Almost forgotten weapons - Soviet and German
When it comes to weapons and military equipment of the Second World War, most often they talk about tanks, aircraft, divisional and regimental guns, mortars, rifles, machine guns and machine guns … But large-caliber artillery is rarely remembered.
Meanwhile, the Germans in 1942-1945 pulled up to the Eastern Front up to two hundred guns of great and special power, collected from all over Europe. The Red Army also used dozens of high-powered guns. However, this article will focus on the main samples of guns of this type of the Red Army and the Wehrmacht - 203-mm howitzer B-4 and 21-cm mortar Mrs.18.
… Plus a cannon
The 21-cm mortar Mrs.18 was adopted by the German army in 1936. Why 18? The fact is that the Krupp firm began the design of the gun while the restrictions imposed on Germany by the Versailles Treaty were in effect. And the cunning Germans included the number 18 in the names of all artillery systems created in 1920-1935: they say, these are just modifications of the First World War.
Because of the long barrel, in some English reference books, the 21-cm mortar Mrs.18 is called a cannon. This is fundamentally wrong. It's not just about the high elevation angle (+ 70º). The gun could shoot at an angle of 0º only with small charges - from No. 1 to No. 4. And with a larger charge (No. 5 or No. 6), the elevation angle had to be set at least 8º, otherwise the system was threatened with overturning. Thus, the 21-cm Mrs.18 was a classic mortar (weight in firing position - 17, 9 tons, rate of fire - 30 rounds / hour, weight of shells: 113 kg high-explosive, 121 kg concrete-breaking, muzzle velocity - 565/550 m / s, range - 16.7 km).
“The 203mm B-4 howitzers were irreplaceable. Not a single major offensive of the Soviet troops was carried out without their participation"
A characteristic feature of the gun was a double rollback: the barrel rolled back along the cradle, and the cradle, together with the barrel and the upper machine, along the lower gun carriage, which achieved good stability when firing.
In the combat position, the mortar rested in front on the base plate, and in the back - on the trunk support. At the same time, the wheels were hung out. In the stowed position, the barrel was removed and placed on a special vehicle. The carriage with the front end was towed separately. The speed of movement of the system did not exceed 30 km / h. However, for short distances, it was allowed to transport mortars in an unassembled form (that is, with a barrel superimposed on the carriage), but at a speed of 4-6 km / h.
The gun fired two types of high-explosive fragmentation grenades and concrete-piercing shells. In 1939-1945, the German industry produced 1 million 750 thousand units of ammunition for this mortar.
Note that in 1942, the 21 cm Mrs.18 mortars were not produced. Was there no need for them? No, because of Hitler's self-confidence, who began to curtail the release of artillery pieces after the successes of the Wehrmacht in the summer and autumn of 1941 on the Eastern Front.
By June 1, 1941, the German troops had 388 21-cm Mrs.18 mortars. All of them were in the artillery units of the RGK. By the end of May 1940, these guns were in service with two mixed motorized artillery divisions (No. 604 and No. 607). Each division had two batteries of 21 cm mortars (three-gun composition) and one battery of 15 cm guns. 21-cm mortars were also equipped with 15 motorized divisions (three batteries of three-gun composition in each), 624 and 641st special power divisions (three guns each in addition to batteries of 30.5-cm mortars).
In 1939, the designers of the Krupp company placed a 17-cm (172.5-mm) naval gun barrel on the mortar carriage. The system received the designation 17 cm K. Mrs. Laf.(weight in firing position - 17, 5 tons, rate of fire - 40 rounds / hour, projectile weight - 62, 8/68, 0 kg, muzzle velocity - 925/860 m / s, range - 31/29, 5 km). German historians consider her to be the best in her class during the Second World War.
The 17-cm K. Mrs. Laf cannons were most often sent to the mixed motorized artillery battalions of the Wehrmacht RGK. Each division consisted of two three-gun batteries of 21 cm Mrs.18 mortars and one three-gun battery of 17 cm guns.
The first four 17-cm guns were delivered to the unit in January 1941. In the same year, the Wehrmacht received 91 such guns from industry, in 1942 - 126 guns, in 1943 - 78, in 1944 - 40, in 1945 - 3 guns.
In the fall of 1943, work began on the creation of a 17/21 self-propelled gun carriage based on the T-VI tank with a 21-cm Mrs.18 mortar and a 17-cm cannon. The prototype 17-cm self-propelled gun on the Tiger chassis, designed by the Henschel company, weighed 58 tons, the speed was 35 km / h, and the frontal armor was 30 centimeters. However, the Germans did not have time to launch the self-propelled gun into the series.
Three on one
At the end of 1926, the command of the Red Army decided to create a high-power duplex for a 203-mm howitzer and a 152-mm cannon. (Duplex - two guns of different caliber, having an interchangeable carriage, triplex - respectively three guns. Often there was no interchangeability, and the carriages were simply very similar in design.) And on January 16, 1928, the design of the 203-mm howitzer B-4 (B - index of the Leningrad plant "Bolshevik", and Br - of the Stalingrad plant "Barricades" Weight in firing position - 17, 7 tons, rate of fire - 1 round per 2 minutes, projectile weight - 100/146 kg, muzzle velocity - 607/480 m / s, range - 17, 9/15, 4 km).
The first prototype of the gun was manufactured at the beginning of 1931 at the Bolshevik plant. In 1932, batch production of the B-4 was launched here, and in 1933 - at the Barrikady plant. However, the howitzer was officially adopted only on June 10, 1934.
B-4 took part in the Soviet-Finnish war. On March 1, 1940, there were 142 howitzers at the front. Lost or out of order four.
In order to break through the concrete of the Finnish "millionaire" pillbox on the Mannerheim Line, it was required that at least two 203-mm shells fired from the B-4 hit the same point in succession. But note, this is not the fault of the howitzer designers. The systems of special power, the production of which was disrupted due to the fault of the Deputy People's Commissar for Armament Tukhachevsky, were supposed to work according to the "millionaire".
By June 22, 1941, the Red Army had only 849 B-4 howitzers, including 41 guns that needed major repairs. The overwhelming majority of serviceable "fours" - 517 - were in the western military districts, another 174 - in the internal military district, 58 - on the southern borders of the USSR and 95 - in the Far East.
By the beginning of the war, B-4s were only in the high-power howitzer artillery regiments of the RVGK. According to the state (dated February 19, 1941), each regiment consisted of four divisions of three-battery composition (in the battery - two howitzers, one howitzer was considered a platoon). In total, the regiment had 24 howitzers, 112 tractors, 242 cars, 12 motorcycles and 2304 personnel (of which 174 were officers). By June 22, 1941, the RVGK had 33 regiments equipped with B-4s (in total there were 792 howitzers in the state, in fact there were 727 "fours").
In addition to the 203-mm B-4 howitzer and its modifications, 152-mm high-power Br-2 guns and 280-mm mortars of special power Br-5 were installed on the same carriage. Initially, in 1937, Br-2s were made with fine cuts. However, the survivability of their barrels was extremely low - about 100 rounds.
In July-August 1938, the NIAP tested the Br-2 barrel with a deep groove (from 1.5 to 3.1 mm) and a reduced chamber. The cannon fired a projectile, which instead of two had one leading belt. According to the test results, the Art Department announced that the survivability of the Br-2 cannon had increased fivefold. Such a statement must be treated with caution, since an obvious fraud was committed: the criterion of the survivability of the gun - the drop in the initial speed - was quietly increased from 4 to 10 percent. One way or another, on December 21, 1938, the Art Department issued a decree: "To approve for gross production a 152-mm Br-2 cannon with deep groove" (weight in firing position - 18.4 tons, rate of fire - 1 round in 4 minutes, projectile weight - 49 kg, initial speed - 880 m / s, range - 25 km). Experiments with barrels Br-2 55 klb decided to stop.
In 1938, the Br-2 serial cannons did not surrender. In 1939, the army received four such guns (instead of 26 according to the plan), and in 1940 - 23 (according to the plan 30), in 1941 - none. Thus, in 1939-1940, the artillerymen received 27 Br-2 guns with deep grooves, in 1937 - seven Br-2s with fine grooves. In addition, before January 1, 1937, the industry produced 16 152-mm guns of the 1935 model (among them, apparently, were the Br-2 and its modernization B-30).
According to the state of February 19, 1941, the RVGK heavy cannon regiment was supposed to have 152-mm Br-2 cannons - 24, tractors - 104, cars - 287 and 2598 personnel. The regiment consisted of four three-battery divisions (each battery had two Br-2s).
In total, by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, taking into account the mobilization deployment, the RVGK artillery included one cannon regiment (24 Br-2) and two separate heavy cannon batteries (each with two Br-2). Total - 28 guns. In total, in the Red Army on June 22, 1941, there were 37 Br-2s, two of which required major repairs.
Tests of the 280-mm mortar Br-5 began in December 1936. Although the gun was not debugged, the Barrikady plant launched it into gross production. In total, 20 Br-5s were delivered in 1939, and 25 in 1940. In 1941, not a single mortar was handed over to the army. After the outbreak of World War II, Br-5 and Br-2 were not produced.
The 203mm B-4 howitzers were indispensable in the Red Army. Not a single major offensive was carried out without their participation. These guns especially distinguished themselves during the breakthrough of the Finnish defense on the Karelian Isthmus in the summer of 1944 and the assault on the fortified cities - Berlin, Poznan, Konigsberg and others.
By June 22, 1941, there were 395 thousand shells for the B-4. During the war years, another 470 thousand pieces were produced, and 661.8 thousand were spent.
Wheels instead of tracks
As already mentioned, when designing the B-4, our engineers fundamentally abandoned the platform on which all the weapons of similar power of the First World War were installed in a combat position.
But in those years, not a single wheel could withstand the force of recoil when fired with a full charge. They did not guess to make a pallet and effective openers, as in a 21-cm German mortar. And then clever heads decided to replace the wheeled track with caterpillar, without thinking about the weight of the system, nor - most importantly - about its cross-country ability. As a result, the exploitation of triplex guns, even in peacetime, turned into a continuous "war" with its chassis.
For example, the horizontal guidance angle of the system was only ± 4º. To turn the 17-ton B-4 colossus to a greater angle required the effort of calculating two or more howitzers. The transportation, of course, was separate. Tracked gun carriages and barreled vehicles on caterpillar tracks (B-29) had a terrible cross-country ability. Two "Cominterns" (the most powerful Soviet tractors) had to pull the carriage of the gun carriage or the barrel wagon into the icy ice. Total for the system - four "Comintern".
Work on the creation of new undercarriages for the B-4 carriage and new barreled carriages in 1936-1941 was carried out at many factories. So, in 1937, a prototype of a caterpillar track for the B-4 gun carriage was manufactured at the Barrikady plant, which received the Br-7 index. However, he did not pass the field tests and was not subject to further development.
From November 25 to December 30, 1939, the military tests of the 203-mm B-4 howitzer with the new tracked course of the T-117 carriage took place. Compared to the old caterpillar track, the T-117 had the following advantages: lower specific pressure on the ground, higher cross-country ability and speed, the system is more stable on the hike and when firing. The flaws of the T-117 were a 1330 kilogram greater weight of the stroke and the insufficient strength of the tracks.
The tracked T-117 never entered service.
In 1939, the Barrikady plant created a wheeled barrel wagon Br-15. She passed factory tests from April 28 to May 7, 1940, showed better cross-country ability than the Br-10, and was recommended for adoption, subject to alteration of the brakes. But that did not happen. And in general, having a towed triplex on a caterpillar track, significant improvements in maneuverability and transport speed could not be achieved. And what good is it if a wheeled barrel wagon moves twice as fast as a tracked carriage? The cardinal solution to the issue could only be the transition of the triplex to a new wheeled carriage.
On February 8, 1938, the AU of the Red Army approved the tactical and technical requirements for the development of a 203-mm howitzer and a 152-mm cannon on a single wheeled carriage and with a single barrel wagon. The swinging parts of the guns, ballistics and ammunition were to be taken from the 152-mm Br-2 cannon and the 203-mm B-4 howitzer.
The art department signed an agreement with the Molotov plant in Perm (No. 172) for the development of a duplex project by May 1939. The prototype was to be manufactured in November 1939. In Perm, the duplex was assigned the factory index M-50 and was limited to this, citing the busyness of the designers with the design of the 107-mm M-60 divisional cannon and the 203-mm M-40 corps howitzer.
The plant returned to work on the M-50 only at the beginning of 1940. On June 9, the Art Department demanded that Plant No. 172 ensure that the body of a 280-mm mortar Br-5 was also placed on the carriage, that is, the duplex was turned into a triplex. In the end, the Permians developed his project, which received the designation M-50. The carriage had a sliding riveted bed. On the first carriage there was a trunk and a pallet (turntable), on the other - a carriage. During the transition to the firing position, the carriage ran into the pallet. However, by June 22, 1941, the M-50 triplex was only on paper.
To remedy the situation, the AU of the Red Army in December 1939 tried to involve factories No. 352 (Novocherkassk) and Uralmash in the design of the triplex, but they did nothing.
Meanwhile, in 1940, two 21-cm Mrs.18 mortars purchased from Germany were tested at ANIOP. Perm designers, under the leadership of A. Ya. Drozdov, developed a project for superimposing the guns of our triplex and 180-mm cannon on the carriage of the "German". In fact, new artillery systems turned out - the 152-mm M-70 cannon, the 180-mm M-71 cannon, the 203-mm M-72 howitzer and the 280-mm M-73 mortar.
To speed up the work, the art department sent one 21-cm mortar to Perm, since the full set of technical documentation for it was not received from Germany.
In the design bureau of plant No. 172, technical projects were developed - M-70, M-71, M-72 and M-73, and a significant part of the working drawings was prepared. However, it was not possible to make prototypes of new guns due to the workload of the plant with the release of serial guns.
Note that the 203mm B-4 howitzer had a maximum elevation angle of + 60º and increasing it to + 70º significantly expanded its capabilities. However, the existing steepness of the rifling of the B-4 barrel could not give the desired accuracy, that is, it was necessary to change the internal structure of the barrel.
The war prevented the implementation of the unique project M-70, M-71, M-72 and M-73. But already in 1942, Soviet designers resumed the fight against the tracked carriage of the Br-2, B-4 and Br-5 triplex.
In 1942, V. G. Grabin designed the 152-mm S-47 cannon, representing the superposition of the swinging part of the Br-2 on the reinforced carriage of the 122-mm A-19 cannon. But, alas, nothing good happened.
In the post-war period, GAU hindered the development of new Grabin guns of high and special power, and in return, in 1947-1954, it carried out a major overhaul of all B-4s at the Barrikady plant. By that time, the ATT artillery tractor was adopted, which developed a speed of up to 35 km / h. But as soon as he started to go faster than 15 km / h, the B-4 chassis collapsed. GAU demanded that TsNII-58 create a new move for the B-4. Grabin's resolution was short: "Any modernization is impossible."
Then the designers of SKB-221 of the Barrikady plant took up the initiative on a proactive basis, and in April 1954, the development of a technical design for a new carriage was completed, and already in December two experimental wheeled carriages with a 203-mm B-4 and 152 howitzer installed on them -mm gun Br-2 was sent for testing. The new wheeled carriage was adopted in 1955. The 203-mm howitzer on this gun carriage was indexed B-4M, the 152-mm gun - Br-2M, and the 280-mm mortar - Br-5M. New bodies of howitzers, guns and mortars were not produced, only carriages were replaced.
The 203 mm B-4M wheeled howitzer remained in service and in warehouses until the end of the 80s. And in 1964, for the B-4M, the design of a special (nuclear) projectile 3BV2, which allowed a firing range of up to 18 kilometers, began.
