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UB machine gun
UB machine gun on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Type	Heavy Machine Gun
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
Used by	Soviet Union
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Mikhail Yevgenyevich Berezin
Designed	1937–39
Specifications
Mass	21.5 kilograms (47.4 lb)
Cartridge	12.7x108mm
Action	Gas
Rate of fire	800-1050 RPM
Muzzle velocity	814–850 m/s (2,670–2,790 ft/s)
Feed system	Belt
Sights	Iron

Berezin UB (УБ - Универсальный Березина, Universalni Berezina, Berezin's Universal) was a 12.7 mm caliber Soviet aircraft machine gun widely used during World War II.

Development

In 1937, Mikhail Yevgenyevich Berezin began designing a new large-caliber aircraft machine gun chambered to the 12.7 mm round used by infantry machine guns. The new design passed factory trials in 1938 and was accepted into service in 1939 under the designation BS (Березин Синхронный, Berezin Sinkhronniy, Berezin Synchronized). The rate of fire made it well suited for use as defensive armament in aircraft. While a successful design, BS was not without its faults, the biggest being its cable-operated charging which required considerable physical strength. Continued development resulted in the improved UB which came in three versions: UBK (Kрыльевой, Krylyevoi, for the wings), UBS (Синхронный, Sinkhronniy, Synchronized), and UBT (Турельный, Turelniy, for the turret), with UBS and UBK charged by compressed air. The UB was accepted into service on April 22, 1941, just two months before the start of the German-Soviet War.

Description

The Berezin UB is a gas-operated air-cooled machine gun chambered to the Soviet 12.7 x 108 mm infantry machine gun round. Ammunition is supplied via a disintegrating link belt with a unique system in which each new round helps to extract the spent cartridge. Another unusual feature is that the belt is advanced during the return of the moving portion of the gun and not during the recoil. Turret installations were charged manually, while wing and synchronized versions utilized pneumatic charging.

The UB in all variants was used by the vast majority of Soviet military aircraft of World War II.

References

• Широкоград А.Б. (2001) История авиационного вооружения Харвест (Shirokograd A.B. (2001) Istorya aviatsionnogo vooruzhenia Harvest. ISBN 985-433-695-6) (History of aircraft armament)

• Koll, Christian (2009). Soviet Cannon - A Comprehensive Study of Soviet Arms and Ammunition in Calibres 12.7mm to 57mm. Austria: Koll. p. 58. ISBN 978-3-200-01445-9. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

Related content

Related developments:

• Berezin B-20 autocannon

Similar weapons:

• M2 Browning machine gun

See also

• List of Russian weaponry

• 12.7 mm machine guns
• Aircraft guns
• Aircraft guns of the Soviet Union
• Machine guns of the Soviet Union