Do you know what kind of troops respectfully called the "god of war"? Of course, artillery! Despite the development of missile weapons over the past fifty years, the role of high-precision modern receiver systems is still extremely large.
History of development
German Schwartz is considered to be the “father” of cannons, however many historians agree that his merits in this matter are rather doubtful. So, the first mention of the use of barreled artillery on the battlefield dates back to 1354, however, there are many papers in the archives that mention 1324.
There is no reason to believe that some kind of artillery was not used before. By the way, the most references to such weapons can be found in ancient English manuscripts, and not at all in the German original sources. So, especially noteworthy in this regard is the rather well-known treatise "On the Duties of the Kings", which was written in honor of Edward III.
The author was a teacher of the king, and the book itself was written in 1326 (the time of the murder of Edward). There are no detailed explanations of engravings in the text, and therefore you have to focus only on the subtext. So, one of the illustrations depicts, without a doubt, a real gun resembling a large vase. It is shown how a large arrow flies out of the neck of this "jug", shrouded in puffs of smoke, and at a distance there is a knight who has just set fire to powder with the help of a hot rod.
First appearance
As for China, in which, most likely, gunpowder was invented (and medieval alchemists discovered it three times, no less), that is, there is every reason to believe that the first artillery guns could even be tested before the beginning of our era. Simply put, artillery, like all firearms, is probably much older than is commonly believed.
In the era of Karl the Bold, these tools were already massively used in the siege of fortresses, whose walls by that time were no longer such an effective means of defense for the besieged.
Chronic stagnation
So why didn’t the ancient peoples conquer the whole world with the help of the “god of war”? Everything is simple - guns of the early 14th century. and 18 century little different from each other. They were clumsy, overly heavy, and provided very poor accuracy. No wonder the first guns were used to destroy walls (it’s difficult to miss!), And also to shoot at large enemy clusters. In an era when enemy armies marched on each other with colorful columns, this also did not require high precision guns.
Do not forget about the disgusting quality of gunpowder, as well as its unpredictable properties: during the war with Sweden, Russian gunners sometimes had to triple the suspension rate so that the cores did at least some damage to the enemy fortresses. Of course, this fact was reflected poorly in the reliability of the guns. There were many cases when nothing was left of the artillery crew as a result of a gun explosion.
Other reasons
Finally, metallurgy. As in the case of steam locomotives, only the invention of rolling mills and deep research in the field of metallurgy gave the necessary knowledge for the production of truly reliable shafts. The creation of artillery shells for a long time provided the troops with "monarchical" privileges on the battlefield.
Do not forget about the calibers of artillery guns: in those years they were calculated, both based on the diameter of the cores used, and taking into account the parameters of the barrel. Incredible confusion reigned, and therefore the armies simply could not accept anything truly unified. All this greatly impeded the development of the industry.
The main varieties of ancient artillery systems
Now consider the main types of artillery guns, which in many cases really helped to change history, refracting the course of the war in favor of a single state. As of 1620, it was customary to distinguish the following types of tools:
- Guns in caliber from 7 to 12 inches.
- Feathers.
- Falconets and minions ("falcons").
- Wearable guns with breech loading.
- Robinets.
- Mortars and bombers.
This list displays only the "true" guns in a more or less modern sense. But at that time in the army there were relatively many ancient cast-iron guns. The most typical of their representatives include coulévins and semi-culevrines. By that time, it had become completely clear that the giant guns, which were to a large extent distributed in earlier periods, were worthless: their accuracy was disgusting, the risk of exploding the barrel was extremely high, and it took a lot of time to reload.
If we again turn to the time of Peter, then the historians of those years note that for each battery of “unicorns” (varieties of coulevrin) hundreds of liters of vinegar were required. It was diluted with water and used to cool trunks overheated from shots.
Rarely found an old artillery gun with a caliber of more than 12 inches. The most commonly used coulevins, the core of which weighed approximately 16 pounds (about 7.3 kg). In the field, falconets were very common, the core of which weighed only 2.5 pounds (about a kilogram). Now let's look at the types of artillery pieces that were common in the past.
Comparative characteristics of some tools of antiquityGun name | Barrel length (in calibers) | Projectile weight, kilogram | Estimated effective firing range (in meters) |
Musket | There is no specific standard | 0.45 | 50-75 |
Falconet | thirty | 1.36 | 70-100 |
Sacra | 28 | 4-5,4 | About 400 |
ASP | 20-25 | 4-5,4 | 1000-1067 |
Standard gun | 17-21 | 9-45.4 | Up to 1300 |
Half gun | There is no specific standard | 13.6 | Up to 200 |
Kulevrina (ancient artillery gun with a long barrel) | 33 | 9-22.7 | 230-250 |
"Half" coulevrin | 32 | 5,4-13,6 | 150-170 |
Serpentine | No data | 24 | About 300 |
Bastard | No data | 18.6 | 400-700 |
Stone-thrower | | 9-45.4 | 900-1000 |
If you carefully looked at this table and saw a musket there, do not be surprised. so called not only those slow and heavy guns that we remember from films about musketeers, but also a full-fledged artillery gun with a long barrel of small caliber. After all, to imagine a “bullet” weighing 400 grams is very problematic!
In addition, do not be surprised at the stone thrower on the list. The fact is that, for example, the Turks, even during the time of Peter the Great, used barrel artillery, firing nuclei carved from stone. They were much less likely to penetrate enemy ships right through, but more often they caused serious damage to the latter from the first salvo.
Finally, all the data shown in our table is approximate. Many types of artillery guns will remain forever forgotten, and ancient historians often did not know much about the characteristics and names of those guns that were widely used in the siege of cities and fortresses.
Innovator inventors
As we have already said, barrel artillery for many centuries has been a weapon that, as it seemed, was forever frozen in its development. However, things quickly changed. As in many cases of innovations in military affairs, the idea belonged to fleet officers.
The main problem of the barrel artillery on ships was the serious limited space, the difficulty of performing any maneuvers. Seeing all this, Mr. Melville and Mr. Gascoigne, who was in charge of his production, managed to create an amazing cannon, which today historians know under the name "Caronade." On its trunk there were absolutely no pins (mounts for the gun carriage). But there was a small eye on it, into which a steel rod could be inserted easily and quickly. He firmly clung to a compact artillery machine tool.
The gun turned out light and short, easy to use. The approximate effective range from it was about 50 meters. In addition, due to some of its design features, it became possible to fire shells with incendiary mixture. The Caronade became so popular that Gascoigne soon moved to Russia, where talented masters of foreign origin were always expected, received the rank of general and the position of one of Catherine’s advisers. It was in those years that the artillery pieces of Russia began to be developed and produced on a hitherto unprecedented scale.
Modern artillery systems
As we already noted at the very beginning of our article, in the modern world of artillery it was necessary to “squeeze” a little under the influence of rocket weapons. But this does not mean at all that the receiver and reactive systems have no place left on the battlefield. Not at all! The invention of high-precision GPS / GLONASS-guided missiles allows us to assert with confidence that the "natives" from the distant 12-13th century will continue to keep the enemy in fear.
Barrel and rocket artillery: who is better?
Unlike traditional barrel systems, multiple launch rocket launchers have virtually no tangible impact. This is what distinguishes them from any self-propelled or towed cannon, which, in the process of putting into a fighting position, needs to be fixed as firmly as possible and dug in the ground, as otherwise even its overturning is possible. Of course, there is no question of any quick change of position here, in principle, even if self-propelled artillery is used.
Jet systems are fast and mobile, can change their fighting position in a few minutes. In principle, such vehicles can fire even when driving, but this affects the accuracy of the shot badly. The disadvantage of such installations is their low accuracy. The same "Hurricane" can literally plow several square kilometers, destroying almost all living things, but this will require a whole battery of installations with pretty expensive shells. These artillery pieces, photos of which you will find in the article, are especially loved by domestic developers (Katyusha).
A salvo of one howitzer with a "smart" projectile is capable of destroying any modern tank on one try, while a battery of rocket launchers may require more than one salvo. In addition, the "Tornado", "Hurricane", "Grad" or "Tornado" at the time of launch will not be able to detect unless a blind soldier, as a cloud of smoke in that place is formed notable. But such installations in one shell can contain up to several hundred kilograms of explosive.
Barrel artillery, by virtue of its accuracy, can be used to fire at the enemy at the moment of his being close to his own positions. In addition, the self-propelled artillery gun is capable of conducting counter-battery fire, doing this for many hours. In multiple launch rocket systems, the trunks are pretty fast wearing out, which does not contribute to their long-term use.
By the way, in the first Chechen campaign, Grads were used, which managed to fight in Afghanistan. The wear of their trunks was such that the shells sometimes flew in unpredictable directions. This often led to the "covering" of their own soldiers.
Best salvo systems
The leaders inevitably go artillery guns of Russia "Tornado". They shoot 122 mm shells at a distance of up to 100 kilometers. For one volley, up to 40 charges can be released, which cover an area of ​​up to 84 thousand square meters. The power reserve is no less than 650 kilometers. Together with the high reliability of the chassis and a speed of up to 60 km / h, this allows you to transfer the Tornado battery to the right place and with minimal time.
The second most effective is the domestic 9K51 Grad MLRS, notorious after the events in the South-East of Ukraine. Caliber - 122 mm, 40 trunks. It shoots at a distance of up to 21 kilometers, in one go it can "process" an area of ​​up to 40 square kilometers. Power reserve at a maximum speed of 85 km / h is as much as 1.5 thousand kilometers!
HIMARS artillery from an American manufacturer takes third place. The ammunition has an impressive 227 mm caliber, but only six guides somewhat spoil the impression of the installation. The firing range is up to 85 kilometers, covering an area of ​​67 square kilometers at a time. Movement speed - up to 85 km / h, range is 600 kilometers. Well established in the land campaign in Afghanistan.
The fourth position is the Chinese installation of WS-1B. The Chinese did not trifle: the caliber of this awesome gun is 320 mm. In appearance, this MLRS resembles an S-300 air defense system of Russian production and has only four barrels. The range is about 100 kilometers, the affected area is up to 45 square kilometers. At maximum speed, these modern artillery guns have a range of approximately 600 kilometers.
In last place is the Indian MLRS Pinaka. In the design - 12 guides for shells of caliber 122 mm. Firing range - up to 40 km. At a maximum speed of 80 km / h, the car can travel up to 850 kilometers. The affected area is as much as 130 square kilometers. The system was developed with the direct participation of Russian experts, and has proven itself excellently in the course of numerous Indian-Pakistani conflicts.
Guns
This weapon has gone far from its long-standing predecessors, who dominated the fields of the Middle Ages. The caliber of guns used in modern conditions ranges from 100 (Rapier anti-tank artillery) to 155 mm (TR, NATO).
The range of shells they use is also unusually wide: from standard high-explosive rounds to programmable shells that can hit a target at a distance of 45 kilometers with an accuracy of tens of centimeters. True, the cost of one such shot can be up to 55 thousand US dollars! In this regard, Soviet artillery guns are much cheaper.
Comparative characteristics of the most common guns made in the USSR / RF and Western modelsTitle | The country of manufacture | Caliber mm | Gun mass, kg | Maximum firing range (depending on the type of projectile), km |
Ghn-45 | Belgium | 155 | 8900 | 30-39 |
Gc 45 | Belgium | 155 | 8222 | 30-39 |
BL 5.5 inch (discontinued almost everywhere) | England | 140 | 5851 | 16.5 |
Zoltam M-68 / M-71 | Israel | 155 | 9500 | 21 |
WA 021 (actual clone of the Belgian GC 45) | China | 155 | 9500 | 30-39 |
M-46 | USSR | 130 | 8450 | 27 |
2A36 "Hyacinth-B" | USSR | 152 | 9800 | 27 |
"Rapier" | USSR | 100 | 2800 | 3 |
Soviet artillery pieces S-23 | USSR | 180 | 21450 | 30.5 |
D-20 | USSR | 152 | 5700 | 17-24 |
Octopus-B | Russia | 125 | 6575 | 12,2 |
G5 | South Africa | 155 | 13500 | thirty |
Mortars
Modern mortar systems trace their ancestry from ancient bombers and mortars, which could release a bomb (up to hundreds of kilograms weighing) at a distance of 200-300 meters. Today, both their design and the maximum range of application have significantly changed.
In most of the armed forces of the world, the combat doctrine for mortars takes them into account as an artillery weapon for mounted fire at a distance of about a kilometer. The effectiveness of the use of these weapons in urban conditions and in the suppression of disparate, mobile enemy groups is noted. In the Russian army, mortars are standard weapons, they are used for every major military operation.
And during the Ukrainian events, both sides of the conflict showed that even outdated 88 mm mortars are an excellent tool for both guerrilla warfare and countermeasures.
Modern mortars, like other barrel artillery, today are developing in the direction of increasing the accuracy of each shot. So, last summer, the famous arms corporation BAE Systems for the first time demonstrated to the world public high-precision mortar rounds of 81 mm caliber, which were tested at one of the English test sites. It is reported that such ammunition can be used with all possible effectiveness in the temperature range from -46 to +71 ° C. In addition, there is information about the planned production of the widest range of such shells.
The military associates special hopes with the development of high-precision mines of 120 mm caliber with increased power. New models developed for the American army (XM395, for example), with a firing range of up to 6.1 km have a deviation of not more than 10 meters. It is reported that such shots were used by the crews of Stryker armored vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan, where new ammunition proved to be the best.
But the most promising today are the development of guided missiles with active homing. So, domestic Nona artillery can use the Kitolov-2 shell, with which you can hit almost any modern tank at a distance of up to nine kilometers. Given the cheapness of the gun itself, such developments are expected to interest the military around the world.
Thus, the artillery to this day is a formidable argument on the battlefield. New models are constantly being developed, and more and more promising shells are being produced for existing receiver systems.