2B1 Oka (russian: 2Б1 Ока) is a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
420 mm
self-propelled heavy artillery. ''2B1'' is its
GRAU
The Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (), commonly referred to by its transliterated Russian acronym GRAU (), is a department of the Russian Ministry of Defense. It is subordinate to the ...
designation.
Development
An experimental model was ready in 1957. Its chassis (Object 273), was designed and built by the
Kirov Plant
The Kirov Plant, Kirov Factory or Leningrad Kirov Plant (LKZ) ( rus, Кировский завод, Kirovskiy zavod) is a major Russian mechanical engineering and agricultural machinery manufacturing plant in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was establ ...
. Its 20-meter barrel allowed it to fire 750 kg rounds up to 45 km. Due to its complexity of loading it had a relatively low rate of fire—one round every five minutes. Field tests showed various drawbacks of the entire design (the recoil was too strong for many components: it damaged drive sprockets, ripped the gear-box away from its mountings, etc.) and the sheer length rendered it incredibly difficult to transport.
Its development continued until 1960, when the idea of such overpowered guns (along with the
2A3), was abandoned in favor of
tactical
Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to:
* Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks
** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield
** Chess tactics
** Political tacti ...
ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...
s, such as the
2K6 Luna.
See also
*
2A3 Kondensator 2P
*
List of the largest cannon by caliber
The list of cannon by caliber contains all types of cannon through the ages listed in decreasing caliber size. For the purpose of this list, the development of large-calibre artillery can be divided into three periods, based on the kind of projec ...
External links
Self-propelled artillery of the Soviet Union
420 mm artillery
Kirov Plant products
Abandoned military projects of the Soviet Union
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