- Side
- North Vietnam and Viet Cong
HistoryNet describes the 14.5 mm ZPU-4 as a North Vietnamese light anti-aircraft weapon encountered in Laos and South Vietnam, while museum sources identify it as a Vietnam War threat to U.S. helicopter pilots.
Air Defense
ZPU-4 anti-aircraft gun
Also known as
- ZPU-4
- ЗПУ-4
- Vladimirov KPV ZPU-4
- Type 56 14.5 mm anti-aircraft gun
- MR-4
- PKM-4
The ZPU-4 is a Soviet quadruple 14.5 mm anti-aircraft gun built around four KPV/KPVT heavy machine guns on a four-wheel carriage. Museum, monitoring, and open-source records connect the Cold War gun to Vietnam War helicopter defense, Iraqi air defense, Libyan and Syrian pickup-mounted fire support, SPLA-N-held anti-aircraft positions in Sudan, and anti-Houthi Giants Brigades forces in Yemen.
Role in Conflicts
- Side
- Iraq
A U.S. Air Force museum record for a captured ZPU-4 states that Iraqi forces used the Soviet-built quadruple 14.5 mm anti-aircraft gun during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
Role detailsA U.S. National Archives/DVIDS image record documents an abandoned Russian 14.5 mm ZPU-4 anti-aircraft machine gun found at Mosul Airport during Operation Iraqi Freedom on 27 April 2003.
Role details
BBC reporting on weapons used by both sides in Libya described single-, twin-, and four-barrel Soviet or Chinese anti-aircraft weapons, including ZPU-2 and ZPU-4 types, mounted on wheels or civilian pickup vehicles during the 2011 First Libyan Civil War.
Small Arms Survey documented a 14.5x114 mm ZPU-4 quad-barrelled cannon at an SPLA-N base behind the Daldoko front lines in South Kordofan in December 2012, in a report on weapons photographed in SPLA-N-controlled territory.
Syrian government defenders at Kweres airbase placed 14.5 mm ZPU-4 guns around the base as heavy defensive firepower, while YPG/SDF-aligned forces in northern Syria were documented with small quantities of pickup-mounted 14.5 mm ZPU-4s.
Role details
Anti-Houthi Giants Brigades forces in Yemen were reported using technicals fitted with heavy weapons, including ZPU-4 anti-aircraft machine guns, during the 2014 Yemen Civil War; the available open source identifies the formation and weapon type but does not quantify the number of mounts.
Role detailsProfile / Specs
Profile
- Origin
- Soviet Union
- Type
- 14.5 mm quadruple towed anti-aircraft gun
- Service note
- Entered Soviet service in 1949 and remains in use in legacy and technical-mounted roles.
- Designer
- Soviet small-arms and anti-aircraft gun designers using the KPV/KPVT heavy machine gun family
- Designed
- Development began in 1945; accepted into Soviet service in 1949
- Unit cost
- Not publicly reported
- Produced
- Late 1940s onward, including licensed and derivative production
- Number built
- Not publicly reported
Specifications
- Caliber
- 14.5x114 mm
- Armament
- Four KPV/KPVT heavy machine guns on a four-wheel carriage
- Crew
- Five, according to common technical references
- Weight
- About 1,810 kg in travelling or firing configuration
- Dimensions
- About 4.53 m long, 1.72 m wide, and 2.13 m high in travel configuration
- Rate of fire
- About 550-600 rounds per minute cyclic per gun; practical fire is lower
- Effective anti-aircraft range
- About 1,400-1,500 m against low-altitude air targets
- Traverse and elevation
- 360-degree traverse; approximately -10 degrees to +90 degrees elevation
- Fire control
- Optical-mechanical anti-aircraft sighting with a telescope for ground targets in standard towed configuration
- Tow and emplacement
- U.S. Army WEG data lists about two minutes for emplacement or displacement and a maximum towed speed of about 35 km/h
Design And Service Notes
The ZPU-4 concentrates four 14.5 mm KPV/KPVT guns on a manually traversed four-wheel carriage, giving the mount a high volume of fire against low-flying aircraft and exposed ground targets.
Gun arrangement
Four KPV/KPVT heavy machine guns are grouped on one carriage and fed by separate belts.
Sources: Vladimirov KPV ZPU-4; ZPU-4.
Fire-control era
Weaponsystems.net lists the original APO-14.5 sight and later ZAPP-4 sight, placing the mount in the early Cold War optical-predictor generation rather than the radar-guided missile era.
Source: ZPU-4.
Modern role shift
Reference sources describe surviving guns as often vehicle-mounted or used against ground targets, while Yemen reporting shows that pattern in a current conflict context.
Sources: ZPU-4; Yemen: The Giants Brigades.
Variants
The ZPU family uses KPV/KPVT 14.5 mm guns on single-, twin-, and quadruple anti-aircraft mounts. This entry covers the quadruple ZPU-4; Type 56 and MR-4 are Chinese and Romanian ZPU-4 production designations, while PKM-4 is a Polish service designation.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| Type 56 | Chinese production version | Weaponsystems.net identifies Type 56 as the Chinese production designation for the ZPU-4, with production beginning after the Soviet production run. Sources: ZPU-4 |
| MR-4 | Romanian production version | Weaponsystems.net lists MR-4 as the Romanian production designation in the ZPU-4 family. Sources: ZPU-4 |
| PKM-4 | Polish service designation | Weaponsystems.net identifies PKM-4 as a Polish service designation for imported Soviet ZPU-4 guns. Sources: ZPU-4 |
 | Single 14.5 mm KPV-family mount | GulfLINK describes the ZPU-1, ZPU-2, and ZPU-4 as 14.5 mm towed anti-aircraft guns whose numbers indicate the number of guns on the chassis. |
 | Twin 14.5 mm KPV-family mount | GulfLINK describes the ZPU-1, ZPU-2, and ZPU-4 as 14.5 mm towed anti-aircraft guns whose numbers indicate the number of guns on the chassis. |
Gun Components
The ZPU-4 is a carriage, sighting, and feed system built around four KPV/KPVT 14.5 mm heavy machine guns.
| Compatible item | Item type | Compatibility evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | 14.5 mm heavy machine gun | USAF museum, GulfLINK, and Weaponsystems.net references describe the ZPU-4 as using four KPV/KPVT 14.5 mm guns firing 14.5x114 mm ammunition. Sources: Vladimirov KPV ZPU-4, Air defense Weapons of the Former USSR & Russia, ZPU-4, Worldwide Equipment Guide 2001 ZPU-4 |
Timeline
ZPU-4 anti-aircraft gun Key Events
Development starts
Weaponsystems.net places ZPU-4 development in 1945-1946, with Soviet state trials following in 1948.
Sources: ZPU-4
Soviet service entry
Museum and reference sources describe 1949 as the ZPU-4's Soviet service-entry year.
Sources: Vladimirov KPV ZPU-4, ZPU-4 Anti-Aircraft Gun, ZPU-4
Chinese Type 56 production
Weaponsystems.net lists Type 56 production from the late 1950s into at least the 1980s, making the Chinese designation a major export-era branch of the ZPU-4 family.
Sources: ZPU-4
Iraqi use during Operation Desert Storm
The National Museum of the United States Air Force identifies its photographed ZPU-4 as a Soviet-built gun used by Iraqi forces in 1991.
Sources: Vladimirov KPV ZPU-4
Media
ZPU-4 anti-aircraft gun Videos
Related Weapon Systems
Sources
Vladimirov KPV ZPU-4Publisher: National Museum of the United States Air Force | Note: Supports ZPU-4 background, four-KPV armament, Soviet origin, effective range, muzzle velocity, rate of fire, belt feed, image provenance for the U.S. Air Force museum photo, and direct 1990 Gulf War use by Iraqi forces during Operation Desert Storm. | Accessed: 2026-07-06ZPU-4 Anti-Aircraft GunPublisher: Lewis Army Museum | Note: Supports ZPU-4 service date, four 14.5 mm KPV guns, towed carriage layout, low-altitude air-defense role, ground-support role, visible component identification, and direct 1955 Vietnam War use as an anti-helicopter threat. | Accessed: 2026-07-06ZPU-4 Anti-Aircraft Gun 14 YUGOPublisher: The Royal Canadian Artillery Museum | Note: Supports ZPU-4 background, four 14.5 mm air-cooled machine guns, five-gunner detachment, range context, and direct 1955 Vietnam War use as a threat to U.S. helicopter pilots. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Terror in the Skies: North Vietnam's Light Anti-Aircraft ArtilleryPublisher: HistoryNet | Note: Supports 1955 Vietnam War direct use: North Vietnamese light anti-aircraft forces fielded 14.5 mm ZPU-4 guns in large numbers across Indochina, including Laos and South Vietnam, against low-flying aircraft and helicopters. | Accessed: 2026-07-06ZPU-4Publisher: Weaponsystems.net | Note: Supports ZPU-4 variant background, designations, development and production dates, carriage type, KPV/KPVT armament, dimensions, weight, crew, traverse, elevation, fire-control sights, rate of fire, engagement range, and modern vehicle-mounted or ground-target roles. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Air defense Weapons of the Former USSR & RussiaPublisher: GulfLINK | Note: Supports ZPU-series relationship context: ZPU-1, ZPU-2, and ZPU-4 are 14.5 mm towed anti-aircraft guns built around KPV 14.5 mm machine-gun ordnance, with the number indicating the gun count on the chassis. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Worldwide Equipment Guide 2001 ZPU-4Publisher: U.S. Army TRADOC via Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports ZPU-4 dimensions, fire-control arrangement, ammunition types, maximum towed speed, emplacement/displacement times, and variant notes for Type 56 and MR-4. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Battlefront Syria: Kweres airbasePublisher: Bellingcat | Note: Supports 2011 Syrian Civil War direct use: fielded by Syrian government defenders at Kweres airbase as defensive heavy firepower, including 14.5 mm ZPU-4s placed around the base. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Kurdish Armour: Inventorising YPG Equipment In Northern SyriaPublisher: Oryx | Note: Supports 2011 Syrian Civil War direct use: YPG/SDF-aligned forces in northern Syria documented with small quantities of pickup-mounted 14.5 mm ZPU-4 anti-aircraft guns. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Libya: How the opposing sides are armedPublisher: BBC News | Note: Supports 2011 First Libyan Civil War direct use: used by Libyan military forces on both sides as single-, twin-, and four-barrel anti-aircraft weapons, including ZPU-2 and ZPU-4 types. | Accessed: 2026-07-06An Abandoned Russian 14.5 mm ZPU-4 anti-aircraft machine gun at Mosul AirportPublisher: U.S. National Archives via NARA and DVIDS Public Domain Archives | Note: Supports 2003 Iraq War direct captured/abandoned presence: a ZPU-4 anti-aircraft machine gun found at Mosul Airport during Operation Iraqi Freedom on 27 April 2003. | Accessed: 2026-07-06SPLA-N weapons and equipment, South Kordofan, December 2012Publisher: Small Arms Survey | Note: Supports 2011 South Kordofan and Blue Nile Conflict direct fielding/capture context: a 14.5x114 mm ZPU-4 quad-barrelled cannon documented at an SPLA-N base behind the Daldoko front lines. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Handbook Of Pre-War Yemeni Fighting VehiclesPublisher: Oryx | Note: Supports background that 14.5 mm ZPU-4 guns were part of Yemen's pre-war towed anti-aircraft gun inventory before those stocks became available to parties in the 2014 Yemen Civil War. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Yemen: The Giants BrigadesPublisher: Istituto Analisi Relazioni Internazionali | Note: Supports 2014 Yemen Civil War direct use: used by anti-Houthi Giants Brigades forces on technical vehicles with heavy weapons including ZPU-4 anti-aircraft machine guns. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Soviet-built ZPU-4 anti-aircraft machine gun imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and public-domain licensing for a U.S. Marine Corps photograph of a captured ZPU-4 anti-aircraft machine gun. | Accessed: 2026-07-06ZPU-4 DM-SC-91-12077 imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and public-domain licensing for a second U.S. military photograph of a captured ZPU-4 anti-aircraft machine gun. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Soviet 14.5mm Anti-Aircraft Gun ZPU-4 imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and CC0 public-domain dedication for a distinct ZPU-4 museum photograph originally posted to Flickr. | Accessed: 2026-07-06ZPU-4-4663 imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and Creative Commons licensing for a ZPU-4 anti-aircraft gun photographed at the Technical Museum in Togliatti. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Highway of Death, abandoned Iraqi ZPU-4 imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and public-domain licensing for a U.S. Navy photograph showing an abandoned Iraqi ZPU-4 behind a truck on the Basra-Kuwait Highway during Operation Desert Storm. | Accessed: 2026-07-06