"Cornflower" (mortar 82 mm): characteristics, photo

Mortars in the XX century became an indispensable type of infantry weapons. According to the staff, they, depending on the caliber, are intended for equipping the company, battalion, regimental and division divisions. The unique means of fire damage was Vasilek, a mortar capable of firing bursts and, if necessary, carrying out tasks previously inherent only in artillery.

What is a mortar

In the classical sense, the mortar is a type of weapon that uses a jet stream that is formed when the pushing charge is ignited. The barrel of this gun sets the direction and the initial velocity of the projectile, called the mine, and is a feathered munition. The detonator, as a rule, is contact, is in its front part. The construction of the mortar is usually a removable base plate, bipods, targeting and sighting devices. Again, in the classic sense, loading is performed just before the shot. The mine is fed from the barrel of the barrel, the capsule located on the rear of the projectile ignites the detonator, leading to activation of the pushing charge.

However, the mortars in the USSR called the Guards Katyushas. The system "Tulip 2S4" also, in spite of its obviously howitious nature, belongs to this class of weapons, although it is often called a self-propelled artillery installation.

In the USSR in 1970 the "Vasilek" mortar was adopted. The photo of this means of engaging a firepower of the enemy forces causes associations with the gun. However, the type and structure of the projectile clearly indicates that it is a mine. The ammunition does not have a cartridge case, it is sharp. So what kind of symbiosis is the gun and mortar? And what is it for? What are its advantages?

Mortars and guns

The reasons why mortars are widely used are several, and they are all important. This type of weapons is characterized by relative ease, simplicity, manifested in both manufacturability and maintenance, high striking power and the ability to cover the target from above, directly from the sky, that is, from the direction of least security. A howitzer or mortar is used to fire the hanging trajectory. At the same time, the artillery gun weighs more, is more complex and manages a large amount of the defense budget. Of course, cannons have their advantages, which include increased range, caliber and accuracy, but under certain conditions, which arise in combat quite often, these dignities are leveled. The line between two common weapons of large caliber almost completely erases the "Vasilek" mortar, the photo of which transparently hints at its "affinity" with guns. Depending on the position of the trunk, it becomes similar to a mortar, howitzer and conventional cannon that shoots on the floor. If the high rate of fire is added to this interesting property, then the uniqueness of the weapon becomes obvious.

History of the "Cornflower"

The idea of creating quick-firing mortars arose in the post-war Soviet Union. In 1946 designer V.K. Filippov proposed to use the energy of recoil to reload the gun, charged from the breech. In itself, this technical solution is not new, except for the important point that it was applied to the mortar, and not to the rapid-fire gun. The work of Filippov was crowned with success, in 1955 the KAM product was adopted by the Soviet Army. It was intended for use in stationary conditions (casemates and long-term fortifications) and was a quick-fire automatic mortar. Four years later the field version of KAM was prepared and tested, and it received the name F-82. For reasons that are unclear today, this sample was not launched into production. In 1967, after some refinement, he was nevertheless accepted by the state commission. According to the traditions of the artillerymen, he received a tenderly-floral name "Vasilek". 82-mm automatic mortar could fire at a rate of 100 rds / min. At a rate of fire of 170 shots. The difference in these two figures is due to the time necessary for recharging the cassettes.

Modification "M"

Several years of operation in the troops allowed the engineers to conclude that the water cooling of the trunk can be abolished. A massive casing protecting from overheating at a high rate of fire was removed, the wall thickness was increased in the central part, providing the surface with ribs that improve the heat transfer conditions and act as an air cooling radiator. In all other respects it was the same "Cornflower". The mortar began to be called 2B9M (modified), outwardly it is easy to distinguish it from the previous version by the ribbed trunk. As further practice showed, this technical solution was justified, especially for desert conditions in which the troops lack water.

What can "Vasilek"

The mortar in the classic version suffers from a serious constructive vice. The recoil energy causes displacement of the entire system, due to deformations of the soil and mechanical influences on the barrel. After each shot, the calculation is forced to adjust the parameters and actually perform the aiming again. The device of the "Vasilek" mortar makes it possible to use the recoil energy to supply a new projectile to the barrel. Hydraulic shock absorbers, located around the trunk, serve to absorb its excess. As a result, the accuracy of hits remains high when the fire is fired by a burst. The cage contains four mines.

Versatile application

One of the advantages of "Cornflower" is its versatility. From it you can shoot in different ways.

2B9 can be used as a normal mortar, in this case it is loaded from the barrel. But the main difference of the gun is its ability to shoot like an ordinary gun with a minimum and even negative (up to 1 °) elevation angle. To conduct fire in the "mortar" mode, three types of charges can be used, with the artillery method the unified ammunition. There are two modes: automatic and single.

Ammunition

Fragment shot 3B01 serves as a regular ammunition, on which the 120-mm "Vasilek" mortar is designed. Its action is fragmentation, but in addition to it, other types of charges, including cumulative ones, intended for destruction of armored vehicles are provided.

The charge includes, in addition to the six-mile O-832DU mine, the main powder charge of the Zh-832DU. At an initial speed of 272 m / s, it provides a range of damage from 800 to 4270 m. The mass of the throwing ammunition is 3100 grams, the fragments at the rupture are formed up to six hundred, each weighing more than a gram. Radius of continuous damage is 18 meters.

In addition to the main powder charge, intended for giving the initial velocity of the mine and fixed in its tail part, additional ones are used. The decision on their use is taken by the calculation commander, determining the purpose for which the "Vasilek" mortar will fire. The range of fire depends on the choice of additional propellant charges. They are long cloth bags containing an explosive covering the annular tail of the projectile in front of the stabilizer and fastened with a conventional button fastener. Their power is determined by the number - from 1 to 3.

Mobility tools

82-mm mortar "Vasilek" weighs 622 kg, so for its transportation a special machine is used. As such, the customized GAZ-66, which received the designation 2F54, is usually used. The gun on the march is in the body, in special cases (with an urgent change of position or other sudden situations) towing is allowed. The calculation consists of four people (commander, gunner, loader and driver-driver).

The success of the design has repeatedly encouraged engineers in different countries to make attempts to create an automatic self-propelled mortar. "Vasilek" was installed on the MT-LB crawler chassis in the USSR and Hungary, and some craftsmen in the Middle East still mount it today on the powerful American army jeeps "Hammer".

How to shoot from "Cornflower"

The standard carriage is as light as possible, it looks like a normal cannon, the structure includes a pallet and a frame. The transfer into combat condition leads to the fact that the wheels are raised above the ground, and the jack is a support and a frame with dilated openers. Automated mortar "Vasilek" can be raised or lowered, depending on the fire conditions. The maximum height of the trunk elevation in the lower position is 78 °, in the upper 85 °. In hanging firing with a steepness exceeding 40 °, in order to avoid damage to the mechanisms from impacts from the ground, a groove must be dug under the backplate. Small angles of elevation serve to guide the trunk on armored targets. In this position, the 82-mm mortar "Vasilek" is used as a light anti-tank gun with a short range, but very powerful.

For direct firing, a panoramic sight is provided, on which in this case the standard optics (PAM-1) changes. As part of the guidance equipment there is also a lighting device "Luch-PM2M", designed to conduct fire at night.

Combat application

The first serious combat test for 2B9 was the Afghan war. Features of operations conducted in mountain ranges, have revealed the potential of the weapons we are considering to the full. Its universality and ability to hit hidden targets, combined with mobility, earned the respect that the Vasilek troops enjoyed. The mortar was often installed on lightly armored MT-LB carriers, which allowed them to quickly leave positions after a couple of turns, without waiting for a return fire. At the same time, it turned out that there were some design flaws. In particular, the mine cassette did not always become a regular place, and for its delivery a heavy blow with a hammer was required, which was always at hand at the loader.

In general, the automatic mortar showed itself well. It was also used in many armed conflicts that arose on the territory of the former USSR, in particular in both Chechen wars.

Characteristics

Currently, there is no secret information about how the "Vasilek" mortar is designed. His characteristics also lost the classification of secrecy due to the wide spread of this weapon all over the world.

The guidance mechanisms are simplified to the maximum and built on screw nodes. Manual rotation of the gates is carried out by horizontal guidance within 60 ° and vertical from -1 ° to 85 ° (with the jack fully raised). The maximum radius of combat damage is 4.7 km. The trunk is smooth, the rotation of the mines is provided by six feathers of the tail part, which have a slope with respect to the longitudinal axis. The cassette is designed for four charges. The standard ammunition contains 226 minutes. The total weight of the equipped machine exceeds six tons. It moves along the highway at a speed of 60 km / h, over rough terrain - 20 km / h. In the combat position the system is given by the standard for one and a half minutes.

Foreign "Cornflowers"

The design of the gun is simple, original and technological. In the world he has no analogues, although these samples are now produced in the People's Republic of China. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China acquired a license to produce "guns of type 99" - the name "Vasilek" was called in the Celestial Empire. The mortar is released in a giant edition, and now it can be seen and heard in the most diverse regions of the world, engulfed in the flames of wars.

Data on whether the "Cornflowers" are in the arsenal of the Russian Army are not available at the moment. Most likely, they have already been replaced by more perfect samples.