2S4 / SM-240 Tyulpan (M1975)

History

2S4 "Tyulpan" was developed as an all-track self-propelled heavy mortar platform. The 30-ton system was first seen by the West in 1975, leading to the NATO designation "M1975" (not to be confused with the 2S7 "Pion", which was designated M1975 by NATO).

It is still active in the Russian army's inventory and has seen known combat operations in Afghanistan (1979-1989) and Chechnya (1999-2009). Soviet nomenclature conforms to the accepted alphanumeric system ("2S4") and mapping to flowers ("Tyulpan").

The Red Army saw firsthand the value of large-caliber mortar systems during World War II. As a result, the Soviets used a large number of field mortars in their battles with the Germans, ranging from infantry-level to massive 240mm monsters. By the end of the war, large-caliber mortars had become a permanent fixture in the Red Army's inventory, little changed with the looming Cold War against the West.

In 1960, the development of self-propelled and modern mortar transporters began.

Overall, the 2S4 is a fairly useful weapon system, in line with the Soviet armament doctrine - "rapid production and large weapons". Operators of up to nine people will be assigned to vehicles, forming vehicle and mortar units. The vehicle portion of the 2S4 is nothing more than a modified GMZ-class miner chassis with torsion bar suspension that has enough off-road capability to keep up with the main armor.

The fuselage contains the engine, transmission and the driver's seat, with the driver sitting in the front left. Power is provided by a V-59 series diesel engine rated at 520 horsepower. As a tracked vehicle, the 2S4 uses six dual tire wheels on one track side, with a drive sprocket at the front of the hull and a track idler at the rear. There are four track return rollers and no side armor skirts to protect these vulnerable areas.

The hull structure is faceted and set relatively low relative to the lower hull portion of the vehicle. The crew is relatively protected (20mm thick armor), but the 2S4 is not intended for direct combat against visible enemies. Instead, it uses long-range fire support to benefit other friendly ground forces on the battlefield.

The mortar portion of the vehicle consists of a massive 240mm M240 series field mortar consisting of a launch tube and base plate. The mortar is attached externally to the rear of the hull and is lowered into position to deploy along the floor at the rear of the vehicle and ready to be fired by the associated gunner. Mortar shells are loaded through the breech, unlike the muzzle of an infantry-grade mortar. The crew can use projectiles up to 40x240 mm.

Along the top of the fuselage behind the driver's position is a cupola with an access port and gun mount for a 7.62mm PKT series anti-infantry machine gun.

In practice, the 2S4 has proven to be an effective long-range weapon with devastating effects on many target types. The 240mm mortar has a range of 9,650 meters and can handle various types of warheads, including standard warheads, fragmentation blasts (287 lbs) and armor-piercing rounds. The 2S4, developed at the height of the Cold War, also had access to stockpiles of chemical and nuclear warheads, but the frequency with which these warhead types were used is unclear. The 2S4 is also equipped with precision-guided munitions, which greatly expands the tactical utility of the system. The projectile, dubbed the "Suicide Squad" ("Smel'chak"), was developed during the Soviet Union's involvement in the Afghan war, and at least proved to be a useful Soviet field artillery when attacking mujahideen targets beyond the capabilities of the generals.

Rockets The projectiles fired can extend the "range" of the 2S4 system to 18,000 meters. As a mortar-class weapon, the 2S4 is capable of dropping projectiles at enemy targets or known enemy positions, destroying them with an indirect weapon type.

Any limitation of the 2S4 system is its extremely disappointingly slow rate of fire, limited only to one round per minute due to the sheer size of each projectile, plus the artillery crew working outside the range of the vehicle, using them on the vehicle Create an unnecessary dangerous battlefield.

Only the Red Army and the Czech Army have ever used the 2S4, and the latter have very limited numbers - maybe only four units. After the fall of the Soviet Empire, the then-stocked Red Army 2S4s were simply passed on to the new Russian Army.

Hundreds - up to 425 - probably still in use today (2012). All Czech 2S4s were retired sometime in 1991.

Soviet Army stocks also refer to their 2S4 as "SM-240". The nickname "Tyulpan" means "tulip tree". During the Cold War, due to its nuclear capabilities, the 2S4 was assigned to a "High Performance Artillery Brigade" tasked with executing high-level NATO objectives.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

40 x 240mm mortar shells

Changes