One of the symbolic weapon systems of the First Cold War was the ZSU-23-4 Shilka. This
self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, shortly SPAAG, had posed a great threat to the air
units of Western armies for many years. The ZSU-23-4 had changed aircraft designs and
air support tactics in NATO, although it may become obsolete today. Now we are investigating
the legendary Shilka, who played an important role in transforming modern armies into their
present form. Please don't forget to subscribe to our channel,
before we start and give us a thumbs up if you like our video. To be notified of our
new video, please click the bell button. Indeed, the ZSU-23-4 is one of the key systems
in shaping modern armies. It is possible to see its traces in the assault
helicopters designed since the late 1970s, the spread of long-range anti-tank missiles,
and the birth of another important legend such as the A-10.
Before continuing to investigate the ZSU-23-4, it would be helpful at this point to take
a brief look at the development of the SPAAGs. Interestingly, the first examples of anti-aircraft
guns were self-propelled. For example, the French Canon de 75 mm antiaérien mle 1913,
the British 76.2 QF 13-pounder Mk IV, and the German 7.7 cm Leichte Kraftwagengeschütze
M1914, widely used during the First World War, were the truck-mounted air defence systems.
During the Second World War, the use of towed anti-aircraft guns for area air defence became
more common. Nevertheless, the mechanised units of both
side generally continued to use the anti-aircraft guns mounted on armoured vehicles and tank
hulls. The systems such as the ZSU-57-2 and M42 Duster,
designed at the beginning of the First Cold War, did not have very different design criteria
than the examples in the Second World War. The ZSU-57-2, the predecessor of the ZSU-23-4,
had two 57mm autocannons which were aimed optically inside the manually operated turret.
Naturally, the effectiveness of this SPAAG against jet fighters was low.
So, to overcome this problem, in 1957, the Soviet Army initiated studies on new concept
SPAAG which would provide air defence to the mechanized infantry and armoured units.
In 1960, the Soviet Army started the trials of two prototypes, one of with 23mm quadruple
gun called ZSU-23-4 Shilka and the other with 37mm twin-barrel gun called ZSU-37-2 Yenisei.
Both SPAAG had fire control radar and computer which were considered as the state of art
in that time. They were able to follow the tanks on the field and fire accurately on
the move. After one year of extensive trials, the Soviet
Army chose the ZSU-23-4. Actually, the trials showed that the ZSU-37-2
was more successful than its rival in terms of firepower.
Naturally, 37mm gun had a longer effective range and a higher effective altitude.
But, the Shilka had also its own advantages. First of all, the ZSU-23-4 was nearly twice
effective against its rival in terms of firing efficiency at high-speed targets at altitudes
of 200-500 metres. And, it was lighter. The steel hull of the ZSU-23-4 is based on
the ASU-85 tracked assault gun. The SPAAG has a suitable size and weight for
transporting by the An-12 or Il-76 cargo aircraft. The crew compartment and the weapon are separated
from each other with an airtight armoured bulkhead.
Reload hatches of the 23mm guns are outside. The early models of the ZSU-23-4 had a deficient
barrel cooling system and could occasionally have a cook-off problem. The gun was getting
too hot after the prolonged fire. In some case, even if the gunner was not pulling the
trigger, the heat could cause firing the ammunition inside the chamber spontaneously. Once the
first round was fired, the mechanism was not stopping. Also, the overheating problem could
cause jamming. At first, the gunners solved these problems by waiting some time for cooling
the barrels, after every 15 round bursts. Later, by the ZSU-23-4M model, the SPAAG has
been fitted with an improved barrel cooling system.
The gunner can choose using the barrels in singles, twos and fours. The Shilka has the
options of three, five, ten, or thirty-round salvo from each barrel.
The J-band RPK 2 radar of the ZSU-23-4 has the capability of both detection and tracking.
The NATO reporting name of this radar is Gun Dish.
The RPK 2 can detect a target from a range of 20,000 metres and track it from a range
of 18,000 metres. In case of an electronic jamming or an approaching
anti-radar missile, the radar closes itself automatically and the gunner switches to the
optical sight. It can engage the target on the move and even
from a side slope of 10 degrees. However, according to many combat reports, it has been
observed that the ZSU-23-4 loses its firing effectiveness by half while it is on the move.
The vehicle has a four-person crew consisting of commander, driver, gunner, and radar operator.
It is 6.54 metres long, 3.13 metres wide, and 2.58 metres high. When the radar is elevated,
the total high increases to 3.57 metres. The combat weight of Shilka is 20,500 kilograms.
The 280 horsepower V-6R diesel engine provides 50 kilometres per hour maximum speed. The
range is 450 kilometres. It can negotiate 1.1-metre vertical steps and 2.8-metre trenches.
The fording depth of the vehicle is 1.07 metre. Four 23mm AZMP 23M guns of the ZSU-23-4 have
970 metres per second muzzle velocity, the effective altitude of 2,500 metres, and the
effective range of 2,500 metres. The theoretical rate of fires is between 800 to 1,000 rounds
per minute for each barrel. The guns can elevate between -4 to 85 degrees. The turning speed
of the turret is 60 degrees per seconds. So why was such an advanced SPAAG developed
in the USSR and not in the West? With Operation Barbarossa in 1941, Nazi Germany
succeeded in destroying many Soviet aircraft on the ground.
For the Red Army, it was not possible to wait for gaining air superiority to fight against
the Wehrmacht. Therefore, the anti-aircraft guns became the
most important card of the USSR against the Luftwaffe.
However, the situation was different on the Western front. The US and British ground troops
had gained air superiority before they set foot on continental Europe.
When they landed in France in 1944, the Luftwaffe was not the primary threat to them. Western
allies enjoyed having great airpower which would save them at their most critical moments
for many times. This is why the USSR chose to rely on a concept
that considered the possibility of losing its aircraft in the first hours of a possible
Third World War. In such a scenario, SPAAGs were vital.
NATO, on the other hand, did not consider going a war where it did not have air superiority.
During the First Cold War years, each motorized infantry and armoured regiments of the Soviet
Army had four Shilkas as well as four low altitude infra-red guided surface-to-air missile
systems. Typically, the regiment was positioning its
ZSU-23-4s near the forward edge of the battle area, behind the main forces. In defensive
operations, the SPAAGs were being located generally between 600 to 1,000 metres behind
the leading tanks. In an offensive operation, this distance reduced between 400 to 600 metres.
On the march, the Soviet Army was dividing the ZSU-23-4s evenly along with the troop
columns. Of course, depending on the specific conditions
of the combat environment or the doctrines of the different user countries, the ZSU-23-4s
could also be used in different formations. For example, the National People's Army of
East Germany was operating its ZSU-23-4s in pairs about 200 to 300 metres behind the combat
vehicles. The distance between the pairs was up to 2,000 metres.
At first, the Soviet Army had autonomously being operated each ZSU-23-4 independent from
regimental or divisional air defence. But in a short time, it realized that this formation
is reducing efficiency. In 1978, the Soviet Army added the PPRU-1
reconnaissance and control post vehicles to motor rifle or tank regimental air defence
units. This vehicle, its NATO reporting name is Dog Ear, has a detection radar with the
range of 40,000 metres an automatic fire control system associated with the divisional air
defence system. The ZSU-23-4 was not a lone wolf, but a good
team player. Each Soviet divisions had also two other important
systems; the 2K11 Krug whose NATO reporting name SA-4 Ganef, and the 2K12 Kub whose NATO
reporting name SA-6 Gainful. To avoid these systems which were effective
at high and medium-altitude, the NATO aircraft had to fly below the radar line-of-sight,
at low altitude. This was where the ZSU-23-4 came into play.
However, the SPAAG was not alone in this task. The regimental air defence unit also had four
9K31 Strela-1s whose NATO reporting name SA-9 Gaskin or four 9K35 Strela-10s whose NATO
reporting name SA-13 Gopher. It was also necessary to take into account
the presence of at least one MANPADS in every armoured vehicle.
Within this deadly team, the ZSU-23-4 was doing its part properly.
During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, both Egypt and Syria used the ZSU-23-4s extensively and
successfully. In the early stage of the war, the Israeli
Air Force could not operate its aircraft effectively at the high altitude, because of the Soviet-made
air defence missile umbrella. When the aircraft down the low altitude, the
deadly ZSU-23-4 was waiting for them. Many sources claim that this SPAAGs were responsible
30 per cent of the Israeli aircraft lost. But as we mention just before, the ZSU-23-4
was only a good team player. During the war, Egypt alone had launched air
defence missile more than the total amount of all NATO's stock in Europe. The Shilka
would not have achieved such success without the horror at high and medium altitudes by
the missiles. As a matter of fact, after the Egyptian S-75
batteries, whose NATO reporting name was SA-2 Guideline, were destroyed from the ground,
the Israeli Air Force began to operate successfully on the front, not afraid of the ZSU-23-4s.
It was this battle that was the peak of the Soviet Air Defense team's success. Then the
decline started. Thanks to the tactics and electronic warfare
systems developed with the experience gained here, neither Israel nor other Western countries
have ever experienced a similar nightmare. Nine years later, in Lebanon, during Operation
Mole Cricket 19, Israeli Air Force manage tho destroy the entire Syrian air defence,
and only lost one unmanned aerial vehicle. In later conflicts, the ZSU-23-4 was used
more against land threats rather than air. In Afghanistan, the Shilka, with its high
barrel elevation angle, took on important tasks in protecting the convoys against the
Mujahideen ambushing in the high ground. Four 23mm guns with rapid-firing capability had
a lethal effect. Similarly, after the Soviet Union collapsed,
the Russians used the ZSU-23-4s extensively against Chechens who had ambushed the steep
mountains of the Caucasus. In conflicts in many other parts of the world,
the Shilka continues to prove itself as a fire support vehicle. For example, both groups
fighting in Syria today use the ZSU-23-4s intensively in urban areas.
It was its success that brought the end of the ZSU-23-4.
Since the late 1970s, 23mm resistant rotors have become the main design criteria for the
military helicopter. The USA developed the AGM-114 Hellfire missile
which has a longer range than the Shilka's guns.
The king of the close air support mission, the A-10 was the direct answer for it.
The measures developed against it were so effective that even the USSR developed the
2S6 Tunguska in the 1980s to replace the Shilka. But, many users of the ZSU-23-4s continue
to rely on them with some modernization programmes. Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine have mounted
the Igla missiles on the Shilkas. The Polish ZSU-23-4MP Biała has Grom missiles.
India has equipped its Shilkas with active electronically scanned array radar.
Despite all these improvements, the ZSU-23-4 has long been an obsolete system. It was once
a nightmare for aircraft. Yet those days are over. Still, it is possible to see Shilka
in the inventory of many countries today. Its success in the 1970s shaped today's armies.
And that's why the ZSU-23-4 deserves to be remembered as a true legend.
Thanks for watching our video. And please don't forget to subscribe to our channel and
give us a thumbs up if you like our video. To be notified of our new video, please click
the bell button.