Three members of the ZPU family, ZPU-1, ZPU-2, and ZPU-4, have been the secret heroes of
many wars since the 1950s.
Of course, their use in conventional armies has not been impressive.
However, they have become one of the most dangerous weapon systems of unconventional
warfare forces.
Now, we are investigating the ZPU, the never obsolete anti-aircraft gun, shortly AA gun.
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Taking its name from the first letter of the Russian words "zenitnaya pulemotnaya ustanovka",
meaning "anti-aircraft machine gun mount", the ZPU has been a thorn in many armies' flesh
in the last 70 years.
When used with the right tactics in the right hands, they have proven time and again to
be a deadly enemy both in air defence duties and against especially ground troops.
As a matter of fact, the development process of the ZPU family signalled how effective
these AA guns would be against ground targets in the future.
During the Second World War, the USSR had produced large quantities of the PTRD-41 and
PTRS anti-tank weapons and an enormous amount of 14.5mm ammunition fired from these guns.
Wanting to use this advantage, the Red Army requested the development of a machine gun
that could fire these cartridges in 1945.
Thus, the 14.5mm KPV machine gun emerged.
The AA gun variants of this weapon, the ZPU family, entered the Soviet Army service in
1949.
There are three different production variants, referring to the barrel number.
The ZPU-1 had a single barrel, while ZPU-2 and ZPU-4 double and quadruple barrels, respectively.
Since the 14.5mm ammunition was initially produced for anti-tank purposes, the ZPU's
effectiveness against ground targets is also high.
The BS 41 round with a muzzle velocity of 1000 meters per second can penetrate 32 millimetres
of steel armour at a range of 500 meters.
All members of the ZPU family are clear weather systems.
They have neither capability for radar control nor night sight.
The ZPU-1 has a two-wheeled carriage.
For transportation over rough terrain in packs, the crew can disassemble the ZPU-1 into parts,
weighing up to 40 kilograms each.
The reassembling of the AA gun takes 4 minutes without requiring any special tool.
The ZPU-2 has two separate production models.
The first one has larger mudguards and a double tubular tow bar.
In the firing position, the crew removes the wheels, and the AA gun rests on a three-point
platform.
Each point has a screw jack for levelling.
The late production model is lighter and lower.
It has narrower mudguards and a lighter single tow bar.
In the firing position, the crew raises the wheels to clear off the ground instead of
removing them.
The ZPU-4 has a four-wheel carriage.
In the firing position, the crew raises the wheels off the ground, and the carriage rests
on a four-point.
There are screw jacks at each end of the carriage and outriggers on each side of the carriage.
The ZPU-4 can be ready to fire in 15 to 20 seconds.
If required, the AA gun can also be used in the travelling position.
During the early years of the First Cold War, all Soviet motorized rifle regiments had an
AA machine gun battery with ZPUs.
The ZPU family was also wildly popular in pro-Soviet countries.
China has produced the ZPU-2 and ZPU-4 under licence.
Their Chinese designations are Type 58 and Type 56, respectively.
The ZU-2, also known as MR-4, is the Romanian licence production variant of the ZPU-4.
Oddly, North Korea names the local licence production model of the ZPU-4, ZPU-2.
Over the past 70 years, the ZPU family has served under the flag of more than 50 countries.
Also, almost every sizable terrorist organization, guerilla groups, and militia forces have this
weapon.
Some countries like Russia and Ukraine are referred to as former users of the AA gun.
But, we know that we will eventually see the ZPUs at the later stages of the current Russo-Ukrainian
War.
The ZPU-4 variant has a crew of five-person.
Its barrel length is about 1.35 metres.
The weight of the AA gun is 1,810 kilograms.
In the travelling position, the ZPU-4 has a length of 4.53 metres, a width of 1.72 metres,
and a height of 2.13 metres.
The barrel can depress and elevate between -10 degrees to +90 degrees.
The turret can turn 360 degrees.
Each air-cooled quick-change barrel has a theoretical fire rate of 600 rounds per minute.
But, it can practically send about 150 rounds per minute to the target, considering the
cooling and replacement times.
It has an effective range of 2,000 metres and an effective altitude of 1,400 metres.
The weight in the firing position is 413 kilograms for the ZPU-1 and 621 kilograms for the ZPU-2's
later production variant.
The Soviet Army also took the self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, shortly SPAAG, variants
of the ZPU into the service.
The ZTPU-2 is a variant of the ZPU-2, which is specially designed to mount on vehicles
and has only an 80-degree elevation angle.
The BTR-40 based SPAAG model, BTR-40A, became operational in 1952.
The BTR-152A and D were the AA variants of the BTR-152 6x6 wheeled armoured personnel
carrier.
The Soviet Army also mounted some ZPU-4s on the BTR-152s.
North Korea has fitted the locally produced ZPU-4s onto the VTT-323 tracked armoured vehicles.
Besides, this country developed the M1984.
With the same hull as the Ch'onma-ho tank, this SPAAG's turret combines the ZPU and a
surveillance/tracking radar.
The Lebanese Army has mounted the ZPU-2s or ZPU-4s onto the M113s.
Many other countries also mount the ZPU-2s on different armoured vehicles.
For example, the Egyptian BRDM-2s, the Nepalese Ferret and the Nigerian Spartan carry this
AA gun.
We should add that Iran supplied the MT-LB mounted ZPU-4s to the Iraqi Shia militias.
The ZPUs have also been mounted on various trucks and pickups, such as the Ural-4320,
GAZ-66, VLRA, KM-450, and Land Rover Defender.
Of course, the most well-known vehicle among them is the Toyota Land Cruiser.
In the 1960s, the Soviet Army also used the armoured train fitted with ZPU-4 to protect
the railway lines.
Many Soviet torpedo boats, patrol boats and minesweepers have been equipped with the ZPU's
naval variants, 2M-5, 2M-6 and 2M-7.
Also, some Chinese, North Korean, and Romanian vessels have locally produced variants of
these AA guns.
Many countries, guerilla groups, terrorist organizations, and pirates have mounted the
ZPUs on various boats.
During the USSR service, the ZPUs generally conducted ground fire support missions.
The Soviet troops used the weapon to suppress the revolts during the Hungarian Revolution
of 1956 and the 1968 Prague Spring.
Thanks to its high elevation angle and rate of fire, the truck-mounted ZPUs became one
of the most valuable assets of the Soviet Army against the Mujahideen, especially during
the convoy escort missions in Afghanistan.
The Afghans captured plenty of these AA guns.
But, due to their heavyweights, the ZPUs were not suitable for the hit-and-run tactics of
the Mujahideen.
Nonetheless, it is known that at least one Mi-8 and two Mi-24s felt victims of the weapon.
Yet, the ZPU had gained its first combat experiences during the Korean War.
North Korea and China had used the weapon for air defence purposes rather than ground
fire support.
However, the ZPUs were not as effective as desired in this war.
But, the ZPU proved its value during the Vietnam War.
The members of this AA gun family were light, so the North Vietnamese troops could quickly
transport them, among other things, with pack animals and on bicycles.
They were compact, so positioning the ZPUs in a narrow place under camouflage was easy.
The North Vietnamese developed special tactics.
For example, they deployed two to three ZPU-4s with different barrel elevations in the jungle.
Thus, the North Vietnamese AA troops could fire an effective barrage against low-flying
helicopters and aircraft.
According to Vietnamese sources, the ZPUs managed to shoot down some O-1s and O-2s,
six F-4s, an AC-119 and a P-2 Neptune, in addition to many helicopters.
Even the US sources acknowledge that these AA guns were one of the most dangerous adversaries
of the US helicopters in Vietnam.
During the Arab-Israeli Wars of 1967, 1973, and 1982, the Arab ZPUs were entirely ineffective
against the mighty Israeli Air force.
Still, the Israel Defense Forces impressed the ground fire support capability of the
weapon.
Some captured ZPU-4s were mounted on the Mercedes UNIMOG trucks and distributed to reserve units.
During the 1974 Turkish Invasion of Cyprus, the AA guns of the Cypriot National Guards
managed to shoot down at least 10 Turkish aircraft.
Also, they destroyed four Noratlasses of the Hellenic Air Force as a friendly-fire accident
during Operation Niki.
We could not obtain reliable information on how many of these Turkish and Greek aircraft
lost in the war fell victim to the ZPUs.
During the Angolan Bush War, the Angolan ZPUs shot down one South African helicopter.
But, the legend of the ZPU truly began with the Toyota War, the last phase of the Chadian-Libyan
conflict.
The Chadian Toyotas, fitted with ZPUs, ZU-23-2s and the Milan missiles, became the nightmare
of the Libyan Army with hit-and-run raids.
Later, many others have embraced the Chadian tactics to use the ZPUs.
During the Western Sahara War, both Moroccan Army and the Polisario Front frequently used
the tactical vehicle-mounted ZPUs against each other.
Today, the parties of the many wars and conflicts in the Middle East and Africa continue to
use them extensively.
The Iraqi ZPUs shot down at least two Iranian F-4s during the Iran Iraq War.
But, they were completely ineffective against the allied forces during wars in 1991 and
2003.
Several helicopters of the Syrian Arab Air Force were shot down by the ZPUs in the current
Syrian civil war.
The naval variants of the ZPU family have their own combat stories.
Three North Vietnamese P 4-class torpedo boats with 2M-5s participated in the 1964 Gulf of
Tonkin incident.
According to US sources, the 14.5mm rounds caused slight damages on the USS Maddox destroyer
and a US aircraft.
But, what happened in the Gulf of Tonkin is still disputable.
Ten years later, the 2M-5s of two Cypriot P 4-class torpedo boats failed to prevent
the vessels from being sunk by Turkish airstrikes.
The ZPU's first known success at sea was the sinking of the Ethiopian Navy's Cape-class
patrol boat P-11, which is also disputable.
But, the ZPU equipped Eritrean boats managed to damage the Petya II-class frigate F-1616
of the Ethiopian Navy beyond repair in 1990.
On December 22, 2001, the Japanese Coast Guard's patrol boats fought against a North Korean
spy boat within the Japanese exclusive economic zone.
In this incident, known as the Battle of Amami-Ōshima, where the sides fire exchanged for six hours,
the ZPU-2 of the North Korean boat could not save it from sinking.
Of course, there are so many other combat experiences of the ZPU family.
For 70 years, it fought almost all battles.
The ZPUs are still relatively effective against low flying helicopters.
But, they are unquestionably respectable adversaries for the ground units.
As long as low-intensity conflicts exist, the legendary ZPU family will continue to
add new chapters to its saga.
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