Self-propelled anti-tank gun. Anti-tank self-propelled gun

Self-propelled artillery pieces served in a wide variety of roles in World War II, from infantry defensive support to mobile anti-tank weapons, capable of conducting an offensive jointly with other units.

The main armament of self-propelled guns, depending on their type, were anti-tank guns with a caliber of 47 to 128 millimeters or howitzers with a caliber of up to 380 millimeters. Depending on the power of the gun, the armor and the weight of the self-propelled guns changed. For the Sturmtiger it reached 68 tons, and for the anti-tank self-propelled gun Jagdtiger - 70 tons; this self-propelled gun was the heaviest vehicle of World War II. Most often, self-propelled guns were designed on the chassis of various tanks, sometimes outdated, but preserved in large quantities(like the German Pz-I and Pz-II by 1941). The main difference between self-propelled guns and tanks was the absence of a rotating turret, which reduced the height (and, accordingly, vulnerability) of the vehicle, but also reduced combat characteristics. Most often self-propelled guns were used in mobile units, especially in tank divisions when breaking through enemy defenses, as well as when repelling tank attacks. They showed their high efficiency, although heavy self-propelled guns with powerful guns (Ferdinand, Nashorn, Jagdpanther) were vulnerable to aviation and much more mobile medium tanks.
Assessing the successes of German troops in Africa, Millentin wrote:
“How, then, should we explain the brilliant successes of the Afrika Korps? In my opinion, our victories were determined by three factors: the qualitative superiority of our anti-tank guns, the systematic application of the principle of interaction between military branches and - last but not least - our tactical methods. While the British limited the role of their 3.7-inch anti-aircraft guns (very powerful guns) to fighting aircraft, we used our 88-mm guns to fire at both tanks and aircraft.

The main means of anti-tank defense were tanks and artillery fire, primarily anti-tank in combination with terrain engineering equipment and natural obstacles, aviation and minefields. The regulations required the creation of anti-tank defense along lines (battalion, regimental and divisional) and, first of all, in front of the front line. The defensive battle had to begin on the distant approaches to the main strip, inflicting air strikes and long-range artillery attacks on the enemy. In the supply zone, forward detachments entered the battle. And then the units allocated to combat guards. The main forces and firepower of rifle units and formations were brought into the battle for the main line of defense. When enemy tanks break through into the depths of the main defense line, the formation commander must organize a counterattack in order to delay the enemy’s advance.

In the early 1960s, it turned out that the armor-piercing caliber shells of the D-10T tank guns. D-25 and M-62, which were armed with medium tanks T-54 and T-55 and heavy tanks T-10 and T-10M, cannot penetrate either the frontal armor, or the hull, or the turret American tank M60 and the English "Chieftain". To combat these tanks, work began in parallel in various directions: the creation of new sub-caliber and cumulative shells for old tank guns; new rifled and smooth-bore tank guns of 115-130 mm caliber; tank guided projectiles, etc. One of the elements of this program was the 152-mm self-propelled artillery installation SU-152 (object 120), development code ("Taran") ...

Artillery system it was designed at the Design Bureau of Plant No. 172, and the chassis was designed at the Sverdlovsk Transport Engineering Plant (chief designer Efimov). Prototype self-propelled gun SU-152 "Taran" (object 120) was manufactured in 1965 and was a completely enclosed vehicle with a fighting compartment in the rear, and an engine and transmission in the bow. Chassis and power point self-propelled guns are borrowed from the SU-152P.

The M-69 cannon with a monoblock barrel 9045 mm long (59.5 klb) is placed in a rotating turret at the rear of the self-propelled gun. Its horizontal guidance is carried out by rotating the turret using an electric drive, and its vertical guidance is carried out by a hydraulic drive. The gun is equipped with an ejector mounted in the muzzle of the barrel: when fired, powder gases filled its receiver and then, when the pressure in it and in the barrel bore after the projectile was fired, rushed through inclined nozzles to the barrel, drawing out those gases that remained in the breech. The operating time of the ejector was regulated by ball valves in the filling channels of the receiver.

The bolt of the M-69 cannon is a semi-automatic horizontal wedge, loading is separate-case. Powder charges- full weighing 10.7 kg, and reduced weighing 3.5 kg. — located in metal or combustible cartridges. For armor-piercing tracer shells, a special charge weighing 9.8 kg was used.

The gun could fire high-explosive fragmentation shells weighing 43.5 kg, sub-caliber armor-piercing projectiles weighing 12.5 kg, as well as cumulative projectiles. For firing high-explosive fragmentation shells, two types of charges were used: full - weighing 10.7 kg, and reduced - weighing 3.5 kg. For an armor-piercing projectile, a special charge weighing 9.8 kg was used. Armor-piercing shells were capable of penetrating armor up to 295 mm thick from a distance of up to 3500 m. The direct shot range was 2050 m at a target height of 2 m and 2500 m at a target height of 3 m. To aim the gun at the target during daylight hours, the TSh-22 sight was used , in the dark - a periscope night sight. The total transportable ammunition of the self-propelled gun was 22 rounds. Additional weapons included a 14.5 mm machine gun, as well as 2 AK-47 and 20 hand grenades F-1.

The hull of the self-propelled gun was welded from rolled steel armor plates and divided into three sections: power (engine and transmission), control and combat compartments. The thickness of the frontal sheet of the hull was 30 mm. According to the tactical and technical requirements, the frontal armor of the hull and turret was supposed to protect the self-propelled guns from being hit by armor-piercing shells of 57 mm caliber with impact speed 950 m/s.

The SU-152 Taran (object 120) was not accepted for service. The main reason for this was the creation of effective alternative anti-tank weapons - the 125-mm D-81 smoothbore gun and anti-tank guided missiles.

When creating the SU-152 Taran, the designers used many new and original engineering and technical solutions. Many of them came in handy later, in the 60s, when creating the next generation of self-propelled artillery.

Performance characteristics of the 152-mm self-propelled gun SU-152 Taran (Object 120)

Combat weight.t 27
Crew. people 4
Overall dimensions, mm:
case length 6870
width 3120
height 2820
Booking, mm:
body forehead 30
Armament 152 mm M-69 cannon
Ammunition 22 rounds
Engine V-54-105, 12-cylinder, V-shaped. 4-stroke liquid-cooled diesel, power 294 kW at 2000 rpm
Maximum speed on the highway, km/h 63.4
Cruising range on the highway, km 280

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Anti-tank self-propelled gun - specialized for combating enemy armored vehicles, partially and lightly armored self-propelled artillery installation(self-propelled artillery installation). It is precisely in its armor that an anti-tank self-propelled gun differs from tank destroyer, which has complete and good armor protection.

USA

American anti-tank self-propelled guns were officially classified as “tank destroyers”, but incomplete and partial armor does not allow them to be classified as full-fledged tank destroyers. Characteristic feature American cars was the placement of weapons in a rotating turret open at the top with a developed counterweight on its rear side.

• M10 Wolverine- highly mobile and technologically advanced anti-tank self-propelled gun based on a medium tank M4 Sherman.
• M18 Hellcat- M10 version with reduced armor protection but higher mobility. Additionally, it was armed with a Browning M2HB heavy anti-aircraft machine gun to protect against air attacks and combat enemy personnel.
• M36 Jackson (or Slugger) - a slow-moving but very powerfully armed anti-tank self-propelled gun based on a medium tank M4 Sherman; had good frontal armor, but the side armor was still bulletproof.

United Kingdom

• Archer- slow-moving, but very powerfully armed anti-tank self-propelled guns based on a medium tank "Valentine" ;

Layout features

Anti-tank self-propelled gun "Archer"

In terms of their layout, anti-tank self-propelled guns (with the gun placed in the wheelhouse) are quite typical - the wheelhouse with the gun is located in the stern, the engine is in the middle, and the control compartment is in the bow of the vehicle. An interesting exception is the Archer self-propelled gun, which looks similar to all other vehicles of this class, but is actually similar in layout to a Soviet tank destroyer SU-85- the fighting compartment and control compartment are located in the bow of the vehicle, and the engine in the stern. The difference is that the SU-85’s gun is directed in the direction of the self-propelled gun, while the Archer’s gun is directed against it. In the combat position, the Archer turned stern forward, and its driver did not see the battlefield. However, this made it possible to quickly leave the car without turning around. firing position moving forward.

Literature

• Latukhin A. N. Self-propelled anti-tank gun // Soviet military encyclopedia / Ed. A. N. Kiselev. - M., 1980. - T. 7. - P. 234.
• Latukhin A. N. Anti-tank weapons. - M., 1974.