Let us consider what the all-destroying artillery system of the reserve of the High Command, which has no direct similarity to any army in the world, is.
The experience of World War II confirmedthe need for large-caliber artillery capable of destroying fortifications. But it became obvious that the old samples of heavy artillery can not meet the needs of modern, dynamic military operations. Therefore, during the war, in 1944, the Soviet government gave the task to develop a 240-mm mortar to the Kolomna Design Bureau.
The product received the M-240 index and entered theThe armament of the Soviet army in 1950. In contrast to mortars of a smaller caliber, it was charged with a 130-kilogram high-explosive fragmentation mine. The range of fire was eight kilometers. However, the type of towed mortar of such caliber for the modern Soviet army of the era of the Caribbean crisis began to appear obsolete. Self-propelled artillery installation "Tulip" acted as a new task for the designers of the Ural Transport Engineering Plant.
The Urals were system integratorsproject, working in cooperation with many factories and design bureaus of the USSR. The artillery system, which they had to install on their own chassis, was created at the Perm Motovilikha factories. Initially, it was intended to use the SU-100 chassis, on which the artillery installation was mounted. "Tulip" was too heavy for such a platform and did not tolerate the huge impact of the shot.
The Urals had to radically transformThe initial platform, creating a virtually new machine. But at the same time the level of unification that the Tulip self-propelled machine possessed has reached eighty percent in relation to the basic transport basis. The car is driven by a diesel engine with a capacity of 520 horsepower, which allows it to accelerate to sixty kilometers per hour. In the bow of the hull above the commander's workplace there is a rotating turret equipped with a 7.62 mm machine gun.
The crew of the combat vehicle is five people, thatdemonstrates the serious attitude of the developers to the mechanization of the preparation for firing a gun of such a large caliber. Installation "Tulip" allows you to transport at the same time all the calculations and wagon ammunition. In addition to the commander of the gun and the driver-mechanic located in the forward compartment of the car, it carries two operators and a gunner, located in the fighting compartment. In the transport position, they take places next to the mechanized combat laying of the transport ammunition. When the system is deployed to prepare for the opening of the fire, the crew members occupy places according to the combat schedule.
Developed taking into account the experience of creation andoperation of the towed mortar M-240, the new system for the self-propelled chassis received the index 2B8. Initially, the fire was supposed to be carried directly from the transport chassis. However, a terrifying recoil of about five hundred tons and a shock wave of a shot that crushes the hinged fuel tanks was forced to abandon such a decision. According to the adopted modified layout, the "Tulip" installation has two positions. In the transport mortar is on the caterpillar chassis, and in the combat it is located behind its stern, on the retractable base plate, which is supported on the ground.
Перевод орудия из походного в боевое положение is carried out by a hydraulic system. The power of the mortar is carried out from the internal turret boe, which can contain up to twenty high-explosive fragmentation mines or ten active-reactive mines.
Before the fire is opened, the machine is transferred fromtransport situation in combat. Installation "Tulip" with the help of hydraulic actuators throws the mortar back, behind the rear part of the machine, and installs it on the base plate.
Заряжание миномёта осуществляется непосредственно from the combat vehicle or from the ground. When loaded from the boom, the bar turns 90 degrees, the operator sets the charge from the side of the trunk, then the mortar is again brought to a position close to the vertical. For ground combat, the calculation can use a winch to install 130- and 250-kilogram mines. After charging, the gun is guided manually over the horizontal angle. Guidance on the vertical is carried out by means of a hydraulic system. The high level of mechanization of the process of bringing to combat readiness, charging and guidance made it possible to achieve an outstanding rate of fire for a gun of this caliber. Installation "Tulip" can fire at a rate of one shot per minute.
Боевая эффективность системы обеспечивается excellent mobility, ballistics, accuracy and assortment of used ammunition. The basis of the ammunition is high-explosive mines weighing up to one hundred and thirty kilograms, which can fire up to ten kilometers. Also in the arsenal is an active-rocket projectile, allowing you to hit targets at a distance of up to twenty kilometers. The power of these charges is enormous. They leave behind a funnel with a radius of ten meters and a depth of about six. Even fortifications of heavy type can not withstand them.
Missile system "Tulip" (photo can be seenin the article) can be used as a high-precision weapon when firing guided missiles "Smelchak". They are guided along the reflected laser beam of target illumination and give the opportunity to apply accurate shocks to a depth of five to ten kilometers. Cassette and incendiary ammunition can be used to defeat manpower and area targets. The napalm charge of the 2S4 "Tulip" installation covers one hectare of the territory, turning it into a continuous lake of fire. In addition to traditional equipment, Tulip can also use nuclear munitions with a capacity of up to two kilotons of TNT equivalent.
On the armament of the Soviet army a self-propelled mortar2C4 entered in 1971, replacing the towed model of the model in 1955. In the mid-eighties, he underwent modernization, which increased his combat characteristics. Production of the product continued until 1988, and over the entire period of production, 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 thousandth, several samples were sent to Libya in agreement with the leadership of Russia.
The mortar unit 2С4 for the first time passed combatbaptism in Afghanistan as part of a limited contingent of Soviet troops. According to the calculations of specialists, up to one hundred and twenty weapons were involved in the fighting in this territory. By all accounts, it proved to be exceptionally successful in the difficult circumstances of that war. The mountainous terrain greatly complicated the use of artillery, direct-fire artillery, and howitzers. Aviation, too, could not always strike at fortified points located in mountain caves or on slopes. Installation "Tulip" demonstrated the highest effectiveness, destroying the enemy's positions for one or two shots, regardless of how much they were equipped.
Experience in using a mortar in Afghanistanwas useful during the suppression of the resistance of terrorist and bandit formations in Chechnya. Similar conditions for the conduct of fights made it possible to quickly find a suitable way to destroy the mountain positions of terrorists. In addition to fighting in the field, a self-propelled mortar unit "Tulip" was used to storm the settlements. From it the firing of fortified bunkers of bandits was conducted during the preparation of the storming of Grozny.
Unfortunately, the combat biography of the 2C4 system"Tulip" 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 Semyonovka in 2014. The exotic and rarity of this type of weapon caused the shell's funnel not to be recognized immediately and sparked heated discussions about weapons that could cause damage of this magnitude. Opinions tended to the fact that the funnel was left with a tactical ballistic missile. However, it worked "Tulip".
