Sign of dwindling supply – Russia is fitting naval guns on tracked chassis – Technology Org
2M-3 is a 25 mm Russian naval gun. It has two barrels and works like a versatile machine gun. It was meant to be installed on smaller military ships and boats, such as landing vessels, minesweepers, patrol boats and such. It was not meant to be installed on an MT-LB chassis.
Russian naval 23 mm gun 2M-3. This turret wasn’t made to be mounted on a land vehicle. Image credit: ShinePhantom via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)
The MT-LB is a fairly old multi-purpose, fully amphibious, tracked armored fighting vehicle. It entered service in the 1950’s. But because it stayed in production the MT-LB was upgraded many times and became the basis for many different weapons systems. For example, Strela-10 or SNAR-10 are based on the MT-LB. However, it is unlikely that anyone imagined that naval guns would be mounted on this tracked vehicle.
At least one (more than likely – several) MT-LB was spotted in Russia with a 2M-3 naval gun. That is an extremely bizarre combination, because the turret of the 2M-3 is quite large. The resulting self-propelled land-based naval autocannon is extremely tall.
Because naval guns are quite specific, it doesn’t seem like it offers enough freedom of movement to even aim low enough. Not to mention the obvious problem of this weird machine itself being an easier target to spot and eliminate.
The 2M-3 naval gun is a twin 25-mm automatic cannon with a rate of fire of 300 rounds per minute per barrel. It was developed in the 1940’s.
As noted by Defense-ua.com, these pictures from social networks seem to have been taken in some kind of a repair base. It is likely that people who mounted the turret took this picture to allow everyone to marvel at their creation. Why would Russia make such a thing?
Well, there have been many instances when naval guns were mounted on wheeled or tracked chassis. It does happen, because why would you let a good gun go to waste when the ship has reached the limits of its reliable service life?
However, it might be a new indication (one of many) that Russia is running out of ammunition. As Ukraine doesn’t have a functioning Navy, naval ammunition can be pushed to service on and with means like this. But there are obvious problems with this idea.
For this weapon to be of any use, it needs to come closer to the Ukrainian positions. At the same time, it is so tall and awkward that the defender of Ukraine will spot it from far away and will destroy it. Then there are questions regarding training – did they teach soldiers to operate naval guns on land? It cannot be easy.
Russia continues to say that everything is going according to plan. However, an MT-LB with a 2M-3 naval gun does not look like a part of any plan. It looks like an improvisation. And, likely, one created through desperation.
Sources: Defense-ua.com , Wikipedia