Artillery gun: types and firing range. Overview of artillery pieces from ancient to modern

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 18:37

Do you know what branch of the military is respectfully called the "god of war"? Of course, artillery! Despite the development of rocket weapons over the past fifty years, the role of high-precision modern receiver systems is still extremely important.

Development history

The "Father" of guns is considered to be the German Schwartz, but many historians agree that his merits in this matter are rather doubtful. So, the first mention of the use of cannon artillery on the battlefield dates back to 1354, but there are many papers in the archives that mention the year 1324.

There is no reason to believe that some artillery piece was not used before. By the way, most references to such weapons can be found in old English manuscripts, and not at all in German primary sources. So, especially noteworthy in this regard is the rather well-known treatise "On the Duties of Kings", which was written to the glory of Edward III.

The author was a teacher of the king, and the book itself was written in 1326 (the time of the assassinationEdward). There are no detailed explanations of the engravings in the text, and therefore one has to focus only on the subtext. So, one of the illustrations depicts, without a doubt, a real cannon, reminiscent of a large vase. It is shown how a large arrow flies out of the neck of this “jug”, shrouded in clouds of smoke, and a knight stands at a distance, having just set fire to gunpowder with a red-hot rod.

First appearance

As for China, which most likely invented gunpowder (and medieval alchemists discovered it three times, no less), that is, there is every reason to believe that the first artillery pieces could be tested even before the beginning of our era. Simply put, artillery, like all firearms, is probably much older than is commonly believed.

In the era of Charles the Bold, these weapons were already massively used during the siege of fortresses, the walls of which by that time were no longer such an effective means of protection for the besieged.

Chronic stagnation

So why didn't the ancient peoples conquer the whole world with the help of the "god of war"? It's simple - the guns of the early 14th century. and 18th c. little different from each other. They were clumsy, unnecessarily heavy, and provided very poor accuracy. No wonder the first guns were used to destroy walls (it's hard to miss!), As well as to shoot at large concentrations of the enemy. In an era when enemy armies marched at each other in colorful columns, this also did not require high accuracy of cannons.

Do not forget about the disgusting quality of gunpowder, as well as its unpredictable properties: during the war withIn Sweden, Russian gunners sometimes had to triple the sample rate in order for the cannonballs to inflict at least some damage on enemy fortresses. Of course, this fact reflected frankly badly on the reliability of the guns. There were many cases when nothing was left of the artillery crew as a result of a cannon explosion.

Other reasons

Finally, metallurgy. As in the case of steam locomotives, only the invention of rolling mills and deep research in the field of metallurgy provided the necessary knowledge to produce truly reliable trunks. The creation of artillery shells provided the troops with “monarchist” privileges on the battlefield for a long time.

Don't forget about the calibers of artillery pieces: in those years they were calculated both based on the diameter of the used cores and taking into account the parameters of the barrel. Incredible confusion reigned, and therefore the armies simply could not adopt something truly unified. All this greatly hampered the development of the industry.

Main types of ancient artillery systems

Now let's look at the main types of artillery pieces, which in many cases really helped change history, turning the tide of the war in favor of one state. As of 1620, it was customary to distinguish between the following types of tools:

• 7 to 12 inch guns.
• Feathers.
• Falconets and minions ("falcons").
• Cafe-loading man-mounted guns.
• Robinets.
• Mortars and bombards.

This list only displays "true" guns in a more or less modern sense. But at that time there were relatively many ancient cast-iron guns in the army. Their most typical representatives are culverins and semi-culverins. By that time, it had already become completely clear that the giant cannons, which were to a large extent common in earlier periods, were no good: their accuracy was disgusting, the risk of barrel explosion was extremely high, and it took a lot of time to reload.

If we turn again to the times of Peter, the historians of those years note that hundreds of liters of vinegar were required for each battery of "unicorns" (a variety of culevrin). It was used diluted with water to cool barrels overheated from shots.

Rarely found an old artillery piece with a caliber of more than 12 inches. The most commonly used culverins, the core of which weighed approximately 16 pounds (about 7.3 kg). In the field, falconets were very common, the core of which weighed only 2.5 pounds (about a kilogram). Now let's look at the types of artillery pieces that were common in the past.

Comparative characteristics of some ancient tools

Implement name	Barrel length (in calibers)	Projectile weight, kg	Approximate effective range (in meters)
Musket	No defined standard	0, 45	50-75
Falconet	30	1, 36	70-100
Sacra	28	4-5, 4	About 400
"Aspid"	20-25	4-5, 4	1000-1067
Standard cannon	17-21	9-45, 4	Up to 1300
Semi-furry	No defined standard	13, 6	Up to 200
Kulevrina (an ancient artillery gun with a long barrel)	33	9-22, 7	230-250
"Half" culverin	32	5, 4-13, 6	150-170
Serpentine	No data	24	About 300
Bastard	No data	18, 6	400-700
Stone Thrower		9-45, 4	900-1000

If you carefully looked through this table and saw a musket there, don't be surprised. so called not only those clumsy and heavy guns that we remember fromfilms about musketeers, but also a full-fledged artillery gun with a long barrel of small caliber. After all, imagining a "bullet" weighing 400 grams is very problematic!

Also, don't be surprised by the rock thrower on the list. The fact is that, for example, the Turks, even in the time of Peter, used cannon artillery with might and main, firing cannonballs carved from stone. They were much less likely to pierce through enemy ships, but more often caused serious damage to them from the very first salvo.

Finally, all data given in our table is approximate. Many types of artillery pieces will remain forever forgotten, and ancient historians often did not understand the characteristics and names of those guns that were massively used during the siege of cities and fortresses.

Innovators-inventors

As we have already said, barreled artillery for many centuries was a weapon that, as it seemed, was forever frozen in its development. However, things quickly changed. As with many innovations in military affairs, the idea came from naval officers.

The main problem of cannon artillery on ships was the severe limited space, the difficulty of performing any maneuvers. Seeing all this, Mr. Melville and Mr. Gascoigne, who was in charge of his production, managed to create an amazing cannon, which historians today know as the "caronade". There were no trunnions (mounts for the gun carriage) on its trunk at all. But he had a smallan eyelet into which a steel rod could be inserted easily and quickly. He firmly clung to the compact artillery piece.

The gun turned out to be light and short, easy to handle. The approximate range of effective firing from it was about 50 meters. In addition, due to some of its design features, it became possible to fire shells with an incendiary mixture. "Caronade" became so popular that Gascoigne soon moved to Russia, where talented masters of foreign origin were always expected, received the rank of general and the position of one of Catherine's advisers. It was in those years that Russian artillery guns began to be developed and produced on a hitherto unseen scale.

Modern artillery systems

As we already noted at the very beginning of our article, in the modern world, artillery had to “make room” somewhat under the action of rocket weapons. But this does not mean at all that there is no place left for the barrel and jet systems on the battlefield. By no means! The invention of high-precision GPS/GLONASS-guided projectiles makes it possible to state with confidence that the "natives" of the distant 12-13th century will continue to keep the enemy at bay.

Cannon and rocket artillery: who is better?

Unlike traditional barrel systems, rocket-propelled volley launchers practically do not give tangible returns. This is what distinguishes them from any self-propelled or towed gun, which, in the process of being brought into a combat position, is required to be as strong as possible.to fix and dig in on the ground, otherwise it may even overturn. Of course, there is no question of any quick change of position here, in principle, even if a self-propelled artillery gun is used.

Reactive systems are fast and mobile, they can change their combat position in a few minutes. In principle, such vehicles can fire even when moving, but this affects the accuracy of the shot badly. The disadvantage of such installations is their low accuracy. The same "Hurricane" can literally plow several square kilometers, destroying almost all living things, but this will require a whole battery of installations with rather expensive shells. These artillery pieces, photos of which you will find in the article, are especially loved by domestic developers ("Katyusha").

A volley of one howitzer with a "smart" projectile is capable of destroying any modern tank in one attempt, while a battery of rocket launchers may require more than one volley. In addition, a “Tornado”, “Hurricane”, “Grad” or “Tornado” at the time of launch cannot be detected except by a blind soldier, since a noble cloud of smoke forms in that place. But such installations in one projectile can contain up to several hundred kilograms of explosive.

Cannon artillery, due to its accuracy, can be used to fire at the enemy at the moment he is close to his own positions. In addition, a barreled self-propelled artillery gun is capable of conducting counter-battery fire for many hours. Volley fire systems wear out pretty quicklytrunks, which is not conducive to their long-term use.

By the way, in the first Chechen campaign, "Grads" were used, which managed to make war in Afghanistan. The wear of their barrels was such that the shells sometimes scattered in unpredictable directions. This often led to "covering" their own soldiers.

The best multiple rocket launchers

Russian artillery guns "Tornado" inevitably take the lead. They fire shells of 122 mm caliber at a distance of up to 100 kilometers. In one volley, up to 40 charges can be fired, which cover an area of up to 84,000 square meters. The power reserve is no less than 650 kilometers. Together with the high reliability of the chassis and the speed of movement up to 60 km / h, this allows you to transfer the Tornado battery to the right place and with minimal time.

The second most effective is the domestic MLRS 9K51 "Grad", infamous after the events in the South-East of Ukraine. Caliber - 122 mm, 40 barrels. It shoots at a distance of up to 21 kilometers, in one run it can “process” an area of up to 40 square kilometers. The power reserve at a maximum speed of 85 km / h is as much as 1.5 thousand kilometers!

Third place goes to the HIMARS artillery gun from an American manufacturer. The ammunition has an impressive caliber of 227 mm, but only six rails spoil the impression of the installation somewhat. The firing range is up to 85 kilometers, at one time it is possible to cover an area of 67 square kilometers. Movement speed - up to 85 km / h, power reserve is 600kilometers. Worked well in the land campaign in Afghanistan.

In the fourth position is the Chinese installation WS-1B. The Chinese did not waste time on trifles: the caliber of this awesome weapon is 320 mm. In appearance, this MLRS resembles the Russian-made S-300 air defense system and has only four barrels. The range is about 100 kilometers, the affected area is up to 45 square kilometers. At maximum speed, these modern artillery pieces have a range of approximately 600 kilometers.

In last place is the Indian MLRS Pinaka. In the design - 12 guides for shells of 122 mm caliber. Firing range - up to 40 km. At a maximum speed of 80 km / h, the car can travel up to 850 kilometers. The affected area is as much as 130 square kilometers. The system was developed with the direct participation of Russian specialists, and has proven itself excellently in the course of numerous Indian-Pakistani conflicts.

Cannons

This weapon is far removed from its ancient predecessors who dominated the fields of the Middle Ages. The caliber of guns that are used in modern conditions ranges from 100 (anti-tank artillery gun "Rapier") to 155 mm (TR, NATO).

The range of projectiles they use is also unusually wide: from standard high-explosive fragmentation rounds to programmable projectiles that can hit a target at a distance of up to 45 kilometers with an accuracy of tens of centimeters. Truth,the cost of one such shot can be up to 55 thousand US dollars! In this regard, Soviet artillery pieces are much cheaper.

Comparative characteristics of the most common guns made in the USSR/RF and Western models

Name	Production country	Caliber, mm	Mass of gun, kg	Maximum firing range (depending on projectile type), km
GHN-45	Belgium	155	8900	30-39
GC 45	Belgium	155	8222	30-39
BL 5.5 inch (discontinued almost everywhere)	England	140	5851	16, 5
Zoltam M-68/M-71	Israel	155	9500	21
WA 021 (actual clone of Belgian GC 45)	China	155	9500	30-39
M-46	USSR	130	8450	27
2A36 Hyacinth-B	USSR	152	9800	27
"Rapier"	USSR	100	2800	3
Soviet artillery pieces S-23	USSR	180	21450	30, 5
D-20	USSR	152	5700	17-24
Sprut-B	Russia	125	6575	12, 2
G5	South Africa	155	13500	30

Mortars

Modern mortar systems trace their lineage to ancient bombards and mortars that could release a bomb (up to hundreds of kilograms in weight) at a distance of 200-300 meters. Today, both their design and maximum range have changed significantly.

In most of the armed forces of the world, the combat doctrine for mortars considers them as artillery pieces for mounted firing at a distance of about a kilometer. The effectiveness of the use of this weapon in urban conditions and in the suppression of disparate, mobile enemy groups is noted. In the Russian army, mortars are standard weapons, they are used for every more or less seriouscombat operation.

And during the Ukrainian events, both sides of the conflict demonstrated that even outdated 88 mm mortars are an excellent tool both for guerrilla warfare and for countering it.

Modern mortars, like other barreled artillery, today are developing in the direction of increasing the accuracy of each shot. So, last summer, the well-known weapons corporation BAE Systems for the first time demonstrated to the world community high-precision mortar rounds of 81 mm caliber, which were tested at one of the British training grounds. It is reported that such ammunition can be used with all possible efficiency in the temperature range from -46 to +71 ° C. In addition, there is information about the planned production of the widest range of such shells.

The military pins special hopes on the development of high-precision mines of 120 mm caliber with increased power. New models developed for the American army (XM395, for example), with a firing range of up to 6.1 km, have a deviation of no more than 10 meters. It is reported that such shots were used by the crews of Stryker armored vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the new ammunition proved to be the best.

But the most promising today are the development of guided missiles with active homing. So, domestic artillery guns "Nona" can use the "Kitolov-2" projectile, with which you can hit almost any modern tank at a distance of up to nine kilometers. Given the cheapness of the gun itself, such developments are expectedinterested in the military around the world.

Thus, the artillery gun is still a formidable argument on the battlefield. New models are constantly being developed, and more and more promising shells are being produced for existing barrel systems.