Shocking video of Russian anti-aircraft gun self-destructing, killing crew

Ukrainian military blogger Оперативний ЗСУ (Operational ZSU) posted a video on Thursday, July 4, of the moment a Soviet-era AZP S-60 medium-range towed single-barrel anti-aircraft gun, used at an unspecified location in Ukraine by Russian troops, spectacularly exploded.

The video, taken by an observer standing nearby, shows the 57mm weapon, which appears to have been removed from its normal four-wheeled mount and secured to the top of an armoured personnel carrier (APC).

The three-man crew is shown preparing to fire when a loud explosion occurs near or in the breech of the weapon. Censor.NET, which also published the video, said the Russian crew “were fried by the explosion.”

This is not the first time that Russian equipment and personnel have been injured or killed by Soviet-era weapons and ammunition in the war against Ukraine. The causes may be the failure to follow safety procedures due to ignorance or negligence, the age and condition of the ammunition used, or a combination of both.

The AZP S-60 was designed in the late 1940s as a more effective replacement for the Soviet 37 mm M1939 anti-aircraft gun. It was apparently based on the German 55 mm Gerät 58 and 50 mm FlaK 41 guns that had been captured after the Battle of Stalingrad.

The weapon entered service in the 1950s and was widely used by the USSR, the Warsaw Pact, countries of the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

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The S-60 systems are also used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and come not only from kyiv’s stocks, but also from partner countries, many of which have been modernized to include automatic guidance systems.

Although it was originally designed for an anti-aircraft role, ammunition is available to allow it to act in an anti-armor or anti-personnel role.