The 2B9 Vasilek (2Б9 "Василёк" - Cornflower) is an automatic 82 mm gun-mortar developed in the Soviet Union in 1967 and fielded with the Soviet Army in 1970.
2B9 Vasilek | |
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Type | Gun-mortar |
Place of origin | Soviet Union |
Service history | |
In service | 1970–present |
Wars | Soviet–Afghan War Syrian Civil War War in Donbas Second Nagorno-Karabakh War Russo-Ukrainian War |
Production history | |
Manufacturer | Bolshevik Plant, Norinco, Diósgyőri Gépgyár |
Specifications | |
Mass | 632 kg (1,393 lb) |
Shell | 3.23 kg (7 lb 2 oz) bomb |
Caliber | 82 mm (3.2 in)[1] |
Breech | muzzle loaded or breech loaded |
Elevation | −1° to 85° |
Traverse | 60°[1] |
Rate of fire | 100–120 rpm |
Muzzle velocity | 270 m/s (890 ft/s) |
Maximum firing range | 4,270 m (14,010 ft) |
Sights | PAM-1 2.5× or 3× |
It was based on the F-82 automatic mortar. The 2B9 is a semiautomatic breechloader that makes use of 4-round clips or is loaded with individual rounds.[2] Rounds can be loaded from either the muzzle or the breech. Because of its wheeled carriage, the 2B9 resembles a light artillery piece more than a conventional mortar.
The 2B9 was used in Afghanistan[3] by Soviet units and is still found in Russian airmobile infantry units. In the fighting in Afghanistan, Soviet units found the 2B9 to be a versatile and useful weapon.[4] The 2B9 can fire high-explosive, armor-piercing, smoke, and illumination rounds. The armor-piercing projectile, which weighs 3.1 kg (6.8 lb), has a 75 g (2.6 oz) warhead that can penetrate 100 mm (3.9 in) of armor.[5] Upon blast, the high-explosive shell produces 400 to 600 fragments.
The 2B9 can be towed but is usually carried on a modified GAZ-66.[6] By 1988, the 2B9 was also deployed as a self-propelled weapon by mounting the gun-mortar in the rear of an MT-LB armored personnel carrier.[7]
During the Syrian Civil War, the 2B9M Vasilek was used by the Syrian Armed Forces, Kurdish People's Protection Units, and the Islamist group Ansar al-Sham. The latter used a 2B9M automatic mortar near Mount Chalma, Kesab district.[8]