Nudelman N-37

The Nudelman N-37 was a 37 mm (1.46 in) aircraft autocannon used by the Soviet Union. It was designed during World War II by V. Ya. Nemenov of A.E. Nudelman's OKB-16 to replace the earlier Nudelman-Suranov NS-37 and entered service in 1946. It was 30% lighter than its predecessor at the cost of a 23% lower muzzle velocity.

Nudelman N-37
Chinese N-37 at the Beijing Military Museum
Type	Single-barrel autocannon
Place of origin	USSR
Service history
In service	1946 -
Used by	Soviet armed forces and export customers
Wars	Korean War Vietnam War Syrian Civil War Middle Eastern conflicts
Production history
Designer	V. Ya. Nemenov
Designed	1945
Manufacturer	OKB-16
Produced	1946 – ca.1960
Variants	N-37 N-37D N-37L NN-37
Specifications
Mass	103 kg (227 lb)
Length	2,455 millimetres (96.7 in) (N-37D)
Barrel length	1,361 millimetres (53.6 in)
Cartridge	37x155mm
Cartridge weight	735 g/26 oz HEI-T, 760 g/27 oz AP-T
Caliber	37 mm (1.46 in)
Barrels	1
Action	Short recoil
Rate of fire	400 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity	690 m/s (2,260 ft/s)

The N-37 was a sizable weapon firing a massive (735 g/26 oz HEI-T, 760 g/27 oz AP-T) shell. Its muzzle velocity was still considerable, but its rate of fire was only 400 rounds per minute. The weapon's considerable recoil and waste gases were problematic for turbojet fighter aircraft, as was finding space for the gun and a useful amount of ammunition, but a single shell was often sufficient to destroy a bomber.

The N-37 was used in the MiG-9, MiG-15, MiG-17, and early MiG-19 fighters, the Yakovlev Yak-25, and others. Production lasted through the late 1950s, although it remained in service for many years afterwards.

Variants

N-37D (front)

N-37

Basic version without muzzle brake

N-37D

N-37 with muzzle brake

N-37L

N-37 with 1950mm long barrel (had no muzzle brake)

NN-37

Improved N-37L developed during the late 1950s for the Yak-27 reconnaissance aircraft. The NN-37 differed from the N-37L in having a pneumatic counter-recoil accelerator, therefore achieving a rate of fire of 600–700rpm. The ammunition feed mechanism was redesigned as well on this version.

Type 37 aircraft cannon

Chinese licensed / copy production

Production

The Soviet archives detail the following production numbers by year:

• 1947 — 518
• 1948 — 508
• 1949 — 1,314
• 1950 — 3,043
• 1951 — 3,885
• 1952 — 4,433
• 1953 — 4,600
• 1954 — 1,700
• 1956 — 285

Comparable Weapons

• M4 cannon

See also

• List of Russian weaponry

Bibliography

• Koll, Christian (2009). Soviet Cannon - A Comprehensive Study of Soviet Arms and Ammunition in Calibres 12.7mm to 57mm. Austria: Koll. p. 341. ISBN 978-3-200-01445-9. Archived from the original on 2009-10-19. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
• Широкорад А.Б. (2001) История авиационного вооружения Харвест (Shirokorad A.B. (2001) Istorya aviatsionnogo vooruzhenia Harvest. ISBN 985-433-695-6) (History of aircraft armament)