Despite the fact that the S-23 gun of 180 mm caliber was noticed in 1955, the history of the creation of this gun remains very vague to this day. Most likely, the S-23 is a naval weapon or a coastal defense weapon converted into a large-caliber long-range land artillery system. For many years in the West, so little was known about the S-23 that in foreign literature it passed under the designation “203-mm gun mod. 1955 . And only when, during one of the Middle East armed conflicts, samples of the S-23 cannon were captured, it turned out that its caliber is in fact equal to 180 millimeters.
S-23 is a heavy and bulky weapon; its mass in a combat position is almost 21.5 thousand kg. The shape of the barrel, the length of which was 48 calibers, as well as the location of the recoil mechanism are an indication of naval origin; the massive bolt has a screw mechanism, but the "salt shaker" muzzle brake is undoubtedly a land brake. There is no shield; the barrel is mounted on a massive carriage with sliding frames. The front end during towing moves on a separate wheelset; Typically, a heavy tracked tractor is used for towing. During firing, the wheels are hung out with a jack that lifts the pallet. The barrel of the C-23 in the stowed position is shifted to the frame back; the front ramp has double solid rubber tires.
The standard type of ammunition for the S-23 cannon is a high-explosive fragmentation projectile weighing 88 kg, of which the explosive is 10 kg. The maximum firing range when using this projectile is 30.4 thousand meters, however, when using active-rocket projectiles with a smaller explosive charge, the firing range is up to 43.8 thousand meters. Among other types of ammunition used is a concrete-piercing projectile, which is for the destruction of fortifications and other permanent structures. The S-23 cannon uses caps with propelling charges of different power.
The 180-mm S-23 cannon, apparently, was not produced in significant quantities, and today it has been almost completely removed from the armaments of the armies of the CIS countries. The gun was once exported to India and Syria, but there is no exact information about whether it is available in Iraq.
The barrel of the gun included a free tube, casing, coupling, breech and muzzle brake. The shutter is a two-stroke piston with a lamellar obturator. All operations with the gun, as well as with the shutter, were carried out manually.
The recoil brake is channel-slide hydraulic, with a variable recoil length, which depends on the elevation angle. The reel is hydropneumatic.
The hoist has two hover speeds and one sector. Sector swivel mechanism, located on the upper machine, on the frontal box. The balancing mechanism is hydropneumatic.
When transferring the gun to the firing position from the traveling wheel, they are hung out with the help of hydraulic jacks. The fire was conducted only from the coulter supports. The coulter supports consisted of two central and four lateral supports. For firing, the system was installed on a flat area of 8x8 m, if possible, a site with solid ground was chosen. In the case of installing the gun on soft ground, specials buried in the ground were used. beams. The gun was mounted on the beam by the frontal box of the lower machine and attached to it with chains.
Cannon S-23 in the stowed position
180-mm cannon S-23 in firing position
Suspension of the rear and forward gears is torsion bar.
The forward course in the firing position is separated from the beds and retracted into the shelter together with the tractor.
Cannon carriage with drawn barrel, inseparable.
Sights: mechanical sight S-85 with gun panorama PG-IM, sighting tube MVShP used for direct aiming of the gun.
The Barricades plant delivered seven C-23s during 1955. It was decided to leave the released guns in service, but to stop further production. Several times S-23s took part in parades on Red Square, causing not only the admiration of Muscovites, but also the surprise of military attachés from other countries.
The 180-mm S-23 was remembered in the 1960s-1970s, and the Barrikady plant began exporting them. The C-23 guns, according to Western press reports, were delivered to Syria and actively participated in the conflict in the Middle East.
At the plant "Barricades", on the instructions of the Central Committee of the CPSU, urgently began to restore the production of S-23 guns. It was quite difficult to carry out these works, since a significant part of those. documentation and equipment has been lost. Despite this, the staff of the plant coped with this task, and by 1971 12 180-mm S-23 guns had been manufactured. For these guns, the OF23 active-rocket projectile with a flight range of 43, 8 thousand m was developed and put into mass production.
The performance characteristics of the 180-mm S-23 cannon:
Caliber - 180 mm;
Barrel length - 47, 2 calibers (7170 mm);
Shooting range:
high-explosive fragmentation projectile - 30390 m;
active rocket projectile - 43,700 m;
Sighting rate - 0.5-1 shot per minute;
Aiming angles:
horizontal guidance - 40 degrees;
vertical guidance - from -2 to +50 degrees;
Loading - separate-sleeve;
Sights: gun panorama PG-1M, mechanical sight S-85, sighting tube MVShP for direct fire;
Weight in firing position - 19750 (21450) kg;
Short rollback length - 700 mm;
Long rollback length - 1350 mm;
Maximum rollback length - 1440 mm;
Length in the stowed position - 10490 mm;
Width in the stowed position - 3025 mm;
Transition time from traveling to combat position - 30 minutes;
Calculation - 14 (16) people;
Traction - tracked tractor AT-T;
Highway towing speed - up to 35 km / h;
Off-road towing speed - up to 12 km / h.
Ammunition:
- VF-572 shot with the F-572 high-explosive projectile (projectile mass - 88 kg, explosive mass - 10.7 kg, firing range - 30, 39 km, muzzle velocity - 860 m / s);
-shot VG-572 having a concrete-piercing projectile G-572;
- shot VOF28 having an active-reactive high-explosive projectile OF43 (projectile mass - 84 kg, explosive mass - 5, 616 kg, firing range - 43, 7 km), In the early 1970s, it was supplied to Egypt, India, Iraq, Syria and Somalia.
