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ZPU Anti-aircraft Gun
ZPU-4 in Saint Petersburg
ZPU-4 in Saint Petersburg Artillery Museum.
Type Anti-aircraft gun
Place of origin Soviet Union
Service history
In service 1949 - present
Used by See Operators for users
Wars Korean War, Vietnam War, Western Sahara War, Cambodian Civil War, Cambodian-Vietnamese War, Gulf War, South Lebanon conflict (1982–2000)
Production history
Variants ZPU-1, ZPU-2, ZPU-4

The ZPU (Russian: зенитная пулемётная установка, meaning "anti-aircraft machine gun mount") is a family of towed anti-aircraft gun based on the Soviet 14.5 mm KPV heavy machine gun. It entered service with the Soviet Union in 1949 and is used by over 50 countries worldwide.

Quadruple- (ZPU-4) Double- (ZPU-2) and single-barreled (ZPU-1) versions of the weapon exist.

Precursor[]

Quad Maxim AAMG 2

The 1931 ZPU for 7.62 mm machine guns

The first dedicated Soviet mount for anti-aircraft machine guns was developed around 1928 by Fedor Tokarev and was adopted for service in 1931. It was a base for mounting up to four 7.62 mm PM M1910 (Russian Maxim) guns. This was also called a ZPU, although the name М-4 was also assigned to it. It served the Soviet armed forces in all major conflicts until 1945.[1]

Description[]

Development of the ZPU-2 and ZPU-4 began in 1945, with development of the ZPU-1 starting in 1947. All three were accepted into service in 1949. Improved optical predicting gunsights were developed for the system in the 1950s.

All weapons in the ZPU series have air-cooled quick-change barrels and can fire a variety of ammunition including API (B32), API (BS41), API-T (BZT) and I-T (ZP) projectiles. Each barrel has a maximum rate of fire of around 600 rounds per minute, though this is practically limited to about 150 rounds per minute.

The quad-barrel ZPU-4 uses a four-wheel carriage similar to that once used by the obsolete 25 mm automatic anti-aircraft gun M1940. In firing position, the weapon is lowered onto firing jacks. It can be brought in and out of action in about 15 to 20 seconds, and can be fired with the wheels in the traveling position if needed.

The double-barrel ZPU-2 was built in two different versions; the early model has large mud guards and two wheels that are removed in the firing position, and the late model has wheels that fold and are raised from the ground in the firing position.

The single-barrel ZPU-1 is carried on a two-wheeled carriage and can be broken down into several 80-kilogram pieces for transport over rough ground.

Versions of the weapon are built in China, North Korea and Romania.

History[]

ZPU-1-batey-haosef-1

Israeli ZPU

ZPU-2-4658

ZPU-2 in Technical museum Togliatti

The series was used during the Korean War by Chinese and North Korean forces, and was later considered to be the most dangerous opposition to U.S. helicopters in Vietnam. Later it was used by Morocco and the Polisario Front in the Western Sahara War. It was also used by Iraqi forces during Operation Desert Storm and again in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In the Russian military, it was replaced by the newer and more powerful ZU-23 23 mm twin automatic anti-aircraft gun.

The type has seen widespread use by both sides in the 2011 Libyan civil war often mounted on pickup-truck technicals.[2]

Ammunition[]

  • API (BS.41) - Full metal jacket bullet round with a tungsten carbide core. Projectile weight is 64.4 g (2.27 oz) and muzzle velocity is 1,000 metres per second (3,300 ft/s). Armor-penetration at 500 m (550 yd) is 32 mm (1.3 in) of RHA at 90 degrees.[3]
  • API-T (BZT) - Full metal jacket round with a steel core. Projectile weight is 59.56 g (2.101 oz) and muzzle velocity is 1,005 m/s (3,297 ft/s). Tracer burns to at least 2,000 m (2,200 yd).
  • I-T (ZP) - "Instantaneous Incendiary" bullet with internal fuze, incendiary in tip, tracer container in base. Projectile weight is 60.0 g (2.12 oz).

Rounds are also produced by Bulgaria, China, Egypt, Poland, and Romania.

Variants[]

ZU-2 anti-aircraft machine gun

ZU-2, a Romanian-built version.

Ajdabiya technical - Flickr - Al Jazeera English

A Libyan technical with ZPU-2.

  • ZPU-4
    • Type 56 - Chinese-built version.
    • MR-4 - Romanian-built version with a two-wheel carriage designed locally.
  • ZPU-2
    • Type 58 - Chinese-built version.
    • ZU-2 - Romanian-built version.
  • ZPU-1
  • BTR-40A SPAAG - A BTR-40 APC with a ZPU-2 gun mounted in the rear. Entered service in 1950.
  • BTR-152A SPAAG - A BTR-152 with a ZPU-2 mounted in the rear. Entered service in 1952.

Specifications[]

Army Artillery pointing towards BDR headquarters

Type-56/ZPU-4 14.5mm quad barrel anti aircraft gun Bangladesh Army.

Model ZPU-1 ZPU-2 (early) ZPU-2 (late) ZPU-4
Barrels 1 2 2 4
Weight (travelling) 413 kg
(910 lb)
994 kg
(2,191 lb)
649 kg
(1,430 lb)
1,810 kg
(3,990 lb)
Weight (firing) 413 kg
(910 lb)
639 kg
(1,408 lb)
621 kg
(1,369 lb)
1,810 kg
(3,990 lb)
Length (travel) 3.44 m
(11.28 ft)
3.54 m
(11.61 ft)
3.87 m
(12.69 ft)
4.53 m
(14.86 ft)
Width (travel) 1.62 m
(5.31 ft)
1.92 m
(6.29 ft)
1.37 m
(4.49 ft)
1.72 m
(5.64 ft)
Height (travel) 1.34 m
(4.39 ft)
1.83 m
(6.00 ft)
1.1 m
(3.60 ft)
2.13 m
(7 ft)
Elevation +88/-8 +90/-7 +85/-15 +90/-10
Traverse 360
Maximum range 8,000 m
(8,749 yds)
Maximum altitude 5,000 m
(16,404 ft)
Effective altitude 1,400 m
(4,593 ft)
Ammunition (rounds) 1200 2400 4800
Crew 4 5

Operators[]

  • Flag of Afghanistan Afghanistan
  • Flag of Albania Albania
  • Flag of Algeria Algeria
  • Flag of Angola Angola
  • Flag of Bangladesh Bangladesh
  • Flag of Benin Benin
  • Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria
  • Flag of Burkina Faso Burkina Faso
  • Flag of Burundi Burundi
  • Flag of Cambodia Cambodia
  • Flag of Cameroon Cameroon
  • Flag of Cape Verde Cape Verde
  • Flag of Chad Chad
  • Flag of the People's Republic of China China
  • Flag of the Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo
  • Flag of Croatia Croatia
  • Flag of Cuba Cuba
  • Flag of Djibouti Djibouti
  • Flag of Egypt Egypt
  • Flag of Ethiopia Ethiopia
  • Flag of Ghana Ghana
  • Flag of Guinea Guinea
  • Flag of Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau
  • Flag of Iran Iran
  • Flag of Iraq Iraq
  • Flag of Israel Israel
  • Flag of North Korea North Korea
  • Flag of Laos Laos
  • Flag of Libya Libya
  • Flag of Madagascar Madagascar
  • Flag of Malawi Malawi
  • Flag of Mali Mali
  • Flag of Malta Malta
  • Flag of Mauritania Mauritania
  • Flag of Mongolia Mongolia
  • Flag of Morocco Morocco
  • Flag of Mozambique Mozambique
  • Flag of Namibia Namibia
  • Flag of Nicaragua Nicaragua
  • Flag of Pakistan Pakistan: ZPU-1, ZPU-2 & ZPU-4 used by Pakistan Army.
  • Flag of Poland Poland
  • Flag of Romania Romania
  • Flag of Russia Russia
  • Flag of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Sahrawi Republic
  • Flag of Sao Tome and Principe São Tomé and Príncipe
  • Flag of the Seychelles Seychelles
  • Flag of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka
  • Flag of Somalia Somalia
  • Flag of Sudan Sudan
  • Flag of Syria Syria
  • Flag of Tanzania Tanzania
  • Flag of Togo Togo
  • Flag of Uganda Uganda
  • Flag of Vietnam Vietnam
  • Flag of SFR Yugoslavia Yugoslavia
  • Flag of Zambia Zambia
  • Flag of Zaire Zaire
  • Flag of Zimbabwe Zimbabwe

References[]

  1. Семен Федосеев (2009). Пулеметы России. Шквальный огонь. Яуза / Коллекция / ЭКСМО. pp. 377–380. ISBN 978-5-699-31622-9. 
  2. The Telegraph, Libya Unrest, Pictures of the Clashes
  3. [1]

External links[]

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at ZPU and the edit history here.
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