2S7 Pion self-propelled gun

Work on a large-calibre self-propelled gun began at KB-3 of the Kirov plant in Leningrad in the second half of the 1960s. In September 1969, the Ministry of Defence Industry was shown a Pion design on a T-64 tank chassis and another based on Object 429A from the Barrikady plant. The latter was selected by a decree of the CPSU Central Committee and the USSR Council of Ministers dated 8 July 1970. The gun entered service in 1975. The artillery assembly was built at the Volgograd plant, while the Kirov plant made the chassis and mounted the weapon on it.

The Pion used a V-46-1 four-stroke V12 engine. This liquid-cooled multifuel diesel had a mechanically driven centrifugal supercharger and produced 780 hp (574 kW). The 2S7’s armour protected against bullets only.

Crew: 7; combat weight: 46 tonnes; maximum speed: 50 km/h; range: 500 km. Main armament: a 203 mm 2A44 gun. Ammunition carried: four rounds of separate-loading ammunition.