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2B9 Vasilek
2B9 Vasilek
	82 mm 2B9 Vasilek Gun-mortar
Type	Automatic 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 [hu]
Specifications
Mass	632 kg (1,393 lb)
Shell	3.23 kg (7 lb 2 oz) bomb
Caliber	82 mm (3.2 in)
Breech	muzzle loaded or breech loaded
Elevation	−1° to 85°
Traverse	60°
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×

The 2B9 Vasilek (2Б9 "Василёк" - Cornflower) also known as Vasilyek,^[2] AM 289 Vasilyek^[3] or AM 2B9 Vasilyek,^[3] is an automatic 82 mm gun-mortar developed in the Soviet Union in 1967 and fielded with the Soviet Army in 1970.

Description

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.^[4] 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^[5] 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.^[6] 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.^[7] 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 military truck.^[8] 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.^[9]

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.^[10]

Variants

2B9 Vasilek – Basic model
- 2B9M Vasilek – Modernised version introduced in 1982, and adopted in 1983.^[10]
DE-82 − upgraded Hungarian version developed in 1987.^[8]
Type W99 – 2B9 Vasilek produced in the People's Republic of China by Norinco.^[11]
Scorpion − In 2004, the US Army with the assistance of Picatinny Arsenal engineers, fitted a Hungarian-supplied 2B9 Vasilek into the rear of a Humvee chassis as a proof of concept for the Army and Marine Corps. It can carry 191 rounds and the armoured cab provides ballistic and blast overpressure protection for the crew. Ultimately, it wasn't adopted by the Army.^[12]

Operators

Current

Armenia^[13]
Azerbaijan^[14]
Belarus^[14]^[15]
Hungary^[8]
Kazakhstan^[14]
Kyrgyzstan^[14]
Moldova^[14]
Russia^[8]^[14]
Syria – Used by both government and rebel forces in the Syrian Civil War^[10]
Turkmenistan^[14]
Ukraine^[14] – Used by both government and Donetsk People's Republic, Luhansk People's Republic forces in the war in Donbas^[16]^[17]
Uzbekistan^[14]

Former

Bosnia and Herzegovina − Also used by Army of Republika Srpska^[12]
Croatia − Also used by the HVO^[12]
Montenegro^[12]
Northern Alliance − Reported^[18]
Poland^[12]^[19]
Serbia^[12]
Soviet Union – Passed down to successor states.

Evaluation-only

United States − A HMMWV fitted with a 2B9 Vasilek entered trials in 2004 for the US Army and Marine Corps, but it wasn't accepted for service^[12]

Notes

Citations

^ ^a ^b Kinard (2007), p. 481.
^ "ODIN - OE Data Integration Network". odin.tradoc.army.mil. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
^ ^a ^b Jalali, Ali Ahmad; Grau, Lester (20 January 2010). The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War (PDF). Military Bookshop. ISBN 978-1907521058.
^ Kinard (2007), p. 306.
^ Campbell, David (30 November 2017). Soviet Paratrooper vs Mujahideen Fighter: Afghanistan 1979–89. Combat 29. Osprey Publishing. p. 19. ISBN 9781472817648.
^ "fmso.leavenworth.army.mil". Archived from the original on 5 November 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
^ Leland Ness (ed.), Jane's Infantry Weapons 2007–2008, pp. 556–557, Surrey: Jane's Information Group, 2007
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Lovass, Ernő; Jenzen-Jones, N.R. (3 September 2018). "Soviet 2B9M Vasilek self-loading mortar". armamentresearch.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
^ "sill-www.army.mil" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 June 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c Jenzen-Jones, N.R.; Lyamin, Yuri (18 June 2014). "2B9M Vasilek automatic mortar in service with Ansar al-Sham in Syria". armamentresearch.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
^ Blasko, Dennis J. (2013). The Chinese Army Today: Tradition and Transformation for the 21st Century. Routledge. p. 140. ISBN 9781136519970.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Foss 2011, p. 987.
^ "The Fight For Nagorno-Karabakh: Documenting Losses On The Sides Of Armenia And Azerbaijan". Oryx Blog. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Jones & Ness 2010, pp. 554−555.
^ "It Became Known What the belarusian Territorial Defense is Armed With, Which the Wagnerians Will Train". Defense Express. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
^ How the "Cornflower" fires 13/11/14. Novorossia TV. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
^ "Vídeo of DPR militia using 2B9 Vasilek". YouTube. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
^ Jones & Ness 2010, p. 554.
^ "Niecodzienne historie - Ostre strzelanie". TVP rekonstrukcja (in Polish). Retrieved 25 August 2024.

References

Foss, Christopher F, ed. (2011). Jane's Armour and Artillery 2011–2012 (32nd ed.). Surrey: Janes Information Group. ISBN 978-0-71062-960-9.
Jones, Richard D; Ness, Leland S, eds. (2010). Jane's Infantry Weapons 2010-2011. Jane's Information Group. ISBN 978-0-7106-2908-1.
Kinard, Jeff (2007). Artillery: An Illustrated History of Its Impact. Weapons and Warfare. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781851095612.