At the very end of the forties, Soviet specialists began work on promising tactical missile systems for the ground forces. Based on the experience gained in the course of preliminary research, by the mid-fifties, the development of full-fledged projects of new technology began. One of the first domestic missile systems with the ability to use a special warhead was the 2K4 "Filin" system.
By the end of the forties, it became clear that future progress in the field of nuclear weapons would allow the use of such weapons not only as weapons for strategic aviation. Research began in some new directions, including in the field of missile weapons for the ground forces. The first studies in this area showed the practical possibility of creating self-propelled complexes with ballistic missiles with a firing range of up to several tens of kilometers and capable of carrying a special warhead.
In the early fifties, the new proposal was approved by the customer in the person of the Ministry of Defense, after which the Soviet industry began to develop new projects. The first examples of tactical missile systems of domestic development were to be the 2K1 Mars and 2K4 Filin systems. NII-1 (now the Moscow Institute of Heat Engineering) was appointed the lead developer of both projects. The chief designer of "Mars" and "Owl" was N. P. Mazurov. Both models of equipment should have been submitted for testing in the middle of the decade. By 1958-60, they were planned to be adopted.
Museum sample of the "Filin" complex. Photo Wikimedia Commons
In the early stages of the "Owl" project, it was decided to use the original composition of the complex, which was different from the "Mars" system. Initially, the complex was proposed to include a self-propelled launcher 2P4 "Tulip", missiles of several types, as well as a mobile repair and technical base. The latter was tasked with transporting missiles and warheads, as well as installing ammunition on combat vehicles. Subsequently, views on the composition of auxiliary equipment have changed. In addition, it was decided to develop a new version of the repair and technical base, but full-fledged work on this project began later and within the framework of the creation of the "Luna" complex.
One of the main elements of the 2K4 "Filin" complex was the 2P4 "Tulip" self-propelled launcher. The development of this machine was entrusted to SKB-2 of the Leningrad Kirov plant, the work was supervised by K. N. Ilyin. To speed up the development and simplify production, the ISU-152K serial artillery self-propelled gun was chosen as the base for the 2P4 installation. It was proposed to remove all unnecessary units from the existing chassis, instead of which it was necessary to install a large wheelhouse of a complex shape, as well as various parts of the launcher.
Side view. Photo Wikimedia Commons
During processing under the new project, the chassis of the base ACS retained the V-2IS diesel engine with a power of 520 hp. The original parts of the self-propelled body were made of rolled armor and had a thickness of up to 90 mm. The new wheelhouse, necessary to accommodate the crew and control equipment, was distinguished by less powerful protection. The chassis of the base chassis remained unchanged. She had six road wheels with torsion bar suspension on each side. Due to the preservation of the classic layout of the hull, despite the re-equipment, the drive wheels of the tracks were placed in the stern of the hull.
Instead of the upper part of the hull and the fighting compartment, a new wheelhouse was mounted on the existing chassis with inclined frontal and side plates, as well as a cutout in the central part of the roof intended for transporting a rocket. Inside the wheelhouse, places were provided for the installation of various equipment. In addition, there were places to accommodate a crew of five. For access to the wheelhouse, there were large doors on the sides. To monitor the situation, the crew could use various glazing elements. For example, two large windows were placed in front of the driver's workplace.
On the frontal sheet of the cabin, a lattice protection of the rocket was attached, made in the form of a conical unit open on top. With its help, the head of the rocket had to be protected from possible impacts when the self-propelled launcher was moving. In the transport position, the launcher of the Tulip machine was in the upper deckhouse, and the protruding head of the rocket was above the lattice protection.
The stern of the car and the tail of the rocket. Photo Wikimedia Commons
On the stern sheet of the body of the 2P4 armored vehicle, it was proposed to mount two supports for the swinging launcher. The entire rear part of the hull roof was given for the installation of other special equipment. So, directly behind the aft part of the cabin, hydraulic cylinders were mounted to raise the launcher to the required position. Also on the roof there were places for the installation of various equipment for one purpose or another. Outrigger jacks were mounted below the launcher supports on the stern sheet. They could swing on horizontal axes, and in preparation for firing, they sank to the ground, holding the body of the machine in the required position.
A special launcher was developed for transporting and launching missiles of all compatible types. Its main element was a cylindrical guide casing that could accommodate one rocket. The cylindrical guide was made in the form of two detachable parts. The lower one was attached to a swinging base, and the upper one was hinged to it. To reload the launcher, the upper part of the guide could be folded to the side. After installing the rocket, it returned to its place, allowing combat work to continue. Inside the cylindrical unit there was a screw skid used for the initial spin of the rocket at launch.
The rear of the rail was connected to a sturdy box-like structure, which in turn was mounted on the aft hinge of the hull. Such a system made it possible to raise the rail to the required elevation angle. Horizontal guidance using the launcher devices was not provided. To establish the correct direction on the target, it was required to turn the entire combat vehicle.
Self-propelled launcher, rocket and crane during the demonstration of the "Filin" complex to the customer. Photo Militaryrussia.ru
The self-propelled launcher had a length of 9.33 m, a width of 3.07 m and a height of 3 m. With the rocket installed, the vehicle had a combat weight of 40 tons. The 520-horsepower engine made it possible to move along the highway without a rocket at speeds up to 40-42 km / h. After installing the ammunition, the maximum speed was reduced to 30 km / h. The power reserve exceeded 300 km.
Within the framework of the 2K4 "Owl" project, three variants of single-stage unguided ballistic missiles were developed. Products 3P2, 3P3 and 3P4 had a similar design and used some common units, but differed in combat equipment and a number of characteristics. Rockets of all types had a cylindrical body of large elongation with a diameter of 612 mm. At the head of the hull there were mounts for mounting the above-caliber warhead. A solid propellant engine was placed inside the body. The tail of the rocket received a set of stabilizers. In the case of the 3P2 product, a six-plane stabilizer was used. Other missiles had four or six planes. The total length of all missiles for "Filin" was in the range of 10, 354-10, 378 m. The scope of the stabilizer reached 1.26 m. The launch weight was up to 4, 94 tons.
As in the case of the 3P1 rocket for the 2K1 Mars complex, it was decided to use a two-chamber solid-propellant engine. The chambers were equipped with NFM-2 ballistic powder charges, which were ignited simultaneously. The head chamber had 12 nozzles inclined 15 ° away from the body. In addition, a 3-degree tilt relative to the course plane was provided, designed to give the rocket rotation. The tail chamber had a different nozzle assembly with seven parallel branch pipes. The total mass of solid fuel in both chambers was 1.642 tons. Its complete combustion under normal conditions took 4.8 seconds. The active section was 1.7 km long. The maximum rocket speed reached 686 m / s.
At the firing position. Photo Militatyrussia.ru
The 3P2 ballistic missile was to be equipped with a special warhead placed in a hull with a diameter of 850 mm. The charge for this warhead was developed on the basis of the RDS-1 product. The design was carried out in KB-11 under the direction of Yu. B. Khariton and S. G. Kocharyants. The mass of the 3P2 missile warhead was 1, 2 tons. The warhead power was 10 kt. A characteristic feature of this rocket was a stabilizer consisting of six planes. In other products of the family, stabilization means of a different design were used, which was associated with the parameters of the warhead.
In the 3P3 project, a non-nuclear warhead was developed. In the above-caliber hull of such a warhead, a high-explosive charge weighing 500 kg was placed. The total weight of the conventional warhead was 565 kg. The light weight of combat equipment led to the need for some changes in the design of the stabilizer.
The 3P4 rocket was a product of the unification of existing products. It was proposed to mount a special warhead, borrowed from the 3P1 rocket of the 2K1 "Mars" complex, on the body with an engine from 3P2. An interesting difference between the 3P4 and other ammunition of the "Filin" system was the smaller diameter of the warhead in comparison with the diameter of the rest of the hull.
Rocket model 3R2. Photo Russianarms.ru
Arriving at the indicated firing position, the 2P4 self-propelled launcher had to perform the preparation procedure for firing. A crew of five was given 30 minutes to complete all such work. The crew had to determine their own location, and then put the launcher in the direction of the target. When performing these procedures, it was necessary to use both the navigation equipment of the launcher and the "Proba" meteorological system, which includes meteorological balloons. Range guidance was carried out by changing the elevation angle of the guide.
After receiving the launch command, two charges of solid fuel were simultaneously ignited, leading to the creation of thrust and derailing from the guide. The stabilization of missiles of all types was carried out using oblique nozzles of the head chamber and stabilizers fixed at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the product. The firing range could vary from 20 km to 25.7 km. At the same time, some foreign sources mention a range of up to 30-32 km. The circular probable deviation of an unguided missile reached 1 km, which could make special demands on the power of the warhead.
After firing, the Tulip self-propelled launcher had to leave the firing position. On a previously prepared site, the launcher could be recharged. In this procedure, it was necessary to use missile carriers based on wheeled tractors and a K-104 truck crane on a YaAZ-210 three-axle chassis. With the help of auxiliary equipment and its crews, the calculation of the 2K4 "Filin" complex could install a new missile and re-advance to a firing position. It took up to 60 minutes to recharge.
The tail section of the rocket. Photo Russianarms.ru
In 1955, NII-1 completed work on the first version of the rocket for the "Filin". In the same year, the first 3P2 products were manufactured, which soon went to the test site. The first tests of new missiles, including types 3P3 and 3P4, were carried out using a stationary launcher, similar to that proposed for mounting on a self-propelled chassis. In the last stages of testing, full-fledged combat vehicles with a full set of equipment were used.
For a number of reasons, the first samples of the 2P4 "Tulip" self-propelled guns were made only in 1957. Soon after the completion of construction and factory tests, the experimental equipment was sent to the test site for subsequent checks along with the missiles. The first launches of missiles of the 3P2 family from a standard self-propelled launcher took place before the end of 1957. In view of the absence of complaints about the finished equipment, the customer ordered the launch of serial production of launchers even before the end of all the necessary checks.
Until the end of 1957, the Kirovsky plant was able to build 10 2P4 machines, including prototypes. Over the next 58th year, the company delivered another 26 Tulip products. After that, the assembly of new equipment was stopped. For several months of serial production of the Filin complexes, the army received only 36 launchers, several dozen auxiliary vehicles and a number of ballistic missiles of three types.
"Owls" are walking past the mausoleum, 1960. Photo by Militaryrussia.ru
After the completion of field tests, which lasted until 1958, the newest tactical missile system 2K4 "Filin" was put into trial operation. On August 17 of the same year, a decree of the USSR Council of Ministers was issued, according to which the Filin system was officially accepted for supply. At the same time, for some reason, it was decided not to transfer such equipment to combat units of missile forces and artillery.
The operation of the 2K4 "Filin" complexes mainly consisted in the development of new equipment by personnel and participation in various combat training activities. In addition, from November 7, 1957, self-propelled launchers with mock-up missiles regularly took part in parades on Red Square. Despite the small number, the "Owls" formed full-fledged ceremonial crews that could give their people confidence in security, as well as cool the hot heads of foreign "warmongers". According to reports, the Filin complexes took part in Moscow parades until the very end of their operation.
Parade line. Photo Militaryrussia.ru
By the end of the fifties or the beginning of the sixties, there is a curious case of the participation of a missile system in exercises with the real use of special warheads. According to the recollections of the participants in these events, during the launch of a rocket of the 3P2 family with a special warhead for a training purpose, there were malfunctions in the operation of automation. The warhead's radio altimeter, designed to determine the height of the detonation of the charge, worked incorrectly. Because of this, the explosion occurred outside the calculated area of the landfill. It was this incident that could be the reason that the serial "Owls" did not enter the combat units of the ground forces.
On December 29, 1959, the Council of Ministers decided to begin mass production of the latest tactical missile systems 2K6 "Luna". The following year, the army received the first five systems of this type, as well as missiles for them. The "Luna" complex differed from the previous systems of the "Mars" and "Owl" types by higher characteristics, and also had some advantages in the form of a wider range of ammunition, etc. In connection with the emergence of a new missile system, which has significant advantages over the existing ones, the further production of the latter was no longer considered necessary.
In February 1960, it was decided to terminate the operation of the 2K4 "Filin" complexes. The vehicles were removed from service and sent for storage. The missiles for them were also written off and sent for disposal. Due to the small amount of equipment built, decommissioning and cutting did not take much time. All the work that followed the abandonment of "Filin" took just a couple of years.
On the streets of Moscow. Photo Militaryrussia.ru
Most of the 2P4 "Tulip" self-propelled launchers were dismantled as unnecessary. Nevertheless, some of the 36 built vehicles managed to avoid such a sad fate. At least one such armored vehicle has survived to this day thanks to the fact that it had previously become a museum exhibit. Now this sample of equipment, together with a model of an unguided missile, is shown in one of the halls of the Military-Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineering Troops and Signal Corps (St. Petersburg). In addition, there is information about the presence of mock-ups of the 3P2 family of missiles in other domestic and foreign museums.
The tactical missile system 2K4 "Filin" with unguided ballistic missiles 3R2, 3R3 and 3R4 was one of the first domestic developments of its class. Like some other early representatives of promising areas, this complex was not distinguished by high performance, and also was not built in large quantities. Nevertheless, the development, testing and short-term operation of the "Filin" complex allowed specialists of the Soviet defense industry to gain the experience necessary to create new similar projects. Already at the end of the fifties in the field of tactical missile systems, there was a real breakthrough in the form of the 2K6 "Luna" system, which could hardly have appeared without the previous developments - 2K1 "Mars" and 2K4 "Filin".
