Strana 24
AP, API – Armor-piercing – incendiary, for
destroying armored targets, the all-core body
of the projectile is made of alloy steel and the
ballistic tip made of steel sheet is pressed
into the body of the projectile in the upper
part. Inside the tip is a worked-out incendiary
composition that reliably ignites the fuel in
armored tanks. The penetration effect is
approximately 25 mm at a distance of 400 m at
right angle to the armor. Color marking – black
projectile and ballistic cap, red and white
stripe on the latter.
end of the slide movement, the gas piston rod
rotates the plate via the switch to the other
side. The recoil safety is turned off. The feeder
star rotates in the feeder, thus ensuring the
feed of the ammunition belt. The belt moves
one step per slide stroke. After the second
slide reaches the front position, the firing pin is
released from the auxiliary trigger bar by the
action of the front retraction mechanism of the
first slide and ensures the cartridge primer
is inserted. This way, a round is fired from
the second barrel, after which the automatic
function cycle is repeated, and the barrels
will alternate during firing and continue firing
until the main trigger bar is turned off.
The munitions are based on the previously
developed AM-23 cannon. The designation
23 indicates the caliber of the ammunition
in millimeters, while the 115 is the length of
the round, also in millimeters. Over the years,
many types of rounds have been developed
and produced. Licensed production of this
ammunition was gradually granted, espe-
cially for some member states of the former
Warsaw Pact, Bulgaria, Poland, East Germany
and outside the the Soviet Union inYugoslavia
and its successor states. The ammunition belt
consists of rounds and steel links of the KRAB
type, which are connected to each other by
a series of eyes and hooks. The cartridge belt
must always have an even number of cartrid-
ges (with an odd number, the last cartridge
would remain in the cannon).
The main types of rounds are:
HE, HEI High-explosive, high-explosive incen-
diary with a B-23A, later AG-23 head fuse.
The projectile is intended for the destruction
of personnel and soft targets. The effecti-
ve charge of the projectile is an A
-
IX-2 type
explosive (phlegmatized hexogen with an
admixture of aluminum powder), which is pre-
ssed into the body of the projectile. Initiati-
on of the explosive is ensured in older types
of ammunition by direct impact, detonating
the B-23A fuse.
Later, the AG-23 fuse was developed and
introduced. Its design changes inside the
mechanism increased sensitivity when hitting
the target and increased the ability to expend
the round at a low angle of impact. Rounds
of both types are also produced in a version
with a mount for a copper remover (lead wire,
mounted on the bottom of the round). These
types of rounds are usually banded almost
to the end of the ammunition belt and ensure
the ‘cleaning’ of the barrel bore from copper
deposits from the round guide rings and
thus increase accuracy, and especially the
service life of the barrel. These rounds are
additionally marked on the cylindrical part
with a yellow band. Color marking – painted
bullet in metallic color (gray or black), older
types have a red stripe on the cylindrical body
of the round above the copper guide ring and
a white stripe in the upper part of the body,
silver color of the B-23A fuse, the AG-23 fuse
is also silver with a purple-colored tip, a khaki
stripe in the place of the narrowing of the fuse
All types have identification
GSh-23 23 x 115mm Munitions
HE round with AG-23 fuse with copper remover (different manufacturer, gray bullet body
and a yellow copper remover marking strip located in the upper part of the round).
AP round.
INFO Eduard24
October 2025
TECHNICS / EQUIPMENT