Designers ОКB-16 Nudelman and Suranov have started designing 37-mm of a gun 11P in April, 1941 . The project has been approved on June, 15, 1941.

Action of automatics occured due to energy of recoil of a trunk at its short course. A continuous feed of a gun by cartridges came true from a cartridge box with the help a metal tape. The size of an ammunition load depend only on dimensions of boxes and a way of accommodation in it of a tape. At shooting from plane Jak-9 on speeds up to 350 km/h the plane was strongly shaken, and aim fire turned out only at the first shot, at the subsequent - shells were scattered.

Length of a trunk of a NS-37 cannon of of 2300 mm. Dimensions of a gun:

length of 3400 mm, width of 215 mm, height of 415 mm.

Weight of a gun in motor variant 171 of kg, in wing - 160 kg.

Rate of shooting of 240-260 shots/minutes. The gun supposed shooting by continuous turn within the limits of an available ammunition load.

Military tests of a gun 11P were conducted on LaGG-3 from April, 21 till June, 7, 1943 on Kalininsk front and on Yak-9Т from July, 22 till August, 21, 1943 on the Central front. After military tests the gun has been taken advantage under an index of NS - 37.

Plane Yak-9T (tank) was issued since March 1943 till June, 1945. In total 2748 planes are made.

In March - April, 1943 on Il - 2 with engine AM-38F two guns of NS - 37 have been established. Weight of one gun with shells of 237 kg.

Manufacture of guns of NS - 37 was conducted on Izhevsk plant № 74, and originally this plant produced in parallel NS - 37 and Sh-37. The first party in 40 motor guns of NS - 37 from October, 18 till December, 7, 1942 has been collected.

1880 motor and 2849 wing cannon it has been made In 1943 . 890 motor and 197 wing guns in 1944 . 977 pieces of all guns are made in 1945 . On it manufacture of NS - 37 has been finished. Total 6833 guns (have been made according to the book of " 50 years KBP » - 8090 guns).

Efficiency of action of large-calibre aviation guns of calibre of 37 mm and more in the World War II on miscellaneous is estimated by historians.

Mass defeat of tanks from the aviation cannon, widely advertised in films and memoirs, in most cases concerns to "tall stories". To punch the vertical armour of the average or heavy tank from 20-mm - 45-mm of an aviation gun simply it is impossible. Speech can go only about the armour of a roof of the tank which in is some times more thin vertical and made 15-20 mm at average and 30-40 mm at heavy tanks.

In a course of war on range NIIBT skilled execution of motionless tanks from a of NS-37 cannon has been conducted. In quiet conditions from a distance of 300-400 m from 35 shots from LaGg-3 fighter 3 shells and from 55 shots about Il - 2 - too 3 shells have got. To this it is necessary to add, what not each small-calibre shell which has punched the armour of the tank, put it out of action.

As a whole during war battle losses of the Soviet average and heavy tanks by kinds of means of defeat have made: from artillery of 88-91 %; from mines and mines of 8-4 %; from bombs and cannons of aircraft of 4-5 %. Though in separate operations of loss from fire of aircraft reached 10-15 %.

Bibliography

• "The history of air armament." /Alexander Shirokorad/