M1939 BR-17 210-mm cannon

The Soviet 210 mm cannon of the BR-17 of the 1939 type is an instrument of special power, designed to combat long-term fortress and field constructions. The Soviet 210 mm cannon Br-17 took part in the battles of the Great Patriotic War both at the initial stage and during the final phase of military operations. During the Great Patriotic War, it was these artillery systems that first took part in the defense of Leningrad, conducting counter-battery firing. Later, these guns had the honor to finish off the remnants of the encircled German troops near Koenigsberg.

In the 1930s, the Soviet military leadership was faced with the problem of equipping the Red Army with high-powered tools. The artillery units of the howitzers and mortars from World War I did not meet the new requirements for siege artillery. Not having their own experience of creating such tools, the leadership of the Red Army tried to use foreign experience with maximum benefit.

The Soviet 210 mm cannon Br-17 is an artillery gun created on the technical basis of the product manufactured by the Czechoslovak firm Skoda. In the summer of 1937, a commission of representatives of the Red Army and military engineers was sent to the Skoda factory plant in Czechoslovakia to negotiate a new duplex, a 210-mm cannon and a 305-mm howitzer. The commission included Professor Ilya Ivanovich Ivanov, who led a whole group of designers of the plant number 221. It was this plant that was charged with organizing the production of duplexes in the Soviet Union.

The importance of developing such instruments for the USSR can be expressed in two words - the Stalinist order! This meant that the gun was created in a complete carte blanche for designers and engineers. The general designer could invite any designer from other design bureaus, use the power of any plants, use test ranges and test benches of any organizations. KB worked in two shifts. Almost non-stop. But it meant both. Failure to comply with the Stalinist order meant acquaintance not only with the investigators of the NKVD, but also, quite possibly, with the executioners. This applied not only to the General Designer, but also to the entire team of design offices.

By KO Decree No. 142 of June 1, 1939, Plant No. 221 was to deliver by April 1, 1940 three 210-mm cannons and three 305-mm howitzers. Despite the seizure of Czechoslovakia by Germany, deliveries to the USSR continued, albeit with some delay on schedule. Factory tests were conducted in Slovakia in the presence of a Soviet selection committee chaired by I. I. Ivanov. Factory tests of the 210-mm cannon were completed on November 20, 1939, and the 305-mm howitzer — on December 22, 1939.

Since the production technology of the Czech gun was unsuitable, the design team actually re-designed the gun. Plant "Barricades" continued to upgrade the gun. Modernization was carried out even not at the request of manufacturers. Simply replacing one part led to problems with another. Thus, we can talk about a complete modernization of the system. The management of "Barricades" strongly risked independently changing the design of the system. But the winners are not judged. The Stalinist order was executed, which means they won. The gun met all the requirements for it, but did not represent anything outstanding.

Soviet engineers managed to fully adapt a powerful tool to the requirements of the domestic production and repair base. Design work was carried out at the Leningrad plant "Bolshevik", and the main production base was the Stalingrad plant "Barricades". After the introduction by the Government of the USSR of letter indices for machine-building production, the products developed at these enterprises received these indices in names. The factory "Bolshevik" (Leningrad) was assigned the index "B", and the products developed at this factory were named B-4, B-10, etc.

For transportation on a march, the standard volumetric parts of the system (except for those transported on 3 wagons), as well as spare parts, for each gun were attached one three-ton car for transportation of the lining of the excavation and demining tool, and four three-ton trailers for the transportation of the rest of the property. Carriages with parts of the guns and trailers were towed by tracked Voroshilovets and Komintern tracked vehicles, the maximum speed of the carriage was 30 km / h. In 1940, the first prototype was presented for military and field trials, after which it was decided to make powerful tools in a small series. In total, in two years, Soviet enterprises, from 1940 to 1941, produced 9 Br-17 cannons, which became part of a separate cannon battalion of special power of the RGK.

In 1952 all the 210-mm cannon Br-17 were overhauled at the factory "Barricades". 9 guns that went through the war again rose to military service in the Soviet Army. After the war, the Škoda company developed high-explosive shells of a new generation for guns. But the ubiquitous appearance of rocket technology sent the cannons to deserved rest. And in the 60s they were withdrawn from the armed forces.