Sprut anti-tank gun
2A45 and 2A45M are the respective GRAU designations of the Sprut-A and Sprut-B (Russian for Octopus or Kraken) Soviet smoothbore 125 mm anti-tank gun.
Development
The 2A45M was created in the late 1980s by the Petrov Design Bureau at Artillery Plant Number 9 (OKB-9), which was also responsible for the 122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30).
Description (Sprut-B)
A feature of the Sprut-B is its integrated engine, which can propel the gun on relatively flat surfaces (up to 15 degrees slope) and at 14 km/h on roads. This gives the gun a measure of mobility on the battlefield. It takes two minutes to go from firing position to travelling position and 90 seconds to go from travelling position to firing position. Such guns are known in Russian as "self-moving" (самодвижущиеся) as opposed to self-propelled (самоходные), and outside of battle it is towed by an MT-LB.
The gun features a crew of seven. An OP4M-48A direct fire sight is used the day, while a 1PN53-1 night vision sight is used at night. For indirect fire, 2Ts33 iron sights are used, along with a PG-1m panoramic sight. The gun can reliably engage targets two metres high at a distance of 2000 metres.
Podcasts:
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by Christian Kane
Spirit Boy
by: Christian KaneThere's a little girl down south
And her daddy's got a ranch
'Bout as big as my town
And one day I swear
I'm gonna go down there and get her out
From the letter that I got last fall
She said you know you're the one I love most of all
But my face is up on the sheriff's wall
And there's reward signs posted up
And down the red river line
That I cross that very night
Trying to find my heart and looking for a fight
And there were four guards standing on the wall
I drew two six-guns
And I watched them fall
Oh yeah
Yeah
Well I came busting through them gates
Into a 12 gauge and a 38
But I was quick on the draw and I got 'em all
Yelled out to Rosa Bella
As she came walking softly through the night
Her hair so long and looking at me
With those big blue eyes
I grabbed her hand and we ran to leave
But her daddy came a-running from around a tree
And said
"Ain't no way my daughter's leaving here with no cherokee"
Oh yeah
Well, in my rage and to his surprise
I looked him deep in his buckshot eyes
And he had his hand on his gun but I was holding mine
And I'm running down this indian highway
In a ball of red
I got a loaded gun and things are goin' my way for a change
Well, you might think that I'm gonna be swingin' from a tree
Oh, no I'm a spirit boy
Ain't nobody gonna catch me
No, yeah, yeah, yeah...
(chanting)
We made love that very night
Under a burnt auburn cancun sky
I guess now I'm a Mexican
'Cause in Texas I'm a wanted man
She got up in an all-white gown
From the man who shot her daddy down
Somewhere in the heat of the night there was a shot & idots
And I'm running down this indian highway
In a ball of red
I got a loaded gun and things are goin' my way for a change
Yeah
Well, you might think that I'm gonna be swingin' from a tree
I know I'm a spirit boy
Ain't nobody gonna catch me
Yeah
I'm a spirit boy
Ain't nobody gonna catch me
Yeah
I'm a spirit boy
Yeah
Ain't nobody gonna catch me