Soviet self-propelled howitzer on a tracked track. It is designed to clear minefields and wire fences, suppress fortified firing points, and destroy enemy infantry, armored vehicles, and artillery. It is able to operate effectively in snowy and swampy areas. It is in service with the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the armies of 35 other countries. It was used in 15 major conflicts. It was produced until 1991. It is still being modified.
The history of the creation of 2C1 "Carnation"
In the mid-60s of the XX century, the leadership of the USSR revealed the lag of domestic self-propelled artillery from the equipment of a potential enemy (NATO). Therefore, in 1967 VNII-100 was commissioned to begin work on the design of a modern howitzer. The preliminary designs were created on the platforms of the "Object 124", BMP-1 and MT-LB, but subsequently the first two options had to be abandoned, and Motoliga was significantly redesigned. The engineers tried to make this machine more mobile and faster than all existing models.
As a result, the Kharkov Tractor Plant (KhTZ) took over the development of the chassis, and the Sverdlovsk OKB–9 took over the armament. The project was led by Alexander Belousov, Fedor Petrov and Vladimir Golubev. In 1969, four prototypes were produced for state tests. According to their results, it was possible to identify one serious design flaw – the accumulation of a significant amount of powder gases in the fighting compartment. The defect was eliminated by 1970, the car was given the name 2C1 "Carnation" and adopted into service.
Interesting facts: The ACS was nicknamed "Carnation" in accordance with the army's tradition of naming artillery systems with colors. This installation was used by the armies of all Warsaw Pact (ATS) countries. It was first presented to the general public at the 1974 military parade in Poland. The small weight and dimensions of the machine allow it to be transported by IL-74, AN-12, AN-124 aircraft and amphibious assault ships.
However, the refinement of the artillery unit continued. Only two years later, serial production of self-propelled guns was launched at KhTZ. The vehicles were delivered to the artillery divisions of tank and motorized rifle regiments (18 each), as well as to the Naval infantry units. Enterprises in Poland and Bulgaria were engaged in the local production and modernization of these self-propelled guns. Production was discontinued in 1991, by which time it had been possible to produce more than 10,000 units.
Characteristics and advantages of the 2X1 "Carnation"
This system is designed according to the classical tower scheme. In its bow there is a driver's seat and a power plant, and in the central and aft there is a fighting compartment. The length of the machine is 7.26 m, the width is 2.85 m, and the height is 2.725 m. The ground clearance is 400 mm. The case is sealed and welded from steel plates with a thickness of 15 mm. The forehead of the tower is covered with 20 mm plates. They are able to protect crew members from being hit by 7.62mm bullets and shell fragments.
The turret is located above the fighting compartment and rotates 360° around its axis using an electric drive (manually in emergency cases). It houses a 122 mm 2A31 rifled cannon, as well as the positions of the gunner, loader and commander of the vehicle. The length of the howitzer barrel is 35 calibers. It consists of a tube with 36 rifling holes, a breech, a clutch, an ejector and a muzzle brake with two chambers. Elevation angles range from -3° to +70°. A semi-automatic wedge bolt mechanism is used.
When firing direct fire and from closed positions, a rate of fire of about 4-5 rounds per minute is provided. If it is necessary to change the elevation angles and use ammunition rounds, this indicator is reduced to 1.5-2 shots per minute. The communication of the crew members is provided by the P-124 intercom. Communication with other vehicles and command posts at a distance of up to 28 km is maintained using the R-123M ultrashortwave radio station.
Interesting facts: The Gvozdika is the world's first mass-produced floating tracked self-propelled gun. It can move through the water at speeds up to 4.5 km/h due to the rewinding of the tracks. But only if the current velocity does not exceed 0.6 m / s, the wave height is not higher than 150 mm, and the ammunition includes no more than 30 shells. The machine is capable of crossing a 300 m wide body of water. In addition, it can overcome a 35-degree rise, a 0.7 m high wall and a three-meter moat.
The commander of the vehicle is able to monitor and target targets during the day and at night due to the availability of TKN-3B and OU-3GA2 equipment, as well as two TNPO-170A periscopes. The charger's seat is equipped with a MK-4 surveillance device. The gunner uses the 1OP40 and OP5-37 sights. The driver can operate the car at night using the TVN-2B night vision device. During the day, he uses heated viewing glasses or a TNPO-170A device.
The undercarriage is built on the platform of the MT-LB tractor conveyor. It has rubber-metal tracks and support rollers with individual torsion bar suspension. The first and seventh wheels are also equipped with hydraulic shock absorbers. The machine with ammunition weighs 15.7 tons. The specific pressure on the ground is 0.492 kg/cm2. It is possible to adjust the tension of the tracks from the inside. Fuel tanks with a total capacity of 550 liters are distributed along the sides, which are connected to each other.
The car is powered by an eight-cylinder four-stroke YaMZ-238H diesel engine with a capacity of 300 hp at 2100 rpm. It allows you to reach speeds of up to 60 km/ h on the highway and 26-32 km/ h on rough terrain. Its operational life is about 800,000 km. The range of the ACS is 500 km. A mechanical dual-flow transmission with seven gears is used. The speed when driving in reverse is about 6 km/h.
Nomenclature of ammunition 2S1 "Gvozdika"
The 2X1 Gvozdika is adapted to use a variety of ammunition. We are talking about high-explosive fragmentation shells 3OF56, 3OF56-1, 3OF24 (W), 3OF7/3OF8, 53-OF-462 (W), produced in the USSR. Their foreign counterparts can be used: Chinese Type 54 and Type 83, Iranian 122 mm HE, Croatian M95 and ERBB 122 HB, as well as Romanian and Pakistani samples. The average firing range of these ammunition is 15 km, and the maximum is 21.9 km.
Cumulative projectiles 3BK6(M), 3BK13 and 3BP1 are used to destroy armored vehicles when firing direct fire. They eliminate targets at a distance of up to 2 km. The destruction of infantry is provided by 3SH1 shrapnel ammunition, and the destruction of priority targets is provided by Kitolov-2M guided missiles. Chemical projectiles 53-XSO-462D and 53-XSO-463B, lighting 53-S-463(W) and 3C4(W), propaganda 3A1(D) (W) (J), smoke 3D4(M) and HF/VHF radio interference controllers are also used.
The standard ammunition of the vehicle consists of 40 separate shell-loading rounds: 35 high-explosive fragmentation and five shaped shells. 16 of them are located vertically along the side walls of the hull, and 24 are located along the side and rear walls of the tower. It is possible to supply ammunition to the stowage from the ground through a special aft hatch. To maintain the buoyancy of the ACS, the size of the ammunition is reduced to 30 rounds.
The main modifications of the 2C1 "Carnation"
The first modification of the Carnation appeared a year after its commissioning. The 2X1M Godzik version with the SW680T engine, redesigned rollers and hydrodynamic shields was created by Polish engineers. In the 80s of the 20th century, the Romanians designed their own version of self-propelled guns with a gun from Gvozdika, based on the MLI-84 platform. In 1996, the Iranian Raad-1 howitzer was introduced, which is a variant of the 2C1 on the local Boragh chassis.
Russian engineers created a modified version of this installation only in 2003. This is how the 2X1M1 appeared with a new automated control and guidance system for the 1V168-1 cannon. The next stage in the modernization process was the 2C34 "Hosta", which appeared in 2008. The 2A31 cannon was replaced by the 2A80-1, and the commander's turret is equipped with a 7.62 mm PKT machine gun. A year later, the Poles introduced an upgraded version of the Rak-120 with a smoothbore mortar instead of a howitzer and increased ammunition to 60 rounds.
There is also a Polish modification of the 2C1T Godzik with an automated Topaz gun control and guidance system, a Turkish version of the 2C1TGO and a Ukrainian BMP Kevlar-E based on the 2C1 platform with a remotely controlled Assault combat module, a more powerful engine, air conditioning, fire extinguishing systems, RCBZ and navigation. The Carnations are being upgraded by the Serbs as part of the SORA 122 mm project. Instead of a wheeled chassis, a 2C1 tracked platform is used, the machine is equipped with a new MSA, a ballistic computer and GPRS.
It should be noted that various types of equipment have been created on the basis of Gvozdika. We are talking about the 2C8 "Astra" self-propelled mortar, the 2C15 "Norov" anti-tank self-propelled gun, the CAO 2C17 "Nona-SV" and the MLRS 9P139 "Grad-1", the UR-77 "Meteorite" mine clearance unit and the 2C1-H multipurpose tractor transporter, as well as the Polish LPG command and staff vehicle, the Bulgarian BMP-23, the Ukrainian HTZ-26N snowmobile and the TGM-126-1 tracked transport vehicle.
Worldwide distribution and modern use of 2C1 "Carnation"
There are 130 Gvozdiks in service with the Russian Ground Forces, and another 1,800 remain in storage. 90 installations of various modifications are used by the FSB border service, and 85 vehicles are registered as part of the Coastal Forces of the Navy. 68 installations provide security for Azerbaijan. 145 copies were delivered to Algeria. Nine units are each part of the armies of Armenia and Angola. Of the 239 vehicles in Belarus, 125 have been preserved. Bulgaria still uses 48 of the 686 self-propelled guns supplied.
Georgia uses 20 installations, and Zimbabwe uses 12. Iran and Kazakhstan are operating 60 copies each. Six units were sold to DR Congo and three to the Republic of Congo. The Kyrgyz army has 18 "Carnations". 206 installations are located in Poland. Romania has 40 systems of this type. 75 cars were sold to Serbia. The USA has purchased 19 copies. Tajikistan has three vehicles in service. Turkmenistan retained 40 units, while Uzbekistan retained 18.
Interesting facts: these self-propelled guns took part in the filming of the feature films "Act according to the situation" and "When the fanfare is silent." One installation was used in the first episode of the 21st season of the British car show Top Gear. You can control these howitzers in the computer games Armored Warfare: Project Armata, War Thunder and People Playground. Assembled models of "Carnations" are produced by Zvezda and Trumpeter companies in 1/35 scale.
Uruguay acquired six 2C1S, and Finland bought 72 cars from the GDR (then received two more). Eight self-propelled guns are based in Croatia. Chad received 10 units, Eritrea sold 32 units, and South Ossetia received 42 vehicles of various modifications. An undetermined number of "Carnations" are found in Syria, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Iraqi Kurdistan, Sudan, Cuba, Vietnam and Yemen. Ukraine still retains about 125 howitzers.
Former operators of the system are Afghanistan (15 units), Bosnia and Herzegovina (24), Hungary (153), East Germany (374), Egypt (76), Iraq (150), Libya (162), Slovakia (51), Slovenia (8), Togo (6), West Germany (372), Czech Republic (49), Czechoslovakia (150), Yugoslavia (100) and South Yemen (50). The decommissioned copies are in various museums in Russia (for example, in the UMMC Museum Complex), Belarus (the Stalin Line historical and cultural complex), Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Poland, the USA, the Czech Republic and Ukraine.
Combat use of 2S1 "Gvozdika"
Gvozdika participated in many local conflicts, the first of which was the war in Afghanistan. It was mainly used to suppress enemy firing points during direct fire. The vehicles were involved in the capture of Shingar and Khaki Safed, as well as during the offensive on Kandahar in 1986. The installations were used by both sides of the conflict during the two Chechen wars. They were spotted in Transnistria.
They were actively used by the armed forces of Yugoslavia, and subsequently by the States that emerged from it during the Balkan crisis. They were used by the Iraqi army in the framework of the Iran-Iraq conflict. They were used by government forces to suppress the rebels during the civil war in Libya in 2010-2011. They were used to a limited extent by South Ossetia to repel Georgia's aggression in 2008.
After the beginning of the "Russian Spring" in Donbass, many facts of the use of "Carnations" by the militia and the Armed Forces of Ukraine were recorded. As part of the Syrian civil war, various terrorist groups have managed to capture a significant number of vehicles. Therefore, they are applied by all parties to the conflict. The Yemeni Houthis used these self-propelled guns to repel external aggression. In addition, their use was recorded during the second Karabakh war and the civil conflict in Ethiopia.
2S1S of various modifications are used by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the Armed Forces of Ukraine as part of a special military operation in Ukraine. This is one of the most widespread types of artillery in this conflict. The installations are operating along the entire line of combat contact – from Kherson to Kharkov. They performed well in the Ugledar area. All systems work in conjunction with the UAV calculations, which are responsible for finding targets, aiming and correcting fire. Reports of the destruction of these installations are regularly received from both sides of the confrontation.
Conclusion
The 2X1 Gvozdika is a reliable, unpretentious and fairly efficient system that allows you to quickly solve most of the tasks set. They can use different types of ammunition, move around any terrain and avoid return fire. Their number is sufficient to have a significant impact on the course of hostilities. Despite a significant service life (more than 53 years), the machines maintain a high level of combat capability.
