Howitzer 2A61 is one of the newest artillery pieces of the Russian army. The howitzer was developed by the State Unitary Enterprise (State Unitary Enterprise) "Plant No. 9". The first data on 2A61 were published in the 97th year. The weapon owes its appearance to the fact that after the transfer of NATO field artillery to a caliber of 155 millimeters, the firepower of Russian artillery motorized rifle brigades (regiments) armed with 122-millimeter howitzers began to yield in firepower to the corresponding formations of the armies of NATO member states.
The new howitzer, which is classified as a regimental howitzer, was developed on a three-sided modified carriage of the 122mm D-30 howitzer. This became possible after the installation of a new design muzzle brake on the muzzle part, which absorbs most of the recoil energy.
The use of a three-sided carriage provides the possibility of circular firing at angles of vertical guidance from -5 to +70 degrees. The carriage has a mechanism for sending shells, which allows you to fire at a rate of fire of up to 8 rounds per minute. On the upper machine to protect the crew from shrapnel and small arms bullets, there is a light shield cover.
For firing from a howitzer, shots of separate cartridge case loading are used, also used in systems of a similar caliber - D-1, D-20 and ML-20. In terms of its ballistics, it corresponds to the ballistics of the 152-mm ML-20 howitzer, developed on charge No. 3.
To transfer the 2A61 to the stowed position, the movable beds are reduced to the fixed bed of the carriage and fixed. The very fixed frame and the barrel were connected at the muzzle. For towing, a pivot beam was used, which is attached to the muzzle. The transfer between the combat and stowed positions and vice versa for seven people of a trained crew is performed in two minutes.
Due to the relatively small mass of the howitzer (4, 3 thousand kg compared to 5, 65 thousand kg for the D-20 howitzer of the same caliber), it can be towed using the same means of thrust as for the 122 mm D-30 howitzer … The maximum speed on the highway in this case can be 80 km / h.
On the basis of the 152-mm howitzer 2A61, a version with a 155-mm barrel was developed. This version of the howitzer was for export.
Technical characteristics of the 2A61 "PAT-B" towed howitzer:
Calculation - 7 people;
Weight - 4, 3 tons;
Length in the stowed position - 6360 mm;
Height in the stowed position - 2200 mm;
Width in the stowed position - 1970 mm;
Track - 1840 mm;
Weapon - 2A61 152mm rifled howitzer;
The mass of the OFS shells - 43, 56 kg;
Rate of fire - 6-8 rounds per minute;
The initial velocity of the projectile is 540 m / s;
Elevation angle - from -5 to +70 degrees;
Horizontal guidance angle - 360 degrees;
The minimum firing range is 4000 m;
Maximum firing range - 15014 m;
Highway towing speed - up to 80 km / h.
