests.
Best Weasel.

 

[al'saad]

it is round for GSh-23L cannon all right. I have burned remaining of that cannon (see pic) and some drill rounds and I will put some pics one of these days.

 

[MT-LB]

Hi al'saad,

GSh 23 fires the 23mm x115 cartridge not the 23mm x152B.

 

[Chris 42 RQ]

Correct !

Thanks for the input guys and for the confirmation of it being what i thought it was, thanks Chris.
Would i be right in assuming that the Russian round was chosen as a test weapon as it was most likely to be the one firing at this plane in combat given the time of the tests.
Best Weasel.

Yes Weasel you are perfectly correct 23mm Anti Aircraft fire was expected to be the main "threat" to the A10 whether it was from either Airborne or ground based 23 mm weapon systems.

 

[al'saad]

Hi al'saad,

GSh 23 fires the 23mm x115 cartridge not the 23mm x152B.

correct, my fault!

 

[Chris 42 RQ]

Air and Ground attack!

correct, my fault!

Al'saad you are NOT wrong either as there is always the air to air threat to consider which doubtless would have involved 23mm NR rounds as well !

 

[MT-LB]

Hello,
only wanted to make sure that case pictures in the first post has nothing to do with the GSh-23 except the same caliber and al'saad's picture could make some people think this is the ZSU-23. Of course most projectiles are the same for both calibers - 23mm x115 and 23mm x152B.

 

[Chris 42 RQ]

Slight Difference of projectiles.

Hello,
only wanted to make sure that case pictures in the first post has nothing to do with the GSh-23 except the same caliber and al'saad's picture could make some people think this is the ZSU-23. Of course most projectiles are the same for both calibers - 23mm x115 and 23mm x152B.

MT LB the projectiles for the ZU and NR weapons are slightly different in both shape and weight- sadly I do not own an NR 23MM to show against a ZU 23MM-the differences are subtle but nonetheless different.

 

[al'saad]

this may help

http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/gsh-23l-drill-t39711.html?t=39711