Around the 50-60s of the last century, the development of traditional barrel artillery in the USSR almost stopped. Then, in military doctrine, the prevailing opinion was that the future rested with missiles. In such circumstances, the developers of conventional guns had to make a lot of efforts to convince the country's leadership of the need for further development of this branch of military equipment.
The last straw was the situation in some "hot spots" of the time when the old Soviet howitzers were much worse than the latest developments of American gunsmiths. It was at that time that the Hyacinth howitzer appeared. Its creation marked the beginning of a new era in which the value of classical barrel artillery was no longer disputed. On its base self
-propelled guns of the same name were created
, which to this day are in service with many countries of the world.
Basic technical information
This is the name of the towed Soviet-made gun, the caliber of which is 152 mm. Accordingly, it belongs to the category of large-caliber artillery. This technique is intended to suppress and completely destroy the enemy infantry, artillery and military armored vehicles of the enemy on the march, as well as to destroy the fortified command posts and places of compact concentration of enemy forces.
Like other similar Soviet technology, the Hyacinth howitzer can be successfully operated in a wide range of weather and climatic conditions. In order not to be unfounded, we give a concrete example. So, in tests, she showed decent results when shooting in conditions of ambient temperature from −50 ° C to +50 ° C. This weapon is in service with the troops of the Russian Federation, as well as other countries that were previously part of the USSR. In addition, the howitzer "Hyacinth" is in service with the Finnish army.
Brief historical background
The development of a new type of weaponry began in 1968, in Perm. From the very beginning, the developers were assigned one task: to make a new gun, the characteristics of which would be superior to the analogues existing on that day. From the very beginning, the design of two types of plants began at once. the first is a towed howitzer "Hyacinth 2A36", the second is a model 2A37. The last gun was intended for mounting on a
self-propelled artillery mount with the same name.
Initially, the talented engineer Yu. N. Kalachnikov was appointed the chief designer. It should be noted that the first shooting samples of guns were shown already in 1971-1972. It began to be supplied to the Soviet Army by 1976. Why was such a small caliber chosen for the Hyacinth gun? A 240 mm howitzer would be more effective in terms of combat power, but only to transport such a monster would have to develop a special tractor.
Reasons for popularity
Even today, the “morally obsolete” 2A36 model has excellent features that make a howitzer a formidable weapon. It is characterized by excellent combat power, high mobility and reliability. It can be transported without special problems by rail, water and air. If the Hyacinth gun is used by an experienced commander, it can be successfully used in almost all conditions of modern combat.
Technical Device Information
The gun is equipped with a semi-automatic type shutter, a hydropneumatic knob, which uses recoil energy to return the barrel to its original position after firing. To facilitate the handling of heavy ammunition, there is a chain mechanism for supplying both the projectile itself and the expelling powder charge (separate charge shells).
To produce volleys directly from the march (provided the wheels are suspended), a pallet with a powerful hydraulic jack is used. The design of the gun provides a two-speed vertical guidance mechanism. The gun itself is a 152 mm caliber gun, model 2A36. Together with the muzzle brake, the total barrel length is 8197 mm.
Combat deployment
The Hyacinth gun was produced on a carriage with three beds, which was very similar to the D-30 towed howitzer D-30. Two of the three beds are movable, so the procedure for deploying the battery on the ground is relatively simple. In time, this operation takes no more than two to three minutes in the prepared calculation. Since the weight of the gun is relatively small (about ten tons), standard army tractors can be used for its transportation.
What equipment can be used for towing?
Note that for this purpose, KrAZ-255B, KrAZ-260 (6x6) vehicles or standard tracked tractors AT-T, ATC, ATS-59 AT-S, MT-T, which are in service with almost all the participating countries, can be used Warsaw Pact. Interestingly, when transported with a tractor, a speed of up to 60 km / h is allowed. This Hyacinth-B compares favorably with other towed howitzers in the arsenal of our country and the NATO bloc.
Countering recoil
Placing a powerful gun on a carriage became possible due to the fact that a muzzle brake of a special design was used, which made it possible to reduce recoil by about half. To facilitate the calculation, the design provides a chain device for supplying shells. On the upper machine there is a light shield that protects maintenance personnel from bullets and fragments. As for the ballistic indicators, they are almost similar to those for the howitzer ML-20.
It should be noted that with the design of the protective shield, the designers had to tinker a lot at the time. The fact is that during the initial tests, soldiers noted the action of an extremely strong muzzle wave. She not only raised a cloud of dust, completely unmasking the enemy, but also could cause serious injury to the calculation. As a result of studying all this information, the designers managed to create a relatively compact, but effective shield, which in some cases was able to withstand even machine-gun fire from an artillery position.
Recoil mechanism
As we have already said, the design of the gun uses a slotted muzzle brake. But it is clearly not enough to level the strongest recoil when firing with a 152-mm shell. To completely eliminate calculation injuries and increase firing accuracy, the designers provided a hydraulic brake and a pneumatic recuperator.
Unlike other domestic howitzers, the latter is filled with nitrogen. This inert gas makes it possible to extinguish the return of powerful shells with greater efficiency.
Shell characteristics
It should be noted that specially for the Hyacinth-B, special shots for separate shell loading were developed at one time. This was due to the fact that the designers were faced with rather complex tasks and harsh conditions. They had to create a weapon with sufficient mobility and mobility with high combat power. In addition, the gun had to serve more than three to four people.
So let's list all the main types of shells that Hyacinth can use. The howitzer, the photo of which is in the article, shoots the following types of ammunition:
- VOF39 model. Standard shot, the design includes an HE-29 high-explosive fragmentation charge. The total weight is 46 kilograms, of which 6.73 kg are accounted for by a particularly powerful A-IX-2 explosive.
- Type ZVOF86. It is interesting in that the design has an active-rocket model OF-59, with which you can confidently hit a target at distances up to 33.5 kilometers.
- A special low-power nuclear projectile (0.1-2 kg) was also developed. It should be noted that at the moment, such ammunition is prohibited by a number of conventions. However, you still need to keep in mind that the Hyacinth howitzer, which we characterize in the article, can fire such ammunition. This makes it an extremely formidable weapon among the variety of barrel artillery.
- Shot of a cartridge type 3O-13. It can be equipped with fragmentation destructive elements, at the moment there are cluster shells in which the destruction elements that are independently aimed at the target are used. High combat characteristics are achieved through the use of modern target sensors. More recently, shells have been developed that can be used to create active radio interferences that prevent enemy artillery from aiming at a target.
- There is also an anti-tank cumulative shot (direct fire only), as well as smoke shells.
Combat use
Practical operation in the conditions of Afghanistan showed that in one minute a prepared and trained crew can produce about five to six shots. In general, the military’s reviews of this weapon are very flattering: the power and excellent ballistics of the shells made it possible to destroy virtually any enemy fortification.
Note that in those conditions, the gunners had a very hard time, since there was practically no visual control of the target, and the changing mountain weather greatly complicated even direct fire shooting. At that time, the Hyacinths earned recognition from our military, thanks to its high reliability: even after several dozen shots fired simultaneously, the guns were ready for further combat.
It should be noted that the 152 mm howitzer Hyacinth was quite actively used by our troops in both Chechen campaigns. The combat power of this weapon has repeatedly served a good service, since with its help it was possible to easily destroy the position of the militants, even if they were secured in massive concrete buildings. A few volleys of direct fire - and from the bunkers there was only a mountain of building rubble.
Gun dimensions
The gun has a very impressive size: its length is almost 13 meters in the stowed position, while in combat this figure is slightly less - approximately 12.5 m. The height in the stowed position along the barrel is 2760 millimeters. The ground clearance of the biaxial chassis is 475 millimeters. The stroke width is 2340 millimeters. The diameter of each of the four wheels is 1080 millimeters, the tire width is 300 millimeters.
The tire operating pressure should be maintained at 4.8 kgf / cm², the spring travel is approximately 150 mm. Howitzer "Hyacinth-B" weighs about 9800 kilograms. The maximum range of high-explosive shells is 28.5 kilometers. What other distance can Hyacinth shoot? A howitzer, the firing range of which under ordinary conditions reaches 25-28 thousand meters, in the case of using modern rockets can fire up to 41 kilometers.
All this allows us to say that the gun, which began to be developed back in the 60s of the last century, still has impressive effectiveness on the battlefield.
Some modifications
The high military power and efficiency of use (the self-propelled howitzer Hyacinth was nicknamed "Genocide") contributed to the fact that many enterprises in the USSR began to offer their own versions of the modification of such useful weapons. One of the options was BC index. The letter "K" denotes a cartridge type of loading. In principle, such an approach was expected: the presence of a 152-mm shell of a brass shell significantly increases its cost.
In addition, a number of 155-mm Hyacinths were produced, intended for export to countries using NATO-standard artillery shells.