Afanasev A-12.7
| A-12.7 aircraft machine gun | |
|---|---|
| Produced | 1953–1983[1] |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 25.5 kg (56 lb)[2] |
| Length | 1,423 mm (4 ft 8 in)[2] |
| Barrel length | 1,005 mm (3 ft 4 in)[2] |
| Width | 154 mm (6 in) |
| Height | 154.5 mm (6 in) |
| Cartridge | 12.7×108mm |
| Caliber | 12.7 mm (0.50 in) |
| Barrels | 1 |
| Action | Gas operation |
| Rate of fire | 800–1,100 rpm |
| Muzzle velocity | 818 m/s (2,680 ft/s) |
The Afanasev A-12.7 is a
Tu-4
bomber, the A-12.7 was ultimately installed only in trainer aircraft and helicopters. Nevertheless, it was produced for 30 years.
History
After the
ZSU-23
cannon as well.
Afanasev's prototype 12.7mm machine gun was designated TKB-481 and reached an impressive rate of fire of 1,400 rounds per minute. However, because of barrel wear problems a special electrical
GRAU index
of the weapon is 9-A-016P.
The A-12.7 machine gun is a
U-shaped recess on its lower end. As the actuating slide moves back and forth, a traverse lug in the weapon housing is cammed into this recess to guide the chambering levers. The A-12.7 aircraft machine gun has an electrical sear mechanism that is operated by a voltage
of 26V. At the back plate a spring buffer is located. Ammunition may be fed from either the left or from the right side. A pneumatically operated charging mechanism on the left side of the receiver is used to charge the machine gun and to clear misfires. The cylindrical housing on the right side of the receiver contains the return spring of the actuating slide.
The internal machining of the barrel of the A-12.7 was the same as the one of the DShK heavy machine gun, with 8 grooves 0.17 mm deep and 2.8 mm wide.[2]
The A-12.7 machine gun never armed the Tu-4 bomber as initially intended. By then, machine guns were considered obsolescent for this purpose and 23mm cannon were employed instead. Therefore, the A-12.7 was only used in training
MiG-19 aircraft carried a single A-12.7 machine gun. The main application of Afanasev's 12.7mm machine gun, however, was the armament of helicopters. The Mi-4A helicopter was equipped with a single gun with 200 rounds in the gondola below the fuselage. A single A-12.7 was also installed in the nose of the Mi-6A transport helicopter. The Mi-8TV had an A-12.7 machine gun in its nose as well and on the Mi-24A
it was installed in the turret NUV-1.
An exemplar can be seen at the
Aviation Museum of Central Finland
.
References
- ^ a b c Система Афанасьева Archived April 2, 2015, at the Wayback Machine КАЛАШНИКОВ. ОРУЖИЕ, БОЕПРИПАСЫ, СНАРЯЖЕНИЕ 2008/12, pp. 6-11
- ^ ISBN 985-433-695-6) (History of aircraft armament), page 120
- ^ "Музей Войск ПВО страны, Балашиха".
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Afanasjev A-12.7.
- Koll, Christian (2009). Soviet Cannon - A Comprehensive Study of Soviet Arms and Ammunition in Calibres 12.7mm to 57mm. Austria: Koll. p. 61. ISBN 978-3-200-01445-9.