Atomic 420mm mortar 2B1 "Oka": specifications

The history of the creation of super-powerful artillery weapons is full of embarrassments and curiosities. In the Moscow Kremlin is represented our historical landmark - Tsar Cannon, a work of art and pride of Russian foundry workers. Everyone knows that, despite the artistic perfection of the performance, this gigantic device never shot. There are other examples of weapons that have been hit with huge dimensions, but of dubious practical value. One of them can be the atomic mortar 2B1 "Oka". Unlike the Tsar Cannon, it was used for its intended purpose, however, only at the test site.

Artillery and Gigantomania

Huge artillery cannons have traditionally been the "idea-fix" of German imperialism. In March 1917 the Wehrmacht bombarded Paris, using long-range large-caliber guns. Residents of the Eternal City did not expect such attacks, the front line was far away. The French, in turn, built their huge cannons, and in the 30s installed them on the defensive line of Maginot. Their Germans captured at the beginning of the Second World War and for a long time (until complete wear and tear) experienced trophies. Work on the creation of weapons capable of delivering heavy ammunition for 100 or more kilometers, were also produced in Britain and the USSR. The effect of using these monsters turned out to be not so significant in practice. A colossal charge exploded when struck in the ground and exploded beneath its thickness, without causing much harm. The situation changed after the appearance of nuclear weapons.

Why do we need atomic mortars in the cosmic age?

Scientists who worked on the creation of the atomic bomb, at the initial stage of research, solved the main task. The charge had to be detonated, otherwise how would you prove the effectiveness of the new weapon? But in the Nevada desert, the first "mushroom" rose above the ground, and the question arose as to how to bring down the whole power of a chain nuclear reaction to the enemy's head. The first samples were rather heavy, and it took a long time to reduce their weight to acceptable values. "Fat Boy" or "Baby" could carry a strategic bomber firm "Boeing" B-29. In the 1950s, the USSR already possessed powerful missile delivery systems, which, however, had a serious shortcoming. ICBMs guaranteed the destruction of targets on the territory of the most powerful and main enemy, the United States, especially considering the total absence of anti-missile defenses at that time. But the invasion of the aggressor could be prepared in Western Europe, and strategic ballistic missiles have a minimum radius limit. And the theorists of military affairs turned their eyes to the old artillery that seemed to many.

The American initiative and the Soviet response

The Soviet country was not the initiator of the artillery nuclear race, it was started by the Americans. In the spring of 1953, the first shot of the T-131 gun was sent to Nevada at the French Plateau range, sending a 280 mm nuclear bomb. The flight of the projectile lasted 25 seconds. Work on this miracle of technology has been going on for several years, and thus the Soviet response to the American initiative can be considered belated. In November 1955, the Council of Ministers of the USSR developed a resolution (secret), according to which the Kirov plant and Kolomna machine-building SKB were assigned to create two artillery armament: a cannon (codenamed "Condenser-2P") and a 2B1 "Oka" mortar. The lag needed to be overcome.

Technical specification of special complexity

The weight of the nuclear charge remained large. Before the design team of SKB under the direction of BI Shavyrin, there was a difficult task: to create a mortar capable of throwing a body weighing 750 kg for a distance of up to 45 kilometers. There were also precision parameters, although not as stringent as for shooting with blasting shells. The gun must have a certain reliability, guaranteeing a certain number of shots, although under conditions of nuclear war (albeit limited) it certainly could not exceed a one-digit number. Mobility - a mandatory condition, the enemy gun after the war is almost guaranteed to destroy. The running gear became the concern of the factory workers from Leningrad. The fact that the 2B1 "Oka" mortar will be huge, it was clear right away, even before the beginning of its design.

Chassis

The Kirov plant had a rich experience in building unique tracked chassis, but the design parameters of the installation, which was to be created this time, went beyond all conceivable hitherto frameworks. Nevertheless, the designers with the task, in general, coped. The most powerful at that time was the IS-5 tank (the same IS-10 and T-10) served as a "donor", giving the "Object-273" power plant, the heart of which was a diesel engine with a turbocharger V-12-6B with a capacity of 750 liters. from. At this load, even this super-powerful engine was limited in the motor life, providing a power reserve of only 200 km (along the highway). Nevertheless, the specific power was not small, each ton of the machine was driven by almost 12 "horses", which allowed to keep quite an acceptable course, though not for long. For 2B1 "Oka" and "Condenser-2P" the running parts were designed unified, which is caused not only by the advantages of standardization, but also by the fact that it was simply impossible to create anything more powerful at that time. Support rollers were equipped with individual torsion-beam shock absorbers.

420-mm mortar 2B1 "Oka" and its trunk

The trunk was of an impressive size. Charging was carried out from the side of the breech unit, at twenty meters long, another method was unacceptable. All devices designed to offset the recoil energy, previously used even for superheavy guns, in this case had very limited suitability. Atomic 420mm mortar 2B1 "Oka" had no trimming, its rate of fire reached 12 shots per hour, which for a gun of this caliber is a very good indicator. The main damper of the rollback was the car body itself, sloths and other undercarriage components.

Demonstration

On the march in the whole huge car was only one person - a driver-mechanic. Six more, including the commander of the calculation, followed the 2B1 Oka mortar in an armored personnel carrier or other vehicle. On the festive parade in honor of the anniversary of the October Revolution in 1957, the car arrived after all the tests had passed. In the course of their work, numerous design flaws were identified, which in their majority were systemic in nature. Before the amazed correspondents of foreign newspapers and magazines, the self-propelled mortar 2B1 "Oka" majestically screeched, and the announcer with a cheerful voice announced publicly about the military appointment of this cyclopean monster. Not all military experts believed in the reality of the presented specimen, there were even opinions that it was a sham. Other analysts believed in the formidable nature of this weapon and eagerly picked up the familiar song about the Soviet military threat. Both of them were right in their own way. 420mm self-propelled mortar 2B1 "Oka" existed quite realistically and even produced many test shots. Another question concerned his longevity and actual combat readiness.

The result

A 55-ton machine, which not every bridge could withstand, was disarmed three years after the demonstration on Red Square. Attempts to fine-tune four prototypes of the 2B1 Oka mortar were discontinued in 1960 for two main reasons. Firstly, the chassis nodes did not withstand the monstrous loads that arose during the pullback, pushing the entire car five meters back, and all measures to strengthen them did not yield results. The ultimate strength of the precision alloy still exists. Secondly, at that time there appeared tactical missile carriers, which had much better characteristics and excellent traffic. As you know, the rocket takes off without recoil, hence, the requirements for its launcher are much more modest. There was one more factor that influenced the fate of this unique weapon. Atomic 420-mm mortar 2B1 "Oka" cost the budget very expensive, and its debugging had very vague prospects. All this contributed to the fact that the machine from the category of promising military equipment was included in a number of museum exhibits, adding to the list of military curiosities.