Ukrainian defenders continue to inflict heavy losses on the Russian invaders. Now it was reported that a rare Russian self-propelled cannon was destroyed at the front in Southern Ukraine. The artillery weapon called Malka is not a simple howitzer – it goes beyond the Russian 152.4 mm standard and is a rare target for the defenders of Ukraine.
2S7M Malka during exercises in 2020. Image credit: Mil.ru via Wikimedia (CC BY 4.0)
The self-propelled Russian cannon 2S7M Malka was destroyed on the battlefield. The Russians sometimes call it the most powerful artillery piece in the world. Of course, they are just bragging, which Russia is famous for (in the field of unsubstantiated bragging, Russia has “no analogues in the world”). But Malka is actually a powerful artillery weapon. It is a lightly modernized version of the 2S7 Pion. It is a self-propelled 203 mm cannon that uses 103-110 kg shells. The crew of Malka consists of about 14 people. It has a firing range of 37.5 km, but targets 47.5 km away are also reachable with extended-range shells.
The Malka can also fire a nuclear 203 mm projectile called 3BV2, the power of which is about 2 kilotons. However, tactical nuclear artillery has never been used and is not the most effective choice.
In 2020, the Russians demonstrated the Malka in exercises and announced that it is one of the most powerful artillery weapons in the world. The Southern Defense Forces of Ukraine recently destroyed a Malka cannon and announced that it is not some kind of special weapon at all. In their view, it is just a slightly modernized Pion, which has been in service since 1976.
“In fact, this PR was part of an attempt to breathe new life into self-propelled guns that were designed and manufactured back in the 1970s. We are talking about the 203 mm self-propelled gun 2S7 Pion, the production of which was started back in the Soviet era, in 1975,” the defenders of Ukraine commented about the high praise of the Malka in Russia.
You rarely hear about the destruction of 2S7M Malka or 2S7 Pion in Ukraine – much less often than, for example, a fall of a Msta-S self-propelled howitzer. This is due to the fact that 203 mm cannons are much rarer in the Russian forces. They are very expensive, large and heavy. In addition, Malka is difficult to keep fed – the logistics of 110 kg projectiles is a difficult task. Therefore, Malka is rarely destroyed – there are simply not many of them at the frontline of Ukraine.
But if Malka is detected and happens to be within reach, destroying it is not too difficult. The 203 mm gun is not mounted in the turret – it is mounted on the platform, outside. Thus, sensitive parts and crew are not protected by armour when the Malka is in operation.
In addition, it can carry only 8 shells and a few crew members inside – guns of this caliber are always accompanied by support vehicles that can carry more ammunition and people. The Malka isn’t a very autonomous weapon.
Written by Povilas M.