Originally built for Russia’s Tu-22 Blinder supersonic bomber, the R-23 gun was mounted in the plane’s tail as a deadly surprise for any pursuing jet fighters. The gas-powered gun could fire 23mm rounds incredibly quickly. It’s a variant of this gun that made it to space, on board one of the Soviet Union’s Almaz military reconnaissance space stations. From Anatoly Zak, writing at Popular Mechanics: Read the full story there, and be sure to check out the painstakingly rendered images of the gun itself. Popular Mechanics
