Air Defense

S-60

The S-60 is a Soviet 57 mm towed anti-aircraft gun adopted in 1950 for low- and medium-altitude air defense. In Ukraine it has reappeared as an improvised, mobile gun system, often mounted on trucks and used less as a classic radar-directed anti-aircraft battery than as a rapid fire-support weapon against drones, positions, infantry, and light armored vehicles.

Conflict side
Ukraine
Built by
Plant No. 4 named after Voroshilov, Krasnoyarsk
Built in
Soviet Union
S-60, Towed 57 mm anti-aircraft gun, Air Defense

Profile

Type
Towed 57 mm anti-aircraft gun
Conflict side
Ukraine
Origin
Soviet Union
Service note
Cold War design, still used in the Russia-Ukraine War
air defenseautocannontowedsoviettruck-mounted

Service History

In service
Adopted by the Soviet Army in 1950; retained or reactivated by multiple operators
Used by
Ukrainian Armed Forces
Wars
Russia-Ukraine War

Production History

Designer
TsAKB / NDI-58 design team under Vasily Grabin and Lev Loktev
Designed
Mid-1940s
Built by
Plant No. 4 named after Voroshilov, Krasnoyarsk
Built in
Soviet Union
Unit cost
Not publicly reported
Produced
Serial production began in 1950
Number built
Not publicly reported
Variants
AZP-57 gun of the S-60 system, Truck-mounted Ukrainian field modifications, Type 59 Chinese copy

Specifications

Caliber
57 mm
Crew
6-8
Weight
About 4.8 tonnes
Rate of fire
105-120 rounds per minute cyclic; about 70 rounds per minute practical
Muzzle velocity
1,000 m/s
Effective anti-aircraft range
About 6 km range and 5 km altitude in Ukrainian reference data
Mobility
Four-wheel towed carriage; Ukrainian wartime examples have also been mounted on trucks for rapid displacement

Conflict Usage

Russia-Ukraine War
Side: Ukraine

Ukrainian forces used S-60 guns during the full-scale invasion, including truck-mounted examples on the Kherson front employed as mobile fire-support weapons against Russian positions, infantry, and light armored vehicles.

S-60 Images

Related Weapon Systems

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Sources