Self-propelled howitzers “Gvozdika” and “Akatsiya”. Russian flowers of large calibers: “Peony”, “Hyacinth”, “Tulip Artillery mount carnation”

122-mm self-propelled howitzer 2S1 “Gvozdika”

Years of production: 1969-1991

Issued: more than 10,000 pieces.

The 122-mm SG 2S1 "Gvozdika" - a unit created on the basis of the MT-LBu multi-purpose tracked transporter and armed with a 2A31 howitzer, in terms of ballistic characteristics and the ammunition used, is completely unified with the gun equipped with the towed 122-mm howitzer D-30.

The machine body is welded from steel plates, maximum thickness which reaches 20 mm. This armor provides protection from lung fire small arms, shell fragments and small caliber mines. The self-propelled gun “holds” a 7.62-mm B-32 rifle bullet from a distance of 300 m. Three fuel tanks with a total capacity of 550 liters are located in the walls of both sides of the hull. The engine used in the 2S1 is a V-shaped eight-cylinder four-stroke diesel engine YaMZ-238N from the Yaroslavl Motor Plant. In general, the layout of the howitzer is similar to the 152-mm self-propelled gun 2S3 Akatsiya.

The 2S1 entered service with artillery battalions of motorized rifle regiments. The purpose of the "Gvozdika" is to destroy and suppress manpower and infantry firepower, destroy field-type fortifications, make passages in minefields and barbed wire barriers, fighting enemy artillery, mortars and armored vehicles.

The usual ammunition load of a howitzer is limited to three types of ammunition: high-explosive fragmentation (35 pcs.), smoke and several armor-piercing cumulative (5 pcs.) projectiles with stabilizing tail; The maximum firing range of a conventional high-explosive projectile is 15,200 meters. In the case of using active-missile projectiles, the firing range increases to 21,900 meters.

“Gvozdika” is air transportable, that is, it can be transported on An-12, Il-76, An-124 aircraft. To reduce the height of the self-propelled guns, support rollers from the second to the seventh during transportation can be raised and secured using special devices.

2S1 "Gvozdika" at one time entered service with all armies of the countries Warsaw Pact(except Romania).

Today the howitzer is in service with the armies of the CIS, including the Belarusian army. IN lately In order to improve the installation, a laser-guided projectile “Kitolov-2” was developed for it. This projectile can hit stationary and moving targets with a high degree of probability.

The Gvozdika hull is used to create turretless reconnaissance, fire control, radiation and chemical reconnaissance, radar surveillance, mine clearance and command vehicles. Production of the SG 2S1 ceased in 1991, but production of auxiliary combat vehicles on its chassis continues.

Tactical and technical characteristics

Combat weight	15.7 t
Combat crew	4 people
Caliber	122 mm
Dimensions	7260x2850x2725 mm
Engine	V-shaped, 8-cylinder, diesel YaMZ-238N, 300 hp.
Reservations: - body forehead - tower forehead	15 mm 20 mm
Armament	122 mm howitzer 2A31
Ammunition	40 shots
Rate of fire	4-5 shots/min
Firing range: - high-explosive fragmentation projectile - active-missile projectile	15,200 m 21,900 m
Maximum speed: - along the highway - cross-country - afloat	60 km/h 26-32 km/h 4.5 km/h
Highway range	500 km
Climbability	35°
Climbable wall	0.7 m
Crossable ditch	3.0 m

On July 4, 1967, the Decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 609-201 set the start of the development of the 122-mm self-propelled howitzer 2С1 "Carnation". The Kharkov Tractor Plant named after S. Ordzhonikidze was appointed the head enterprise. The same plant had previously developed the MT-LB artillery tractor, which was used as a base. However, due to insufficient stability, as well as increased loads, an additional support roller was added to the chassis chassis.

From 1967 to 1972, OKB-9 produced and tested two experimental howitzers D-11 and D-12 of 122 mm caliber. Based on the test results, the D-12 option was chosen, which, after modifications, was assigned the in-plant index D-32 (GRAU Index - 2A31).

Since August 1967, an experimental batch of four 2S1 self-propelled howitzers entered field testing. At the stage of State testing, a serious defect was revealed: when firing, there was severe gas contamination in the fighting compartment. In order to eliminate the comment, about 10 possible options solutions to this problem.
On December 11, 1967, by order of the USSR Ministry of Defense Industry, development of modified howitzers for 2S1 and 2S3 began to reduce gas pollution. On the basis of the D-32 howitzer, the D-16 howitzer was developed with a semi-automatic bolt with a plate shutter. However, due to the low effectiveness of this solution, work on the D-16 project was stopped in 1972. The problem was solved by using a more powerful ejector and sleeves with improved sealing.
After completing all types of tests and eliminating the comments, on September 14, 1970, by Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 770-249, the 2S1 self-propelled howitzer was put into service.

The SAU 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer was intended to replace the D-30 towed howitzer in artillery battalions of motorized rifle regiments. Being the lightest model of all, it was supposed to have mobility comparable to tanks and infantry fighting vehicles and provide constant fire support advancing motorized rifle and tank units. The 122-mm self-propelled artillery howitzer is designed to destroy and suppress manpower and infantry firepower, destroy field fortifications, make passages in minefields and barbed wire obstacles, as well as to combat enemy artillery, mortars and armored vehicles.

The main armament of the self-propelled artillery unit is a 122-mm howitzer D-32 (2A31), installed in the rear of the vehicle. The howitzer barrel consists of a monoblock pipe, a breech, a coupling, an ejection device and a two-chamber muzzle brake. Semi-automatic vertical wedge shutter. Sector lifting mechanism with manual drive. Guidance of the gun in the vertical plane is carried out in the angle range from -3° to +70°. The recoil brake is hydraulic spindle type, the knurl is pneumatic. The recoil and retractor brake cylinders are fixed in the breech and roll back along with the barrel. The barrel is balanced by a push-type pneumatic balancing mechanism. The ramming mechanism is of an electromechanical type, designed for separate loading of a projectile and a loaded cartridge case into the barrel chamber after placing them on the rammer tray.

The 2S1 “Gvozdika” is equipped with a PG-2 periscope sight, which allows firing from both closed positions and direct fire. PG-2 consists of a panorama, a mechanical sight with a matching unit, optical sight direct fire OP5-37, parallelogram drive and electrical unit.
The transportable ammunition of the 2S1 self-propelled gun is 35 high-explosive fragmentation shells and 5 cumulative shells. Separately loaded ammunition - a projectile and a cartridge case with a charge. Lighting, propaganda, electronic countermeasures, chemical, smoke, and projectiles with special arrow-shaped striking elements can also be used.

Shooting high-explosive fragmentation projectile can be fired at a maximum range of up to 15,300 m. When using an active-rocket projectile, the range increases to 21,900 m. To fire the BP-1 cumulative rotating projectile, a special Zh-8 charge weighing 3.1 kg is used, giving the projectile an initial speed of 740 m/s. Firing range - up to 2000 m. Armor penetration at a right angle is 180 mm, at an angle of 60° - 150 mm, at an angle of 30° - 80 mm. Armor penetration parameters do not depend on distance.
The rate of fire when firing airborne ammunition shells is 1-2 rounds per minute. “From the ground” - 4-5, while they are supplied inside the fighting compartment using a transport device through a door in the rear of the self-propelled gun hull.
The undercarriage of each side consists of seven road wheels, a driving front wheel and a guide rear wheel. The caterpillar does not have supporting rollers. The track tensioning mechanism is located inside the housing. Track tension is also adjusted from inside the machine. The tracks with rubber-metal hinges are 400 mm wide and can be replaced with wider ones (670 mm) to improve cross-country ability in snow and wetlands. A mechanical transmission is interlocked with the engine. The track rollers are made of aluminum alloy. Between the hub and the outer ring with the rubber band of each roller, two disks are welded, forming an internal air chamber that increases the buoyancy of the machine. The drive wheels, located at the front of the housing, have removable ring gears, making them easy to replace if excessive wear occurs.

As power plant a YaMZ-238 diesel engine with a power of 300 hp is used, allowing the machine to develop maximum speed on the highway 60 km/h. 2S1 "Carnation" - floating. The afloat speed is 4.5 km/h. With a wave height of up to 150 mm and a current speed of no more than 0.6 m/sec, the machine is capable of overcoming water obstacles 300 m wide. Movement through water is carried out by rewinding the tracks.
The machine body is welded from steel plates, the maximum thickness of which reaches 20 mm. Such armor provides protection from light small arms fire and fragments of small-caliber shells and mines. The control compartment and the engine-transmission compartment are located in the front part of the hull, and the fighting compartment is located in the middle and aft parts of the hull, as well as in the turret. The turret accommodates three crew members: in front on the left is the gunner, behind him is the installation commander and to the right of the gun is the loader. Ammunition is stored in the rear part of the self-propelled gun body. The armor of the self-propelled gun is bulletproof and provides protection against damage by armor-piercing bullets of 7.62 mm caliber at a distance of 300 m.

Crew - 4 people.

122-mm self-propelled howitzer 2S1 "Gvozdika" is in service ground forces CIS countries and the former Warsaw Pact, Algeria, Angola, Yemen, Libya, Syria and Ethiopia. After the reunification of Germany, 374 installations were transferred to the Bundeswehr. In addition to the USSR, the howitzer was produced under license in Bulgaria and Poland.

In 2001, a deep modernization of the 2S1 “Gvozdika” was carried out, receiving the index “M”. The 2AZ1 gun was replaced by a semi-automatic 122 mm 2A80 gun, which has a barrel cooling system. The use of unitary shots and automatic restoration of vodka increased the target rate of fire to 7-9 rounds per minute, and the introduction of more powerful ammunition from the new gun into the ammunition load increased the effectiveness of hitting targets. Recently, in order to improve the installation, a laser-guided projectile, “Kitolov-2,” was developed for it. This projectile can hit stationary and moving targets with a high degree of probability. According to leading specialists of Motovilikha Plants OJSC, after modernization the effectiveness of combat use Self-propelled gun 2S1M "Gvozdika" increases by at least 3 times.

For self-propelled guns, which were created in the Soviet Union in the early 70s, the flower names were fixed: Carnation, Acacia, Tulip, Hyacinth, Peony. The Gvozdika began to enter service with self-propelled artillery divisions of tank and motorized rifle regiments in 1970.

Work on the second generation self-propelled artillery mount 2S1 "Gvozdika" began at OKB-9 of the Uralmash plant in accordance with Resolution of the Council of Ministers No. 609-201 of July 4, 1967. And already in 1969 it entered field testing prototype. In 1971, the 2S1 self-propelled gun was put into service. The speed of development and production of the installation is easy to explain. The designers used the famous MT-LB tractor as a chassis, on which they installed the even more famous D-30 howitzer. The D-30 in the tracked version was subjected to minor design modifications and was given the name D-32 (index 2A31)

The 2S1 entered service with artillery battalions of motorized rifle regiments (tank) regiments equipped with infantry fighting vehicles. The purpose of the "Gvozdika" is the destruction and suppression of manpower and infantry firepower, the destruction of field-type fortifications, making passages in minefields and wire obstacles, fighting enemy artillery, mortars and armored vehicles.

The usual transportable ammunition is 35 high-explosive fragmentation and five cumulative shells. Separately loaded ammunition - a projectile and a cartridge case with a charge. A wide range of projectiles has been developed - lighting, propaganda, electronic countermeasures, chemical, smoke, with special arrow-shaped striking elements, cumulative, high-explosive fragmentation.
In 1967, an attempt was made to create cap-loading howitzers, D-16 and D-16m, on the basis of the D-32 for the Gvozdika. But they didn’t go into series.
The BP-1 cumulative rotating projectile is fired with a special Zh-8 charge weighing 3.1 kg; initial speed 740 m/s; table range is 2000 m. Normal armor penetration is 180 mm; at an angle of 60° - 150 mm, at an angle of 30° - 80 mm; armor penetration does not depend on distance. When firing a high-explosive projectile, the maximum range is 15,300 m. When using an active-reactive projectile, this figure increases to 21,900 m.

The self-propelled gun is floating; movement through the water is carried out by rewinding the tracks.
The layout of the 2S1 Gvozdika is basically similar to the 152 mm self-propelled gun 2S3 Akatsiya. In the front of the hull is the driver's cabin and engine compartment, and in the rear is the fighting compartment. The turret houses three more crew members: a gunner, a loader and a commander. The tower rotates by electric or manual drive 360 degrees. The tracks of the self-propelled guns are rubber-metal, and the road wheels have individual torsion bar suspension. The first and seventh wheels, in addition to torsion bars, also have hydraulic shock absorbers. The housing is sealed. With the help of rewinding tracks, the self-propelled gun floats at a speed of 4.5 km/h and is capable of overcoming water obstacles 300 m wide with a wave height of up to 150 mm and a current speed of no more than 0.6 m/sec. In this case, there should be no more than 30 shots on board the installation. “Gvozdika” is air transportable, that is, it can be transported on An-12, Il-76, An-124 aircraft. To reduce the height of the self-propelled guns, support rollers from the second to the seventh during transportation can be raised and secured using special devices. The self-propelled gun has bulletproof armor, which “holds” a 7.62-mm B-32 rifle bullet from a distance of 300 m. Three fuel tanks with a total capacity of 550 liters are located in the walls of both sides of the hull. The engine of the 2S1 is a V-shaped eight-cylinder four-stroke diesel engine YaMZ-238V from the Yaroslavl Motor Plant. The gearbox has 11 forward speeds and two reverse.

The onboard ammunition is located as follows: 16 shells in a vertical position along the side walls of the hull and 24 along the side and rear walls of the turret. To facilitate loading the howitzer, an electromechanical type loading mechanism is used. When firing shells stored on the ground, they are fed into the fighting compartment using a transport device through the large rear door. The gun is aimed using the PG-2 sight and the OP5-37 direct-fire optical sight. The howitzer barrel has vertical aiming angles from -3 to +70 degrees. The maximum firing range is 15,200 m, the minimum is 4070 m. The rate of fire of the howitzer is not very high. When firing shells from the “ground” - 4-5 rounds per minute, with onboard ammunition 1 - 2.
The 2S1 “Gvozdika” at one time entered service with all armies of the Warsaw Pact countries (except Romania). After the reunification of Germany, the Bundeswehr received 374 2S1s. The Gvozdika is still in service with the armies of the CIS today, including the Belarusian army.

TTX 2S1 “Gvozdika”

Combat weight, t 15700
Crew, people 4
Length, mm 7260
Width, mm 2850
Height, mm 2725
Ground clearance, mm 400
(base chassis MT-LB)
Armor, mm: bulletproof
forehead 15 mm
case 15 mm
Maximum speed, km/h: 61.5
Maximum speed afloat, km/h: 4.5
Power reserve, km: 500
Wall height, m 0.7
Ditch width, m 3.0
Ford depth, m floating.

Power point
YaMZ-238 engine
Power, hp 300 hp
diesel, 8-cylinder, V-shaped, liquid cooled

weapons
122 mm howitzer D-32
ammunition
shots - 40
rate of fire 4-5 rds/min
Max. firing range 15200 m
Wed connection r/st. R-123M

The 2S1 entered service with artillery battalions of motorized rifle regiments equipped with infantry fighting vehicles. The purpose of the "Gvozdika" is the destruction and suppression of manpower and infantry firepower, the destruction of field-type fortifications, making passages in minefields and wire fences, and fighting enemy artillery, mortars and armored vehicles.

In 1967, an attempt was made to create cap-loading howitzers - D-16 and D-16M - on the basis of the D-32 for the Gvozdika. But they didn’t go into series. The layout of the 2S1 Gvozdika is basically similar to the 152 mm self-propelled gun 2S3 Akatsiya. In the front of the hull is the driver's cabin and engine compartment, and in the rear is the fighting compartment. The turret houses three more crew members: a gunner, a loader and a commander. The tower rotates by electric or manual drive 360 degrees.

The tracks of the self-propelled guns are rubber-metal, have a width of 400 mm, but can be replaced with wider ones (670 mm) for increased maneuverability in snow and wetlands. Track rollers - with individual torsion bar suspension. The first and seventh wheels, in addition to torsion bars, also have hydraulic shock absorbers. The housing is sealed. The drive wheels, located at the front of the housing, have removable ring gears, making them easy to replace if excessive wear occurs. The track tensioning mechanism is located inside the housing. Track tension is also adjusted from inside the machine. With the help of rewinding tracks, the self-propelled gun floats at a speed of 4.5 km/h and is capable of overcoming water obstacles 300 m wide with a wave height of up to 150 mm and a current speed of no more than 0.6 m/sec. Between the hub and the outer ring with the rubber band of each roller, two disks are welded, forming an internal air chamber that increases the buoyancy of the machine. In this case, there should be no more than 30 shots on board the installation. "Gvozdika" is air transportable, that is, it can be transported on An-12, Il-76, An-124 aircraft. To reduce the height of the self-propelled guns, support rollers from the second to the seventh during transportation can be raised and secured using special devices.

The machine body is welded from steel plates, the maximum thickness of which reaches 20 mm. This armor provides protection from light small arms fire and small-caliber shell fragments and mines. The self-propelled gun “holds” a 7.62-mm B-32 rifle bullet from a distance of 300 m. Three fuel tanks with a total capacity of 550 liters are located in the walls of both sides of the hull. The engine used in the 2S1 is a V-shaped eight-cylinder four-stroke diesel engine YaMZ-238V from the Yaroslavl Motor Plant. The gearbox has 11 forward speeds and two reverse. The onboard ammunition is located as follows: 16 shells in a vertical position along the side walls of the hull and 24 along the side and rear walls of the turret. To facilitate loading the howitzer, an electromechanical type loading mechanism is used. When firing shells stored on the ground, they are fed into the fighting compartment using a transport device through the large rear door.

The gun is aimed using the PG-2 sight and the OP5-37 direct-fire optical sight. The howitzer barrel has vertical aiming angles from -3 to +70 degrees. The BP-1 cumulative rotating projectile is fired with a special Zh-8 charge weighing 3.1 kg; initial speed 740 m/s; table range is 2000 m. Normal armor penetration is 180 mm; at an angle of 60° - 150 mm, at an angle of 30° - 80 mm; armor penetration does not depend on distance. When firing a high-explosive projectile, the maximum range is 15,300 m. When using an active-reactive projectile, this figure increases to 21,900 m. The minimum firing range is 4,070 m. The rate of fire of the howitzer is not very high. When firing shells from the ground - 4-5 rounds per minute, with onboard ammunition - 1-2.

The howitzer barrel consists of a monoblock pipe, a breech, a coupling, an ejection device and a two-chamber muzzle brake. Vertical wedge shutter with semi-automatic mechanical (copier) type. Sector lifting mechanism with manual drive. The recoil and retractor brake cylinders are fixed in the breech and roll back along with the barrel. The barrel is balanced by a push-type pneumatic balancing mechanism.

The 2S1 "Gvozdika" at one time entered service with all armies of the Warsaw Pact countries (except Romania). After the reunification of Germany, 374 2S1s were received by the Bundeswehr. The Gvozdika is still in service with the CIS armies today, including the Belarusian army. Recently, in order to improve the installation, a laser-guided projectile "Kitolov-2" was developed for it. This projectile can hit stationary and moving targets with a high degree of probability.

Serial production of the 122 mm 2S1 self-propelled howitzer continues. A vehicle of this type is in service with the ground forces of Algeria, Angola, Bulgaria, Hungary, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Poland, Russia, Syria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Ethiopia and former Yugoslavia.

Shooting modes:
- target rate of fire when firing direct fire, rds/min. 4-5
- target rate of fire when firing from closed positions:
- when firing shots from the ground without repacking the charges, rds/min. 4-5,
- when using shots from an ammunition rack and at different elevation angles, rds/min 1.5-2

Source: Encyclopedia of armored vehicles: Tracked combat vehicles
Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Kachuk, Army magazine No. 3 2001

Self-propelled artillery unit (SAU) or spoken language It’s just that the self-propelled gun appeared along with the first tanks. By modern classification first french tanks"Schneider" and "Saint-Chamon" are not tanks. These are ordinary field guns mounted on self-propelled chassis and protected by thin armor. The difference between a tank and a self-propelled gun is that the tank is equipped with its own weapon, developed specifically for this tank. In addition, self-propelled guns, as a rule, have additional weapons (machine guns, mortars, anti-aircraft installations etc.) is not equipped.

The first self-propelled guns appeared before the First World War, but did not receive full-scale distribution. The real heyday of self-propelled guns came during World War II. But we will talk about the Gvozdika self-propelled gun, which was put into service in 1970 and has not yet been removed from combat duty.

History of creation

Assault and anti-tank self-propelled guns appeared in service with the USSR army in the 1940s. It cannot be said that they made a decisive contribution to the victory (the championship still belongs to tanks), but they were very effective in supporting infantry and advancing tanks. With the beginning Cold War The potential enemy now had sophisticated 105 mm artillery systems, which were superior to Soviet self-propelled guns in many respects.

But the USSR doctrine was aimed at the use of missiles and self-propelled guns were not developed. After Khrushchev left office, a doctrine emerged among sober minds that global nuclear war impossible. The possibility of destroying not only the enemy, but also oneself is too great. Here's the use destructive weapons for tactical purposes it is quite possible. In this sense, the use of self-propelled guns was one of the most the best ways deliver a tactical nuclear charge to the desired location.

Based on this statement, the development of a new self-propelled gun, called the self-propelled gun 2S1 “Gvozdika”, began, taking into account the possibility of using such charges.

By decision Communist Party and by decree of the Union government in 1967, the development of a 122 mm caliber artillery system began.

This decision was based on the research base of VNII-100. It was these studies that determined the basic characteristics of the future self-propelled howitzer.

The research institute proposed three chassis options: BMP-1, MT-LB tractor and Object-124. They chose a tractor, on the basis of which the Gvozdika self-propelled gun was designed. The tractor plant in Kharkov was assigned to develop new system.

1969 began testing four prototypes of 122 mm Gvozdika and 152 mm 2S3. The choice was made on the Gvozdika. In 1970, the USSR government, after a year of testing and necessary modifications, adopted the Gvozdika self-propelled gun.

The new self-propelled gun began to arrive in military units, and the crews gradually mastered this system. Serial production was finally mastered in 1971. It was produced in Poland (since 1971) and Bulgaria (since 1979). In 1991, the self-propelled gun was no longer produced. In total, about ten thousand cars have been produced since 1970.

Design

The layout of the body of this artillery system was made according to the turret design. Everything is welded from rolled steel sheets. The body itself is absolutely sealed, and the thickness of the armor plates is 20 mm. This is fairly reliable protection against shrapnel and bullets, but not against shells. The engine compartment is located on the right side, where the driver-mechanic seat is also located.

The fighting compartment is located in the middle and stern. There is a turret on the hull, and a gun in it. There are charges and loader in the turret on the right side. On the left is the gunner and sight for precise aiming. The commander's place is behind the gunner. The commander has his own rotating turret with a hatch for visual control. In the niche of the tower itself, cumulative shells and charges for them are placed. The remaining ammunition is located at the stern.

The 2S1 self-propelled gun has a special hatch through which it is possible to receive shells directly from the ground.

Chassis. It is based on a modified MT-LB chassis. It was well redesigned, installing a couple of additional road wheels. But the number of rubberized skating rinks has increased to seven pairs. There are guide wheels at the rear and driving wheels at the front. The caterpillar is assembled from links (tracks). The links are quite small (350*111), connected by metal fingers.

With a track width of 350 mm and a weight of 15.7 tons, the machine feels confident on any ground. The Gvozdika artillery system has an individual torsion bar suspension. Hydraulic shock absorbers are installed on the seventh and first road wheels.

Engine and transmission. The vehicle is equipped with a YaMZ-238N engine with a power of 300 hp. Runs on diesel fuel. The engine is V-shaped, 8-cylinder, four-stroke, liquid-cooled. Gas turbine supercharging. As for the transmission, it is dual-flow and mechanical. There are two rotation mechanisms and they are planetary-friction. There are six forward gears and one reverse gear.

Armament. The 122 mm rifled howitzer is the basis of the installation's firepower.

The muzzle brake, ejector, breech and pipe are connected into a barrel more than 4 meters long. There are 34 grooves inside the barrel. This weapon uses a vertical wedge bolt. There is a semi-automatic re-cocking mechanism.

To prevent the projectile from falling out in cases where the barrel is at high elevation angles, a special tray with a retention device is installed.

The recoil device has a special hydraulic brake, of the spindle type. There is also a pneumatic knurling device with air or nitrogen filling. A compensator is installed on the rollback brake.

Surveillance and communication equipment. TKN-3B, a sight that is located on the commander's seat. The OU-3GA2 sight is installed to carry out night surveillance of the area. TNPO-170A, a periscope, prismatic type sight, and 1OP40 panoramic type, both are located at the gunner's position. OP5-37, for firing from cover. The MK-4 rotating type is located on the right side of the turret. The mechanic has a TNPO-170A device for observation during the day and a TVN-2B for night observation.

At the driver-mechanic's place there is a glass with an armored cover for direct observation of the terrain. R-123M radio station with the help of which external communication is carried out. It operates on VHF waves, with a range of up to 28 km. For communication between the crew, the R-124 device is installed in the self-propelled gun.

Performance characteristics of "Gvozdika" and foreign analogues

Performance characteristics installations are most valued in comparison with other self-propelled guns of a similar type.

TTX	Self-propelled gun 2S1 “Gvozdika”	M-108 (USA)	Type-86 (Japan)	AMX-105V (France)
Year of issue	1970	1962	1974	1960
Weight, t	15,7	21	16,5	17
Crew, people	4	5	6	5
Caliber, mm	122	105	122	105
Ammunition, height Firing range, km	40	86	40	37
Firing range, km	15	11,5	15	15
Speed, km/h	60	56	60	60

As can be seen from the performance characteristics of the Gvozdika, it was in no way inferior to its foreign analogues. As can be seen from the table, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces had a similar vehicle only 4 years later.

Modifications of "Gvozdika" and vehicles based on

The following options have been created based on the machine:

2S15 “Norov”, with a 100 mm gun, was intended to fight tanks, but when a prototype was created in 1983, and the need for this type of self-propelled guns disappeared;
2S17 “Nona-SV”, a self-propelled gun with a 120 mm gun, did not reach mass production;
2S8 “Astra” is a self-propelled mortar, its development was carried out in the 1970s, but all work on this mortar was closed in 1977, as they switched to the creation of the 2S17 “Nona-SV” artillery system

Of the modifications of this system, the following installations are best known:

Raad-1, self-propelled gun, developed in Iran, this version uses an infantry fighting vehicle chassis, gun caliber 122 mm;
2S34 “Khosta” was created in 2003 in Russia, it was equipped with a 2A80-1 howitzer and a PKT machine gun in the commander’s cupola, and was adopted by the Russian Armed Forces in 2008;
2S31 “Vena”, 120-mm self-propelled artillery gun, sea trials in 2007, adopted by the Russian Armed Forces;
Rak-120, a 2009 Polish version of the self-propelled gun that uses a 120 mm mortar instead of a howitzer;
Model 89, this is the Romanian version of the Carnation;
2C1T Goździk, Polish reworking of a classic model Soviet self-propelled gun, it uses automatic system for fire control.

In 2015, Ukraine planned to improve the Gvozdika by installing a Volvo engine, as well as more advanced control and communication systems.

Combat use

The self-propelled gun went through several local conflicts, the first of them is Afghanistan. In this war, as a rule, self-propelled guns were used to suppress enemy fire with direct fire, this significantly reduced troop losses. The most successful operations using the installation were carried out during the capture of Shingara, Khaki-Safed, and also in 1986, during the offensive on Kandahar.

In Chechnya, both military companies used the Gvozdika actively during combat operations and successfully coped with the assigned tasks.

The self-propelled gun was used in the Transnistrian conflict, in Yugoslavia, in south-eastern Ukraine, by both warring parties. During the Iran-Iraq War, 2S1 and 2S3 were used by the Iraqi army.

During civil war in Libya 2010–2011, government troops actively used the installation against the rebels.

The war in Syria has revealed the use of this installation by almost all warring parties, both government forces and various terrorist groups, including ISIS. The installation is used by the Houthis in Yemen in the fight against the invaders who have invaded the country.

For all its weight and size, the self-propelled gun is capable of swimming, but the developers guarantee that it can overcome a water obstacle 300 m wide with a wave of no more than 15 cm, while the vehicle reaches a speed of up to 4.5 km/h. All this is thanks to the hermetic body and tracks, which in this version of movement act as blades.

The howitzer uses a wide variety of projectiles for firing, in addition to cumulative, high-explosive fragmentation, smoke, chemical, electronic countermeasures and projectiles with a swept-shaped striking element can also be used. And even lighting and propaganda.

The relatively light weight allows the self-propelled gun to be transported on Il-74 and An-12 aircraft.

And also on landing ships. “Gvozdika” was in service with all the armies of the countries that were part of the Warsaw Pact. In many of them it is still in service.

For this artillery system, a special laser-guided projectile “Kitolov-2” was developed, which is capable of hitting the target with high accuracy using a homing head. The projectile is highly accurate, but the target must be illuminated by a laser beam from the gun mount itself or by a fire spotter.