Rikhter R-23
| R-23 Aircraft Cannon | |
|---|---|
| Type | Single-barrel revolver cannon |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Soviet Union, Russia |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Aron Abramovich Rikhter |
| Designed | 1964 |
| Manufacturer | Tulamashzavod, Tula |
| No. built | 500+ |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 58.5 kg (129 lb) |
| Length | 1,468 mm (4 ft 10 in) |
| Barrel length | approx. 1,140 mm (45 in) barrel length |
| Width | 170 mm (7 in) |
| Height | 165 mm (6 in) |
| Cartridge | 23 x 260 mm telescoped ammunition |
| Caliber | 23 mm (0.91 in) |
| Barrels | 1 |
| Action | gas operated four-chamber revolver |
| Rate of fire | 2,500 rpm |
| Muzzle velocity | 850 m/s (2,800 ft/s) |
| Feed system | belt |
The Rikhter R-23 is an aircraft autocannon developed for the Soviet Air Force starting in the late 1950s. It was designed to be as short as possible to avoid problems found on high-speed aircraft when the guns were pointed into the airstream. The R-23 was a gas operated revolver cannon that used gas bled from holes in the barrel to provide the motive force. Firing up to 2,500 rpm, the R-23 was the fastest firing single-barrel cannon ever introduced into service.
The R-23 took some time to develop and was not used operationally until 1964. It was used only in the tail turret of the Tu-22, and experimentally on the Salyut 3 space station. Its role was taken over by the twin-barrel Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23.
A modified version of the weapon was the only cannon to have been fired in space.