Nudelman N-37
The Nudelman N-37 was a 37 mm 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.
The N-37 was a sizable weapon firing a massive 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-37
;N-37D
;N-37L
;NN-37
;Type 37 aircraft cannonProduction
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
- M4 cannon
