Chapter 72 UPK-23 Gun Pod

As a maintenance worker, one must keep learning in order to continuously improve his or her professional level. The Sokolovka base sends maintenance workers to Vladivostok for further training every year, and each time, it is Akim who leads the team.

What did they learn there? They completed their daily study absentmindedly, and they were most active at night, going out to drink! Some even went to find women...

"Is there anyone who can complete the task of adding a machine gun?" Andre asked the maintenance men.

Not all the mechanics were like Akim. No matter where they were, there were always two factions. If all the people were like Akim, it would only mean that the Soviet Union was terminally ill and beyond cure.

"Me." Just then, a voice came from the back of the crowd. A young mechanic stood up and said, "I have learned the maintenance of the MiG-21, one of which is the GP-9 gun pod and the UPK-23 gun pod."

MiG-21! This aircraft, which was actually just a transitional model in the history of Soviet aviation, has blossomed abroad, especially in China. The fighter jet, which was re-designated as J-7, is almost the mainstay of guarding China's sky.

At the same time, the Soviet Union also exported a large number of MiG-21 fighters to the Warsaw Pact countries. This fighter has appeared in various models. Among them, the MiG-21PF series cancelled the fixed aircraft gun on the fuselage and adopted the form of aircraft gun pod. This pod is the GP-9 machine gun pod.

This gun pod is equipped with a 23mm GSh-23 twin-barreled machine gun, which is also the most common aircraft gun in the Soviet Union.

The Gsh-23L aircraft gun is a 23mm twin-barreled cannon developed by the Soviet Union in 1965 according to the "Gast" principle. The so-called "Gast" principle refers to the fact that when one of the two barrels of the cannon fires a shell, its recoil drives the other barrel to load and fire shells through a lever device, and the firing cycle repeats. This device invented by Gast in the World War I era has many advantages: simple and compact structure, high reliability, and very high rate of fire.

This Soviet aircraft gun weighs only 51 kilograms and has a firing rate of 3,000 rounds per minute. On the MiG-21PF, it is installed in the GP-9 turret below the middle of the fuselage. This turret is like a big bulge, which solves the problem of no machine gun. At the same time, after improvements, the UPK-23 machine gun pod has a more streamlined appearance. This pod is completely designed to be hung on the aircraft's external attachment point.

Although Andrei's heart is more about the Gsh-6-23 23mm 6-barrel rotary cannon, this six-barrel Gatling-style cannon developed with reference to the American M61A1 "Vulcan" cannon has a firing rate of 5,000 rounds per minute. Once fired, there will be a sea of ​​metal bullets in front of it! The target covered will definitely be destroyed!

Unfortunately, this type of aircraft gun will not be developed until next year, and Andre can't get it now.

"Okay, Victor." Andre knew this mechanic. He was very attentive when doing fighter maintenance. He was a good Soviet guy! Andre said, "Then you will be responsible for helping my 032 to add a cannon pod. If necessary, I will apply to my superiors to modify my fighter as quickly as possible. Who of you is willing to help?"

Andre's meaning was very clear. Naturally, no one who followed Akim was willing to do it. Only these new maintenance personnel expressed their willingness to complete the task.

The old guys all sneered, thinking they were aircraft designers? They were just maintenance personnel!

"When the modification is completed, I will ask my superiors for credit, and I will definitely receive a reward then." Andre said, "We need to modify our fighter planes as soon as possible now."

"Yes." Several maintenance staff answered loudly. Of course they were very excited.

"Andrei, I remember that we should have UPK-23 machine gun pods in our warehouse. A few years ago, before our base switched to MiG-25, we used MiG-21 fighters. At that time, this type of machine gun pod had a backup." At this time, Ivanov on the side spoke.

You already have it? That would be the best! Andre said, "Great, let's get started now. We can complete the hanging of the aircraft gun and debugging today!"

This is not a big change! It's all ready-made! Just hang the gun pod on the fighter and adjust it according to the fighter's fire control system! If you can't even do this well, you are not a qualified maintenance worker at all!

At this time, Akim next to him showed a bitter face: "Captain, those are from a few years ago. I don't know where they are piled in the warehouse. How can I find them?"

Hearing this, Andrei's face suddenly darkened: "What? Can't find it? That's Soviet property! If it's lost! Then go to the Air Defense Command in Vladivostok to explain!"

As soon as Andre said this, Akim's face changed immediately.

If you go there, you will definitely be sentenced!

As an air force base, the warehouse is very large. In that era, there was no computer management system and all items in the warehouse were managed manually.

Andre, who came from later generations, knew how China was managed at that time. The warehouse managers had thick notebooks to record various items. What's more, they relied on their brains. When they had nothing to do, they would look through these records. After a long time, they would remember everything. Moreover, within the system, there would be competitions to see who could remember everything accurately and get rewards.

At that time, even foreign friends were amazed by China's approach. China's warehouse manager was just a computer!

But what about now? Entering the warehouse, you can see that it is a mess. Only the nearest few large boxes contain spare engines, which look very new. The others are scattered everywhere, and many of them are covered with a thick layer of dust.

Such a mess! Andre walked and said, "According to the regulations, we have to count the spare parts in the warehouse once a year, right?"

"Yes, but, but, we are too busy maintaining the fighter jets, and we really don't have time to take an inventory." As the captain of the maintenance team, Akim knew that if he really took an inventory, there would be a lot of things missing, because many of them were secretly sold by himself just to exchange for a few bottles of vodka. In the past, he racked his brains to think about how to make changes in the records, but later, he just took them directly.