page_title: 25 mm automatic air defense gun M1940 (72-K)
section_title: Recoiling mechanism
hierarchical_section_title: 25 mm automatic air defense gun M1940 (72-K) / Technical details / Recoiling mechanism
caption_attribution_description: 25 mm 72-K gun displayed in Saint Petersburg Artillery Museum
context_page_description: 25 mm automatic air defense gun M1940 (72-K) was a Soviet 25 mm caliber anti-aircraft gun used during the Great Patriotic War. The gun was developed from the end of 1939 to the beginning of 1940 at 8th Kalinin Artillery Plant under the guidance of its Chief Designer Mikhail Loginov, supervised by Lev Loktev. The cannon was given the factory code 72-K before being accepted into service by the Red Army as the 25 mm automatic air defense gun M1940.
  The gun borrowed a number of features from the older 37 mm automatic air defense gun M1939, such as mounting the gun on an integral four-wheel chassis. The gun itself generally satisfied the Army, and its ballistic performance was considered state-of-the-art on the world level.
  The 72-K was designed for anti-aircraft defense for infantry regiments, occupying a place between the large-caliber DShK and the more powerful 37mm 61-K. However, due to difficulties in mass production, the 72-K did not reach the Red Army until the second half of the war.
context_section_description: The 72-K has a hydraulic recoiling mechanism in addition to the recoiling barrel to absorb recoil forces, with a spring-loaded compensator to regulate hydraulic liquid volumes at 0.225 liters in the event of a barrel heat-up. The barrel recoils backwards anywhere from 118 to 136mm with a return spring installed.
caption: Close-up of the 72-K, with recoiling mechanisms clearly visible.
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