Nudelman-Suranov NS-37

Nudelman—Suranov NS-37
Type	Autocannon
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1943-1945
Used by	Soviet Union
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	A. E. Nudelman and A. Suranov
Designed	1941
Manufacturer	Izhmash
Produced	1942-1945
Number built	6833
Specifications
Weight	170-140 kg (with motor/wing mount)
Length	3.4 m
Barrel length	2,3 m
Width	21,5 cm
Height	41,5 cm
Cartridge	37×198mm
Barrels	1
Action	short recoil
Rate of fire	240-260 rpm
Muzzle velocity	900 m/s (HE, HEI-T), 880 m/s (AP-T)
Feed system	Belt

Il2 with NS-37

The Nudelman-Suranov NS-37 (Russian: Нудельман - Суранов НС-37) was a 37 mm (1.5 in) aircraft cannon, which replaced the unreliable Shpitalny Sh-37 gun. Large caliber was planned to allow destruction of both ground targets (including armoured ones) and planes (ability to shoot down a bomber with a single hit).

Developed by A. E. Nudelman and A. Suranov from OKB-16 Construction Bureau from 1941, it was tested at the front in 1943 and subsequently ordered into production, which lasted until 1945. It was used on the LaGG-3 and Yak-9T fighter planes (mounted between the vee of the engine) and Il-2 ground attack planes (in underwing pods).

Although the heavy round offered large firepower, the relatively slow rate of fire and heavy recoil made hitting targets difficult. While pilots were trained to fire short bursts, on light aircraft only the first shot was truly aimed. Additionally, penetration of medium and heavy tanks' top armour was possible only at high angles (above 40 degrees), which was hard to achieve in battle conditions. For these reasons it was soon replaced by N-37 autocannon, which used lighter 37x155m round.

References

• Koll, Christian (2009). Soviet Cannon - A Comprehensive Study of Soviet Arms and Ammunition in Calibres 12.7mm to 57mm. Austria: Koll. p. 355. ISBN 978-3-200-01445-9. http://www.russianammo.org. 

External links

• NS-37 on RAM

External links

• history and description
• round data