The 203-mm self-propelled gun 2S7 (object 216) refers to the artillery weapon of the reserve of the Supreme High Command. In the army, she received the code name - self-propelled guns "Peony". The photos in this article clearly demonstrate the full power of this weapon. It is intended for the suppression of nuclear weapons and other critical objects located in tactical depths (at a distance of up to 47 km).
History of creation
The creation of the self-propelled gun "Peony" began with the decision of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union of 1967. The assignment stated that the new weapon was supposed to destroy earth, concrete and reinforced concrete fortifications, as well as destroy long-range artillery installations of the enemy. In addition, the self-propelled guns "Peony" 2S7 was designed as a "hunter" for tactical missile systems and other means of delivering nuclear weapons. According to the assignment, the minimum range of destruction was to be 25 km.
And now, two years later, from several proposed projects, the Council of Ministers chose the work of the designers of the Leningrad Kirov Plant. The Peony installation was created on the basis of the T-64 tank chassis with an open wheelhouse version. However, in the same year, significant changes were introduced into the work on creating a new tool. The reason was the presentation of the designers of the Volgograd plant "Barricades", who presented their project of self-propelled artillery installation in the open execution on the basis of the object 429. As a result, the Ministry of Defense decides to combine these developments, and self-propelled guns 203-mm "Peony" is transplanted to a new chassis. This artillery installation had a range of up to 32 km with conventional ammunition and up to 42 km with active-reactive charges. Work on the creation of a long-range gun was in full swing when in March 1971 the GRAU approved the specified requirements for the tactical and technical characteristics of the designed system. The engineers were asked to work out the possibility of using a special shot from the B-4 howitzer with the same caliber. At the same time, the maximum range of conventional 110-kg shells was set at 35 km, and the minimum guaranteed ricochet-8.5 km. The largest firing distance with special active-reactive ammunition was to be 40-43 km. All these changes fell on the shoulders of the main developer of the self-propelled guns "Peony" 2S7 - Design Bureau No. 3 of the Kirov Plant, led by N. S. Popov.
Tool making
At the same time, the engineers of the Barricades plant, under the direction of the chief designer G. I. Sergeev, were developing the artillery unit of the self-propelled gun "Peony". Volgograd residents designed the warhead according to the classical scheme, but with a number of features. For example, a collapsible barrel became an interesting solution (monoblock construction is considered classical). It consisted of a breech, a pivot pipe, a sleeve, a sleeve and a casing. The author of this design is the engineer of the Obukhov plant A. A. Kolokoltsev, who developed it in the seventies of the century before last. The choice of just such a solution is explained by the fact that artillery military equipment of increased power (which is the Peony) is subject to very rapid wear of the rifled part of the barrel during firing. As a result, monoblocks that have fallen into disrepair should be sent for replacement to the factory, which requires a significant investment of time. All this leads to the failure of this installation for a long time. Collapsible barrels are also subject to rapid wear, however, the replacement process is quite feasible in an artillery workshop located in the frontline zone, it does not require specific equipment and is relatively simple.
"God of war with a nuclear hotel"
It was such a nickname that the new artillery installation received when in 1975 the designers of the Leningrad plant presented it. The Department of Defense immediately appreciated the new self-propelled guns. And after carrying out a number of factory and field tests, the expert commission gave the go-ahead to accepting it for service and launching into mass production. In the same year, the first copies enter the troops. Artillery brigades of special power were equipped with new weapons, and it was intended to suppress and eliminate artillery, nuclear weapons, mortars, heavy equipment, rear lines, enemy manpower, and command and control posts. Eight years later, in 1983, the Peony installation underwent its first modernization. The updated model received the conditional name - “Malka”. The GRAU index remained the same, only with a postscript: "M" -2C7M. It is safe to say that Soviet engineers were ahead of their time in their development, since almost 40 years have passed since the first Peony was released, but this does not prevent it from remaining the most powerful and sought-after artillery mount in the world to this day. According to official figures, since 1975 more than 300 units of this weapon have been produced. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many complexes ended up abroad, but continue to serve regularly in the armies of the countries of the former USSR. According to the Ministry of Defense, as of 2010, the Russian army had 130 units of self-propelled guns "Peony". To understand the uniqueness of this artillery complex and why, despite the appearance of the latest types of long-range weapons, the modern weapons of the Russian army include these military vehicles of the past era, we will consider the technical characteristics of the installation.
Description of the design of the artillery complex "Peony"
As already mentioned above, self-propelled guns "Peony" is made with an open cutting part, that is, according to a reckless scheme. The gun of the installation is located openly in the aft of the tracked chassis. The control compartment is located in front of the body, then the engine-transmission compartment is located, followed by the crew compartment and closes the conning tower. The armored hull has a very unusual shape - the crew cabin extended far ahead serves as an additional counterweight to a heavy gun. The artillery installation "Peony" is serviced by a team of fourteen people, of which seven are the crew of self-propelled guns. In the stowed position, the crew is located in the calculation and control compartments, and the remaining seven people are in a special truck or armored personnel carrier.
A powerful 203 mm caliber gun (2A44) with a mass of 14.6 tons was mounted in the aft part of the hull. In addition to the fact that the tool was created collapsible, it has an additional number of innovations. For example, a constructive refusal to use a muzzle brake provided a muzzle wave of low pressure in the working area of the calculation. This decision made it possible to refuse additional special protection for servicing billing. The 203 mm gun is equipped with a piston shutter operating in a push-pull pattern. It opens and closes automatically thanks to a mechanical drive, while there is the possibility of performing this operation in manual mode. In the self-propelled guns "Peony" feeding with subsequent despatch of shells is carried out using a special chain loading mechanism that works at any angle of horizontal and vertical guidance. This design solution allowed to significantly reduce the recharge time, thereby increasing the rate of fire of the complex.
Powertrain and chassis ACS
The most powerful self-propelled artillery installation in the world is equipped with a twelve-cylinder V-shaped diesel power unit B-46-1, equipped with a turbocharging system. Engine power is 750 liters. from. The use of this power unit allowed a 46-ton self-propelled gun to accelerate to a speed of 50 km / h. In addition, to ensure the autonomous operation of the complex, an additional 24-liter diesel generator is installed in the engine-transmission compartment. from. In order to increase unification, a mechanical transmission with a bevel gear and final drives was borrowed from the T-72. So, the self-propelled unit has an eight-speed mechanical planetary power transmission and a single-stage final drive with reduction gears.
In the chassis on both sides of the body there are seven road wheels with torsion bar suspension equipped with individual locking hydraulic shock absorbers. Many chassis components are borrowed from the T-80. In fact, the chassis of the self-propelled guns "Peony" is a modernized version of the chassis of the T-80, even the drive wheels have a front location.
Firing
The loading operations of the guns are carried out from a special remote control, the supply of shells is carried out using a standard uniaxial hand truck. When aiming the gun, mechanical and electro-hydraulic drives are used. The rate of fire of the artillery complex "Peony" is one and a half rounds per minute. The installation provides the following firing modes: 8 shots in 5 minutes; 15 shots in 10 minutes; 24 shots in 20 minutes; 30 rounds in 30 minutes and 40 rounds in an hour. On the trunk in its upper and lower parts are hydropneumatic recoil mechanisms. The recoil length of the gun is approximately 1400 mm. Given the enormous power of the installation, engineers have provided special guides that are located in the rear of the body. They are installed immediately before firing on the ground, play the role of auxiliary supports. In addition, a bulldozer coulter was installed in the rear of the body to absorb a very tangible recoil force. It is controlled by a hydraulic actuator. During firing, the coulter goes deep into the soil to a depth of 700 mm, thereby providing excellent stability to the self-propelled gun. In addition, to absorb the recoil force, the designers provided a system for locking the hydraulic shock absorbers of the suspension of the main rollers of the caterpillar chassis, as well as lowering steering wheels.
Thanks to the use of highly effective recoil mechanisms, firing from a gun can be carried out in a wide range of aiming angle. So, the horizontal information angle is 30 degrees, and in the vertical plane - in the range from 0 to 60 degrees.
In the case when firing takes place from the ground, the calculation can use a two-wheeled cart, on which charges and shells are stacked on special removable stretchers. Ammunition artillery "Peony" is 40 shells of separate loading. Four of them are stored in the aft compartment and provide an untouchable reserve, while the rest are transported by special vehicles and laid out on the ground in preparation for self-propelled guns for firing.
Armament
The range of ammunition "Pion" is very diverse: 203-mm shells ZVOF42 and ZVOF43, fragmentation 30F43, active-reactive high-explosive fragmentation ZOF44, ZVOF15 and ZVOF16 with fragmentation charges with 3-0-14 explosive elements. The Pion military equipment is equipped with a D-726 type mechanical sight, a K-1 collimator, and a PG-1M panorama. In addition, an additional sighting device of the type OP-4M is used, used in direct fire. To protect self-propelled guns and people, the installation is equipped with the crew’s personal weapons: this includes small arms (four machine guns and a signal pistol), and RPG-7 hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers, Strela-2 MANPADS, and F-1 grenades.
Nuclear Weapons and Defense
Artillery self-propelled gun "Peony" is able to take part in armed conflicts using nuclear weapons. For this, the self-propelled guns have a filter-ventilation installation, an automatic fire-fighting system, a sealing system for habitable compartments, which can protect the crew and crew from the effects of nuclear, bacteriological and chemical weapons. In addition, it is equipped with equipment for internal telephone communications, a radio station and a night vision device. For delivering an atomic strike to an enemy, self-propelled guns "Peony" can use special ammunition with a nuclear charge. The use of such shells is possible only if there is an appropriate order from a higher command. In this case, the ammunition to the firing position is delivered from special storage facilities as part of a guarded convoy. A nuclear projectile is designed to destroy especially large infrastructure, industrial facilities, clusters of enemy troops, etc. The minimum range for firing such ammunition is 18 km, and the maximum is 30 km.
Self-propelled artillery mount 2S7M "Malka"
In 1983, Design Bureau No. 3 of the Kirov Plant upgraded the Peony installation. As a result, the updated model began to differ from its predecessor in the rubberized elements of the chassis, in addition, the chassis began to be made of higher-strength materials. A new firing equipment has appeared in the control system of the complex, which is capable of receiving information automatically. In addition, engineers improved the remote loading mechanism and redesigned the charging pads. New charges and ammunition of increased power were introduced, and the untouchable stock of shells was increased to eight units. The updated ammunition included active rockets. In addition, the Malka self-propelled guns installed a system of regulated monitoring of continuous operation with an automatic diagnostic system for the status of all key artillery subsystems.
Improvement of the chassis allowed to increase the resource of the motor race to ten thousand kilometers. Thanks to the modernization of the remote charging device of the installation, this procedure became possible at any angle of vertical aiming. In addition, the rate of fire of the complex significantly increased (1.6 times) - up to 2.5 rounds per minute, and the time of continuous firing was three hours. The firing control option with automatic data reception made it possible to obtain the coordinates of targets via wired and radio communication means with their subsequent display on digital indicators of gunner and commander devices, while the aiming system independently takes into account the change in weather conditions. The updated ammunition included active rockets, the firing range of which was 55 km, as well as high-precision and anti-tank ammunition with direct-flow onboard airborne engines.
Today, self-propelled guns "Peony" and "Malka" have great potential for further modernization, they are able to keep up to date and use modern weapons in their arsenal, including tactical and high-precision weapons.
St. Petersburg: artillery museum
This institution was founded in 1703 by decree of Peter the Great as a Zeichhaus - a place of storage of curious and memorable artillery pieces. The most valuable and interesting specimens were brought here from all over the country. Later, other types of weapons, banners, uniforms, including captured ones, began to be added to the exposition. Later, during the time of Elizabeth Petrovna, this artillery museum was renamed the Memorial Hall, and it was placed on the Foundry yard. And only in 1869 this institution began to live and develop actively. This year, the artillery museum receives at its disposal part of the Kronverka building, military-historical collections are located here. During the Soviet Union, in 1963, the institution accepts the funds of the Central Historical Military Engineering Museum, and two years later it includes the Military Museum of Communications.
Visitors are invited to familiarize themselves with the rarest collections of world weapons from 55 countries, from the fourteenth century to the present day. Here you can see among the exhibits the personal weapons of members of the imperial family, outstanding commanders, unique documents, military decorations, military uniforms, models of fortifications and fortresses, and much more. Russian artillery is presented as a separate exposition, including experimental models of the Shuvalov, Nartov and other guns.
The Military History Museum of Artillery, Engineering and Signal Corps has one of the largest arms collections in our country in Western European countries of the XV-XVII centuries. In 2006, the institution opened a new exposition dedicated to the history of military affairs of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, as well as early Modern times. The artillery museum is visited by both adults and children, here in the courtyard of Kronverk modern types of weapons of the Russian army are presented, such as the Topol RS-12M mobile-based intercontinental strategic missile system and many others. Guests can not only watch, but also touch them with their hands, take a picture next to such giants, which serve as a guarantor of the security of our country from external invasion. After all, most students have a superficial acquaintance with such types of weapons as self-propelled guns, tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery pieces, which they get from computer games and television films. Seeing them with their own eyes, feeling the power of their armor and weapons, they will forever be imbued with respect not only for the military profession, but also for the designers who created these wonderful machines. Children and adults will be interested in visiting festivals of military historical reconstruction and demonstrations by members of the Silhouette historical fencing club, which are regularly held in the museum. So an unforgettable experience is guaranteed to museum visitors!