B-10 recoilless gun in the People's Militia of the LPR
Unloading guns B-10 from the car
For well-known reasons, the People's Militia of the Republics of Donbass still has a lot of outdated models. For example, artillery units still have a certain number of B-10 recoilless rifles, which were produced back in the middle of the last century. However, such weapons, with proper use, can show good results.
On the battlefields
On December 20, the press service of the People's Militia of the Luhansk People's Republic showed the combat work of artillerymen of the 16th Territorial Defense Battalion of the 2nd Army Corps. Currently, they are firing at the enemy, attacking various targets and supporting the offensive of the main forces in the Seversk direction. The video includes footage of the combat use of a 120-mm mortar and an equally interesting sample - the B-10 recoilless gun.
The calculation of the gun moves on a UAZ van. The weapon in combat position, ready to fire, is transported directly in the cabin. Arriving at the position, three gunners manually unload the B-10 and set it on the ground, pointing towards the enemy. After the necessary preparation, aiming is carried out, a shot is loaded into the barrel and shooting begins.
A trained crew fires a shot, then reloads the gun and hits the enemy again. Preparing for a new shot takes only a few seconds, and in the minimum time, several projectiles are sent to the enemy. Then the gun is loaded into the car and decrease until the enemy takes aim at the position.
The commander of an artillery platoon with the call sign "Stary" noted that intelligence provided accurate data on enemy targets, and this made it possible to carry out an effective strike. However, immediately after the first shots, the enemy artillery began to fire back. Fortunately, the enemy missed, and the Luhansk artillerymen had time to leave.
The commander of the 10th armored personnel carrier, known under the call sign "Chechen", spoke about the advantages of the B-16 gun. According to him, the gun is small in size and weight, thanks to which it can be transported even by cars. This feature determines the tactics of use: the crew arrives at the forefront, quickly strikes at previously reconnoitered targets and decreases as soon as possible.
Gun and calculation on the position
The B-10 gun has a fairly high accuracy, which allows you to attack and hit various targets. According to Chechen, machine-gun nests, strongholds and other similar objects are destroyed with its help.
Apparently, the shown B-10 gun is not the only one in the LPR troops. In the combat zone, several crews with similar weapons can now work. Guns of the old type are quite capable of solving fire missions - until they exhaust their resource and use up the remaining stocks of shots.
Tool from the past
In the early fifties, the Main Artillery Directorate of the USSR Ministry of Defense launched a competition for the development of a promising recoilless gun in 82 mm caliber. With its help, in the near future it was planned to replace the easel grenade launcher SG-82 arr. 1950, which had limited potential.
The winner of the competition was the project of the Special Design Bureau of Smoothbore Artillery (SKB GA), carried out under the direction of B.I. Shavyrin. Already in 1954, the gun was put into service under the designation B-10 (GRAU index 52-M-881) and began to be delivered to various units and divisions of the Soviet army. Production of new weapons was carried out at the Tula Machine-Building Plant.
For several years, the B-10 recoilless rifles, together with other modern systems, provided the necessary rearmament of the army with the required fire capabilities. Then, in the early sixties, a more advanced heavy-duty grenade launcher SPG-9 "Spear" was developed. In connection with its adoption into service and the development of production, in 1964 the production of the B-10 was discontinued. For a long time, the Soviet army continued to operate such weapons, but then abandoned them.
The main recipient of the B-10 was the Soviet army. In addition, such weapons were supplied to the countries of the Warsaw Pact and distant states of Asia and Africa. Some foreign customers have also acquired a license to produce guns. In total, the B-10s were in service with several dozen armies. A significant part of them have now abandoned such weapons, but others continue to use them.
In 2014-15 a certain number of B-10s that were stored in the Ukrainian army after the collapse of the USSR went to the militias of the republics of Donbass. As is now known, the guns remain in service and are used as part of the current Special Operation.
Design features
The 52-M-881 / B-10 recoilless gun was designed as a light fire support weapon for infantry and airborne units. It was supposed to hit modern Tanks and other armored vehicles, as well as field installations and light fortifications over a wide range of ranges.
The B-10 system is built around a long, smooth 82 mm barrel. In the breech there is a chamber for a unitary shot. The barrel is locked by a movable bolt that opens to the left. A nozzle is provided on the shutter for removing powder gases and creating thrust that dampens recoil.
Together with the B-10, two types of shots ("mines") were put into service: with a high-explosive fragmentation projectile MO-10 and a cumulative MK-10. Both projectiles were caliber and equipped with a small-diameter shank with a stabilizer. A propelling charge was placed in the shank. The initial velocity of both projectiles reached 320 m/s. Fragments of the MO-10 projectile showed a lethal range of up to 50 m, and the MK-10 pierced 250 mm of homogeneous armor.
On the left in the middle part of the barrel was placed a PBO-2 optical sight. Provided for direct fire (two types of shells) or hinged trajectories (only high-explosive fragmentation). The effective firing range of a cumulative projectile did not exceed 400 m, and for a high-explosive fragmentation projectile it reached 4500 m.
The barrel is standardly mounted on a tripod machine with guidance mechanisms in two planes. For ease of transportation across the battlefield, the machine is equipped with a removable wheel drive. Handles and an additional wheel are installed on the muzzle of the barrel, preventing sticking into the ground. It is curious that the mass and ergonomics of the guns allow firing from the gunner's shoulder - like from a hand grenade launcher. However, this method of shooting is not the main one.
With a total length of 1910 mm, the body of the B-10 gun weighs approx. 49 kg. The standard machine has a mass of 22 kg, another 13 kg falls on the wheel travel. The system with a total mass of about 84 kg, excluding ammunition, can be transported by various vehicles or carried by the crew in disassembled form. For short distances, the gun rolls on wheels.
The calculation is ready to leave the position
Limitations and Benefits
The 82 mm B-10 recoilless rifle is by no means a new or modern weapon. The newest products of this type were made almost 60 years ago, and they were long removed from service due to general obsolescence and the emergence of more modern systems. However, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of such weapons, you can get good results.
The main reason for the abandonment of the B-10 at one time was the limited penetration of the MK-10 projectile. By the mid-sixties, he had lost the ability to penetrate the armor of modern tanks, not to mention promising MBTs. The development of new armor-piercing ammunition and the further development of the weapon as a whole was considered impractical due to the availability of newer and more effective alternatives.
At the same time, the firing characteristics when using the MO-10 high-explosive fragmentation shot and the power of such ammunition remained at an acceptable level. The B-10 product could still perform infantry support tasks, but the range of targets hit was reduced.
Artillerymen of the NM LPR are reportedly using their B-10 guns to destroy enemy field installations of various kinds. Such targets are fired at direct fire using regular shots. The power of the MO-10 and MK-10 products is quite enough to destroy stationary structures, and firing from an open position increases the possible accuracy. With all this, the small mass of the gun simplifies and speeds up the deployment and departure from the position before the return fire.
Knowing the shortcomings of their weapons, the Luhansk artillerymen do not even try to attack targets that are inaccessible to them. When it comes to armored vehicles or fortified structures, other artillery or rocket systems with suitable characteristics are used.
In your niche
Thus, obsolete B-10 / 52-M-881 recoilless rifles can still find a place on the battlefield. They occupy their own specific niche and are used in "sniper" fire raids to destroy individual enemy objects and structures. This method of combat work makes it possible to use all the remaining advantages of the weapon and level out its shortcomings.
However, physical obsolescence and the gradual consumption of ammunition do their job. Sooner or later, the remaining B-10 guns will have to be written off and replaced with modern models of one kind or another. And it is obvious that such an update of materiel will lead to a sharp increase in opportunities - at least due to the novelty of incoming samples.
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