Capable of firing 12 rounds/hour continuously, firing 750 kg nuclear projectiles up to 45 km away, the 2B1 Oka is the scariest nuclear super cannon ever built.
During the early stages of the Cold War, the military powers began to build nuclear cannons to strengthen and deter the enemy.
The US led the way with the introduction of the M65 nuclear cannon in the 1950s.
Soon after, the Soviet Union also had a weapon to respond in 1957, more dangerous and powerful, which was the 2B1 Oka nuclear super cannon.
It is known that this 2B1 Oka cannon has a caliber of up to 420 mm.
This nuclear self-propelled gun will fire a warhead weighing 750 kg, flying 45 km
The explosive yield of this nuclear bomb is said to be over 15 kt, enough to blow up a city.
Although by design, these tactical nuclear self-propelled guns can fire continuously.
However, according to the doctrine of nuclear war with tactical weapons of the Soviet Union at that time, self-propelled artillery guns that fired tactical nuclear shells only needed to fire one shot to destroy large targets of the opponent.
Because it only needs to fire a single bullet, these tactical nuclear cannons will take the precondition of mobility to be able to reach the firing position.
To accomplish this, 2B1 Oka used the chassis of the most powerful tank of the time, the IS-5.
With a 750 hp V-12-6B turbo diesel engine, this self-propelled gun will have a drag ratio of up to about 12 hp per ton.
However, due to the weight of more than 50 tons, the cruise reserve of this nuclear self-propelled gun is only about 180 km.
2B1 Oka is designed with a special shock absorber system to prevent the cannon from being damaged after each shot.
The nuclear artillery 2B1 Oka suddenly appeared in Red Square during the military parade commemorating the success of the October Revolution in 1957.
Although it is a very dangerous weapon, in theory, the 2B1 Oka nuclear cannon is not qualified to fight, because the biggest problem it encounters is the transmission system which is often damaged after only a few minutes. a very short time.
In addition, this weapon was also too expensive and very time-consuming to maintain – not suitable for the operation of Soviet armored vehicles at that time.
A total of four 2B1 Oka self-propelled howitzers were assembled at the Kirov plant. Currently, only one self-propelled gun 2B1 Oka is on display by Russia at the Artillery Museum in St. Petersburg.
