Experts explained why the heaviest mortars in the world 2C4 arrived in Mariupol
The media published photos of the arrival in Mariupol of 240-mm self-propelled mortars of special power of the reserve of the Supreme High Command 2C4 "Tulip". "Newspaper.Ru" figured out what a "Tulip" is.
2C4 "Tulip" is, in fact, a steel pipe with a diameter of 240 mm, which is fixed on a wide metal plate, and the entire structure is transported on a modified caterpillar chassis of the SU-100P SPTP. For a shot, a heavy plate rests against the ground, a mine is placed in the barrel, and then a powder charge is activated, which sends the projectile to the target along a ballistic trajectory.
The firing range, depending on the ammunition, ranges from 0.8 to 20 km. In addition to uncontrolled high-explosive mines for the "Tulip" there are active-reactive mines. The weight of the mines is from 130 to 228 kg. In theory, the 2C4 Tulip mortar can also use tactical nuclear mines capable of causing an explosion of two kilotons in TNT equivalent, but in practice, the mortar has never been used in the nuclear version, such mines are not in service for it today.
For the first time, "Tulips" were used in the 1980s in Afghanistan to destroy militant firing points in caves and stone rubble. Tulip self-propelled mortars were repeatedly used by the Russian army during the second Chechen campaign, including during the storming of Grozny in 1999-2000, as well as to destroy bunkers where militants were located.
- I told the newspaper.Ru" military expert, retired Colonel Ivan Nikolaev.
According to the fame of the editor of the magazine "Arsenal of the Fatherland" Alexei Leonkov, "Tulips" are needed to destroy point objects that are closed from direct hit by other structures, terrain or special fortifications. At the same time, according to the expert, they are comparable in accuracy to aerial bombs and missiles, but much cheaper.
"Such weapons are used when it is necessary to storm fortifications in order to inflict maximum damage to them. And they are attracted because the cost of their ammunition is incomparably less than the cost of the same Dagger or Iskander," Leonkov explained "Газете.Ru ".
The former press secretary of the Russian Defense Minister, retired Colonel Viktor Baranets also noted that the Tulip has "high strike accuracy and incredible destructiveness." "As the military joke, if desired, this mortar can get into the mouth of its own cannon. [If he shoots vertically upwards, the mine will definitely return to its place.] Plus, it was recently upgraded, a special charger was added - there is no need to carry 140-kilogram mines manually," Baranets noted.
The use of 2C4 "Tulip" is justified precisely for storming the positions of the AFU and "Azov*", which equipped fortifications on the territory of the Azovstal plant. "This is the main goal now. For eight years, this Ukrainian group has buried itself to such a depth and for such a thickness that it cannot be reached with conventional ammunition," Baranets said.
Alexey Leonkov agrees with this point of view. "When the army is faced with complex fortifications that cannot be shelled by conventional means, it is necessary to act pointwise, along a certain perimeter, and preferably also with a penetrating effect - that is, to break concrete floors to get to the target," the expert said.
Leonkov added that now the "Tulips" have been combined with reconnaissance drones. "They give the exact coordinates of the target or the point at which the mine should be applied, and then all the coordinates are set through the calculator," Leonkov explained.
Ivan Nikolaev also noted that 2C4 "Tulip" works in close cooperation with unmanned aerial vehicles.
But if the mortar crew, while maintaining safety, manages to get closer, then the weapon gets the greatest efficiency, even super-efficiency. The superheavy 2C4 "Tulip" is the best weapon for destroying the fortifications of "Azov", - concluded Nikolaev.
*) - The Azov Battalion is a neo-Nazi extremist organization, banned in Russia
Denis Telmanov