152-mm gun for the T-14: actuality and perspectives

Author: Arthur Kowalewski.
The concept of the installation of 152-mm gun on the tank is not new, the attempted installation of this type guns were made in the mid-1980s, however, the technical complexity, excess capacity and the crisis in the country did not allow to fully implement such a task in Soviet times.
Perspective tank T-14 on the platform “Armata” provides for the possibility of installation of 152-mm guns, but at the moment this tank has an upgraded gun with a caliber of 125 mm. However, the Russian defense Ministry is still deliberately to put the 152-mm gun in a limited number of T-14.
Attempts to introduce gun 152 mm on domestic tanks
The first tank with a 152 mm cannon LP-83 was the “Object 292″ Leningrad Kirov plant and VNII Transmash”, created on the basis of the T-80BV. Due to financial difficulties of the late 1980s and early 1990s years in the autumn of 1990 was created only a prototype tank. In 1991, testing began with the test firing, in which it was revealed the significant superiority of 152-mm cannon compared with the main tank gun with a caliber of 125 mm 2A46.In particular, this concerned a larger one and a half times of the pulse shots at approximately equal recoil of guns, which allowed no significant improvements set the gun on the T-80BV, significantly increasing their firepower.
However, in the 1990-ies due to underfunding of the armed forces, “Object 292” and failed all the tests. Later gun with a caliber 152 mm PL-83 were to be used in the “Object 477″ Molot”, and its counterpart, the 152-mm gun 2A83, on the “Object 195” “Black eagle”.
“Object 477″ Molot” because of the unfortunate location of the ammunition did not develop and was soon closed.
For the “Object 195” “Black eagle” at the Yekaterinburg plant No. 9 has created a new gun 2A83 152 mm caliber, which is a modification of guns 2A65 self-propelled artillery (ACS) “Msta-s”. The first test gun 2A83 took place at platform track B-4, which showed the same high results as the PL-83. The direct fire range amounted to 5100 m, penetration – 1024 mm homogeneous steel, which exceeded the indicators of the 2A46. However, in 2010 work on the “Object 195” the Black eagle was halted in favor of a new universal armored Bay “Armata”.
Compare guns of 125 mm and 152 mm
At the moment tanks T-14 “Armata” have a modernized 125-mm gun 2A82-1M, developed by factory no 9 in Yekaterinburg.
The performance characteristics of the 125-mm gun 2A82-1M:
-
Gun type – smooth bore with chrome plated stem;
-
Weight – 2700 kg;
-
Barrel length – 7000 mm;
-
The initial projectile velocity is 2050 m/s;
-
Effective firing range:
– shells – 4700m;
– controlled a missile (URS) 3УБК21 Sprinter – 8000 m;
– anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) “Reflex-M – 5500 m;
-
The rate of fire is 10-12 rounds per minute;
-
Muzzle energy of the shot – 15-24 MJ;
-
Armor penetration:
– armor-piercing discarding sabot projectile (BPS) – 850-1000 mm;
– ATGM – 950 mm;
-
The life of the barrel of the gun – 800-900 shots;
-
Ammunition – 45 rounds;
-
Autoloader – 32 of the projectile.
As 152-mm guns for the T-14 is considered a gun 2A83, upgraded gun SAU “Msta-s” 2A65, development of the same Ekaterinburg plant No. 9.
The performance characteristics of the 152-mm gun 2A83:
-
Gun type – smooth bore with chrome plated stem;
-
Weight – 5000 kg;
-
Barrel length – 7200 mm;
-
The initial velocity of the projectile – 1980 m/s;
-
Effective firing range:
– shells – 5100 m;
– URS “Krasnopol” 2К25 – 20 000 m;
– URS “Krasnopol” ЗОФ38 – 12 000 m;
-
The rate of fire of 10-15 rounds per minute;
-
Muzzle energy of the shot is 20-25 MJ;
-
Armor penetration:
– BPS – 1024 mm;
– ATGM – 1200-1400 m;
-
The life of the barrel of a gun – 280 shots;
-
Ammunition – 40 rounds;
-
Autoloader – 24 of the projectile.
The problem of using a 152mm gun on the T-14 are far greater than the author foresees:
The internal volume of an armored vehicle is very limited because every square inch of internal volume is protected by an expensive and weighty armored envelope. This adds up to larger rounds meaning less ammo can be carried. The need to resupply frequently limits the time a unit can stay engaged and is a burden on logistical support units. In other worlds, the advantage of a large gun are canceled out by an empty ammo rack.
A powerful gun recoils. a very powerful gun recoils more. This means that the turret, gun trunnions, turret ring and road gear must be designed to withstand these forces. That means more weight and more volume to accommodate the larger weapon. This is critical for the Russians, as their infrastructure can not support tanks over 50 tons.
As the M551 showed, a powerful gun on a light vehicle creates its own headaches as sensitive equipment tends to do poorly when shaken vigorously. If a 152mm gun is twice as powerful as a 125mm, that means twice the recoil forces on the same 50 ton hull. That isn’t a lot of mass to soak up a great deal of force.
The entire discussion of gun bore as a variable in armor penetration is a failure to understand the mechanics of tank guns. The primary anti-tank round is APDSFS, which as the name implies is sub-caliber. Therefore, its not bore size but chamber size (the volume of propellant behind the round) which determines velocity thus armor penetration. Modern armors are optimized against HEAT rounds, so a larger bore HEAT rounds only plays into the armor’s strengths.
A couple of extra points. The T-14 does not have a radar in the sense the author thinks it does. The radar on the T-14 is not a GSR type radar (which would be ineffective due to ground clutter). Rather, if there is one on the vehicle its part of active defense system.
The rate of fire of 10-15 rounds per minute only applies if the round being fired is already indexed in the auto loader. If the ammo carousel has to rotate the selected round into loading position, the rate of fire can be as low as 2 round per minute.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree with you that this is a sort of Gunomania. The loss of barrel life alone is so bad that you end up with a “really powerful” gun you can’t afford to train with! Furthermore the trend in Tank warfare is highly urban, where huge Guns are just overkill.
LikeLike