View source for Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23

{{more footnotes needed|date=June 2011}}
{{Merge|Rikhter R-23|date=September 2025|discuss=Talk:Rikhter R-23}}
{{Infobox weapon
|name= NR-23
| image= Il-28 NR-23.jpg
| image_size = 300
|caption= Two NR-23 cannons in the tail [[barbette]] of the [[Ilyushin Il-28|Il-28]] bomber.
|origin= [[Soviet Union]]
|type= Single-barrel [[Autocannon]]
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|is_ranged= yes
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|variants=[[Norinco]] Type 23-1 and Type 23-2
NR-23k (Prototype)
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|weight= 39 kg (86 lb)
|length={{convert|1980|mm|ftin|abbr=on}}
|part_length={{convert|1450|mm|ftin|abbr=on}}
|width={{convert|165|mm|in|abbr=on}}
|height={{convert|136|mm|in|abbr=on}}
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|caliber= [[23×115 mm]] (0.90 in)
|barrels=1
|action= Short recoil
|rate= 800–850 rpm
|velocity= 690 m/s (2,264 ft/s)
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The '''Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23''' ({{lang|ru|Нудельман и Рихтер НР-23}}) is a [[Soviet]] [[autocannon]] widely used in [[military aircraft]] of the [[Soviet Union]] and [[Warsaw Pact]]. It was designed by [[Alexander Nudelman|A. E. Nudelman]] and A. A. Richter to replace the wartime [[Nudelman-Suranov NS-23]] and [[Volkov-Yartsev VYa-23]], entering service in 1949.

The NR-23 is a single-barrel, short recoil-operated 23&nbsp;mm (0.90&nbsp;in) cannon. It was similar to the NS-23 but mechanical improvements increased its rate of fire by more than 50%. Its theoretical rate of fire was 850 rounds per minute, although [[United States Air Force]] tests of captured weapons achieved an actual rate of fire of only 650 rounds per minute.

The NR-23 was later replaced by the [[Afanasev Makarov AM-23]] automatic cannon which had a higher firing rate. The AM-23 was used in [[gun turret|turreted]] installations for [[bomber]]s. It was a gas-operated weapon, weighed 43&nbsp;kg (95&nbsp;lb) and was capable of a substantially higher rate of fire (1,200–1,300 rounds per minute).

The [[People's Republic of China]] manufactures copies of both versions of this weapon as '''[[Norinco]] Type 23-1''' (NR-23) and '''Type 23-2''' (AM-23), respectively.

== Applications ==
The NR-23 was used on [[fighter aircraft]], including the [[MiG-15]], [[Lavochkin La-15]], [[MiG-17]], and some models of the [[MiG-19]]. In addition, it was also used on the [[Ilyushin Il-28]] and [[Beriev Be-6]]. The AM-23 was used in the defensive turrets of the [[Antonov An-12]]B, [[Myasishchev M-4]], [[Tupolev Tu-14]], [[Tupolev Tu-16]], [[Tupolev Tu-95|Tupolev Tu-95/Tu-142]], and the [[Tupolev Tu-98]] prototype.

In the mid-1960s the cannon was replaced in [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] service by the twin-barrel [[Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23L]].

The mechanism of the NR-23 was scaled up to produce the more powerful [[NR-30]] 30&nbsp;mm gun used in the [[MiG-19]] and some marks of the [[MiG-21]].

==See also==
*[[Volkov-Yartsev VYa-23]]
*[[Rikhter R-23]]

==Notes and references==
{{reflist}}
*{{cite book
  | last = Koll
  | first = Christian
  | title = Soviet Cannon - A Comprehensive Study of Soviet Arms and Ammunition in Calibres 12.7mm to 57mm
  | publisher = Koll
  | date = 2009
  | location = Austria
  | url = http://www.russianammo.org
  | doi = 
  | isbn = 978-3-200-01445-9
  | page = 136
  | access-date = 2020-12-12
  | archive-date = 2009-10-19
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091019161335/http://www.russianammo.org/
  | url-status = dead
  }}

{{Russian and Soviet Aircraft Ordnance}}

[[Category:Autocannons of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Aircraft guns of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:23 mm artillery]]
[[Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1949]]