The 82mm 2B9 Vasilek or 'Cornflower' automatic gun-mortar is a very complex breech loading or muzzle loading mortar that can function equally well as a high-angle mortar or as a flat-trajectory gun. A breech-loading weapon, usually a gun or cannon, is one where the bullet or shell is inserted, loaded, into the gun at the rear of the barrel, the breech; the opposite of muzzle-loading. ... A muzzleloader is any firearm into which the bullet is loaded from the muzzle of the gun. ... Mortar has several meanings: A mortar is a military weapon into which is dropped a mortar shell, which is then fired in a high ballistic trajectory. ... USS Iowa (BB-61) fires a full broadside during a target exercise near Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, 1 July 1984. ...

Description

The 2B9 Vasilek is a Russian-made automatic gun mortar that is unusual in its ability to load from either a four-round clip in a feed unit behind the breech or in the normal mortar fashion via muzzle loading. It uses a complicated carriage to allow stable high angle fire without the breech striking the ground. It has been seen mounted on some lighter armoured vehicles. Full M1 Garand clip A clip is a device pushed into the magazine of a firearm to load the magazine in one action. ... Breech may refer to: A breech birth The part of a firearm behind the barrel. ...

History

The Vasilek first appeared in the early 1970s and was used extensively in the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan. However, it has since been replaced with a conventional 120mm mortar. Only the air assault troops of the Russian Army have retained the weapon, although it appears on mountings on light armoured vehicles. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... A Soviet soldier on guard in Afghanistan in 1988. ... In russian, word army means armed forces in general. ...

See also

• General Articles
  • Artillery
  • Military technology and equipment
  • Mortar (weapon)
• Similar weapons:
  • Brandt 60mm LR Gun-mortar
• Listings:
  • List of artillery
  • List of modern weapons

Historically, artillery (from French artillerie) refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ... This article lists military technology items, devices and methods. ... US soldier loading a M224 60-mm mortar. ... A list of the worlds artillery, by type. ... List of all weapons currently in development, production, or significant service in the world. ...

References

• Hogg, Ian (2000). Twentieth-Century Artillery. Friedman/Fairfax Publishers. ISBN 1-58663-299-X