GSh-30-2K (30 mm)

Description

The 30 mm GSh-30-2K (Gryazev-Shipunov) is a Soviet dual barrel autocannon. It was introduced in Update 1.81 "The Valkyries" with the introduction of the Mi-24P.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• Mi-24P
• ◔Mi-24P
• ◊Mi-24P
• ◄Mi-24P HFS 80

General info

The GSh-30-2K can fire up to 2,600 rpm on "high" setting, or 300 rpm on "low" setting. It is very good at dealing with lightly armored targets due to the insanely high rate of fire when set to the "high" fire rate setting, but it suffers when faced with medium to heavily armored vehicles due to insufficient belt penetration. If possible, always attack from the roof as APHE will shred the crew in seconds.

Available ammunition

• Default: HEFI-T · APHE
• Universal: AP-T · HEFI-T · APHE · HEFI-T
• Ground targets: AP-T · APHE · APHE
• Air targets: APHE · HEFI-T · HEFI-T · HEFI-T

Comparison with analogues

• M230E-1 (30 mm): 30 mm American chain cannon found on the Apache, with access to HEDP rounds and higher ammo count, but a lower rate of fire.
• GSh-6-30 (30 mm): A rotary cannon of the same calibre with 6 barrels and a higher rate of fire than the GSh-30-2.
• 2A42 (30 mm): A Soviet 30 mm cannon with a much slower rate of fire rate but has access to APDS rounds and more ammo.

Usage in battles

The GSh-30-2K was exclusively for gunships, serving as the fixed gun on some Soviet helicopters. The one thing that it does the best is shatter enemies with its 30 mm shells and high rate of fire; not only this gun is devastating for aircraft or fellow helicopters, this gun is lethal to vehicles when being attacked top-down as well.

But do keep in mind that Gast guns' high rate of fire also means you will deplete all the 250 rounds quickly, so do not be trigger happy with it. Using the "low" fire rate mode will make conserving your ammo easier, but increases the time to destroy a target, and can leave you vulnerable.

One thing to also note is that the gun is on a fixed mount, meaning that you must turn the entire helicopter to get the guns onto target. The awkwardness of the gun placement combined with the Mi-24's sluggish maneuverability means that aiming at targets can become a hassle.

When using the gun on ground targets, always make sure to enable the ballistics computer (CCIP) as this will significantly increase your accuracy. When CCIP is enabled, you no longer need to compensate for distance ranges and placing the crosshair on the enemy target and firing is enough. However, CCIP does not work against airborne targets which means you will need to aim manually against other helicopters and planes.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good belt options for both air and ground units.
• Access to APHE rounds, can destroy light and medium targets with a few second burst.
• Variable rate of fire option can conserve ammo on "low" setting.
• Good muzzle velocity and accuracy.

Cons:

• High rate of fire means careless usage will result in running out of ammo quickly.
• Fixed mounting, the time to turn the entire helicopter and aiming vertically can become a handicap and in some situations prove fatal.

History

After the successful GSh-23 was developed based on the decade-old Gast gun design, during early 1980s, the Soviet Ministry of Defense required the unification of caliber in tri-service autocannons. The design for GSh-23L was then enlarged to 30 mm caliber as the GSh-30-2 cannon, first used exclusively on the Su-25 "Frogfoot", and later the water-cooled -2K variant made into service with the introduction of the Mi-24P "Hind-F" gunship.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

• The successor to the GSh on helicopters, the 30mm Shipunov 2A42

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.