Continuing the theme of artillery weapons of the Russian army, we turn to the story of a weapon that is hard not to see at any exhibition, in any museum or any other site where it is exhibited. A weapon that a very small number of gunners can call their relatives.
As you can imagine, we are talking about another flower in a bouquet of artillery systems, a 203-mm self-propelled gun of artillery of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command 2S7 "Pion". ACS 2S7 today is one of the most powerful field artillery systems in the world.
If the ACS 2S5 "Hyacinth" gives the impression of the God of War, then the ACS 2S7 "Peony" puts pressure on the senses in a completely different way. By the way, almost all high-powered weapons affect our senses in the same way. Still, another definition would be more correct - increased power!
This system is rather a punishing sword of God. A sword that is almost impossible to resist. A sword from which one cannot hide. A sword that carries inevitable punishment.
The story about this system should be started from afar. Since the reign of NS Khrushchev. Many artillerymen still remember this general secretary of the CPSU Central Committee with a bad feeling. The man who decided to "kill God", to kill the barrel artillery. War, according to Khrushchev, is an exchange of nuclear strikes using missiles and bombers.
But, despite this point of view of the country's leadership, the army understood that a global conflict would lead to the destruction of the planet as such. It is stupid to use nuclear weapons of enormous power. Therefore, modern wars will no longer be as global as World War II. They will turn into a series of local conflicts.
But it is also stupid to give up nuclear weapons. What cannot be achieved with huge calibers and a huge amount of explosives in ammunition can be achieved by using a nuclear charge and rocket projectiles. It is not for nothing that the power of nuclear weapons in TNT equivalent is measured in kilotons. In thousands of tons!
Discussions about the need to create weapons capable of firing projectiles with "nuclear filling" began openly in the mid-1960s. This statement applies not only to the Soviet Union, but also to its antipode, the United States. Military theorists of both countries came to the same conclusion at about the same time.
Thus, the second half of the 60s is characterized by the development of several artillery systems at once capable of striking the enemy with low-yield nuclear weapons. The army needed a "new old" carrier of nuclear weapons.
In 1967, an order was issued by the USSR Ministry of Defense Industry to begin the development of a high-power self-propelled artillery unit. The main requirement was the firing range and the possibility of using a low-power nuclear charge. The rest of the restrictions were not set to the designers. The main thing is a range of at least 25 km for a conventional OFS.
Research and development work to determine the appearance and basic performance characteristics of a self-propelled gun of special power began by order of the Ministry of Defense Industry of the USSR No. 801 of December 16, 1967. On the instructions of the GRAU, the MI Kalinin Artillery Academy carried out the choice of the caliber of the installation: the 210-mm cannon C- 72, 180 mm S-23 cannon and 180 mm MU-1 coastal cannon.
According to the conclusion of the Academy, the most suitable was the ballistic solution of the 210-mm S-72 cannon. However, despite this, the Barricades plant, in order to ensure the continuity of manufacturing technologies for the already developed B-4 and B-4M guns, proposed to reduce the caliber from 210 to 203 mm. The proposal was approved by GRAU.
At the same time, work was carried out on the selection of the chassis and layout scheme for the future heavy ACS:
- a variant of the chassis of the MT-T multipurpose tractor, made on the basis of the T-64A tank - "Object 429A";
- a variant of the chassis based on the T-10 heavy tank - "Object 216.sp1";
Due to the fact that an open installation of the gun was supposed, as well as due to the high resistance to rollback (135 tons), the existing chassis were not suitable for the ACS. Therefore, it was decided to develop a new undercarriage with the maximum possible unification of units with the tanks in service with the USSR.
As a result, the ministry made a Solomon decision. In 1969 the Kirovsky plant became the head developer of "Pion". The designers of the "Barricades" were engaged in the creation of the artillery component.
The requirements for the new ACS were quite stringent. No ricochet firing range 8, 5-35 km (for OFS). ACS must be mobile enough. But most importantly, the system must fire a 3VB2 projectile! This marking was assigned to a projectile with a nuclear warhead. Those. initially, the designers were given the task to create a "nuclear cannon".
N. Popov became the chief designer of the chassis.
G. I. Sergeev became the chief designer of the 203-mm 2A44 gun.
To close the topic of nuclear weapons, it is necessary to get ahead of ourselves. "Peony" really fired a 3BV2 projectile! Developed in 1977 at the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Technical Physics specifically for the ACS 2S7.
More precisely, a stationary gun with a barrel from a 2S7 cannon fired. But it was only once. Therefore, we cannot talk about stable shooting based on tests. One shot in a landfill. But will the second be necessary in a combat situation? Considering the charge power of 2 kilotons …
In the period from 1973 to 1974, two prototypes of the ACS 2S7 were manufactured and sent for testing. The first sample passed sea trials at the Strugi Red test site. The second sample was tested by firing, but could not meet the requirements for firing range. The problem was solved by selecting the optimal composition of the powder charge and the type of shot.
In 1975, a new self-propelled gun was put into service, and from the next year it began to be mass-produced and supplied to artillery brigades of special power. The 2S7 "Pion" is designed to suppress and eliminate the means of nuclear attack (NAN), artillery, mortars, equipment, rear services, command and control posts, and manpower of the enemy.
Let's go directly to the ACS itself. Moreover, it is really interesting even for a layman.
ACS "Pion" is made according to a reckless scheme with an open installation of the gun in the rear of the hull. On the march, all crew members are housed in the SPG hull.
The body is divided into four sections. In the front part there is a control compartment with a seat for the commander, a driver-mechanic and a place for one of the crew members.
The engine compartment with the engine is located behind the control compartment.
Behind the engine compartment is the crew compartment, in which the stowage with shells, the gunner's place in the marching position and space for 3 (in the modernized version 2) crew members are located.
In the aft compartment there is a folding opener plate and an ACS gun.
The 2S7 body is made of double-layer bulletproof armor with 13 mm thick outer sheets and 8 mm thick inner ones.
The crew inside the ACS is protected from the consequences of the use of weapons of mass destruction. The body reduces the effect of penetrating radiation by three times.
The loading of the main weapon during the operation of the ACS is carried out from the ground or from a truck using a special lifting mechanism installed on the platform, on the right side relative to the main weapon. At the same time, the loader is located to the left of the implement, controlling the process using the control panel.
By tradition, we will pay special attention to the weapon. Rifled gun 2A44 developed by OKB-3 (Design Bureau of the Barrikady plant).
The barrel of the gun is a free tube connected to the breech. A piston bolt is located in the breech. The gun barrel and recoil devices are located in the cradle of the swinging part.
The swinging part is fixed on the upper machine, which is mounted on the axle and fixed with basting.
The recoil devices consist of a hydraulic recoil brake and two pneumatic knurls located symmetrically relative to the barrel. Such a scheme of recoil devices allows you to reliably hold the recoil parts of the gun in the extreme position before firing a shot at any angles of vertical guidance of the gun.
The recoil length when fired reaches 1400 mm.
Sector-type lifting and turning mechanisms provide gun guidance in the range of angles from 0 to + 60 ° vertically and from −15 to + 15 ° horizontally.
Guidance can be carried out both by hydraulic drives powered by the ACS 2S7 pumping station, and by means of manual drives.
The pneumatic balancing mechanism serves to compensate for the moment of imbalance of the swinging part of the implement.
To facilitate the work of the members of the crew, the ACS is equipped with a loading mechanism, which provides the supply of shots to the loading line and sending them into the chamber of the gun.
A hinged base plate, located in the rear of the hull, transmits the forces of the shot to the ground, ensuring greater stability of the ACS. On charge number 3, "Pion" could fire direct fire without installing a coulter.
The transportable ammunition load of the Pion self-propelled gun is 4 rounds (for the modernized version 8), the transport vehicle attached to the ACS carries the main ammunition load of 40 rounds.
Like any system, the Pion self-propelled gun was constantly being modernized. The emergence of new technical solutions, new production technologies, new materials leads to the improvement of guns and ACS as a whole.
ACS 2S7 "Pion" is a continuation of ACS 2S7M "Malka". This is not another weapon. This is exactly the modernization of "Peony". The engine and chassis have undergone changes. Tests started in February 1985.
To receive and display information from the vehicle of the senior officer of the battery, the gunner's and commander's places were equipped with digital indicators with automatic data reception, which made it possible to reduce the time for transferring the vehicle from the stowed position to the combat position and vice versa.
Thanks to the modified design of the stowage, the ammunition load was increased to 8 rounds.
The new loading mechanism made it possible to load the gun at any vertical pumping angles. Thus, the rate of fire was increased by 1, 6 times (up to 2, 5 rounds per minute), and the mode of fire - by 1, 25 times.
To track important subsystems in the ACS, routine control equipment was installed, which continuously monitored weapon assemblies, engine, hydraulic system and power units.
Serial production started in 1986.
It is probably worth talking about another version of the 2A44 gun. A variant that was specially developed for the Navy. And which was not implemented only because of the principled position of the naval chiefs in large caliber as such.
"Pion-M" - a project of a shipborne artillery installation, was developed on the basis of the 2A44 cannon in the late 1970s. The mass of the artillery mount without ammunition was 65-70 tons. Ammunition was supposed to be 75 rounds, and the rate of fire was up to 1.5 rounds per minute. The Pion-M artillery mount was supposed to be installed on Project 956 ships of the Sovremenny type.
Today it is stupid to argue about the correctness of this decision by the leadership of the fleet. You can only express your own opinion. It seems to us that the admirals "drowned" the Pion-M in vain. It was very shortsighted to focus all attention on missiles. Time has shown that in some cases high-tech weapons are more vulnerable than the good old projectile. He absolutely does not care about enemy electronic warfare and other technical innovations.
The main performance characteristics of ACS 2A7 "Pion":
Weight, t: 46.5
Gun caliber, mm: 203, 2
Aiming angles:
- vertical: 0-60 °
- horizontal: 15 °
Maximum firing range, m: 37,500
Minimum firing range, m: 8 400
High-explosive fragmentation projectile weight, kg: 110
Rate of fire, rds / min: up to 2, 5
Transportable ammunition, rds: 4
Types of shells: high-explosive, high-explosive fragmentation, special
Time of transfer from traveling to combat position, min: 5
Calculation, people: 6
Engine power, HP: 780
Maximum speed, km / h: 51
Cruising on the highway, km: 500
The Russian Army is currently in service with 327 units of the Pion and Malka self-propelled guns. However, most of them (up to 300) are in storage.
During their operation in the Soviet Army, the Pion self-propelled guns have never been used in any armed conflict. After the signing of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, all Pion and Malka self-propelled guns were withdrawn from the European districts and redeployed to the Siberian and Far Eastern military districts.
The only known episode of the combat use of the 2S7 self-propelled guns is the war in South Ossetia, where the Georgian side of the conflict used a battery of six 2S7 self-propelled guns. During the retreat, the Georgian troops lost all six 2S7 self-propelled guns in the Gori region. One of the installations was captured as a trophy by Russian troops, the rest were destroyed.
There is evidence of the presence of "Pions" in the zone of armed conflict in eastern Ukraine as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, there is no reliable information about the use yet.
Unfortunately, we have to stop and pause on this material for now. However, large calibers will be back at the very beginning of autumn. So goodbye to all lovers of big guns and howitzers
The authors sincerely thank all true fans of artillery. Once again: see you soon!
