23mm ZU-23 Anti-Aircraft Gun History

The 23mm ZU-23 was developed in the 1960’s to give the Soviet army greater firepower than the earlier 14.5mm ZPU series that were in use at the time. The gun is used to provide local air defense to Naval Infantry, air defense missiles, paratrooper units, as well as advancing army formations.

It became the standard towed light anti-aircraft weapon of the Warsaw Pact during the 1960’s. They were also widely distributed to Soviet allies throughout Africa and Asia during this time where they were used in countless civil conflicts and ‘wars of liberation’. The largest of these actions was the Vietnam War where the North Vietnamese army used the ZU-23 against the United States and South Vietnam.

ZU-23’s were also widely used by Arab states during their wars with Israel. Many were captured by the Israelis during these conflicts, including a number of ZU-23’s mounted in the rear of BTR-152 trucks during the invasion of Lebanon. Other locations the anti-aircraft gun was used include many African civil wars, the India-Pakistan conflict (with Pakistan), and the Iran-Iraq war on both sides.

When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan they found that the ZU-23 could be made more useful by mounting it in the rear of a ZIL-135 truck for convoy protection. This enabled the convoy to defend against infantry ambushes as well as the occasional aircraft. After the Soviet withdrawal in 1989 many of the weapons were left behind as aid to the Communist government in Kabul. When the government there fell the weapons were used in the ensuing civil war by both the Taliban and Northern Alliance forces. This continued until the US intervention in Afghanistan in 2001.

Russian forces also used the ZU-23 mounted in ZIL trucks during the first campaign in the breakaway republic of Chechnya. In this way they could provide high angle fire support to advancing forces. This was needed because the guns of the tanks and BMP's could not elevate to engage rebel forces who hid on the tops of buildings with RPG-7 anti-tank weapons. These buildings offered no cover from the powerful 23mm rounds of the ZU-23.

Method of Operation and Ammunition

The ZU-23 is fully automatic, gas operated weapon equipped with sliding wedge breechblocks. Both of its quick-change barrels are equipped with large flash suppressors. When brought into firing position, three screw-type leveling jacks are lowered. These are attached to the corners of the weapon’s triangular base platform and provide a very stable firing platform. The wheels are raised off the ground and lowered to either side, so that they do not interfere with the weapon as it traverses.

The weapon fires two types of fixed 23mm cartridge. The first is an armor piercing incendiary-tracer, while the second is an explosive incendiary-tracer. Both ammunition types are equipped with a self-destruct fuze that limits their range to 3780 meters.

ZU-23 23mm Ammunition
	BZT	MG25
Type	API-T	HEI-T
Weight	0.189 kg	0.19 kg
Velocity	970 m/s	970 m/s
Penetration (500 meters)	25mm	?

Variants of the ZU-23

There are several different variants of the ZU-23. Bulgaria, Egypt, China, and Poland all have made their own slightly different version of the weapon. In addition to this it is claimed that the Soviets manufactured a single barrel version of the weapon, but this has been difficult to prove as it is rarely seen.

Most other modifications involve the weapon being mounted on trucks of many kinds in an effort to create a cheap mobile anti-aircraft gun. In Soviet service it has been mounted on BTR-152 armored personnel carriers in place of the earlier 14.5mm ZPU-2 machine guns. Many of these vehicles were later exported to a number of countries including East Germany and Lebanon. During the Afghanistan war of the 1980’s the Soviets modified a number of ZIL-135 trucks to carry a ZU-23 for convoy protection. Both Namibia and South Africa have also mounted the weapon on mine protected trucks. The South African version is mounted on a SAMIL 100 and known as the GA-6. Dassault Electronics of France even mounted the ZU-23 on the chassis of the M113A2 for sale to Egypt.

As stated earlier, the ZU-23 is used to provide local air defense. During the Soviet era the ZU-23 was usually deployed in batteries of six guns. Each motor rifle and paratrooper regiment was equipped with one such battery. It could also be found defending SA-4 ‘Ganef’ surface-to-air missile batteries where they provide close-in defense. In this role each SA-4 ‘Ganef’ battalion was issued nine ZU-23 guns. The gun was also issued to the Naval Infantry where it could provide cover for any amphibious or airborne assault.

The ZU-23 continued to be used in the early 1990’s with the Russian army with some changes. Russian paratroop units issued the 24 of the guns to each airborne division (12 with the divisional artillery element and 4 in each of the three paratrooper regiments). By the late 1990’s they were replaced with SA-9 ‘Gaskins’ in this role, and are now only used by the Russian Army and Naval Infantry.

Among the many advantages of the ZU-23 was the fact that it was a fairly powerful gun that could be transported easily. It could defeat almost all combat helicopters of its time and also could be turned against lightly armored vehicles and ground targets if the need arouse.

The ZU-23 provided a powerful, mobile air defense capability for the Soviet and Russian army. Here you can see what weapons the ZU-23 replaced and what anti-aircraft system eventually replaced it. You will be able to find more about each weapon if we have them on our site by clicking the links below.

The ZU-23 replaced...	ZU-23 Anti-Aircraft Gun	The ZU-23 was replaced by...
ZPU-2 14.5mm AA Gun ZPU-4 14.5mm AA Gun	ZU-23 Anti-Aircraft Gun	Still in active service. Replaced by SA-9 'Gaskin' in airborne units only.

Here are some of the most informative sources that we have used in compiling this information for you. We hope you can find them as useful as we have.