Berezin B-20

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	Weapon: Berezin B-20 Type: Autocannon Country of Origin: USSR Year Adopted: 1944 Caliber: 20x99mmR Action: Gas Operated Fully Automatic Overall Length (mm): 2035.0 Overall Length (in): 80.12 Weight (kg): 25.00 Weight (pounds): 55.12 Effective Range (m): 1000 m Effective Range (yards): 1093.61

The Berezin B-20 was a Soviet 20mm autocannon developed during World War II as a lighter, faster-firing alternative to the ShVAK cannon. Designed by Mikhail Yevgenyevich Berezin in 1944, the B-20 was based on his earlier 12.7mm UB machine gun but adapted to fire the more powerful 20x99mm round used by the ShVAK. It featured a gas-operated, belt-fed action and was notably compact and lightweight for its class, weighing only around 25 kg-about half the weight of the ShVAK. This made it particularly well-suited for installation in single-engine fighter aircraft where weight and space were critical considerations.

The B-20 entered limited production in 1944 and was widely adopted in the final stages of the war and into the postwar years. Production figures are estimated at over 7,000 units by the end of World War II, with continued manufacturing into the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was mounted on various aircraft including the Yak-3, Yak-9U, La-7, and some versions of the Il-10. The B-20 came in both synchronized (B-20S) and unsynchronized versions, allowing it to be mounted either in fuselage nose positions firing through the propeller arc or in the wings. Its high rate of fire (around 800 rounds per minute) and improved reliability made it a preferred weapon among Soviet pilots.

The Berezin B-20 earned a reputation for being one of the most efficient Soviet aircraft cannons of the late WWII and early Cold War period. Its lighter weight and increased rate of fire improved fighter aircraft performance and lethality without compromising armament capability. It gradually replaced the heavier and more maintenance-intensive ShVAK in most frontline aircraft by the war's end. Although it was eventually phased out in favor of newer autocannons like the NR-23 and AM-23, the B-20 remained in service through the early 1950s and was exported to several Soviet-aligned countries. Today, it is remembered as a key step in the evolution of lightweight, high-performance aircraft armament.