2S14 Zhalo-S

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2S14 Zhalo-S prototype tank destroyer

 
2S14 Zhalo-S (Kubinka Tank Museum)

The 2S14 Zhalo-S was a prototype tank destroyer, made in the mid-’70s. The Zhalo-S was using the BTR-70 chassis. Instead of a high caliber heavy machine gun, it was armed with an 85-mm 2A62 gun with an inbuilt automatic autoloader. The tank weighed 12tons and was powered by 2 engines(ZMZ-4905) totaling 240hp. The vehicle was able to reach a speed of 80km/h on the road and 10 km/h in the water. As previously mentioned, the chassis was the same as the BTR-70 featuring 9mm or armor on the front and 7mm on the side and rear. The 2A62 gun (a modified version of the D-44) was shooting up to 15 rounds per minute(4 second reload), but the penetration was considered too poor for modern warfare, due to the most powerful shells not having an adequate performance compared to other vehicles made during that time. 


Schematic of 2S14 Shalo-S

The Russian marine corp in the mid-70s was armed with the out-dated PT-76, the Russian army put into development a new armored vehicle based on the new BTR-70, the new vehicle was featuring an experimental 85mm 2A62 gun which was a mounted version of the MT-12 with a smaller caliber. The 2S14 Zhalo-S was built in 1975 and was overall successful for its design and reliability, the new muzzle brake reduced 80% of the recoil allowing the vehicle to fire 360 degrees around it without rolling over. The mobility and performance were excellent but the effectiveness of the gun against modern, heavily armored tanks was just too poor.




The project was canceled in favor of ATGM vehicles because of the bad penetration of the 2A62. But according to history, the cancellation was a mistake, the 2S14 Zhalo-S would not be effective against the MBTs in the west but would have been suitable against the M60 and Type-59 in the east and south. Plus the 2S14 would have probably been a success on the market for smaller nations with a smaller economy.




Overall the vehicle could have opened a new path to lightly armored vehicles with larger caliber guns. Provided by: Cate, MandeFTW, and Perdikofas

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