When it comes to military hardware, we often envision formidable howitzers and multiple launch rocket systems with mind-boggling power. However, sometimes their names can lead to a stupor, because it is difficult to combine in the mind the form of powerful artillery and … flowers or rivers. But in reality, the imagination of representatives of different types of troops is sufficiently developed to include "Peonies", "Tulips", "Grads" and even "Buratino" in their weapons.
If we trace the features of the naming of various military equipment, then we can find a certain tendency in this process. Firstly, the tradition of giving names to weapons appeared not so long ago - about sixty years ago. Prior to that, Soviet equipment was mainly indexed, and received nicknames from the soldiers or officers who received it. But even after this practice became generally known and gained popularity among the developers themselves, a certain system can be traced in it: each branch of the military named its own technique, adhering to a general theme.
So, for example, the artillery liked the "flower theme": self-propelled guns and howitzers, which regularly entered service, gradually made up a whole greenhouse: among them you can find "Peony", "Tulip", "Hyacinth", "Carnation", "Cornflower", "Chrysanthemum" and even "Acacia". An exception from this thematic range of artillery were non-self-propelled guns, such as, for example, the towed howitzer D-30A - "Frog".
But multiple launch rocket systems began to be named after the names of natural phenomena, but, remarkably, those that often cause damage or even destruction. Therefore, the Russian army is armed with "Grads", "Hurricanes", "Tornado" and "Tornado".
Not far from the MLRS in the hierarchy of weapons are heavy flamethrower systems, the names of which raise some questions. And if TOS-1M "Solntsepёk" sounds quite logical, given the exorbitant temperatures in the epicenter of the explosion of the system's ammunition, then its previous modification has a really strange name - "Buratino".
For some unknown reason, the air defense and missile defense forces hit the river theme. So, for example, in their arsenal you can find the Terek and Danube radar stations, Dnepr and Dniester radars. This thematic series is continued by the self-propelled anti-aircraft gun ZSU-23 "Shilka" and the anti-aircraft gun-missile system 2K22 "Tunguska", named after the Amur tributaries. Even in the ancestors of the famous Iskander one can find a river - the 9K716 Volga tactical missile system.
The law enforcement agencies are people who are distinguished by their diligence and the absence of unnecessary questions. Apparently, that is why the names of their special means are distinguished by severe accuracy and at the same time irony of their meanings. In the arsenal of security officials, for example, you can find a PUS-3 "Argument" rubber truncheon, a "Hello" bullet and a "Visit" concealed body armor. The names of the handcuffs seem especially amusing - "Tenderness" for one prisoner and "Bouquet" - for five.
But perhaps the most creative were the ground forces. There was a lot of things in service: the BTR-80A "Rampage" armored personnel carrier, the UAZ-3150 "Shalun" car, the "Punisher" armored vehicle, the T-72B2 "Slingshot" tank and the "Metis" anti-tank missile system with the "Mulat" night sight ". Separately, it is worth noting the name for the grenade launcher - "Foundling".
Do you want to know why the predecessor of TOS "Solntsepёk" received such an unusual name? Then read: The incinerating "Buratino": a flamethrower, which was feared by both spooks and Chechens