We have already talked about the predecessor of the heroine of our story, the 76-mm mountain gun of the 1938 model.
Weapon stories. 76-mm mountain gun model 1938
Today we are talking about the next generation.
The 76-mm mountain gun of the 1938 model proved itself very well on the fields (more precisely, in the mountains) of the battles of the Great Patriotic War. However, time took its toll, and after 30 years of service the gun in our army, it was decided to replace it. And the development of newer and better weapons.
The new weapon was also supposed to operate in mountainous conditions, as well as on rough and difficult terrain. In addition, the cannon should be as lightweight as possible. There was another lobby here, from Comrade Margelov, who just in the 50s reformatted the Airborne Forces and tried to provide the paratroopers with everything he could reach.
The experience of previous developments was taken into account, therefore it is quite natural that the gun was designed in SKB-172 under the leadership of M. Yu. Tsirulnikova.
And it began to be produced in Perm, at "Motovilikha", plant number 172, under the index M-99.
The M-99 cannon was officially adopted by the Soviet Army in 1958 under the designation "76-mm GP mountain cannon". Just at the same time, a new indexing of cannon artillery systems was introduced in the GRAU of the Ministry of Defense, and the M-99 gun received a new index "product 2A2".
The gun has a collapsible barrel, which consists of a pipe, breech and casing. The breech and the pipe, connecting with each other with threaded sectors, fasten the casing. The internal structure of the barrel and ballistics are identical to the 76-mm mountain gun of the 1938 model.
The shutter is horizontal wedge-shaped, with a semi-automatic spring type, independent of the roll speed (opening is performed by an opening spring, and closing - by a closing spring). The recoil devices are located in a cradle under the barrel. The recoil brake is hydraulic, spindle type, with a spring compressor. The reel is hydropneumatic. When fired, the recoil devices roll back together with the barrel. The lifting mechanism has one sector, the rotary mechanism is of the screw type.
The balancing mechanism is a spring, pulling type, mounted on the upper machine, where lifting and turning mechanisms are also assembled, providing a vertical angle of fire from -10 ° to + 70 ° and a horizontal angle of up to 45 °. The upper machine is connected to the lower machine with a pin. Sliding box-type beds, can be folded and disassembled into two parts. In the pivot on the front of the right frame, there is an auxiliary (front) small-diameter roller for moving the weapon on the battlefield. An integral part of the upper machine is also a two-piece lightweight shield cover. It protects the crew from small arms bullets and fragments of artillery shells and small-caliber mines.
To reduce the weight of the gun, the shield cover can be removed. Single-pitched metal wheels from a Moskvich car with a gusmatic tire. Suspension - torsion type.
The gun is equipped with PGP or PGP-70 sights. The peculiarity of this gun is that it can conduct both flat and mounted firing. To ensure high stability of the gun at large elevation angles, the design of the lower carriage machine allows you to change the height of the line of fire from 650 mm - with an elevation angle of less than 30 ° to 850 mm - with an elevation angle of more than 30 °.
Here you can see something in common with the "Cornflower" mortar. A cannon that can hang, and a mortar capable of hitting a direct fire with a cumulative mine.
In mountainous conditions, the cannon can be transported in the form of ten separate packs on pack animals. Or not animals, as luck would have it. Moreover, the maximum weight of one pack does not exceed 85 kg.
With proper preparation, the calculation can assemble and disassemble the gun into the transport position in 4-6 minutes.
When used in the northern regions, the mountain gun can be equipped with a special LO-8 ski mount, which allows it to be transported through deep snow and swampy terrain. If necessary, you can shoot directly from the skis. The weight of the LO-8 ski mount does not exceed 85 kg, so it is quite possible to tow the gun by a UAZ-469 vehicle.
Due to its low weight and non-outstanding dimensions, the gun is naturally transported by air by all possible military vehicles and is dropped from them.
Shooting is carried out with separate-case loading shots with high-explosive fragmentation, armor-piercing, cumulative and smoke projectiles, as well as shrapnel.
The maximum firing range of a high-explosive fragmentation projectile weighing 6, 28 kg with an initial speed of 485 m / s is 10,000 m.
The 76-mm mountain gun GP was in service with the artillery units of mountain rifle units of the Soviet Army, was actively used in the hostilities of the Limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan in 1979-1989, as well as in numerous ethnic conflicts at the end of the 20th century in the territory of the former Soviet Union …
Currently, the 76-mm mountain gun GP continues to be in service with the Russian Army.
TTX GP (M-99)
Weight in firing position - 735 kg
Barrel length - 1630 mm
The length of the threaded part - 1122 mm
Calculation - 6 people
Travel speed - up to 60 km / h
Rate of fire - sighting - 10 - 14 rds / min, maximum - 20 rds / min
The greatest firing range - 10,000 m
Direct shot range - 850 m
Shooting angles:
Horizontal - 45 °
Vertical - 10 ° + 70 °
