Largest caliber. The largest artillery caliber in the USSR

EQUIPMENT AND WEAPONS No. 7/2009, pp. 32-42

A.F. Ryabets,

Leading engineer of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "TsKB "Titan".

Photos and diagrams provided by Federal State Unitary Enterprise "TsKB "Titan"

Artillery of the largest calibers

Before we begin the story about the unique development of a 650-mm gun for testing aerial bombs in SKB-221, it is necessary to recall previous events directly related to it.

In the early 1950s. there were several systems worthy of the attention of designers on the essence of the issue: a German 800-mm cannon on a railway installation (“Heavy Gustav” - after the name of the director of the Krupp company, replaced by “Dora” - the name of the place where the garrison with this gun was stationed), American stationary 914-mm gun “Little David”1, as well as variants of large-caliber guns in the USSR.

After the victory in the USSR, numerous engineering commissions were organized to study the weapons and equipment of the defeated fascist Germany. Much later came in handy, although opinions varied. So, Guard Artillery Lieutenant General V.I. Voznyuk, who was the chairman of the commission for the study rocket weapons, reported: “There is nothing new for us!” A similar conclusion was made by a commission from the Rzhevka training ground under the leadership of Colonel N.D. Fedyushin after studying the components of one of the 800-mm railway guns delivered to the USSR.

Components of the exploded Dora and captured charges for it.

For almost four years, parts of the captured gun lay waste near Leningrad. In 1950, by order of D.F. Ustinov, these units were transported to Stalingrad to the Barrikady plant to study and use the barrel in new developments.

About developments at TsNII-58

V.G. Grabin included in the list of his projects for 1947 topic 09-25 “650-mm smoothbore gun for testing aerial bombs”2. In this regard, he began studying materials on “Dora” and the American 914-mm mortar “Little David”.

Grabin’s close attention to methods of delivering aerial bombs to targets was not accidental. Immediately after the Great Patriotic War, the United States began to create a huge ocean-going fleet, which was planned to include dozens of aircraft carriers, battleships and cruisers. To combat them, fortress guns firing armor-piercing bombs could be used.

After the study of topic 09-25, the USSR Council of Ministers Resolution No. 968-371 of March 9, 1949 followed, according to which TsNII-58 was tasked with developing a smooth-bore gun with a replaceable barrel of 650 and 400 mm caliber, and the “ammunition” GSKB-47 of the Ministry of Agricultural Engineering - 15 00 kg aerial bomb “Albatross-3” and 650 kg bomb “Albatross-1”.

The design drawings for the 650-mm gun were indexed S-76, and the 400-mm gun was indexed S-773. The project involved the manufacture of two separate barrels - 400 mm (for BRAB 1500) and 650 mm (for BRAB 3000), tightly closed from the treasury. Loading had to be done from the muzzle. Through a special ball bearing in the breech, the barrel rested on a massive reinforced concrete foundation. At the defense of the draft design, representatives of the Naval Engineering and Aviation Service Directorate and NII-13 rejected the Grabin project due to "with the complexity of manufacturing." Subsequently, already in 1968, to the question asked by V.G. To Grabin by the journalist of the Smena magazine E. Mesyatsev, “were ultra-long-range guns like “Fat Bertha” or “Dora” in service in the Soviet artillery forces?”, the famous designer answered like this: “...Our design bureau had to design a 650-mm gun. I must say that it is very difficult to make such guns- one weapon requires a whole factory, and the need for them, as practice has shown, is small.”4

Topic BR-101

But bombing with large-caliber guns was not forgotten. At the end of the 1940s. This method became interested in the head of the subdepartment of the Naval Artillery Central Design Bureau (MATSKB, from 1948 - TsKB-34), the future head of SKB-221 G.I. Sergeev.

While working in Leningrad, he repeatedly met with his friend from Taganrog E.N. Preobrazhensky (they did an internship together at the G.M. Beriev Design Bureau). By this time, Evgeniy Nikolaevich was a Hero of the Soviet Union (awarded for the bombing of Berlin in 1941), with the rank of Colonel General of Aviation, he was the Commander-in-Chief of Naval Aviation (1950). He was interested in the quality of air throwing of new modifications of aircraft bombs, and consulted with Georgy Ivanovich on the issue of using ordinary land guns for test bombing, since dropping bombs from aircraft in this case is much more expensive. But the main thing is that during testing you need to accurately hit the armored target and penetrate it, but hitting a point target even from a small height is a serious problem5. You also need to carefully inspect and measure the target after each penetration, to determine the nature of the interaction of penetrating ammunition with the obstacle. In the absence of any theoretical work, including the theory of similarity, the only way to simulate the situation in those years was shooting from artillery systems.

Editorial Help 800 mm railway gun "Dora" ("Heavy Gustav") In 1936, the Krupp company began developing a super-powerful gun to combat the fortifications of the French Maginot Line. It was alleged that this was a personal order from Hitler. The Wehrmacht High Command issued an order when the preliminary design was ready in 1937. The range was supposed to reach 35-45 km, which met the requirements for long-range artillery, but the gun was not classified as “ultra-long-range”. Gustav Krupp (formally, his wife Bertha, who owned the main stake) allocated 10 million Reichsmarks for the implementation of the order. The development was led by Erich Müller, nicknamed “Müller Cannon”. The gun received unofficial name"Heavy Gustaw" (Schwerer Gustaw). By the time the first 80-cm railway installation (80-cm Kanone (Eisenbahn)) was assembled in 1941, the Maginot Line, as well as the fortifications of Belgium and Czechoslovakia, were in German hands. They wanted to use the gun against the British fortifications of Gibraltar, but it was necessary to install through Spain, which did not meet either the load-carrying capacity of the bridges or the intentions of the dictator Franco. Range firing of the first gun (still without some mechanisms) was carried out at the training ground in Hillersleben (Saxony) in September-October 1941, a fully assembled gun - in November- December in Rügenwald (Pomerania). The length of the gun barrel is 40.6 calibers (32.48 m), the weight of the barrel is 400 tons. Separate loading - the main charge in a metal sleeve (for obturation), additional charges in caps. A high-explosive projectile weighing 4.8 tons carried 700 kg of explosives, a concrete-piercing projectile weighing 7.1 tons carried 250 kg, the charges for them weighed 2 and 1.85 tons. starting speed shells - 820 and 710 m/s, respectively, firing range - up to 47 and up to 38 km. The concrete-piercing projectile penetrated steel armor up to 1 m thick, 8 m of reinforced concrete plus a layer of earth up to 32 m thick. The projectile had a body made of chromium-nickel steel, a leading belt, and a ballistic tip. The length of the concrete-piercing projectile without a ballistic tip is 2.54 m, the length of the tip is 1.54 m. The bolt is a horizontal wedge. The opening of the bolt and the delivery of shells was carried out by hydraulic devices. Recoil devices are pneumohydraulic. The cradle under the barrel was mounted between two supports, each of which occupied one railway track and rested on four five-axle platforms. The vertical guidance mechanism had electric drive. Two electric lifts with trolleys were used to supply shells and charges: the left one was for shells, the right one was for charges. Three trains were required to transport all parts (the barrel was transported on three platforms). Components of the exploded Dora at the Barricades plant. To mount the gun in position, the railway track was branched through switches, laying four curved parallel branches. The bend allowed horizontal guidance. The gun supports were driven onto the two inner branches, and two 110-ton Ardelt overhead cranes, necessary for assembling the gun, moved along the outer ones. The position occupied an area 4120-4370 m long. The assembled gun was moved by two diesel locomotives with a power of 1050 hp. every. Preparing the position and assembling the gun took from one and a half to six and a half weeks. The total mass of the assembled installation is 1350 tons, length - 47.97 m, width - 7.1 m, height (at a barrel elevation angle of 0°) - 11.6 m. Elevation angle - up to 53°. Rate of fire - up to 3 shots per hour. In February 1942, the first gun, known as the Dora (or D-Great), was sent for combat testing to the Crimea at the disposal of the 11th Army. The main task was the shelling of Soviet 305-mm armored coastal batteries No. 30 and No. 35, besieged Sevastopol, the city’s port facilities, and ammunition depots hidden in the rocks. "Dora" is in a firing position. The operation of the gun was carried out by the separate 672nd heavy railway artillery division (Schwere Artillerie-Abteilung (E) 672), formed in January 1942. The crew of the gun was about 500 people, but with a guard battalion, a transport battalion, two trains for transporting ammunition, an energy train, field bakery, commandant's office accounted for up to 1,420 people per installation. In Crimea, the installation was given a group of military police, a chemical unit for setting up smoke screens and reinforced anti-aircraft division- aviation was considered the main enemy of railway artillery. In total, 4,370 people ensured the operation of the gun. The position was equipped by June near Bakhchisarai, 20 km from Sevastopol. An entry appeared in the combat diary of the 54th Army Corps on June 6: "Dora" fired at the Molotov fort with seven shells, and Sukharnaya Balka with eight shells. There was a large burst of fire and a cloud of smoke." Another entry: “A call came from the headquarters of the “South” group. The Fuhrer noted that shooting at the Sukharnaya Balka ammunition depot was not a target for Dora, since it was intended primarily for the destruction of reinforced concrete structures. The Fuhrer allows Dora to fire only at such targets. The headquarters of the 11th Army did not report any shooting at the ammunition depot. Perhaps one of the gentlemen representing this headquarters reported this to the headquarters of the ground forces.” From June 5 to June 17, the gun fired 48 shots, mostly with concrete-piercing shells (according to other sources, 48 ​​with concrete-piercing shells and five with high-explosive shells). Together with field tests, this amounted to about 300 shots and exhausted the life of the barrel. The weapon was taken away. Some sources indicate that five shells hit the intended targets. Researchers argue about the effectiveness of the shooting, but agree that it did not correspond to the size and cost of the 80-cm “monster”, and that the old elongated 21-cm field mortars would have played a big role. They intended to transfer the gun to Leningrad, but did not have time to do this. Gustav von Bohlen und Halbach Krupp hastened to show his loyal feelings and on July 24, 1942, wrote to Hitler: "My Fuehrer! The large weapon, which was created on your personal orders, has now proven its effectiveness. It writes a glorious page in the history of the Krupp factories... Following the example set by Alfred Krupp in 1870, my wife and I ask as a favor that the Krupp factories be allowed not to charge for this first copy.”“Unselfishness” could not last long: for the following copies, the Krupp company received seven million Reichsmarks. General Guderian recalled that at the demonstration of the Heavy Gustav 2 (or Gerat 2) gun to the top leadership of the Wehrmacht and the Ministry of Armaments on March 19, 1943 in Rügenwald, Dr. Müller said that from it “You can also shoot at tanks.” Guderian retorted: “Shoot, yes, but don’t hit!” Reports of the use of an 80-cm cannon in the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 are questioned by many researchers (although Warsaw, like Sevastopol, was fired upon by a 60-cm self-propelled mortar of the Karl type). Krupp managed to manufacture components for the third ordered installation, but did not begin to assemble it. Further work super-powerful guns have lost their meaning. 914 mm mortar "Little David" The basis of the Little David mortar was the project of a 914-mm “device” for testing by shooting high-explosive, armor-piercing and concrete-piercing aerial bombs - attempts to use the bored barrels of the British 234-mm and American 305-mm howitzers for this did not meet the growing calibers of aerial bombs. In March 1944, the “device” began to be processed into military weapon, suggesting that it would be used against Japanese fortifications in the event of a landing on Japanese islands. Was being developed high explosive shell e ready-made protrusions. Testing began at Aberdeen Proving Ground. After the abandonment of the landing operation, it was planned to transfer the mortar to the Coastal Artillery, but its use there was hampered by poor accuracy of fire. The project was suspended and closed at the end of 1946. The gun had a rifled barrel 7.79 calibers (7.12 m) long with right-hand rifling of 1/30 steepness. The length of the barrel with the sector of the vertical guidance mechanism mounted on its breech is 8.53 m, weight is 40 tons. The firing range of a projectile weighing 1690 kg (explosive charge - 726.5 kg) is 8.68 km. The mass of the full charge is 160 kg (collected from caps of 62 and 18 kg). A box-shaped installation (dimensions 5.5x3.36x3 m) with lifting and turning mechanisms was buried in the ground. Six hydraulic jacks were used to install and remove the artillery unit. Vertical pointing angles - from +45 to +65°, horizontally - 13° to the right and left. The hydraulic recoil brake was concentric, there was no knurl, and after each shot the barrel returned to its original position using a pump. The mass of the assembled gun is 82.8 tons. The M26 tank tractor was specially modified for movement - one tractor with a two-axle trailer transported the mortar, the other transported its installation. Installing the mortar in position required about 12 hours. Loading - separate cap, from the muzzle. The projectile was fed by a crane at zero elevation angle, advanced a certain distance, after which the barrel rose, and further loading was carried out by gravity. The igniter capsule was inserted into a socket in the breech of the barrel. Nowadays the mortar and its shell are kept in the museum of the Aberdeen Proving Ground, which they never left.

The Dora barrel was delivered to Rzhevka and then to the Barrikady plant.

Tests using shots from artillery systems were carried out even before the Great Patriotic War. So, in 1936-1939. Armor-piercing aerial bombs BRAB-220, BRAB-500 and BRAB-1000 were adopted into naval aviation. True, only BRAB-220 was tested with the help of artillery systems. Specialists from GSKB-47 also became interested in this method, where new armor-piercing bombs were created according to the Air Force technical specifications dated March 18, 1948. The work was carried out in the department headed by A.F. Turakhin6, and S.A. was appointed leading engineer. Drevlev. A special 380 mm caliber artillery system was required, corresponding to the diameter of the BRAB-500 bomb.

Since the early 1950s. This topic was taken up in SKB-221, which was headed by G.I. Sergeev. Independent development was required, and the young chief designer always strived for this. The topic was registered on August 30, 1951 under index BR-1017. Interestingly, this happened on G.I.’s birthday. Sergeev, as if after the call from E.N. Preobrazhensky with congratulations on his 40th birthday, or maybe it just happened that way.

Unfortunately, the initiative of the chief designer of SKB-221 initially did not receive approval from the director of the Barrikady plant, R.A. Turkova. He rightly believed that a single order for such a powerful plant was not interesting. I had to prove the possible benefits of solving this problem, and also remind me of the considerable amount promised for each shot... As a result, R.A. Turkov agreed. Subsequently, the fate of this topic fell on the shoulders of the chief engineer of the plant A.S. Zhikharev and chief engineer of the 6th Main Directorate MB E.B. Rossius. Five years later they will continue their activities in the Council of National Economy of the Stalingrad region, where they will again take part in Sergeev’s developments.

The designers proposed to use for the BR-101 project the barrel of a 356-mm gun (TPSh - “three hundred and fifty-six”) previously created at the Barrikady plant with boring it to a diameter of 380 mm. As conceived by the designers, the smoothbore gun was installed on a stand of the 406-mm B-37 gun ( naval gun, developed on the eve of the war for battleships of the " Soviet Union"and located at the Rzhevka training ground). Drawings, all necessary documentation, as well as technical processes developed under the leadership of the deputy chief technologist A.F. Kostryukov, were put into production at the end of September 1951. In October, the BR-101 barrel was manufactured. Its factory tests began at training ground No. 55 (Rzhevka).

Aerial bombs designed by GSKB-47 were fired against armored shields. At the same time, new NII-22 MSKHM fuses were tested as part of aerial bombs. The results exceeded all expectations, and the bomb was approved for state testing. Later it was put into service and entered the series under the name BRAB-500M-55. This bomb became known among the troops under the symbol 4-B-060.

Topic BR-105

The successful work on bombing from the barrel of the BR-101 inspired Navy aviators to issue a new, more complex task, which was called “Hawk”.

But now G.I. Sergeev did not immediately agree. The task was more serious than the previous one. Throwing three tons out of a barrel bore - no one had ever done this in the USSR! In addition, even the TTZ project did not exist yet. The aviators outlined the “Hawk” theme. Therefore, only on April 5, 1952, the topic BR-105 was registered under the title “Design of an unrifled 650-mm barrel of an installation for shooting and testing BRAB-1500 and BRAB-3000 aerial bombs.” The registration was carried out by the head of research department No. 6 V.I. Heifetz. He was also entrusted with further development.

At the very first meeting at the Ministry of Armaments of the USSR on the topic “Hawk”, the developers were asked to use components of the aforementioned German 800-mm “Dora” and the project of V.G. Grabina.

As already mentioned, Dora units weighing about 500 tons (out of a total weight of 1345 tons) were stored on the territory of the Barrikady plant. They were placed in different corners. The 800 mm barrel, for example, was located in workshop No. 6. In 1954, Yu.A. saw him there. Zhurkin, whom his father brought to the workshop to get acquainted with his future place of work.

From the memoirs of veteran AA Zharov: “I took part in the study of German cannon components. We, the designers, were given a separate room, all the furniture was taken out of it and a smooth floor was laid. We carried out drawings on it and soon realized that these nodes would not be useful to us.”

The same thing happened with the development of TsNII-58. A study of the “Explanatory Note for the 650/400 Project”8 sent from there on December 15, 1952 suggested that it was not worth returning to this option.

Only in the summer of 1952 did the TTZ project appear, which was completed in the 9th Naval Aviation Directorate (headed by Major General ITS M.I. Kruglov). The following organizations were involved in the development of the topic:

GSKB-47 - developer of BRAV. Head - S.A. Bunin9;

SKB-221 - developer of the swinging part. Chief designer - G.I. Sergeev;

The Barrikady plant is a manufacturer of swinging parts. Director - R.A. Turkov;

Testing ground No. 55 of the Navy - testing and ensuring delivery to the Barrikady plant of the MK-1 cradle and the breech with a B-37 bolt for mating with the BR-105 barrel. The commander of the training ground is engineer captain 1st rank I.A. Yakhnenko;

NII-6 MSKHM - calculation of ballistics and selection of charges. Director - T.I. Agafin;

Military unit 27210 - provision of necessary gunpowder and charges. Commander - Rear Admiral V.N. Melnikov (later this military unit was transformed into ANIMI, then into ANIOLMI, 28 Scientific Research Institute of Moscow Region, 1 Central Research Institute of Moscow Region);

NII-13 - choice of obturation. Director - F.A. Kupriyanov;

TsKB-34 - modification (if necessary) of the MK-1 cradle and the breech with the B-37 bolt. Head-Chief Designer - I.I. Ivanov.

After agreement with the listed performers, on November 10, 1952, the 9th Naval Aviation Directorate sent to SKB-221 a tactical and technical task on the topic “Hawk” entitled “Development and production of an unrifled barrel for shooting armor-piercing bombs BRAB-1500 and BRAB-3000 and its application to the MP-10 range machine at training ground No. 55 of the Navy.” The document stipulated the following deadlines:

Defense of the preliminary design - in the first quarter of 1953;

Issue of technical design - in the third quarter of 1953;

Manufacturing and delivery - in the second quarter of 1954.

The study of the Dora, S-76 and S-77 systems has ended.

And, as they say, “go your own way!” Designers involved in the development: AI. Bogrov, N.A. Vasiliev, V.I. Zhunenkov, V.G. Novozhilov, L.N. Tkachenko, N.I. Elansky, L.P. Tsygan, A.I. Vaskov, V.A. Petrov, T. Kulicheva V.G. Chelyukanov, A.I. Chernova; calculators: A.B. Shkarin, V.G. Barinov, E.P. Shilyaeva, L.A. Anokhina, E.I. Fomina, E.V. Orlova.

The details of their activities are clarified from the “Minutes of the meeting of the technical council of SKB-221” dated June 23, 1953. We present it with slight abbreviations10.

Agenda:

1. Discussion of the technical design of the 650 mm unrifled barrel BR-105.

Speaker - Head of the 6th Department of SKB V.I. Heifetz;

Co-speaker-opponent - senior design engineer A.B. Shkarin.

“The customer gave us the basic requirements for the barrel: the barrel must provide an initial bomb velocity of 400 m/s at a pressure in the channel of no more than 600 kg/cm2.

As a result of our preliminary calculations, it was established that, under the given conditions, the length of the barrel should be about 23-24 m and, since the metallurgical capabilities of the plant made it impossible to produce a solid barrel of such length, a clause was added to the technical specifications stating that design is allowed and production of a composite barrel.

The preliminary design of the barrel, developed by us in accordance with the issued TTZ, provided for the production of a composite pipe 23 m long. The parts of the barrel were connected to each other using a threaded coupling or using a thermal coupling.

Loading was carried out entirely from the treasury, for which serious alterations were made to the loading devices of the MP-10 machine. A new breech and bolt were made for the barrel. A 150-ton crane11 was provided for installation at the position.

A particular difficulty in developing the project was performing ballistic calculations, since there was no proven methodology for calculating unrifled barrels of this caliber.

Used by SKB MB (where the head is Hero Socialist Labor Comrade B.I. Shavyrin) the method of ballistic calculation of mortars was tested for calibers up to 320 mm, for which it gave a good agreement between theoretical calculations and practice.

In the course of Professor N.E. Serebryakov’s “Internal Ballistics”, the methodology he presented for the ballistic calculation of mortars is illustrated by an example of the calculation of an 82-mm mortar.

Naturally, we could not apply mechanically, without proper verification, the calculation method for the 82-mm mortar or the SKB MB method, since we could get a completely distorted result. Therefore, we decided to test these methods based on the results of shooting BRAB-500.

The calculations carried out for BRAB-500 gave a large discrepancy with the actual shooting data. As it turned out later, this discrepancy was due to the fact that the firing range told us the wrong ballistic characteristics of the gunpowder used for shooting, and also because when shooting the BRAB-500, incomplete combustion of the gunpowder was noted on all shots.

Since we did not receive verification of the calculation methodology by processing the BRAB-500 shooting data, a ballistic calculation was made for the BRAB-3000 and BRAB-1500 using the SKB MB method of Professor N.E. Serebryakov and according to the methodology applied by NII-58.

The resulting barrel length was further increased by 1.2 m.

In order to further verify our results, the Ministry recommended that the specialized institute NII-6 be involved in participation in ballistic calculations. Ballistic calculations for our barrel were carried out by Professor, Doctor of Technical Sciences G.V. Oppokov. However, he did not obtain any new results different from ours and no changes were made to the project based on NII-6 calculations.

The preliminary design presented by the plant was considered by NII-13, TsKB-34, the 9th Naval Aviation Directorate and the Ministry of Armament. According to ballistic calculations, all of these organizations refused to give any conclusion due to the lack of a proven calculation method...

Having critically examined all the comments on the preliminary design of the barrel, we came to the following conclusions:

1 . By loading point

To replace the first loading scheme, a new loading scheme has been developed in the technical design.

According to this scheme, the bomb is loaded from the muzzle, and the charge from the treasury. The charge dimensions make it possible to fully use all the charging mechanisms of the MP-10 machine without any modifications. To load the bomb, a special tray was designed and installed on a railway platform.

The bomb is pulled into the bore using a hand winch...

The newly developed loading scheme was reviewed by the Ministry of Defense Industry with the participation of representatives of the AU-VMS, 9th Naval Aviation Directorate, GSKB-47, NII-13 on April 1, 1953 and was approved.

The new technical specifications indicate that the loading circuit must correspond to the developed schematic design.

2. Along the trunk

We posed to the customer the question of increasing the maximum pressure or reducing the initial speed of the bomb. The fact is that a bomb speed of 400 m/s corresponds to a bombing altitude at which the practical probability of hitting a ship or other armored target is zero. The customer was forced to agree with our arguments, and the speed of the bomb was reduced to 325 m/s, with P max = 600 kg/cm2.

As shown by ballistic calculations with a rational choice of gunpowder brand, in this case it is possible to limit the barrel length to 18-18.5 m, at which it becomes possible to manufacture a solid barrel.

In this regard, a new barrel with a length of 18.5 m was developed in the technical project. The barrel consists of an internal pipe 01-1, having a wall thickness of almost the entire length of 50 mm and only in the breech at a length of about 1.5 m the wall thickness reaches 120-130 mm.

The relatively small thickness of the pipe walls is explained by the limited capabilities of the plant's metallurgical production, since even such a pipe requires an ingot of 145 tons.

Two cylinders 01-2 and 01-3 are put on the pipe while hot, forming the second layer...

The barrel chamber of the BR-105 has a diameter of 464 mm with a bore diameter of 650 mm. The transition is smooth over a length of 575 mm. This chamber design arose as a result of our decision to use the B-37 bolt for the BR-105 barrel. The obturator ramp is unified with the B-37.

All external dimensions of the barrel are selected in such a way as to ensure complete balancing of the swinging part without any additional loads.

The outer contour of the barrel, mating with the breech and cradle, is the same with the B-37, thanks to this it is possible to pair with the B-37 breech and MK-1 cradle...

3. By breech with bolt

For the barrel of the BR-105, the breech with the bolt of the 406-mm B-37 gun, used in 1950 for the 305-mm ballistic barrel of the SM-E50, is used completely without any modifications.

In this case, all the B-37 parts removed from the breech and bolt and replaced with SM-E50 parts must be put back in place, and the bolt must be restored to the form in which it was on the B-37 gun. Such a constructive solution to the issue will make the manufacture of the barrel much easier and cheaper.

The issue of using a breech with a B-37 bolt for the BR-105 barrel, previously used for the SM-E50 barrel, was agreed with the Naval Administration (letter from the deputy head of the Navy Administration, engineer-captain 1st rank V.A. Sychev).

As for the recommendation of NII-13 to make a new obturation for the BR-105 barrel from RK-9 mass due to the low pressure in the barrel, SKB-221 cannot agree with this recommendation. BRAB-500 bombs were fired from B-37 and TPSh barrels equipped with conventional seals; the pressure during firing did not exceed 300-400 kg/cm2 and there were no comments on the functioning of the seal. Therefore, we have no reason to doubt the reliability of the seal made from M-66 mass at a pressure in the barrel bore of up to 600 kg/cm2.

Table of charges for firing BRAB-3000 and BRAB-1500 aerial bombs.

4. By placing the BR-105 barrel on the swinging part of the 406 mm MK-1 gun and the MP-10 range machine

To check the possibility of applying the BR-105 barrel to the swinging part of the MK-1 and the MP-10 machine, it was necessary to make a careful calculation of the recoil devices. The calculation showed that with an initial bomb speed of 325 m/s, it would be possible to meet the recoil length of the B-37 barrel and the maximum value of the recoil resistance force of this system without replacing the spindles. It will only be necessary to increase the initial pressure in the knurls from 115 kg/cm2 to 140 kg/cm2. Such an increase can be allowed...

Conclusion of Sergeev G.I. - Head of SKB

There will be technological difficulties in the manufacture of the barrel, but they are not decisive here, since the product is single and unique.

In general, the direction in design has been taken in the right direction. It is necessary to consider the issue of reducing the diameter of the trunk and the number of layers. Needed in the shortest possible time make clarifications based on the comments expressed here and submit the draft for approval.

Secretary of the technical council

V.I. Kheifets (08/14/1953).”

Judging by the date of defense of the technical project, the designers met the schedule approved by the minister and the head of the Naval Administration. This was not achieved so easily. The correspondence alone amounted to several volumes. They have been preserved in the GAVO and provide an opportunity to recall several fundamental disagreements between departments and ways to resolve them.

As an example, let’s look at solving questions on ballistics12.

The proposed loading option can be seen in the given fragment of the technical design (see figure above)13.

No one knew how the process of burning gunpowder would go. As already mentioned, the ministry recommended involving one of the prominent scientists in the field of ballistics, G.V., in solving the problem. Oppokova. Contacted him. He prepared a whole work on this topic called “The Problem of Forecasting” (!). But it did not contain any specific recommendations. The author wrote: “...The main difficulty of the task is that it was necessary to carry out the ballistic design of a very large-caliber smoothbore barrel in the absence of a theory for solving the direct problem of internal ballistics and sufficiently reliable experimental data necessary for the accurate calculation of the barrel and charge.”

But this was not the difficulty, according to OKB-221 specialists. The fact is that in all modern guns at that time, the diameter of the chamber was greater than the diameter of the barrel, but here it’s the other way around. The Leningraders “tried their best” when they “redesigned” the project. I had to G.I. Sergeev and his assistants have to decide everything themselves, i.e. take responsibility.

We came to the conclusion that the required ballistics are provided provided that it is loaded from the treasury. Such a scheme was presented in the preliminary design of BR-105. In Leningrad, where the preliminary design was sent for approval to NII-13 and TsKB-34, the chief engineers, respectively, L. G. Shershen and A. G. Gavrilov immediately convened a meeting at which a decision was made aimed at “...against alterations in the feeding and loading mechanisms of the MP-10 machine.” Offered: “...the diameter of the bore is assumed to be 464 mm (the same as in the B-37 barrel). The bomb is loaded from the muzzle, and the charge from the treasury"14.

However, G.I. Sergeev objected to such changes, rightly believing that when loading from the muzzle, ballistics would not be provided at all required speed. But the owners of the MP-10 machine insisted on their own and almost put an end to this topic. And when their remark was taken into account in the technical design, then when considering it, the charge developers at NII-6 were categorically against such a loading scheme, since this could lead to "...increasing pressure and increasing the strength of bombs." They began to ask questions: “On what basis did the plant adopt a barrel length of 18.5 m instead of 23.24 m?”, “Why did the plant abandon the most advantageous type of chamber (widened)?” and many others.

From that moment on, endless meetings began at NII-6. And if at NII-13 they got by with one meeting, then here, in Moscow, at Noginskoye Shosse, building 8, seven protocols of heated meetings left a trace.

The significance of the moment is indicated by the positions and names of representatives of various organizations participating in these meetings.

From NII-6 MSHM: Deputy Director M.I. Vorotov, deputy director for scientific affairs A.K. Vostrukhin, A.S. Vladimirov, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor G.V. Oppokov, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor M.E. Serebryakov, head of laboratory No. 7 ST. Mud-cancer, B.P. Fomin, N.P. Vorobyova, chemists L.V. Dubnov, head of department K.I. Bazhenov, military representative of AN. Kuzmina.

From GSKB-47 MOP: department heads A.F. Turakhin, V.V. Yakovlev, S.D. Drevalev.

From military unit 27210: engineers-colonels of the AP. Petrov, S.V. Soloviev.

From OSAT GAU Navy: engineers-colonels A. Zakharyants, N.M. Kulybin, V.P. Seletsky, engineer-captain 1st rank N.G. Rumyantsev, A. Filimonov, E.P. Ivanov.

From the 9th Naval Aviation Directorate: Engineer Colonels SM. Kandykin, A.G. Krishtopa, Sh.K. Rakhmatulin, engineer-captain 2nd rank S.N. Sokolov, P.F. Maikov, engineer major V.I. Loskov.

From MOP: G.P. Volosatov, AS Spiridonov, Lapekin, V.A. Tyurin, I.V. Pechernikova, I.M. Markovich, V.I. Kuteynikov, topic leader - E.I. Kozlova.

From SKB-221 and the Barrikady plant: G.I. Sergeev, V.I. Kheifets, R.A. Turkov, E.P. Shilyaeva15.

At the final stage, the meeting was attended by the head of the Main Administration of the Navy, Rear Admiral V.N. Osiko, Deputy Commander of Naval Aviation, Major General D. Shushnin, Deputy Minister of Defense Ministry A.V. Domrachev.

One can note a certain pattern in these meetings. Each was attended by senior military representative of OSAT Navy K.N. Pozhilkov (as it was supposed to be) and SKB-221 representative E.P. Shilyaeva. In the correspondence of that time, the same phrases are found: “Invite ballistics calculator E.P. Shilyaev"; “Please forward the workbook to Shilyaeva.”

Where has this one of hers been? workbook! In NII-6, in the ministry, among aviators, in GSKB-47. She returned to Stalingrad several times, then again went by field communication to Moscow. The calculations carried out by Ekaterina Petrovna turned out to be the most popular. Many decisions were made and canceled based on them.

By December 1954, the selection of charges was approved16. The barrel length was taken to be 18463 mm. At his own expense, E.P. Shilyaeva received gratitude from the ministry.

From the memoirs of V.I. Heifetz: “The defense of the technical project for the 650 mm barrel in 1953 was the first defense of the independently completed work of the young team. After that, the Ministry of Defense began to consider us as a serious design organization.”

By this time, the director of the Barrikady plant had changed. R.A. Turkov went to work at OKB-1 to the joint venture. Queen. November 26, 1953 Minister D.F. Ustinov turned to the Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee N.S. To Khrushchev: “...I ask you to approve Comrade. Atroshchenko Sergei Nikolaevich Director of Plant No. 221 of the Ministry of Defense Industry "". The appointment took place on January 6, 1954.

GSKB-47 improved the BRAB-3000 aerial bombs to meet the new requirements of the Yastreb-1 (M-107) theme. It’s good that these changes did not affect SKB-221. Department V.I. Heifetz dealt with new topics: for example, wheel drives for a 203-mm howitzer were designed, and other important directions were opened. So the theme “Yastreb” (“Yastreb-1”), frankly speaking, got boring. Legs. Sergeev always brought everything to its logical conclusion and did not tolerate relaxation. He demanded that all attention be given to the production of the BR-105 barrel. This is the main thing, the rest of the components did not count - for a week of work.

The production of the main unit was planned for the first quarter of 1955. All the necessary drawings, including the “Instructions for relieving thermal stresses by hydraulic method” and technical processes, were sent to the workshops. Apparently, the preparation for production was carried out very poorly or not at all. Questions and explanations poured in!

The choice of steel grades for the manufacture of barrel parts turned out to be difficult. The assistant director of the plant for metallurgy, Chumakov, asked many enterprises in the country to produce an ingot weighing 190-200 tons. Refusal came from everywhere. The metallurgical bureau had to develop its own technology, focused on the capacity of the Barrikady plant.

Here it is also advisable to give some examples of the hard work of plant specialists.

“Due to the repair of a 6,000-ton press, as well as the fulfillment of orders for people’s democracies, workshop 12 is forced to carry out large forgings of BR-105 behind schedule”18.

“Due to the fact that the BR-105 table weighs more than one hundred tons, the crane of workshop 14 needs to be modified in terms of replacing the cables...” etc.

The issues raised were resolved, but mostly through administrative measures. For example, the following instruction from the chief has been preserved mechanical production G.A. Shipulina: “Acting head of workshop 1 comrade. AND I. Mironov, deputy head of the workshop comrade. M.P. Polyansky, senior master M.V. Ovcharov is personally responsible for performing all machining operations on the BR-105 barrel...”

The final machining of the barrel bore was carried out after fastening the pipe with the cylinders and the casing (i.e., the assembly at this point was more than 18 m long) and after screwing the thrust nut into the casing. The craftsmen of the 1st workshop ensured the required cleanliness of machining the internal bore of the barrel. Then E.A. worked on fine-tuning. Kurganov, M.I. Potapov, P.O. Yurov. Boring was done by I.A. Milyukov, I.S. Kalugin, P.I. Rykunov.

Welding of two cylinders was carried out using a special technology after heating the fastening elements to a temperature of 500°C. To perform this operation, it was necessary to chisel the floor foundation and go two meters deep, since the height of the unit did not allow inserting the trunk into the furnace. Axial temperature stresses were also removed here.

Drawings of three armor-piercing bombs that were in use by 1955.

in the stage of development or state testing (from top to bottom):

BRAB-3000, BRAB-1500, BRAB-6000.

In the summer of 1955, the BR-105 barrel was ready and "...performed at a very high level." Well, the equipment and specialists met the requirements of that time, and such tasks were feasible. In the end, two tasks remained - to connect the barrel with the breech and bolt, borrowed from the B-37 gun, and with the cradle of the MK-1 machine and send the whole thing to Leningrad.

And the failures began again. Military unit 31331, where the units necessary for fastening were located, categorically refused to send them, since they were constantly used to test other experimental systems. They were unconditionally supported in this by TsKB-34, NII-13, and the Bolshevik plant.

And only with the knowledge of the Deputy Chief of the Naval Administration A. Filimonov, the MK-1 cradle and the breech with the B-37 bolt entered assembly in Stalingrad. Mating took place quickly.

Now it was necessary to deliver the barrel, cradle, breech, bolt and other components to the training ground. We have been preparing for this moment for a long time. Loading scheme developed by V.I. Zhunenkov, agreed with the management railways back in 195319 But the railway workers refused to deliver a heavy-duty platform to the plant, because they had already sent it more than once, but due to the delay in the production of the BR-105 barrel, the acutely in short supply 230-ton transporter was idle every time.

The passion for shipping was so great that they even planned to use the Dora railway platforms, which, after a three-year stay at the plant, were sent with all components for storage in Prudboy at the factory site. But it didn’t come to that. In December 1955, the BR-105 barrel with components from the B-37 and MK-1 was finally delivered to its destination. But they did not immediately install the delivered components on the MP-10 machine. As reported in the summer of 1957, “...Due to the busyness of the MP-10 machine, according to the resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, tests of aerial bombs were not carried out”20.

Unheard of! The products, which were produced with such difficulty and expense, were kept under lock and key for almost 1.5 years. During this time, the barricades tested the following systems: BR-104 - “320-mm ballistic barrel for testing Soviet shells for the Italian main-caliber gun of the battleship Novorossiysk (former Italian battleship Giulio Cesare); SM-9 - “152-mm coastal gun”; SM-4-1 - “130-mm mechanized artillery mount with a new BR-100 chassis.”

Only in August 1957 did the team from the Barrikady plant begin reinstalling the machines to prepare the BR-105 system for delivery. It was necessary to test the strength by shooting aerial bombs at an elevation angle of 0°. Loading conditions (charge weight, grade of gunpowder, chamber length) for each subsequent shot before handing over the barrel for shooting with standard aerial bombs were selected by military specialists.

The tests ended successfully with one single remark: “There is an increase in coasting speed.” The test log contains an entry made by V.I. Heifetz: “Due to the fact that the speeds in the roll-up section for the BR-105 and B-37 vehicles are almost the same, no modifications are required.”

The period of testing the BRAB-3000 and BRAB-1500 aerial bombs, which had been expected for almost four years, turned out to be very short - September-November 1957. But even this was rated as the most interesting period for many years military service SM test engineers. Reidman, R.I. Birman, L.N. Afanasyev and others. They hit the armored shield in three shifts - making up for lost time. The tests turned out to be dangerous. According to the recollections of test site veterans, “Fragments from aerial bombs scattered far around. It was even necessary to build a fortified canopy at a tram stop, far outside the test site, to protect people. The start of each shot was announced by a deafening siren.”

Many years later. Very few necessary test documents have been found so far. From the former GSKB-47 (now GMPP "Basalt") they reported: “BRAB-1500 has not left the factory testing stage. No information about her test has been preserved."21

As for BRAB-3000, the following is described about it: “BRAB-3000 has passed factory tests. We performed comparative tests, and then regular tests, i.e. bombing from an aircraft from a height of 1200 m at a speed of 750 km/h. Flight stability under these conditions was ensured. A batch of aerial bombs began to be prepared for State tests. But events followed when both bomber aircraft and bombing were replaced by missiles. Many years of work hundreds of people turned out to be unclaimed" 22.

The Titan Central Design Bureau has preserved several volumes of books, which are called here “Proceedings of G.I. Sergeeva". In one of them, “Illustrations of products. 1950-1984,” along with iconic products, there is a drawing called “Barrel BR-105”23. The author included the most significant developments in his works. It follows that for him, work on the 650 mm barrel of the BR-105 was not so disastrous!

For testing PRS

In 1958, the BR-105 gun came under the supervision of the head of the serial artillery design bureau, S.N. Kurdeva-nijo. As he recalled, he had to maintain the BR-105 systems in full combat readiness for several more years in a row. And that's why.

By this time, D. F. Ustinov was appointed to the positions of Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and Chairman of the Military-Industrial Complex. The entire interconnection of the country's numerous enterprises involved in one or another topic was in his hands. As a zealous owner, he could not just part with the unique 650 mm barrel of the BR-105.

For example, one of the Moscow design bureaus has outlined a whole series of tests of the PRS-3500 parachute-rocket system using a unique barrel. The mass of future landing assets and objects increased. And it was decided to fire a test shot from the BR-105 gun with the BRAB-6000 product, i.e. “six-ton” (without head ring and eyelet).

Loading was carried out from the muzzle at an elevation angle of 0°, then the elevation angle was increased to 15°, fortunately the design of the system allowed this to be done. After successfully shooting a simulated bomb weighing 6 tons at a speed of 417 m/s, we began testing weighted missile launchers. The special cargo rose to a height of 500-560 m, at which the parachute opened. The ascending part of the trajectory followed a ballistic curve; at the top the trajectory ended abruptly. The load was rushing towards the landfill at an angle. And this is the main thing. Before the ground, the PRS worked or did not work. And so over and over again until positive results were obtained.

The BR-105 barrel is also associated with tests to develop ejection seats for pilots and cosmonauts24. At the same time, again, specialists from NII-6 (now FSUE TsNIIHM) determined the optimal weight of the rocket-powder engine charge, which provides the necessary ejection conditions that are not dangerous to humans.

The idea of ​​using an artillery shot to practice soft landings for parachute systems was close to being realized once again. Since 1969, the Volgograd Design Bureau was involved in the “Waterfall” theme to provide research on developing a soft landing. Deputy Chief Designer N.K. Semenov registers the topic BR-635 “Product of 320 mm caliber “Yauza” (06/06/1969). In 1972, another topic was added to this topic - BR-645 “700 mm Volga caliber product” (02/10/1972). The agreement document of intent stated: “...The pneumatic systems BR-635 and BR-645 were intended for testing parachute systems using mock-ups weighing from 30 to 15,000 kg”25.

Both systems, unfortunately, were not developed.

And yet, is shooting really cheaper than bombing? Hardly. Especially when a barrel of such a huge caliber as 650 mm is required. But in that situation it had to be designed and manufactured, since there was no other solution.

And again about "Dora"

What happened to the remains of the German "Dora"?

From 1954 to 1960 they were stored at the factory site at the station. Prudboy. The long trunk protruded halfway out of the local shed. There was security, but local boys played “war games” on it almost every day, as a resident of those places, head of the department of the Central Design Bureau “Titan” I.N., recalls. Verenitsin. Soldiers from the local training ground willingly took pictures with the exotic weapon in the background. And hundreds of photographs were sent throughout the Union. This situation did not suit either the security guards or the managers of the landfill.

On April 4, plant director S.N. At-Roshchenko wrote a petition with the following content to the chairman of the Stalingrad Council of National Economy: “...In 1953, the plant turned to the former Minister of Defense Industry, Comrade. Ustinov D.F. with a request to write off a 600 mm gun weighing 450-500 tons. into the charge. Our request was denied and we were asked to store the system until further notice.

Currently, the system is located on the plant's landfill, rusting and taking up a lot of desperately needed space.

In view of the acute shortage of carbon scrap at the plant, I ask you to resolve the issue of using this system for remelting”26.

The scribbling began. Wherever the Economic Council members E.V. wrote. Rossius and A.S. Zhikharev, the mere mention of Ustinov’s name dictated the answer: “...Please contact Comrade personally. Ustinov D.F.”, although he had long held another position. And I had to apply! The Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR instructs the Ministry of Defense and the State Committee for Defense Equipment to investigate the feasibility of storing the captured Dora.

Got it figured out! July 27, 1959 Deputy Minister of Defense Marshal of the Soviet Union A.A. Grechko and Deputy Chairman of the GKOT CM USSR S.A. Zverev reported that “they consider it possible to write off and scrap this system, since it does not represent any value”27. Resolution D.F. Ustinova: “...Accept the proposal of the USSR Ministry of Defense and GKOT to scrap the captured German railway system. Railway platforms to be used for the needs of the local Economic Council”28.

Disposal was carried out in 1960. The artillery part was cut up and melted down in the open-hearth furnace of workshop No. 11, the charges and shells were blown up in Prudboi. As for the four railway platforms, their fate was decided by the deputy head of MTS and sales of the Volgograd City Council of National Economy (1957-1963) I.G. Vorobiev. It is not known how he disposed of the trophy. But there is one known find in Prudboy, to which the Titan Central Design Bureau was related.

In 1982, a new weapon was tested in Prudboy. Designer I.V. Kovshov and tester N.L. The Turks drew attention to two fire barrels. They were of a non-standard design; there were welded taps 200 mm from the bottom. Curious gunners also noticed the capsule belt that framed each barrel from below.

I was informed about the find (the author of the article at that time was acting head of the design bureau for testing). I reported to the chief designer, who immediately ordered a letter to be written to the director of the defense museum A.V. Ivankin with a request to accept German cartridges for storage. Anatoly Vasilyevich’s reaction was immediate. He visited the place of discovery, agreed to accept the cartridges for storage and asked G.I. Sergeev to put them in order. In shop 10 the sleeves were ground, the taps were cut off, the holes were welded and painted. They were brought to the panorama by group leader N.B. Skorikov.

When the panorama “Battle of Stalingrad” was ready for opening (1982), eminent citizens were invited to the high-rise hall. G.I. was also invited. Sergeev. His first question was about the fate of the Dora cartridges. He was told that one was preserved in its standard form, the other was handed over to Leningrad restorers to make the original exhibit. In 1984, when the preview rooms of the panorama museum opened, the first visitors, among whom was G.I. Sergeev with his daughter and grandson saw this exhibit. The cartridge case was cut at an angle. The restorers inserted a map of Hitler’s Barbarossa plan into the resulting ellipse.

In this condition, these Dora cartridges are displayed at the beginning of the first viewing room to this day.

Fate decreed that while the 800-mm Dora was rotting and disappearing in the open-hearth furnaces of the Barrikady plant, the OKB designers created a unique barrel for the benefit of testing new weapons elements.

List of abbreviations

AU VMS-Artillery Directorate of the Navy BRAB - armor-piercing aerial bomb GAVO - State Archives of the Volgograd Region

GSKB - State Special Design Bureau

KPA - Control and testing apparatus of MSHM - Ministry of Agricultural Engineering of the USSR

MB - Ministry of Armament of the USSR OSAT GAU Navy - Department of Special Aviation Equipment of the Main Artillery Directorate of the Naval Forces

PRS - Parachute-rocket system SNKh - Sovnarkhoz

Notes:

1. From a letter from military unit 27177 ref.23v/1541 dated May 8, 2008 and Shirokorad A.B. Russia and Germany. History of military cooperation. - M., 2007, p.234.

2. Khudyakovs A.P. and S.A. Artillery genius. - M., 2007, p. 568.

3. Shirokorad A.B. The genius of Soviet artillery. - M., 2002, p.297.

6. Aleksey Fedorovich Turakhin was born on February 22, 1896. Higher education. Graduated from the Artillery Academy and Higher Academic Aviation Courses. In GSKB-47 (FSUE SNPP Basalt) from 1930 to 1970 A.F. Turakhin is one of the first organizers of the design of Soviet aerial bombs BRAB-220, BRAB-500, BRAB-1000. Known as a talented designer who for many years occupied a leading place in Soviet aircraft bomb construction, the author of the first Soviet welded high-explosive bombs FAB-50, FAB-250, FAB-1000 (1932), incendiary bomb ZAB-1-E (1935), armor-piercing bombs BRAB-250, BRAB-500, BRAB-1000 (1941), AG-2 aircraft grenade (1941), PLAB-100 anti-submarine bomb (1941).

Awarded the title of laureate of the Stalin Prize (1943). Awarded the Order of the Red Star, the Red Banner of Labor, the Badge of Honor and medals.

7. How was the BR index assigned? In 1951 G.I. Sergeev decided to revive the assignment of the “barricade” index to newly developed products. A special journal was established, issued only with his permission, in which the next number, name, number, division and signature were indicated.

8. Was registered under No. 972 dated December 15, 1952 (not preserved).

9. Sergei Alekseevich Bunin was born on March 09, 1907. Graduated from the Tula Mechanical Institute (1936). He began his career in 1926 as a mechanic's apprentice at plant No. 6 in Tula. Since 1937 at plant No. 68. Worked as deputy shop manager, supervisor technical department, chief engineer. Since 1939 - director of plant No. 68. In 1945, he was appointed director of plant No. 77, and two years later - director of STZ. From Stalingrad he was sent to the post of Deputy Minister of Agricultural Engineering. Since 1952 S.A. Bunin worked as the head of GSKB-47. Awarded the Order of Lenin, the Red Banner of Labor, the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, and medals.

10. GAVO, f. 127, op. 4, no. 770.

11. From the funds of the Central Design Bureau “Titan”, No. 1757 (roll 49), preliminary design.

12. Copy of the decision on technical advice, GAVO, f. 127, op. 4, no. 770.

13. From the funds of the Central Design Bureau “Titan”, No. 2713 (roll 49), technical. project.

14. GAVO, f. 127, op. 4, d. 772, l.32. Present at this meeting were:

From TsKB-34: chief engineer A.G. Gavrilov, topic leader A.I. Ukhov, head of the 22nd department V.M. Kovalchuk, head of the 20th department A.V. Cherenkov, leading designers V.E. Sokolov and M.E. Dorfman.

From NII-13: chief engineer L.G. Shershen, chief designer A.V. Dmitriev, chief technologist V.P. Myasnikov, head of KB-2 B.C. Krasnogorsky, head of laboratory No. 25 V.V. Rozhdestvensky, senior researcher 3.3. Gurevich.

15. GAVO, F. 127, op.4, D.554.

16. Materials of the Central Design Bureau “Titan” No. 1925, l.20 (item 4, part 14)

17. GAVO, F. 6575, op.38, d.7, l.35.

18. GAVO, F. 127, op.4, D.869, l. 115.

19. From the funds of the Central Design Bureau “Titan”, No. 3464 (roll 49)

20. GAVO, F.6575, op.9, D.5, l.2.

21. From the letter of the State Research and Production Enterprise "Basalt" ref.3118 - 8/300 dated January 31, 2008, signed by the head of the museum V.G. Boychenko.

22. Ibid.

23. From the funds of the Central Clinical Hospital “Titan”, No. 6234. rice. 20.

24. For a long time, there were legends about the use of the BR-105 barrel after testing aerial bombs. And only from the transmitted stories of S.N. Kurdeva-nidza became aware of the additional use of a barrel from the Yastreb system.

25. From the funds of the Central Clinical Hospital “Titan”, No. 8000.

26. GAVO, F.6575, op.9, d.25, l.29.

27. GAVO, F.6575, op.9, d.25, l.83.

28. GAVO, F.6575, op.9, d.25, l.82.

At different times in different countries, designers began to experience an attack of gigantomania. Gigantomania manifested itself in various directions, including artillery. For example, in 1586 in Russia the Tsar Cannon was cast in bronze. Its dimensions were impressive: barrel length - 5340 mm, weight - 39.31 tons, caliber - 890 mm. In 1857, the Robert Mallett mortar was built in Great Britain. Its caliber was 914 millimeters and its weight was 42.67 tons. During World War II, Germany built the Dora, a 1,350-ton monster with a caliber of 807 mm. Other countries also created large-caliber guns, but not so large.

American designers were not noticed in the Second World War in gun giantomania, however, they too turned out to be, as they say, “not without sin.” The Americans created the giant Little David mortar, the caliber of which was 914 mm. “Little David” was the prototype of a heavy siege weapon with which the American military was going to storm the Japanese islands. During World War II, large-caliber naval artillery gun barrels removed from service were used to test armour-piercing, concrete-piercing and high-explosive aircraft bombs at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. The test bombs were launched using a relatively small powder charge launching them at distances of several hundred yards. This system was used because in a routine airdrop, much often depended on the crew's ability to strictly adhere to test conditions and weather conditions. Attempts to use the bored barrels of 234 mm British and 305 mm American howitzers for such tests did not meet the growing calibers of aerial bombs.

In this regard, it was decided to design and build a special device that threw aircraft bombs called Bomb Testing Device T1. After construction, this device proved itself quite well and the idea arose of using it as an artillery weapon. During the invasion of Japan, the American army was expected to encounter heavily defended fortifications - and such a weapon would be ideal for destroying bunker fortifications. In March 1944, the modernization project was set in motion. In October of the same year, the gun received the status of a mortar and the name Little David. After this, test firing of artillery shells began.

The “Little David” mortar had a rifled barrel 7.12 m long (7.79 caliber) with right-hand rifling (rifling steepness 1/30). The length of the barrel, taking into account the vertical guidance mechanism mounted on its breech, was 8530 mm, weight - 40 tons. The firing range of a 1690 kg (explosive mass is 726.5 kg) projectile is 8680 m. The mass of the full charge was 160 kg (caps of 18 and 62 kg). The initial projectile speed is 381 m/s. A box-shaped installation (dimensions 5500x3360x3000 mm) with rotating and lifting mechanisms was buried in the ground. Installation and removal of the artillery unit was carried out using six hydraulic jacks. Vertical pointing angles - +45. +65°, horizontal - 13° in both directions. The hydraulic recoil brake was concentric, there was no knurl, and a pump was used to return the barrel to its original position after each shot. The total weight of the assembled gun was 82.8 tons. Loading - from the muzzle, separate cap. The projectile at zero elevation angle was fed using a crane, after which it advanced a certain distance, after which the barrel rose, and further loading was carried out under the influence of gravity. An igniter primer was inserted into a socket made in the breech of the barrel. The Little David shell crater was 12 meters in diameter and 4 meters deep.

For transportation, specially modified M26 tank tractors were used: one tractor with a two-axle trailer transported the mortar, the other transported the installation. This made the mortar much more mobile than railway guns. The artillery crew's equipment, in addition to tractors, included a bulldozer, a bucket excavator and a crane, which were used to install the mortar at the firing position. It took approximately 12 hours to install the mortar in position. For comparison: the disassembled German 810/813-mm Dora gun was transported on 25 railway platforms, and it took about 3 weeks to bring it into combat readiness.

In March 1944, they began converting the “device” into a military weapon. A high-explosive projectile with ready-made protrusions was being developed. Testing began at Aberdeen Proving Ground. Of course, a projectile weighing 1678 kilograms would have made a noise, but the Little David had all the “diseases” inherent in medieval mortars - it hit inaccurately and not far. In the end, something else was found to frighten the Japanese (Little Boy - atomic bomb, dropped on Hiroshima), but the supermortar never took part in the fighting. After the abandonment of the operation to land Americans on the Japanese Islands, they wanted to transfer the mortar to the Coastal Artillery, but poor accuracy of fire prevented its use there.

The project was suspended, and at the end of 1946 it was completely closed.

Currently, the mortar and shell are stored in the museum of the Aberdeen Proving Ground, where they were taken for testing.

Specifications: Country of origin: USA. Testing began in 1944. Caliber - 914 mm. Barrel length - 6700 mm. Weight - 36.3 tons. Range - 8687 meters (9500 yards).

|slideshow-40880 // Most large-caliber gun in the world|

Here's the news today:

The artillery units of the Eastern Military District (EMD) received a batch of 203-mm Pion self-propelled artillery systems.

The head of the district's press service, Colonel Alexander Gordeev, told Interfax-AVN on Thursday. »Today, the Pion self-propelled gun is considered the most powerful self-propelled artillery unit in the world. Its main armament is a 203-mm cannon, weighing more than 14 tons. It is located at the rear of the installation. The gun is equipped with a semi-automatic hydraulic loading system, which allows this process to be carried out at any barrel elevation angle,” said A. Gordeev.

He noted that when developing the chassis of the installation, components and assemblies of the T-80 tank were used. “The self-propelled gun has an individual torsion bar suspension,” the officer specified.

Let's learn more about this weapon:

On August 29, 1949, the first Soviet atomic bomb was tested: both warring factions began to possess nuclear weapons. With the buildup of strategic nuclear weapons by both sides in the conflict, it became obvious that an all-out nuclear war was unlikely and pointless. The theory of “limited nuclear war» with limited use of tactical nuclear weapons. In the early 1950s, the leaders of the warring parties faced the problem of delivering these weapons. The main delivery vehicles were the B-29 strategic bombers, on the one hand, and the Tu-4, on the other; they could not effectively strike at the advanced positions of enemy troops. The most suitable means were considered to be corps and divisional artillery systems, tactical missile systems and recoilless rifles.

The first Soviet artillery systems armed with nuclear weapons were the 2B1 self-propelled mortar and the 2A3 self-propelled gun, but these systems were bulky and could not meet the requirements for high mobility. With the beginning of the rapid development of rocket technology in the USSR, work on most samples of classical artillery, on the instructions of N. S. Khrushchev, was stopped.

Photo 3.

After Khrushchev was removed from the post of First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, work on artillery topics was resumed. By the spring of 1967, a preliminary design of a new heavy-duty self-propelled artillery mount (SAU) based on the Object 434 tank and a full-size wooden model had been completed. The project was a self-propelled gun closed type with a cutting installation for a tool designed by OKB-2. The model received negative reviews from representatives of the Ministry of Defense, but the proposal to create a self-propelled gun of special power interested the USSR Ministry of Defense, and on December 16, 1967, by order No. 801 of the Ministry of Defense Industry, research work was begun to determine the appearance and basic characteristics of the new self-propelled gun. The main requirement put forward for the new self-propelled guns was the maximum firing range - at least 25 km. The selection of the optimal caliber of the gun, as directed by the GRAU, was carried out by the M. I. Kalinin Artillery Academy. During the work, various existing and developed artillery systems were examined. The main ones were the 210 mm S-72 gun, the 180 mm S-23 gun and the 180 mm MU-1 coastal gun. According to the conclusion of the Leningrad Artillery Academy, the ballistic solution of the 210-mm S-72 gun was considered the most suitable. However, despite this, the Barrikady plant, to ensure continuity of manufacturing technologies for the already developed B-4 and B-4M guns, proposed reducing the caliber from 210 to 203 mm. This proposal was approved by GRAU.

Simultaneously with the choice of caliber, work was carried out on the selection of the chassis and layout for the future self-propelled guns. One of the options was the chassis of the MT-T multi-purpose tractor, based on the T-64A tank. This option received the designation “Object 429A”. An option based on heavy tank T-10, designated "216.sp1". Based on the results of the work, it turned out that an open installation of the gun would be optimal, while none of the existing types chassis, due to the high force of resistance to rollback of 135 tf when firing. Therefore, it was decided to develop a new chassis with the maximum possible unification of components with the tanks in service with the USSR. The resulting developments formed the basis of the development work under the name “Peony” (GRAU index - 2S7). "Peony" was supposed to go into service with the artillery divisions of the reserve of the Supreme High Command to replace the 203-mm towed howitzers B-4 and B-4M.

Photo 4.

Officially, work on a new self-propelled gun of special power was approved on July 8, 1970 by Resolution of the CPSU Central Committee and the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 427-161. The Kirov plant was appointed the lead developer of the 2S7; the 2A44 gun was designed at OKB-3 of the Volgograd Barrikady plant. On March 1, 1971, tactical and technical requirements for the new self-propelled guns were issued, and by 1973, approved. According to the assignment, the 2S7 self-propelled gun was supposed to provide a non-ricochet firing range from 8.5 to 35 km with a high-explosive fragmentation projectile weighing 110 kg, while it was supposed to be able to fire a 3VB2 nuclear shot intended for the 203-mm B-4M howitzer. The speed on the highway had to be at least 50 km/h.

The new chassis with a stern mounted gun was designated “216.sp2”. In the period from 1973 to 1974, two prototypes of the 2S7 self-propelled guns were manufactured and sent for testing. The first sample underwent sea trials at the Strugi Krasnye training ground. The second sample was tested by fire, 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, the Pion system was adopted by the Soviet army. In 1977, at the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Technical Physics, nuclear ammunition was developed and entered into service for the 2S7 self-propelled gun.

Photo 5.

Serial production of the 2S7 self-propelled guns began in 1975 at the Leningrad Kirov Plant. The 2A44 gun was produced by the Volgograd Barricades plant. Production of the 2S7 continued until the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 1990 in Soviet troops was transferred last batch of 66 vehicles 2S7M. In 1990, the cost of one 2S7 self-propelled artillery mount was 521,527 rubles. Over 16 years of production, more than 500 units of 2S7 of various modifications were produced.

In the 1980s, there was a need to modernize the 2S7 self-propelled guns. Therefore, development work was started under the code “Malka” (GRAU index - 2S7M). First of all, the question was raised about replacing the power plant, since the V-46-1 engine did not have sufficient power and reliability. For the Malka, the V-84B engine was created, which differed from that used in the T-72 tank in the features of the engine layout in the engine-transmission compartment. With the new engine, the self-propelled gun could be refueled not only with diesel fuel, but also with kerosene and gasoline.

Photo 6.

The chassis of the car was also modernized. In February 1985, the self-propelled gun with a new power plant and modernized chassis was tested. As a result of the modernization, the service life of the self-propelled guns was increased to 8,000-10,000 km. To receive and display information from the senior battery officer's vehicle, the gunner's and commander's positions were equipped with digital indicators with automatic data reception, which reduced the time it took to transfer the vehicle from the traveling to the combat position and back. Thanks to the modified design of the stowage, the transportable ammunition load was increased to 8 rounds. The new loading mechanism made it possible to load the gun at any vertical pumping angle. Thus, the rate of fire was increased by 1.6 times (up to 2.5 rounds per minute), and the fire mode - by 1.25 times. To monitor important subsystems, regulatory monitoring equipment was installed in the vehicle, which continuously monitored weapons components, the engine, the hydraulic system and power units. Serial production of the 2S7M self-propelled gun began in 1986. In addition, the crew of the vehicle was reduced to 6 people.

At the end of the 1970s, based on the 2A44 cannon, a project for a naval artillery installation under the code “Pion-M” was developed. The theoretical mass of the artillery mount without ammunition was 65-70 tons. The ammunition load 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. However, due to the fundamental disagreement of the Navy leadership with the use large caliber, work on the Pion-M artillery mount did not progress beyond the project.

Photo 7.

Armored Corps

The 2S7 “Pion” self-propelled gun is made according to a turretless design with an open installation of the gun in the rear of the self-propelled gun. The crew consists of 7 (in the modernized version 6) people. During the march, all crew members are placed in the self-propelled gun hull. The body is divided into four compartments. In the front part there is a control compartment with a seat for the commander, driver and a place for one of the crew members. Behind the control compartment is the engine and transmission compartment with the engine. Behind the engine-transmission compartment there is a crew compartment, in which there are stowages with shells, a place for a traveling gunner and places for 3 (in the modernized version 2) members of the crew. In the aft compartment there is a folding opener plate and a self-propelled gun. The 2S7 body is made of two-layer bulletproof armor with the thickness of the outer sheets being 13 mm and the inner sheets being 8 mm thick. The crew, being inside the self-propelled guns, is protected from the consequences of the use of weapons of mass destruction. The housing weakens the effect of penetrating radiation three times. Loading of the main gun during self-propelled gun operation 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 gun. The loader is located to the left of the gun, controlling the process using the control panel.

Photo 8.

Armament

The main armament is the 203-mm 2A44 cannon, which has a maximum rate of fire of 1.5 rounds per minute (up to 2.5 rounds per minute on the modernized version). The gun barrel is a free tube connected to the breech. A piston valve is located in the breech. The gun barrel and recoil devices are placed in the cradle of the swinging part. The swinging part is fixed to the upper machine, which is mounted on an axis and secured with bastings. Recoil devices consist of a hydraulic recoil brake and two pneumatic knurling devices located symmetrically relative to the barrel bore. This 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 angle of vertical pointing of the gun. The recoil length when fired reaches 1400 mm. Sector-type lifting and rotating mechanisms provide gun guidance in the angle range from 0 to +60 degrees. vertically and from -15 to +15 degrees. along the horizon. Guidance can be carried out either by hydraulic drives, powered by the SAU 2S7 pumping station, or by 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 crew members, the self-propelled gun is equipped with a loading mechanism that ensures that shots are fed to the loading line and delivered to the gun chamber.

A folding base plate, located at the rear of the hull, transfers the force of the shot to the ground, providing greater stability of the self-propelled gun. With charge No. 3, the Peony could fire directly without installing a coulter. The transportable ammunition load of the Pion self-propelled gun is 4 rounds (8 for the modernized version); the main ammunition load of 40 rounds is carried in the transport vehicle attached to the self-propelled gun. The main ammunition includes 3OF43 high-explosive fragmentation shells; in addition, 3-O-14 cluster shells, concrete-piercing and nuclear ammunition can be used. Additionally, the 2S7 self-propelled gun is equipped with a 12.7-mm NSVT anti-aircraft machine gun and portable anti-aircraft guns missile systems 9K32 "Strela-2".

Photo 9.

To aim the gun, the gunner's position is equipped with a PG-1M artillery panoramic sight for firing from indirect firing positions and an OP4M-99A direct fire sight for firing at observed targets. To monitor the terrain, the control department is equipped with seven prismatic periscopic observation devices TNPO-160, two more TNPO-160 devices are installed in the hatch covers of the crew compartment. To operate at night, some of the TNPO-160 devices can be replaced by TVNE-4B night vision devices.

External radio communication is supported by the R-123M radio station. The radio station operates in the VHF range and provides stable communication with similar stations at a distance of up to 28 km, depending on the height of the antenna of both radio stations. Negotiations between crew members are carried out through intercom equipment 1B116.

Photo 10.

Engine and transmission

The power plant in the 2S7 was a V-shaped 12-cylinder four-stroke diesel engine V-46-1 liquid-cooled supercharged with a power of 780 hp. The V-46-1 diesel engine was created on the basis of the V-46 engine installed on T-72 tanks. Distinctive Features The B-46-1 had minor layout changes associated with its adaptation for installation in the engine compartment of the 2S7 self-propelled gun. The main difference was the changed location of the power take-off shaft. To make it easier to start the engine winter conditions A heating system is installed in the engine-transmission compartment, developed on the basis of a similar system of the T-10M heavy tank. During the modernization of the 2S7M self-propelled guns, the power plant was replaced with a V-84B multi-fuel diesel engine with a power of 840 hp. The transmission is mechanical, with hydraulic control and a planetary rotation mechanism. Has seven forward and one reverse gears. The engine torque is transmitted through a bevel gearbox with a gear ratio of 0.682 to two onboard gearboxes.

Photo 11.

The 2S7 chassis is based on the main T-80 tank and consists of seven pairs of double rubber-coated road wheels and six pairs of single support rollers. There are guide wheels at the rear of the machine and drive wheels at the front. In the combat position, the guide wheels are lowered to the ground to give the self-propelled gun greater resistance to loads when firing. Lowering and raising is carried out using two hydraulic cylinders attached to the axles of the wheels. Suspension 2S7 - individual torsion bar with hydraulic shock absorbers.

Photo 12.

Special equipment

The preparation of the firing position was carried out using a coulter in the rear of the self-propelled gun. Raising and lowering the opener was carried out using two hydraulic jacks. Additionally, the 2S7 self-propelled gun was equipped with a 9R4-6U2 diesel generator with a power of 24 hp. The diesel generator was designed to ensure the operation of the main pump of the hydraulic system of the self-propelled gun during parking, when the vehicle engine was turned off.

Vehicles based

In 1969, at the Tula NIEMI, by decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated May 27, 1969, work began on the creation of a new front-line S-300V anti-aircraft missile system. Research carried out at NIEMI together with the Leningrad VNII-100 showed that there was no chassis suitable in terms of load capacity, internal dimensions and cross-country ability. Therefore, KB-3 of the Leningrad Kirov Plant was given the task of developing a new unified tracked chassis. The following requirements were imposed on the development: total weight - no more than 48 tons, load capacity - 20 tons, ensuring the operation of equipment and crew under conditions of the use of weapons of mass destruction, high maneuverability and cross-country ability. The chassis was designed almost simultaneously with the 2S7 self-propelled gun and was maximally unified with it. The main differences include the rear location of the engine-transmission compartment and the drive wheels of the tracked propulsion unit. As a result of the work carried out, the following modifications of the universal chassis were created.

- “Object 830” - for the 9A83 self-propelled launcher;
- “Object 831” - for the 9A82 self-propelled launcher;
- “Object 832” - for the 9S15 radar station;
- “Object 833” - in the basic version: for the multi-channel missile guidance station 9S32; in version "833-01" - for the 9S19 radar station;
- “Object 834” - for command post 9S457;
- “Object 835” - for launch-loading installations 9A84 and 9A85.
The production of prototypes of the universal chassis was carried out by the Leningrad Kirov Plant. Serial production was transferred to the Lipetsk Tractor Plant.
In 1997, by order of the Engineering Troops of the Russian Federation, a high-speed trench vehicle BTM-4M “Tundra” was developed for making trenches and digging in frozen soil.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, funding for the armed forces in Russia sharply decreased, and military equipment practically ceased to be purchased. Under these conditions, a military equipment conversion program was carried out at the Kirov Plant, within the framework of which civil engineering vehicles were developed and began to be produced on the basis of the 2S7 self-propelled guns. In 1994, the highly mobile crane SGK-80 was developed, and four years later its modernized version, the SGK-80R, appeared. The cranes weighed 65 tons and had a lifting capacity of up to 80 tons. In 2004, by order of the Department of Traffic Safety and Ecology of the Ministry of Railways of Russia, self-propelled tracked vehicles SM-100 were developed, designed to eliminate the consequences of rolling stock derailments, as well as to carry out emergency rescue operations after natural and man-made disasters.

Photo 13.

Combat use

During operation in the Soviet army, self-propelled guns "Pion" were never used in any armed conflict, but were intensively used in high-power artillery brigades of the GSVG. After the signing of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, all self-propelled guns "Pion" and "Malka" were withdrawn from service Armed Forces Russian Federation and redeployed to the Eastern Military District. The only episode of combat use of 2S7 self-propelled guns was the war in South Ossetia, where the Georgian side of the conflict used a battery of six 2S7 self-propelled guns. During the retreat, Georgian troops hid all six 2S7 self-propelled guns in the Gori area. One of the 5 self-propelled guns 2S7 discovered by Russian troops was captured as a trophy, the rest were destroyed.
In November 2014, Ukraine, in connection with the armed conflict, began reactivating and bringing its existing 2S7 installations into combat condition.

In the 1970s, the Soviet Union attempted to re-equip the Soviet army with new models artillery weapons. The first example was the 2S3 self-propelled howitzer, presented to the public in 1973, followed by the 2S1 in 1974, 2S4 in 1975, and the 2S5 and 2S7 were introduced in 1979. Thanks to new technology The Soviet Union significantly increased the survivability and maneuverability of its artillery forces. By the time mass production of the 2S7 self-propelled gun began, the US already had a 203-mm M110 hull self-propelled gun in service. In 1975, the 2S7 was significantly superior to the M110 in key parameters: OFS firing range (37.4 km versus 16.8 km), transportable ammunition (4 shots versus 2), power density (17.25 hp/t versus 15, 4), however, the 2S7 self-propelled gun was served by 7 people versus 5 on the M110. In 1977 and 1978, the US Army received improved M110A1 and M110A2 self-propelled guns, which had a maximum firing range increased to 30 km, but they could not surpass the 2S7 self-propelled gun in this parameter. An advantageous difference between the Pion and the M110 self-propelled guns is the fully armored chassis, while the M110 has only the engine and transmission compartment armored.

In the DPRK in 1978, on the basis of the Type 59 tank, the 170-mm Koksan self-propelled gun was created. The gun allowed firing at a distance of up to 60 km, but had a number of significant disadvantages: low barrel survivability, low rate of fire, low chassis mobility and lack of portable ammunition. In 1985, an improved version was developed; this weapon appearance and the layout was reminiscent of a 2S7 self-propelled gun.

Attempts to create systems similar to the M110 and 2S7 were made in Iraq. In the mid-1980s, development of the 210 mm AL FAO self-propelled gun began. The gun was created as a response to the Iranian M107, and the gun was supposed to be significantly superior to this self-propelled gun in all respects. As a result, a prototype of the AL FAO self-propelled gun was manufactured and demonstrated in May 1989. The self-propelled artillery mount was a G6 self-propelled howitzer chassis, on which a 210 mm gun was mounted. The self-propelled gun was capable of reaching speeds on the march of up to 80 km/h. The barrel length was 53 calibers. Firing could be carried out either with conventional 109.4 kg high-explosive fragmentation projectiles with a bottom notch and a maximum firing range of 45 km, or with projectiles with a bottom gas generator with a maximum firing range of up to 57.3 km. However, those that followed in the early 1990s economic sanctions against Iraq prevented further development of the weapon, and the project did not go beyond the prototype stage.

In the mid-1990s, the Chinese company NORINCO, based on the M110, developed a prototype of a 203-mm self-propelled gun with a new artillery unit. The reason for the development was the unsatisfactory firing range of the M110 self-propelled gun. The new artillery unit made it possible to increase the maximum firing range of high-explosive fragmentation shells to 40 km, and active-reactive shells to 50 km. In addition, the self-propelled gun could fire guided, nuclear projectiles, as well as cluster projectiles that lay anti-tank mines. The production of the development prototype did not progress further.

As a result of the completion of the Pion development work, the self-propelled guns entered service with the Soviet Army, embodying the most advanced ideas for designing high-power self-propelled guns. For its class, the 2S7 self-propelled gun had high performance characteristics(maneuverability and relatively short time for transferring the self-propelled guns to the combat position and back). Thanks to the 203.2 mm caliber and the maximum firing range of high-explosive fragmentation shells, the Pion self-propelled gun had high combat effectiveness: for example, in 10 minutes of fire raid, the self-propelled gun is capable of “delivering” about 500 kg of explosive to the target. The modernization carried out in 1986 to the 2S7M level allowed this self-propelled gun to meet the requirements for promising artillery weapon systems for the period until 2010. The only drawback noted by Western experts was the open installation of the gun, which did not allow the crew to be protected from shell fragments or enemy fire when working in position. It was proposed to further improve the system by creating guided projectiles of the “Daredevil” type, the firing range of which could be up to 120 km, as well as improving the working conditions of the self-propelled gun crew. In fact, after the withdrawal from the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and redeployment to the Eastern Military District, most of the 2S7 and 2S7M self-propelled guns were sent for storage, and only a small part of them remained in operation.

Photo 14.

But look at this interesting example of a weapon:

Photo 16.

Experimental self-propelled artillery unit. The development of the self-propelled guns was carried out by the Central Design Bureau of the Uraltransmash plant, the chief designer was Nikolai Tupitsyn. The first prototype of the self-propelled gun was built in 1976. In total, two copies of the self-propelled gun were built - with a 152-mm caliber gun from the Akatsiya self-propelled gun and with a gun from the Giatsint self-propelled gun. The “object 327” self-propelled gun was developed as a competitor to the “Msta-S” self-propelled gun, but being quite revolutionary, it remained an experimental self-propelled gun. The self-propelled guns were different high degree automation - reloading of the gun was carried out regularly by an automatic loader with the gun located externally with the ammunition rack placed inside the self-propelled gun body. During tests with two types of guns, the self-propelled guns showed high efficiency, but preference was given to the more “technological” models - 2S19 “Msta-S”. Testing and design of self-propelled guns were discontinued in 1987.

The name of the object “puck” was unofficial. The second copy of the self-propelled gun with the 2A37 gun from the Giatsint self-propelled gun has stood at the training ground since 1988 and is preserved in the museum of the Uraltransmash PA.

There is also a version that the prototype self-propelled gun shown in the photo is the only prototype that was also tested on the topics “object 316” (prototype of self-propelled gun “Msta-S”), “object 326” and “object 327”. During testing, guns with different ballistics were installed on a rotating platform turret. The presented sample with a cannon from the Giatsint self-propelled gun was tested in 1987.

Photo 17.

Photo 18.

sources

http://wartools.ru/sau-russia/sau-pion-2s7

http://militaryrussia.ru/blog/index-411.html

http://gods-of-war.pp.ua/?p=333

Look at the self-propelled guns, and here recently. Look at what it looked like before The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -

Military history has a huge number of memorable facts, which include the creation of weapons, which to this day amaze with the scope of engineering thought and its size. Over the entire existence of artillery, several artillery pieces of impressive dimensions were created. Of these, the most outstanding in size can be noted:

• Little David;
• Tsar Cannon;
• Dora;
• Charles;
• Big Bertha;
• 2B2 Oka;
• Saint-Chamond;
• Rodman;
• Capacitor.

Little David

"Little David", made by the Americans at the end of World War II, is an experimental model of a 914 mm mortar. Even in our time this is the most big gun in the world, record holder among large-caliber.

Tsar Cannon

The Tsar Cannon, created by master Andrei Chokhov in 1586, is cast in bronze and has a large caliber of 890 mm.

In fact, the cannon never fired, even despite the legends that say it was shot with the ashes of False Dmitry. As a detailed study of the gun shows, it was not completed, and the ignition hole was never drilled. The cannonballs from which the pedestal for the Tsar Cannon is made today were not actually intended to be fired from it. The cannon was supposed to fire “shots”, which were stone cannonballs with a total weight of up to 800 kilograms. That is why its early name sounds like “Russian Shotgun”.

Dora

The brainchild of the German plant "Krupp" in the late thirties of the last century, named after the wife of the chief designer, it is called "Dora" and is a super-heavy railway artillery gun from the Second World War. This is the largest cannon of the German army.

Its caliber is 800 mm, and its large-caliber charge was impressive in the destruction after the shot. However, it did not differ in shooting accuracy, and it was not possible to fire many shots, because the costs of its use were not justified.

Charles

In the Second world war The German heavy self-propelled mortar “Karl” was destined to distinguish itself with its outstanding power, the large caliber of which was its main value, amounting to 600 mm.

Tsar Cannon (Perm)

The Perm Tsar Cannon, made of cast iron, has a caliber of 508 mm and, unlike its namesake, is still a military weapon.

The manufacture of the cannon dates back to 1868, and the order for it was issued to the Motovilikha Iron Cannon Factory by the Ministry of the Navy.

Big Bertha

The Big Bertha mortar, with a caliber of 420 mm and a firing range of 14 kilometers, is remembered as the largest artillery piece of the First World War.

It is famous for breaking through even two-meter concrete floors, and fifteen thousand fragments from its fragmentation shells could fly up to two kilometers. In total, no more than nine examples were built of the “fort killers,” as the “Big Bertha” was also called. Having a fairly large caliber, the gun was capable of firing with a frequency of one shot every eight minutes, and to soften the recoil, an anchor attached to the frame, which was buried in the ground, was used.

Oka

The Soviet-developed 2B2 “Oka”, with a 420mm caliber, could fire one shot with a range of twenty-five kilometers in five minutes. The active-reactive mine flew twice as far and weighed 670 kg. The shooting was carried out using nuclear charges.

However, as practice has shown, the possibility of long-term operation was complicated by too strong recoil. This was the reason for the refusal to put the gun into mass production, and only one “Oka” remained in the metal version. This is despite the fact that only four copies were produced.

Saint-Chamond

In May 1915, the front saw eight French railway guns from the Schneider-Creusot company.

Their creation was the responsibility of a special commission formed by the French government in 1914, from which large arms concerns received an offer to develop large-caliber guns for railway transporters. Particularly powerful 400 mm cannons, produced by the Saint-Chamon company, took part in hostilities a little later than their predecessors from Schneider-Creusot.

Rodman

In the nineteenth century, new types of weapons began to appear in the form of armored trains and armored ships. To combat them, in 1863, the Rodman Columbiad gun was manufactured, weighing 22.6 tons. The barrel caliber was 381 mm. The name of the gun was taken in honor of an early example of a similar type.

Capacitor

The parade, which took place on Red Square in 1957, is notable for the fact that the Condenser self-propelled artillery unit (SAU 2A3) marched in the column of troops.

Its considerable caliber (406 mm) and impressive dimensions made a splash at the parade. Experts from other countries began to suspect that in fact the equipment shown at the parade was purely of a sham nature and was intended to intimidate, but in reality it was a real combat installation, which was also shot at the training ground.

It is not for nothing that artillery is called the “god of war.” Since its appearance on the battlefield, it has become one of the main and most important striking forces of the ground forces.

Tsar Cannon
The “Tsar Cannon” is decorated with intricate patterns and has several inscriptions engraved on it. Experts are confident that the gun was fired at least once, but historical evidence for this has not been found. Today the Tsar Cannon is included in the Guinness Book of Records and is one of the main Moscow attractions.

Self-propelled mortar "Karl"
This is German self-propelled gun period of the Second World War. "Karl" had a caliber of 600 mm and a weight of 126 tons. A total of seven copies of this weapon, which would be more correctly called a self-propelled mortar, were built. The Germans built them to destroy enemy fortresses or other heavily fortified positions. Initially, these guns were developed for the assault on the French Maginot Line, but due to the transience of the campaign they were never used. For the first time, mortars were used on the Eastern Front; the Nazis used them during the storming of the Brest Fortress, and then during the siege of Sevastopol. At the end of the war, one of the mortars was captured by the Red Army, and today anyone can see this self-propelled gun in the armored museum in Kubinka, near Moscow.

"Crazy Greta"
“Mad Greta” is one of the few large-caliber medieval forged guns that have survived to this day. The cannon fired stone cannonballs; its barrel consisted of 32 forged steel strips, fastened with numerous hoops. The dimensions of the Greta are truly impressive: its barrel length is 5 meters, its weight is 16 tons, and its caliber is 660 mm.

Howitzer "Saint-Chamond"
This cannon was so large that it had to be mounted on a railway platform. The total weight of the structure was 137 tons, the gun could send projectiles weighing 641 kg over a distance of 17 km. True, in order to equip a position for Saint-Chamond, the French were forced to lay railway tracks.

Faule Mette
Unfortunately, none of these guns have survived to this day, so the characteristics of the gun can only be restored from the descriptions of its contemporaries. “Lazy Metta” was made in the German city of Braunschweig at the beginning of the 15th century. Master Henning Bussenschutte is considered its creator. The gun had impressive dimensions: weight about 8.7 tons, caliber from 67 to 80 cm, the mass of one stone core reached 430 kg. For each shot, it was necessary to put about 30 kg of gunpowder into the cannon.

"Big Bertha"
Famous German large-caliber gun from the First World War. The gun was developed at the beginning of the last century and manufactured at the Krupp factories in 1914. “Big Bertha” had a caliber of 420 mm, its projectile weighed 900 kg, and the firing range was 14 km. The weapon was intended to destroy particularly strong enemy fortifications. The gun was manufactured in two versions: semi-stationary and mobile. The weight of the mobile modification was 42 tons; the Germans used steam tractors to transport it. When it exploded, the shell formed a crater with a diameter of more than ten meters; the gun’s rate of fire was one shot every eight minutes.

Mortar "Oka"
Soviet self-propelled large-caliber mortar "Oka", developed in the mid-50s. At that time the USSR already had nuclear bomb, but had difficulties with the means of its delivery. Therefore, Soviet strategists decided to create a mortar capable of firing nuclear charges. Its caliber was 420 mm, the total weight of the vehicle was 55 tons, and the firing range could reach 50 km. The Oka mortar had such monstrous recoil that its production was abandoned. A total of four self-propelled mortars were manufactured.

Little David
“Little David” was intended to destroy particularly powerful enemy fortifications and was developed for the Pacific theater of military operations. But, in the end, this gun never left the test site. The barrel was installed in a special metal box dug into the ground. “David” fired special cone-shaped projectiles, the weight of which reached 1678 kg. After their explosion, a crater with a diameter of 12 meters and a depth of 4 meters remained.

"Dora"
This gun was created by Krupp engineers in the mid-30s. It had a caliber of 807 mm, was installed on a railway platform and could fire at a distance of 48 km. In total, the Germans managed to produce two “Doras”, one of them was used during the siege of Sevastopol, and possibly during the suppression of the uprising in Warsaw. The total weight of one gun was 1350 tons. The gun could fire one shot in 30-40 minutes. It should be noted that the combat effectiveness of this monster is questioned by many experts and military historians.

Basilica or Ottoman cannon
It was made in the middle of the 15th century by the Hungarian master Urban specially commissioned by Sultan Mehmed II. This artillery piece had colossal size: its length was approximately 12 meters, diameter - 75-90 cm, total weight - about 32 tons. The bombard was cast from bronze and required 30 bulls to move it. In addition, the “crew” of the gun included another 50 carpenters, whose task was to make a special platform, as well as up to 200 workers who moved the gun. The Basilica's firing range was 2 km.