In the late 1940s, the Soviets started to develop a 57 mm anti-aircraft gun, to replace its 37 mm M1939 guns. Three models were presented, and the winning design was made by V. G. Grabin. According to Western intelligence sources, the German prototype gun 5.5 cm Gerät 58 formed the basis for the design.[1] The Soviets were also able to study earlier German 5 cm FlaK 41 guns that had been captured following the Battle of Stalingrad.
The prototype passed the field tests in 1946 and was accepted into service in 1950, after some minor modifications. The anti-aircraft gun was given the name 57 mm AZP S-60. Grabin continued the development and fielded the SPAAG version ZSU-57-2 in 1955.
The fire direction device was developed from the German Lambda calculator (Шаблон:Ill, 40A, and 40B) and was called PUAZO-5A. It had also a distance measuring device called D-49. The fire direction was also made more effective by including Grom-2 (10 cm wavelength) radars with the AA batteries. The whole system was called SON-9. Later on, the calculators would be changed into the more modern RPK-1 Vaza, which had been designed by M. M. Kositskin. The calculator and the radars were transported by Ural-375 trucks.
The 57 mm gun replaced the 37 mm divisional guns in Soviet service in the 1950s. A divisional anti-aircraft regiment consisted of two AA-batteries with six 57 mm guns each. The PVO air-defence troops AA regiments consisted of four 57 mm AA batteries (totaling 24 guns).
In the mid-1960s, the Soviet divisional anti-aircraft units began replacing their AA artillery with missiles, and by the end of the 1970s, the AA guns had almost disappeared. However, they were used in many other countries. The performance of AAA (anti-aircraft artillery) in Vietnam against low-flying aircraft led the Soviets to bring back many guns from storage to supplement the Surface-to-Air Missiles, whose performance at low altitude was less than satisfactory.
Operational history
The S-60 and its Chinese copy (the Type 59) have seen combat in several wars all over the world – e.g., the Bajaur Campaign, Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War in the Middle East, and the Soviet–Afghan War. The Afghan People's Army received twenty-four 57 mm guns in 1958, and deployed it during the Bajaur Campaign. During the Vietnam War, the S-60 was the keystone of North Vietnamese low-altitude air defense and was most effective between 460 meters and 1,500 meters.
In Iraq (Iran–Iraq War, Gulf War and Iraq War), the S-60, normally deployed in battalions of 36 guns, served consistently in defense of divisional headquarters and field artillery assets.
Georgian army air defence units used S-60 guns during the Russo-Georgian War. Some units engaged Russian attack aircraft near the city of Gori. None were shot down by S-60 though some were damaged.
Syrian S-60 guns were actively used during the Syrian Civil War by both the army and rebel groups. As many other guns originally designed for antiaircraft use, most of the time they were used in shelling ground targets.[2]
In 2022, S-60s were used by Ukraine in the war with Russia not in their original anti-aircraft role but as indirect-fire artillery. In this role they were reported to have an effective range of 6.1km.[6]
In 2023, images surfaced of a T-55 armed with an AZP S-60 Anti Aircraft gun in place of its turret. It has been used by the Luhansk People's Republic to shoot at Ukrainian drones and provide infantry with fire support[7]
Ammunition types
The S-60 fires ammunition in 57×348SR caliber, with ballistics (see below) similar to the longer 57×438mm ammunition of Bofors 57 mm AA gun, but somewhat weaker than Soviet 57 mm anti-tank guns of World War II. Modern anti-aircraft rounds have not been developed for the gun; the main characteristics of the Soviet-era ammunition are listed in the table below. In addition to these People's Republic of China manufactures ammunition in 57x348SR caliber, designated Type 59 HE-T, Type 59 AP-T, and Type 76 HE-T.
Training rounds include a blank round MK-281 ("Manöver-Kartusche", East German designation), and training rounds with -IN suffix (UBR-281U-IN, UOR-281U-IN) identifying the rounds as fuzeless versions of the APCBC and HE rounds with dummy fuzes and inert filling replacing the explosive cavities.
Anti-tank round with sharp penetrator, blunt cap and an aerodynamic cover, with tracer and a delayed-action base fuze.[8] Penetration 96 mm RHA at 1,000 m range or 106 mm at 500 m.[9] UBR-281 and -281U are loaded with the same projectile and differ only by details in case mouth and swage grooves.[8]
Similar to UOR-281; some sources state the shell is the same as in UOR-281 and the round differs from it only in details of the case mouth and swage grooves (as with the UBR round),[8] while others claim a slightly larger HE filling.[9]
3UO6
HE
?
154
1,000
Similar to UOR-281U but with proximity fuze AR-51 installed. Fuze operating with RPK-1 system together. Not to be confused with later smart shells which Russia developed.
Type 59 AP
AP-T
?
?
?
Chinese anti-tank round presumably similar to UBR-281/281U.
Type 59 HE
HE-T
?
?
?
Chinese fragmentation round for anti-aircraft use, presumably similar to UOR-281/281U.
Type 76 HE
HE-T
?
?
?
Chinese fragmentation round.
Airburst munitions for Russian 30 mm and 57 mm autocannons are in development.[10][11][12][13]
AK-725: Naval version of the S-60 gun. Introduced in 1958. Mounted in single, double and quadruple mounts (designated ZIF-31) on many early Soviet destroyers.
ZIF-72: Naval version which is enclosed in a metal housing and fully automatic. Also exported to India. Introduced in the mid-1970s.
The S-60 was sold to at least 37 countries during the Soviet era. The gun was also license manufactured in Poland by Zakłady Mechaniczne Tarnów in Tarnów (en. Tarnów Mechanical Works), and in Hungary by DIMÁVAG in Miskolc-Diósgyőr, and in China as the Type 59.
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