The 2A3 Kondensator 2P (russian: 2А3 «Конденсатор» - "Condenser" or "Capacitor") was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

406 mm self-propelled howitzer. Its GRAU designation is 2A3.

Development

The 2A3 originated during the Cold War as a response to the United States' new " Pentomic Division" tactical doctrine that emphasized heavy use of

tactical nuclear weapons A tactical nuclear weapon (TNW) or non-strategic nuclear weapon (NSNW) is a nuclear weapon that is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations, mostly with friendly forces in proximity and perhaps even on contested friendly territo ...

, including

nuclear artillery Nuclear artillery is a subset of limited- yield tactical nuclear weapons, in particular those weapons that are launched from the ground at battlefield targets. Nuclear artillery is commonly associated with shells delivered by a cannon, but in ...

. The US M65 cannon was introduced in 1952 and deployed in Germany in 1953. The Soviet Union started its own program to develop a 406mm self-propelled howitzer capable of firing nuclear projectiles, codenamed 'Objekt 271'. Grabin Design Bureau completed the artillery system in 1955. The 'Objekt 271' chassis from the Kotlin Design Bureau in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

was completed soon thereafter. The unified system received the military industrial designation 2A3 and was completed in 1956 at the Kirov Works in Leningrad. Total production only amounted to four vehicles. Western observers got their first look at the new weapon during a 1957 parade on

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...

. Initially observers thought that the weapon was a mockup created for deterrent effect. Kondensator had an exceptionally short service life. Following a period of extensive testing, the weapons were assigned to the Artillery High Command reserve. There they remained in service until the military reforms of

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...

were enacted, favoring more effective missile systems over the super-heavy artillery and heavy tanks of the

Stalinist era Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...

.''Armas "raras" de la Guerra Fria''
Retrieved 21 August 2010 All four Kondensator howitzers were retired in the mid-1960s. One of the weapons was placed on static display at the Central Armed Forces Museum in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

References

External links

2A3 Kondensator 406mm / Capacitor-2P - self-propelled artillery

Numerous images of Kondensator systems on parade and surviving examples
Self-propelled artillery of the Soviet Union 400 mm artillery Kirov Plant products Abandoned military projects of the Soviet Union Military vehicles introduced in the 1950s {{artillery-stub

Development

See also

References

External links