While a successful design, BS was not without its faults, the biggest being its cable-operated charging which required considerable physical strength.

Ammunition is supplied via a disintegrating link belt with a unique system in which each new round helps to extract the spent cartridge.

A declassified 1952 US intelligence report notes that: "The Shkas was a comparatively intricate and well finished gun, the cost of which necessitated that it be kept in operating condition as long as possible by repair and replacement of parts.

In contrast to the Shkas, the Beresin was deliberately expendable, that is, the Soviets' plan was to discard the entire gun after a short period of use during which one or another of the principal operating mechanisms became worn or broken."

"[1] The following production numbers could be found in the Soviet archives:[2] The Berezin B-20 autocannon used an upscaled version of the UB mechanism.