Gun Rapier: specifications, modifications and photos

Having once appeared on the battlefield, the tank became a nightmare for the infantryman for a long time. The first of these machines were practically invulnerable, and they fought with them only by digging anti-tank ditches and creating barrier hollows.

Then anti-tank rifles appeared , whose power by today's standards is simply ridiculous. Even at that time, tanks, again increasing their armor, could no longer be afraid of much of this weapon. And then anti-tank guns came on the scene. They were imperfect and sluggish, but the tankmen immediately began to respect them.

Do we need anti-tank guns today?

Many townsfolk believe that this "archaic" weapon is no longer on the modern battlefield: say, the armor of the present tanks does not always break through with a cumulative ammunition, what can we expect from some guns! But this point of view is not entirely true. There are such samples of them that are capable of delivering many problems even to very "heaped" machines. For example, an anti-tank gun "Rapier" of Soviet production.

The weapon is so interesting that it should be discussed separately. Than we now also will be engaged.

Prehistory of creation

Approximately in the mid-fifties of the last century it became clear that the main anti-tank weapons needed an urgent increase in combat power. The reason was the Americans' own projects of heavy tanks. At the time, the gun was armed with a gun D-10T and BS-3 (both - 100 mm). Technicians rightly assumed that their technical characteristics may not be enough.

The easiest way was to increase the caliber ... but this way led to the creation of huge, heavy and sluggish guns. And then Soviet engineers decided to return to smoothbore artillery, which has not been used in Russia since 1860! What caused them to make such a decision?

And it's all about the enormous speed to which an armor-piercing projectile should be dispersed in the trunk. Any error in the manufacture of the latter leads not only to a catastrophic drop in accuracy, but also to an increased risk of destruction of the entire implement. With a smooth barrel, the situation is completely opposite. Its main advantage is uniform wear.

Difficulties in choosing

But what is the substitute for finding cuts? After all, it is at their expense that the shell keeps course stability, allowing to conduct an effective fire over long distances! Again, the solution was found in the archives of artillerymen. It turned out that for smoothbore artillery it is possible to use feathered shells. Modern (at that time) technology made it possible to make it not only caliber (coinciding with the internal diameter of the gun), but also opening. Simply put, the projectile opened the blades after leaving the trunk limits (like the RPG-7 grenade launcher).

First experiments and the first sample

The first experiments showed that a 105-mm cannon would be required to assure the reliable projection of enemy tanks. At the same time intelligence received a report that the British are designing a gun of similar caliber with unprecedented characteristics. The main designer of the project - V.Ya. Afanasyev - was obliged to "catch up and overtake" competitors in the shortest possible time. The talented designer not only met the time allotted for it, but also envisaged the possibility of installing a new weapon in the domestic tanks. To do this, he slightly sacrificed ballistics, shortening the projectile to exactly 1000 mm.

So was born "Rapier" - an anti-tank gun, a photo of which is repeatedly given in this article.

What was used to create it?

To speed up the work, they took a gun carriage from the D-48 gun, slightly changing its design. But field tests immediately showed that he was too humming for a new gun. It was necessary to remake this detail literally from scratch. The cannon withstood the new tests with honor and was adopted for service. It is known as a tool of the caliber of 105 mm "T-12". The "rapier" of the modern model is largely different from it.

The trunk of the new gun was made in a monoblock scheme. The length is 6510 mm. The designers preferred the use of an active-reactive version of the muzzle brake. The breech is equipped with a vertical wedge gate. Shooting was carried out directly from the wheels, additional fixation (due to suspension of suspension) was not required.

In order to better imagine what the cannon "Rapier" is capable of, the characteristics of which we briefly painted, we suggest looking at the table.

Note that this is not a modern Rapier cannon. The characteristics of the latest modifications are much more serious.

Characteristics of ammunition

For ammunition gun ammunition - the first thing. Even a phenomenally long-range and reliable tool turns into a "pumpkin", if it uses obsolete, low-quality shells. And the cannon "Rapier", the TTX of which we quoted above, is the best confirmation of this.

Ammunition for new weapons also brought a lot of trouble, as they had to be developed anew. The main type is subcaliber and cumulative. To defeat the enemy's manpower, a standard fragmentation-high-explosive type of shot is used. The study of calculation is carried out using training sub-caliber projectiles. A lot of problems were caused by the plumage of the latter, as there was simply no experience in creating something like that, and even the smooth-bore 100mm gun was not yet mastered by the domestic industry.

The difficulty was that the projectile with the unopened blades had to adhere reliably to the stem channel, without forming backlashes. Dozens of concepts were adopted and immediately abandoned, but none met all the requirements of designers. Strange as it may seem, the workers turned out to be a solution that was proposed at the very beginning and rejected "because of its primitiveness." This once again confirmed that the simplest is often the most reliable.

New solution

The core in this case was proposed to be made of high-quality martensitic-aging steel. The tip-spreader of the projectile is made from the most common stamped sheet steel, from which some parts of the tail stabilizer were made. The plumage of the "arrow" was cast from a special aluminum alloy, and later it became clear that the aluminum needed to be anodized additionally. The tracer is pressed into the tail and additionally fixed to the threaded joint and core.

A lot of work was done with the leading belt of the projectile: in the end, they stopped on a triple version, the elements of which were connected by an obturating copper ring. As soon as the projectile leaves the barrel channel, the aerodynamic forces simply tear this belt, and the "arrow" that opens the plumage rushes to the tanks. At a range of up to 750 meters, the deviation is not more than 2.5 degrees along the horizontal aiming line.

Features of other types of shots

The cumulative and standard high-explosive shots had a similar design. In their case, the shell of the projectile also rigidly connected with the tail bushing on which the feathering was attached. The difference was in the absence of an obturating girdle and diameter, which coincided with that for the trunk. For the cumulative projectiles , a bushing with five blades of feathering was used, and in the case of a high-explosive fragmentary shot, a six-piece bushing was used.

Cumulative and fragmentation-high-explosive shots presented not so high requirements to the cartridge case, and therefore it was made of ordinary (lacquered) steel. Shells of the same sub-caliber type were equipped exclusively in a high-quality brass sleeve, which was not so worn out by the weapon. "Rapier" - the gun at that time is very expensive, but because the specialists were looking for any ways to increase its operational period.

Refinement of shells

But with the adoption of various types of shots, the problems have only just begun, since they all required serious refinement. In particular, the subcaliber shells excellently punched vertically arranged layers of armor, but here with the inclined they coped far not so convincingly. The projectile or went into the armor at some unthinkable angle, or just ricocheted. At the testing grounds, dozens of decommissioned tanks were destroyed, while specialists found a solution that suited everyone.

New elements in the design

It was necessary simply to add to the construction of the "arrow" an additional core of a particularly strong alloy. Once this part (weighing only 800 g), made of tungsten carbide, was introduced, the results immediately showed fantastic results: the penetration of inclined armor improved by 60% at once!

Soon all these characteristics were tested in practice. The cannon "Rapier", whose combat use began during the incident on the Golan Heights, showed excellent results on penetration.

Further development of the project

Very soon, Soviet tankmen drew attention to the new gun. They were impressed by the power and low return of the smooth-bore gun and its light weight. The first samples were hastily assembled, which immediately made an indelible impression on the military.

Once installed on the chassis of the T-54 tank, the new 100-mm Rapier cannon punctured the training targets (decommissioned corps of the same T-54) with out-of-bounds. From the sheep that played the role of the crew, there was practically nothing left.

In 1960, the Rapira cannon, modified to the required state, began to be mounted on the experimental chassis (based on the T-55 tank). Soon after that, all tests of the D54 were completely completed, as the new smoothbore gun showed its absolute superiority. The difference from the "infantry" modification is that there is no muzzle brake on the tank gun of this series. Only six months later, the Rapier cannon cannon (photo of which can be seen in this material) was adopted for service under the 2A20 Stilet.

The fact is that at a caliber of 100 mm it was not particularly needed. Considering the fact that Soviet tanks never differed in unprecedented dimensions and weight, and the muzzle brake greatly increases the return, its installation in domestic tank building was practiced only in those cases when all other methods of extinguishment had already been tried and did not yield the desired result.

New modifications

In the early 1970s, the Rapier cannon was again modified. The result of the work of scientists and engineers was the T-12A gun (2A29). Metallurgists and chemists have found a way to make stronger stems, which automatically gave grounds for testing new, reinforced munitions.

Once again, the gun carriage was completely reworked, as a result of which it was possible to almost completely get rid of vibration during shooting, the practical rate of fire increased almost by half. A sight for night shooting was developed and adopted, as well as a radar complex, intended for both night and day, provided poor visibility (dust storms, for example). Outwardly, this modification is very easy to distinguish, since the muzzle brake of the gun looks like a salt shaker.

Simultaneously with the 2A29 modification, a completely new sub-caliber projectile with a working part made of a single piece of tungsten alloy was adopted. The weight of the ammunition grew slightly, but the range of fire increased by approximately 30%. Next came a new version of the instructions for the combat calculation of the cannon. It said that shooting with an improved ammunition from the old Rapier 2A19 is strictly prohibited, since a trunk break is possible.

Since 1971, the series was upgraded tanker "Rapier" under the index T-12A - 2A20M1 "Stiletto".

Conclusion

To date, these weapons are much outdated. It is believed that the cannon "Rapier" can no longer guarantee the confident penetration of the armor of modern tanks, but under certain conditions, it is quite able to cope with its duties.

So, during the Yugoslav conflict it was used by all parties with very good results. Specialists note that this weapon is ideal for fighting light enemy armored vehicles (which is two times heavier than domestic infantry fighting vehicles). In addition, the Rapier cannon (photo above), almost certainly can hit most of the NATO tanks in the side and the stern. This gives grounds to assume that it is still too early for the "old woman" to retire.