Consider what the all-devastating artillery reserve system of the High Command represents, which does not have a direct similarity in any army in the world.
Reasons for the appearance
The experience of World War II confirmed the need for large-caliber artillery capable of destroying fortifications. But at the same time, it became obvious that the old models of heavy artillery could not meet the needs of modern dynamic combat operations. Therefore, even during the war, in the forty-fourth year, the Soviet government gave the task of developing a 240-mm mortar to the Kolomenskoy Design Bureau.
The product received the M-240 index and entered service with the Soviet army in 1950. Unlike smaller caliber mortars, it was loaded with a 130-kilogram high-explosive fragmentation mine. The range of fire was eight kilometers. However, the type of towed mortar of this caliber for the modern Soviet army of the era of the Caribbean crisis has become obsolete. Self-propelled artillery mount "Tulip" was a new task for the designers of the Ural Transport Engineering Plant.
Platform
The Uralites were the system integrators of the project, working in cooperation with many factories and design bureaus of the USSR. The artillery system itself, which they were to install on their own chassis, was created at Perm Motovilikhinsky factories. Initially, it was planned to use the SU-100 chassis, on which an artillery mount was mounted. “Tulip” was too heavy for such a platform and did not tolerate the huge recoil of the shot.
The Urals had to radically transform the original platform, creating an almost new machine. But at the same time, the level of unification possessed by the Tulip self-propelled gun reached eighty percent in relation to the base transport base. The machine is driven by a 520 horsepower diesel engine, which allows it to accelerate to sixty kilometers per hour. In the bow of the hull above the commander’s workplace, a rotating turret equipped with a 7.62 mm machine gun is installed.
Crew and crew
The crew of the combat vehicle is five people, which demonstrates the serious attitude of developers to the mechanization of the process of preparing for firing guns of such a large caliber. Installation "Tulip" allows you to transport all the calculation and transportable ammunition at the same time. In addition to the gun commander and driver, located in the bow compartment of the car, she carries two operators and a gunner, located in the fighting compartment. In the transport position, they occupy places near the mechanized ammunition storage of ammunition. When deploying the system to prepare for the opening of fire, crew members take places according to the combat schedule.
240 mm mortar
Developed taking into account the experience in the creation and operation of the towed mortar M-240, the new system for self-propelled chassis received the index 2B8. It was originally intended to fire directly from the transport chassis. However, the terrifying recoil with a force of about five hundred tons and the shock wave of the shot, crushing the hinged fuel tanks, forced to abandon such a decision. According to the adopted modified layout, the Tulip installation has two positions. In a transport mortar, it is located on a tracked chassis, and in a combat mortar it is located behind its stern, on a retractable base plate supported on the ground.
The transfer of guns from marching to combat position is carried out by a hydraulic system. The mortar is powered from an internal revolving warhead, which can contain up to twenty high-explosive fragmentation mines or ten active-reactive mines.
Firing
Before the opening of fire, the car is transferred from the transport position to the combat one. Installation "Tulip" using hydraulic actuators throws the mortar back, behind the back of the machine, and installs it on the base plate.
Mortar loading is carried out directly from the combat station of the machine or from the ground. When loading from an ammunition shell, the barrel rotates ninety degrees, the operator sets the charge from the breech side of the barrel, after which the mortar is again brought to a position close to vertical. For ammunition from the ground, the calculation can use a winch to install 130- and 250-kilogram mines. After loading, the gun is manually guided along a horizontal angle. Vertical aiming is carried out using a hydraulic system. The high level of mechanization of the process of putting into combat readiness, charging and guidance allowed to achieve outstanding rate of fire for guns of this caliber. Installation "Tulip" is capable of firing at a speed of one shot per minute.
Combat capabilities and ammunition
The combat effectiveness of the system is ensured by excellent mobility, ballistics, accuracy and the range of ammunition used. The basis of the ammunition are high-explosive fragmentation mines weighing up to one hundred and thirty kilograms, which can be fired at a range of up to ten kilometers. Also in the arsenal is an active rocket, allowing you to hit targets at a distance of up to twenty kilometers. The power of these charges is colossal. They leave behind a funnel with a radius of ten meters and a depth of about six. Even heavy fortifications cannot withstand them.
The Tulip missile launcher (photo can be seen in the article) can be used as a high-precision weapon when firing guided projectiles "Daredevil". They are guided by the reflected laser beam to illuminate the target and make it possible to deliver accurate strikes to a depth of five to ten kilometers. To defeat manpower and area targets can be used cluster and incendiary ammunition. The napalm charge of the 2C4 Tulip installation covers one hectare of territory, turning it into a continuous lake of fire. In addition to traditional equipment, Tulip can also use nuclear weapons with a capacity of up to two kilotons of TNT.
Arming and mass production
The Soviet Army self-propelled mortar 2C4 entered service in 1971, replacing the towed model of the 1955 model. In the mid-eighties, he went through modernization, which increased his combat characteristics. The production of the product continued until 1988, and for the entire production period, about six hundred machines were produced. The Soviet Union delivered a number of Tulip mortars to Iraq and Czechoslovakia. At the beginning of the two thousandths, several samples were sent to Libya by agreement with the leadership of Russia.
Application in the military operations of the USSR
The 2C4 mortar installation was first baptized in Afghanistan as part of a limited contingent of Soviet troops. According to experts, up to one hundred and twenty weapons took part in the battles on this territory. By all accounts, it proved extremely successful in the difficult conditions of that war. Highlands greatly complicated the use of artillery, direct fire, and howitzers. Aviation, too, could not always strike at fortified points located in mountain caves or on slopes. Installation "Tulip" showed the highest efficiency, destroying the enemy’s position in one or two shots, regardless of how much they were equipped.
Use in modern wars
The experience of using a mortar in Afghanistan came in handy while suppressing the resistance of terrorist and bandit formations in Chechnya. Similar fighting conditions made it possible to quickly find a suitable way to destroy the mountainous positions of terrorists. In addition to fighting in the field, a self-propelled mortar installation "Tulip" was used to storm the settlements. From it, shelling of fortified bandit bunkers was carried out during the preparations for the storming of Grozny.
Unfortunately, the combat biography of the 2C4 Tulip system includes episodes of participation in the civil war in Ukraine. For the first time, it was used by troops subordinate to the Kiev regime during the storming of Semenovka in 2014. The exoticism and rarity of this type of weapon caused the shell funnel to not be recognized immediately and caused heated discussions about weapons that could cause damage of this magnitude. Opinions were inclined to the idea that a tactical ballistic missile left the funnel. However, this worked "Tulip".