Why won't aviation replace guns and is the American howitzer "three axes" so good
The fighting in the Donbass is artillery. It was self-propelled artillery, howitzers and mortars, as well as multiple rocket launchers that became the basis of the firepower of both the allied forces and the Ukrainian armed formations. The saddest thing is that Kiev—controlled militants use this destructive force not only on the battlefield, but also — mainly - against civilians. The military observer of Izvestia, Alexey Ramm, found out why artillery fire is called a real art, whether high-precision missiles and bombs are capable of replacing artillery, and whether the American M-777 howitzers recently transferred to Ukraine turned out to be such a "miracle weapon". And also witnessed the shelling of Donetsk by Ukrainian "defenders".
Art for beginners
— Artillery fire is an art, — the commander of the Russian firing unit immediately told me.
Many ordinary people believe that it's easy to shoot: he turned the gun, inserted the projectile and fired. In fact, each shot of the barrel artillery is a solution to the most complex trigonometric problem. And it should be solved in a matter of minutes.
— Now there are special electronic computers that help. But there is nothing better than a time—tested gunner's notebook and an ordinary calculator," says my interlocutor. — At the "reactivators" (units equipped with multiple rocket launchers. — "Izvestia") a little easier. The formulas are a little simpler, there is no targeting — they compensate for inaccuracy with the power of a volley. Americans like to talk about their computers, high-precision systems. And their gunners shoot the same way we do. With the help of a compass, bussoli, they even have the same "devices of the mentally retarded" (the slang name of a mechanical fire control device, PUO. — "Izvestia") and circles for calculating proofs.
Artillery is an amazing branch of the armed forces. During the battle, the commanders of batteries and divisions are not together with their subordinates. Their place is at the fire control points, which are often located a dozen kilometers from the places where the guns are.
The commander knows the coordinates of his point, knows the coordinates of the target and the indicators of the directional angle, knows the coordinates of the position of his guns and their characteristics. Now all this must be substituted into special mathematical formulas and perform the calculations necessary for the shot.
The accuracy of the fire is influenced by dozens of factors that also need to be taken into account. For example, meteorological conditions and even how much the barrel's resource is used up and what kind of gunpowder is in the charges. All these factors also have their own mathematical quantities, which are substituted into formulas.
After completing the calculations, the commander transmits the information directly to the battery. There, another important official enters the work — the SOB. He is the senior officer on the battery. It is he who gives the command how to lift and turn the guns, what power to lay the charges.
And then the most important and difficult thing begins. The commander is watching where the shells have fallen. And he begins to make corrections (or, as the gunners say, "proofs"): "To the right, two hundred, forward a hundred," etc. And here it is necessary to work as quickly as possible. After all, the targets can be both armored vehicles, and advancing and retreating infantry or moving vehicles.
Despite the development of high—precision destruction systems — cruise missiles, adjustable and guided bombs - nothing can replace artillery on the battlefield.
— A plane with bombs can shoot down air defenses, anti-aircraft gunners and a cruise missile will be shot down, but no one can shoot down an artillery shell. The plane needs time to take off, fly to the target and drop the bomb. After a few minutes, we begin to perform a firing task," says the commander of the Russian firing unit. — There are many different experts now. They like to argue that artillery cannot shoot accurately: they say, we shoot hundreds and thousands of shells into the void. But no one wants to understand the issue. For example, there is a firing task — a stationary barrage. The enemy comes, and we start shooting in front of him and do not let him pass. He has to stop, look for other ways. It seems that no one was hit, but a hundred shells were fired. But we have provided great assistance to our troops. Even destroying the enemy's position is not an easy task. Some guns fire directly at the target, others shoot around — so that the enemy does not move away or help does not come to him.
"Three axes"
My interlocutor has been involved in a special military operation since its very beginning. His unit fought with enemy artillery and supported the advance of Allied forces with fire. The gunners made multi-kilometer marches, joined the battle on the move, were under enemy fire. They have hundreds of destroyed targets and thousands of artillery shells fired.
— Ukrainian gunners are different, — he says, — There are very well-trained, they are not even inferior to us. There are also frankly weak ones. They make mistakes, shoot for a long time, roll up and turn around for a long time. We and they have the same artillery school — the Soviet one. Even many of the governing documents are identical. But it's the same as us, that the gunners of the People's Militia always "shoot" Ukrainians. And the horsemen have a nasty habit — they always beat on peaceful buildings. Even if there is no military necessity. I have repeatedly seen how the enemy just starts to level residential buildings and entire villages with the ground. Our troops are not there, and they know it, but they are hammering anyway. Arrival after arrival.
Not so long ago, the United States delivered several dozen towed M-777 howitzers to Ukraine. This caused a storm of discussions among specialists of varying degrees of awareness. In Donbass, I managed to talk to officers of the People's Militia who are familiar with the situation.
— Directly in our direction, the "three axes" (as the American M-777 managed to christen the allied forces) have not yet appeared. But they have already worked for others. And we already know what their weaknesses and strengths are," says an officer of the Donetsk People's Militia.
It is often claimed that the firing range of this American howitzer with a conventional projectile is 30 kilometers or more.
— These figures are taken from Wikipedia. In fact, the usual high-explosive projectile "three axes" shoots at 16-17 kilometers. If they use an enhanced charge, they finish it off to 23-24," my interlocutor explains, "Their main problem is low rate of fire. One or two shots per minute. The howitzer starts to get very warm, especially if reinforced charges are used. By itself, the "three axes" is a light howitzer. And therefore, when shooting, she "rides" on the firing position. So, the targeting changes. Therefore, a bussol is placed opposite each howitzer and after a few shots they look at how "gone" it is. And if the soil is loose, and the calculation was in a hurry and could not dig well, you have to stop shooting and return the howitzer to its original position.
At the same time, according to its tactical and technical characteristics, the M-777 loses to self-propelled and towed Russian howitzers of the Msta family. And with the newest "Coalition", I am sure, "three axes" is not even worth comparing.
Artillery terror
It so happened that I was able to get acquainted with the training of Ukrainian gunners personally. We were preparing to leave for Yasinovataya when it became known that Ukrainian formations had shelled residential buildings in the Kuibyshev district of Donetsk. A few minutes later we were there.
There are several parallel residential buildings on Kuibyshev Street. The equipment of the Donetsk People's Militia does not hide in their yards. And in general, there are no military personnel within a radius of several kilometers. Peaceful people live in the houses, shops and social facilities are nearby, and cars are parked in the courtyards.
The main trouble of the residents is that these houses are located a few kilometers from Avdiivka occupied by Ukrainian troops. It was from there that three artillery shells arrived. Apparently, these were 122-mm ammunition towed howitzer D-30. The ammunition did not fall into the courtyards, but exploded in the roof area. Therefore, this time there were no human casualties and serious destruction.
This fire raid by Ukrainian armed formations can be safely called terrorism. Moreover, as a firing task, it was evaluated "unsatisfactorily".
— They knew the coordinates of these houses. No complex calculations were carried out there. They aimed at "two bast shoes from the sun" and fired," explains an officer of the People's Militia. — Of course, you can shoot at a target that you are not observing, but its coordinates are known. There are formulas and rules of shooting for this case. But then — just to spoil the lives of peaceful people, they took and shot. Where the projectile hits, it will hit there. The main thing is to intimidate the residents.
By the time we arrived, the fire service had already managed to extinguish several civilian cars. They were standing in the parking lot, and at the moment of the explosion they were hit by shrapnel. Two houses have broken windows. Around the scene there are employees of the Donetsk Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor's office, who describe what is happening and take statements from the victims.
— "I ask you to take measures against the servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," — an officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs explains to a resident of the affected house how to write a document. — Now we will make you a copy, and with it you will have to go to the administration. They will help you there. If the apartment is badly damaged, of course, a complete repair will not be done. But there's glass in the windows — for sure.
It is amazing how ordinary residents react to what has happened. There is no panic, no shock. Everyone knows what to do. Carefully collect and take out the broken glass. Car owners rake out the fragments, start the cars and drive them to another parking lot. Many will have to change windshields and side windows — this is a scarce commodity in frontline Donetsk. But the holes in the body can be brewed and painted over, the owner of one of the cars explains to me.
"They haven't hit us yet," Olga, who lived in this house, tells me. — But in other areas this happens often.
Of course, such raids are frightening, she does not hide it. But morally, the locals are already ready for them, but they are most afraid here for the lives of their children.
Alexey Ramm
