Experimental SAU "Object 327". Cannon outside the tower
One of the main problems in tank building since the advent of this area of technology has been the contamination of the fighting compartment. Time passed, new ones appeared Tanks, engines, guns and other systems. But there was no radical improvement in conditions in the fighting compartment. Of course, the ejectors of guns and good old fans that appeared at the beginning of the second half of the XNUMXth century improved the working conditions of the crew, but they could not change the situation radically.
A significant improvement in the combat compartment could only be achieved by two methods: either make it fully automated and uninhabited, or take the gun out of the tank’s internal volume. It was the second idea that was developed and embodied in the metal by the engineers of the design office of the Sverdlovsk plant Uraltransmash. In the 70-ies in the department of special equipment of this design bureau under the guidance of designer N.S. Tupitsyn was developing a new self-propelled artillery installation "Object 237". The aim of the work was to create a new self-propelled gun, which would first supplement the 2C3 "Acacia" in the SAU troops, and then completely replace it.
The 152-mm 2А36 gun, mounted on the Hyacinth-C self-propelled guns, and the 2А33 gun of the same caliber were chosen as experimental weapons for the new self-propelled artillery gun. Dimensions, weight and recoil of both guns demanded to make a new chassis. The basis for it was the corresponding node of the T-72 tank. The normal operation of a large-caliber gun was to be ensured by the new layout of the support rollers. They were still mounted six aboard, but now the front three rollers and the rear three were closer to each other. Also, the great impact of 152-mm guns forced engineers to significantly rework the suspension armor. Nevertheless, all the modifications of the chassis of the T-72 tank, although significant, were still less noticeable than the method of installing the gun.
For the first time in Soviet practice, Sverdlovsk engineers carried out the breech of the gun outside the combat compartment. In a constructive sense, it looked like this. A special tower of a special form was placed on the native seat of the T-72 tank turret. For the form designers called it a washer. This “puck” could be rotated by 360 ° in the horizontal plane. Inside the original tower was placed the automatic feed of shells and shells, as well as jobs gunner and self-propelled gun commander. Of particular interest is the gun mounting system. In order not to place the breech inside the combat compartment and at the same time preserve the possibility of vertical guidance at significant angles, the axis of the lifting mechanism was placed almost at the very rear of the breech. In the end, it turned out to provide a new self-propelled gun with good pickup angles: round horizontally and around 30 ° vertically.
The guns 2А33 and 2А36 were completely isolated from the crew and the self-propelled gun "Object 327" became the first domestic type of armored vehicles, in which, by definition, there was no problem of ventilation of the habitable volume. In addition, the free space inside the vehicle increased: with the classic installation of the 2А33 cannon inside the combat compartment, its breech would occupy about 70-75% of the total turret volume. As if not wanting to “pamper” the crew, the engineers of Uraltransmash installed an automatic ammunition discharger and mechanized piling into the free space. The separate loading shots were automatically removed from the piling, fed up to the gun, and automatically sent to the chamber. For aiming at direct fire, designers under the leadership of Tupitsyn developed a new sight of their own design. It differed from the previous types of similar equipment by “imprisonment” under use with the tool placed on the top of the tower.
In general, 327 Object was a very, very interesting project. Perhaps, going into a series, he could change the appearance of self-propelled artillery installations around the world. However, as always, it was not without problems. Most of the inconvenience delivered the very original location of the gun. Due to the high point of application of the recoil force, in some cases the machine could shake, if not even tip over. Because of this, confident fire was possible only in relatively small sectors in front and behind the car. Of course, if necessary, the turning can be carried out with the help of caterpillars, but in this case the turntable becomes essentially useless. The second problem of the “327 Object” was the need to load the gun at high elevation angles. New mechanization of projectiles and automatic loading often did not work properly, which led to delays in the shooting. Moreover, in the absence of a solution to this problem, problems with the feed and loading mechanic could lead to the fact that the crew would have to get out from under the armor protection and pull out the jammed projectile or cartridge case with their own hands. Finally, the absence of any protection for the breech of the gun, located outside the armored hull, was in doubt. Engineers considered the possibility of installing a special armored box, but it was not installed on prototypes.
Problems with the automatic loader had both experienced copies of the "327 Object". One of them was equipped with a hyacinth weapon, the second - 2А33. In both cases, there were problems when raising ammunition and filing them. Tests of two self-propelled guns showed all the advantages and disadvantages of the method used to install the gun and gave hope for a successful completion of the project. However, as of the beginning of the eighties, the 327 self-propelled gun still had a number of problems. Despite the best efforts of the Uraltransmash design office workers and workers, it was not possible to achieve stable operation of all the mechanics. In principle, it was possible to continue the work and still bring the automation to the mind. But Tupitsin and his comrades no longer had time. The development of the special equipment department literally stepped on the heels of another promising ACS. In the same design bureau of the Uraltransmash plant, under the direction of Yu. V. Tomashov, the MSTA-S self-propelled gun 2-19 was already in full swing. Much more familiar design 2С19 led to the fact that of the two projects - the original, but problematic and "banal", but simple in production - the second one was chosen.
In the mid-eighties, the 327 Object project was finally closed. Over the years since then, one of the prototypes of the ACS was allegedly disposed of. The second copy, carrying the 2А36 gun, in 2004, after a long stay at the test site, was sent to the Uraltransmash Museum. The idea of an armored vehicle with a gun hung over the habitable compartment is still considered original and promising. However, and until now no such self-propelled guns could not reach large-scale production.
On the materials of the sites:
http://krasnaya-zvezda.com/
http://vestnik-rm.ru/
http://redstar.ru/
A significant improvement in the combat compartment could only be achieved by two methods: either make it fully automated and uninhabited, or take the gun out of the tank’s internal volume. It was the second idea that was developed and embodied in the metal by the engineers of the design office of the Sverdlovsk plant Uraltransmash. In the 70-ies in the department of special equipment of this design bureau under the guidance of designer N.S. Tupitsyn was developing a new self-propelled artillery installation "Object 237". The aim of the work was to create a new self-propelled gun, which would first supplement the 2C3 "Acacia" in the SAU troops, and then completely replace it.
The 152-mm 2А36 gun, mounted on the Hyacinth-C self-propelled guns, and the 2А33 gun of the same caliber were chosen as experimental weapons for the new self-propelled artillery gun. Dimensions, weight and recoil of both guns demanded to make a new chassis. The basis for it was the corresponding node of the T-72 tank. The normal operation of a large-caliber gun was to be ensured by the new layout of the support rollers. They were still mounted six aboard, but now the front three rollers and the rear three were closer to each other. Also, the great impact of 152-mm guns forced engineers to significantly rework the suspension armor. Nevertheless, all the modifications of the chassis of the T-72 tank, although significant, were still less noticeable than the method of installing the gun.
For the first time in Soviet practice, Sverdlovsk engineers carried out the breech of the gun outside the combat compartment. In a constructive sense, it looked like this. A special tower of a special form was placed on the native seat of the T-72 tank turret. For the form designers called it a washer. This “puck” could be rotated by 360 ° in the horizontal plane. Inside the original tower was placed the automatic feed of shells and shells, as well as jobs gunner and self-propelled gun commander. Of particular interest is the gun mounting system. In order not to place the breech inside the combat compartment and at the same time preserve the possibility of vertical guidance at significant angles, the axis of the lifting mechanism was placed almost at the very rear of the breech. In the end, it turned out to provide a new self-propelled gun with good pickup angles: round horizontally and around 30 ° vertically.
The guns 2А33 and 2А36 were completely isolated from the crew and the self-propelled gun "Object 327" became the first domestic type of armored vehicles, in which, by definition, there was no problem of ventilation of the habitable volume. In addition, the free space inside the vehicle increased: with the classic installation of the 2А33 cannon inside the combat compartment, its breech would occupy about 70-75% of the total turret volume. As if not wanting to “pamper” the crew, the engineers of Uraltransmash installed an automatic ammunition discharger and mechanized piling into the free space. The separate loading shots were automatically removed from the piling, fed up to the gun, and automatically sent to the chamber. For aiming at direct fire, designers under the leadership of Tupitsyn developed a new sight of their own design. It differed from the previous types of similar equipment by “imprisonment” under use with the tool placed on the top of the tower.
In general, 327 Object was a very, very interesting project. Perhaps, going into a series, he could change the appearance of self-propelled artillery installations around the world. However, as always, it was not without problems. Most of the inconvenience delivered the very original location of the gun. Due to the high point of application of the recoil force, in some cases the machine could shake, if not even tip over. Because of this, confident fire was possible only in relatively small sectors in front and behind the car. Of course, if necessary, the turning can be carried out with the help of caterpillars, but in this case the turntable becomes essentially useless. The second problem of the “327 Object” was the need to load the gun at high elevation angles. New mechanization of projectiles and automatic loading often did not work properly, which led to delays in the shooting. Moreover, in the absence of a solution to this problem, problems with the feed and loading mechanic could lead to the fact that the crew would have to get out from under the armor protection and pull out the jammed projectile or cartridge case with their own hands. Finally, the absence of any protection for the breech of the gun, located outside the armored hull, was in doubt. Engineers considered the possibility of installing a special armored box, but it was not installed on prototypes.
Problems with the automatic loader had both experienced copies of the "327 Object". One of them was equipped with a hyacinth weapon, the second - 2А33. In both cases, there were problems when raising ammunition and filing them. Tests of two self-propelled guns showed all the advantages and disadvantages of the method used to install the gun and gave hope for a successful completion of the project. However, as of the beginning of the eighties, the 327 self-propelled gun still had a number of problems. Despite the best efforts of the Uraltransmash design office workers and workers, it was not possible to achieve stable operation of all the mechanics. In principle, it was possible to continue the work and still bring the automation to the mind. But Tupitsin and his comrades no longer had time. The development of the special equipment department literally stepped on the heels of another promising ACS. In the same design bureau of the Uraltransmash plant, under the direction of Yu. V. Tomashov, the MSTA-S self-propelled gun 2-19 was already in full swing. Much more familiar design 2С19 led to the fact that of the two projects - the original, but problematic and "banal", but simple in production - the second one was chosen.
In the mid-eighties, the 327 Object project was finally closed. Over the years since then, one of the prototypes of the ACS was allegedly disposed of. The second copy, carrying the 2А36 gun, in 2004, after a long stay at the test site, was sent to the Uraltransmash Museum. The idea of an armored vehicle with a gun hung over the habitable compartment is still considered original and promising. However, and until now no such self-propelled guns could not reach large-scale production.
On the materials of the sites:
http://krasnaya-zvezda.com/
http://vestnik-rm.ru/
http://redstar.ru/
Information