Russia Mounts BMP-1 and BMP-2 Guns on Soviet D-44 Cannon Carriages
Russians have begun to install 2A42 30mm automatic guns on the carriages of Soviet D-44 85mm divisional guns.
The corresponding video was posted by user Andrew Perpetua on his X account.
The footage, presumably taken in a repair shop, shows the 85mm gun being dismantled and replaced with a 2A42.
An ammunition box is mounted behind the carriage shield, and an arched shield is installed over the breech of the gun and the box. The ammunition is likely to be belt-fed.
Vertical and horizontal guidance is provided by standard controls, but the standard sights have been dismantled.
The S71-7, OP2-7, OP4-7, OP4M-7, APN-2 and APN3-7 sights are not suitable for use with the 2A42, and it is impossible to install the standard BPC-2-42 sight from the BMP-2 on this carriage.
Therefore, the Russians will have to rely on alternative sighting devices, such as mounting a 1PZ-3, improvising a mechanical sight, or firing blindly.
The recoil of the 2A42 can be dampened by the weight of the carriage, and the stability of the system can theoretically be ensured by firing single shots or small bursts.
It is worth noting that such hybrid systems have been repeatedly spotted by Ukrainian drones.
For example, on 14 February, external pilots of the VIDARR regiment of the 60th Brigade destroyed one of these products using an FPV drone.
The drones of their counterparts from the 60th Brigade also recorded similar installations. One of them resembles a hybrid of a D-44 and a 2A42, while the other is a D-44 with a 2A28 Grom smoothbore gun from a BMP-1.
The fact that a significant number of such systems have been spotted indicates their widespread use. It is likely that in this way, the Russians are seeking to create ‘heavy’ firepower for the front line and strengthen their positions.
Most likely, the destroyed BMP-1 and BMP-2 are used to produce such hybrids.
Such units have already been seen on the battlefields of the Russian-Ukrainian war before. In particular, in May 2024, it was reported that the Russians had created a gun based on the 2A28 Grom.
In 2022, the Ukrainian military also created a similar system, only on the basis of the 2A42.
