Re: Book "Accessory to War: --- tail gun machine guns in space!!!

On 5/20/2022 7:39 AM, a425couple wrote:
> On 5/20/2022 5:25 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
>> "a425couple"  wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>>
>> I got an interesting book,
>>
>> Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and
>> the Military (Astrophysics for People in a Hurry Series)
>> by Neil de Grasse Tyson  (Author), Avis Lang  (Author) 2018 book
>>
>> ----------------
>>
>> Pacifists conveniently ignore that the Soviets/Russians have been 
>> militarizing space since the early 60's.
>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almaz
>> "In addition to reconnaissance equipment, Almaz was equipped with a 
>> unique 23mm Rikhter (factory index 261P or 225P) rapid-fire cannon 
>> mounted on the forward belly of the station."
>> "The Almaz series are the only known armed, crewed military spacecraft 
>> ever flown."
>>
> Interesting.
> Either I never knew that, or I'd totally forgotten.
> I sure would not want to be in that space capsule
> when that machine gun was firing!!!!
> 
> "Defense measures
> In addition to reconnaissance equipment, Almaz was equipped with a 
> unique 23mm Rikhter (factory index 261P or 225P) rapid-fire cannon 
> mounted on the forward belly of the station. This revolver cannon was 
> modified from the tail-gun of the Tu-22 bomber and was capable of a 
> theoretical rate of fire of 1800-2000 (up to 2600) rounds per minute. 
> Each 168 gram (ammo 23-OFZ-D-R ) or 173 gram (ammo 23-OFZ-G-R) 
> projectile flew at a speed of 850 m/s relative to the station. The 
> cannon was tested at the end of the mission by firing 20 rounds, when 
> the station was operating in uncrewed mode. To aim the cannon, which was 
> on a fixed mounting, the entire station would be turned to face the 
> target.[7] The Almaz series are the only known armed, crewed military 
> spacecraft ever flown.
> 
> Salyut 3/OPS-2 conducted a successful remote test firing with the 
> station uncrewed due to concerns over excessive vibration and noise.
> 
> OPS-4 was to have featured two rockets instead of the aircraft cannon, 
> but this system has not been shown publicly and may have never been 
> fully manufactured despite it being used experimentally."
> 
WOW!!

from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rikhter_R-23

"Secrecy
The 23R-23 cannon and its unique telescoped ammunition remained a 
military secret for a long time. This can be partially explained by the 
fact that the R-23 cannon was used in outer space, arming Salyut 3. The 
R-23 cannon was known only in the Soviet Union until the Tu-22 bomber 
was exported to Iraq and Libya during the 1970s. Various customers in 
the Middle East were the first outside the Soviet Union to learn about 
the R-23.

The Israeli army had discovered the 23mm ammunition without knowing what 
kind of weapon it was for. During the Israeli occupation of South 
Lebanon from June 1982 to June 1985, the Israeli army captured a crate 
of R-23 ammunition. This crate was delivered by mistake within a 
shipment of Soviet 23mm cartridges for the ZSU-23-4. This anti-aircraft 
ammunition was originally shipped to Syria and ended up in Lebanon, 
where it was found by the Israeli army.

The first examination of the gun by Western forces took place in 1987 
when French bomb disposal personnel were called in to clear the wreckage 
of a Libyan Tu-22B shot down over Chad by a French MIM-23 Hawk battery."