God of War - Soviet 152 mm howitzer-cannon ML-20 1937

Description of design

Diagram of a 152-mm howitzer-gun mod.
1937 (ML-20): a - barrel; b - breech with bolt; c — muzzle brake; d — recoil devices; d - shield cover; e — wheel travel; g - frame ML-20 was a howitzer-gun, that is, an artillery system in which howitzer properties prevail over cannon ones. The gun had a fairly modern design for its time, with a carriage with sliding frames and sprung wheels. The barrel was produced in two varieties - fastened and monoblock (some sources also mention a third option - with a free tube). The ML-20 was equipped with a piston bolt, a spindle-type hydraulic recoil brake, a hydropneumatic knurler, and had separate cartridge loading. The bolt has a mechanism for forced extraction of the spent cartridge case when it is opened after a shot and a safety lock that locks the bolt after loading before the shot is fired. If for some reason it is necessary to unload the gun, you must first switch the safety switch to allow the bolt to open. To facilitate loading at large elevation angles, the ML-20 breech is equipped with a cartridge case retention mechanism. The descent is made by pressing the trigger on the trigger cord. The gun had a mutually locking mechanism that prevents the bolt from opening if the barrel is not properly connected to the recoil devices. To mitigate recoil on recoil devices and the carriage, the ML-20 was equipped with a powerful, massive slot-type muzzle brake. The knurl and recoiler contain 22 liters of liquid each, the pressure in the knurl is 45 atmospheres

A distinctive feature of the ML-20 is a unique combination of different elevation angles and initial projectile velocities, which are set by choosing one of thirteen propellant charges. As a result, the gun could be used both as a howitzer, firing along a mounted trajectory with a relatively low projectile speed, and as a cannon - along a flat trajectory with a high projectile speed. The gun was equipped with both a telescopic sight for direct fire and an artillery panorama for firing from closed positions

The carriage with sliding frames is equipped with a balancing mechanism and a shield cover. The wheels are metal with rubber tires (some early guns had wheels with spokes and rubber weights from a gun model 1910/34), leaf springs. The carriage of the gun was usually carried out on a carriage with the barrel in an extended position. The transition time from traveling to combat position was 8-10 minutes. Over short distances, the system could be transported with the barrel not pulled out at a speed of 4-5 km/h. The ML-20 gun carriage was recognized as normalized, received the designation 52-L-504A and was used in the modernization of the 122 mm A-19 gun. To transport the ML-20, heavy tracked artillery tractors "Voroshilovets" and "Comintern" were used, which were produced by the Kharkov Locomotive Plant - the developer and first manufacturer of the famous T-34 tank and were equipped with the same V-2 engine as the "thirty-four"

Artillery. Large caliber. 152-mm howitzer-gun ML-20 model 1937

Let us allow ourselves a small preface.
Speaking about the artillery of the last century, I would like to once again express some admiration. Indeed, the god of war. Yes, today stories about artillery systems do not cause such interest and excitement as stories/shows of the same tanks, but...

Agree, there is something fascinating about these howitzers and cannons. Yes, there is no privacy and mystery of tanks (what’s inside?), everything is in plain sight. But this doesn’t make guns and howitzers any less attractive.

Although perhaps we are just artillery maniacs.

Working with numerous materials about the ML-20 howitzer-gun, we felt the constant “pressure” of the authority of truly respected and authoritative predecessors. Almost all works contain many enthusiastic reviews, examples, and comparisons. The system created by F. F. Petrov really deserves these words. She deserves it for how many soldiers’ lives she saved in numerous wars of the 20th century. Or, on the contrary, it took away - in relation to the lives of soldiers of the opposing side.

And in gratitude for the lives saved, the front-line soldiers nicknamed this destroyer of artillery batteries, engineering structures and armored vehicles of the enemy Emelei. I don’t want analogies, but that fabulous Emelya could also do anything. The only difference is that one used the capabilities of the pike, and the second made do with what the creators awarded him.

However, with all due respect to the opinion of artillery authorities, it is impossible to create a “universal” that would correspond to the best examples of “specialists”. A specialized weapon will always be better than a universal one. A cannon is better than a howitzer-cannon, and so is a howitzer.

But such advantages are visible only when the commander has different types of artillery systems. Which doesn’t happen often in war conditions.

This is precisely what can explain the admiration that was absolutely rightly awarded to the ML-20 howitzer-gun.

Before we start talking about this system, it is necessary to clarify the very term used for this weapon. Howitzer gun. The fact is that in some works this term is changed to the opposite: gun-howitzer. In the designation of such tools, first place is always given to the type of tool whose properties are preserved to a greater extent. For the ML-20 this is a howitzer. Therefore, it is necessary to call this system a howitzer-gun, and not a gun-howitzer.

True, the authors did not find such a term in the descriptions of any other artillery systems. An interesting conclusion follows from this. Most likely, the term was introduced specifically for the ML-20. He seemed to emphasize the unique combat qualities of these guns.

Classic field howitzers with a short barrel were more powerful weapons. In this they were superior to the ML-20. And classic long-barreled long-barreled guns of special power surpassed the ML-20 in firing range. Theoretically, it turns out that the new system is inferior to both systems. Thus, there seems to be no need for such a weapon.

What in practice? The ML-20 is located, as it were, in a niche between field howitzers and long-range guns of special power. And this fact must be viewed from a completely different position.

In confrontation with howitzers, this system has an undoubted advantage - its firing range. This means that in a real battle it is capable of striking enemy howitzer batteries without the possibility of return fire. An excellent counter-battery weapon!

It’s more difficult with guns of special power. Here, with the same combat tactics as against howitzers, the system will clearly lose. But! ML-20 is lighter and more mobile. And, therefore, it is capable of changing positions much faster than heavy weapons of special power.

Of course, heavy ML-20s “approaching” a battery of German long-range guns would look funny. But in the history of the Great Patriotic War there are examples of just such a confrontation. And howitzer guns won these battles! Not at the expense of more confident shooting. They just took care of long-range guns. Piece fighters. And quite difficult to manufacture. Therefore, in the event of shelling by serious weapons, the batteries changed positions!

By the way, the issue of the cost of the weapon, as well as the issue of technological solutions for production, is important in the conditions of preparation for war. And during the war it is extremely relevant. The weapon must be cheap to produce and technologically simple to manufacture.

The history of the ML-20 howitzer-gun begins in Tsarist Russia. It was then that probably the most successful weapon of that time appeared in the Russian army: the 152-mm siege gun of the 1910 model of the Schneider system. At least in terms of ballistics, at that time there was no better weapon in the world.

By the end of the Civil War, it became clear that the gun needed to be modernized. Conversations about this ultimately turned into an assignment for Perm Plant No. 172 (Motovilikha Plant). The modernization was carried out twice. In 1930 and 1934. However, the shortcomings of the old weapon could not be corrected. Although, some innovations made it possible to talk about more or less successful modernization. But the requirements for such weapons were constantly increasing.

On the instructions of the GAU, the Motovilikha Plant began work on a new ML-15 gun. Moreover, this system had to be truly new in many respects. However, plant No. 172 was production! And the designers understood perfectly well that any “revolution in technology” for the plant would result in many problems.

That is why, in parallel, on an initiative basis, work was carried out on the design of another system - ML-20. A system that would use technologies already created at the plant would be easier to manufacture and, ultimately, could be put into production in the shortest possible time.

The barrel and bolt of both systems were borrowed from its predecessor. Moreover, the ML-20 used wheel travel, suspension and gun frames mod. 1910/34

The GAU task was completed by April 1936. The gun entered field testing.

Alas, the product turned out to be unfinished. Tests showed that the system did not meet the requirements. The sample was sent to the factory for revision. It was the “revolutionary nature” of the weapon that had an impact.

In March 1937, the second tests of the ML-15 began. This time the gun showed exactly the results that the military demanded. Moreover, some sources even talk about positive recommendations for mass production of this system.

In December 1936, the second sample was delivered to the test site. On December 25, 1936, testing of the ML-20 began. For most of the requirements, this system met the assigned tasks. Some comments concerned the carriage. The modification did not take much time and the weapon became exactly as the military saw it.

To this day, there are debates about why the ML-20 was adopted for service.

The authors of many works refer to the opinion of such a “monster” as A. B. Shirokorada. Indeed, the ML-15 was more mobile due to its smaller weight (500 kg in combat and 600 kg in stowed position), had a higher carriage speed (up to 45 km/h), and a more modern, but complex carriage.

In our opinion, Shirokorad was hindered by the “blinders” of a prominent specialist. From the point of view of a scientist, ML-15 is better. But life makes its own adjustments. The fact that the GAU accepted the ML-20 was significantly influenced by the plant’s designers. Manufacturers.

Since the technological equipment for the production of ML-15 had yet to be developed, and this required time and money, the decisive role was played by the position of the production workers. At a minimum cost, we will deliver the guns in the shortest possible time! We have ready production lines for all weapon components.

True, yes, one can seriously argue about the weight of the guns. But this drawback is completely insignificant due to the fact that the system was not designed for the regimental or division level. It was a hull gun. Moreover, the ML-20 became a duplex with the 122 mm A-19 gun.

Be that as it may, on September 22, 1937, the ML-20 was adopted by the Red Army under the official name “152-mm howitzer-gun mod. 1937."

The gun had a fairly modern design for its time, with a carriage with sliding frames and sprung wheels. The barrel was produced in two varieties - fastened and monoblock (some sources also mention a third option - with a free tube).

The ML-20 was equipped with a piston bolt, a spindle-type hydraulic recoil brake, a hydropneumatic knurler, and had separate cartridge loading.

The bolt has a mechanism for forced extraction of the spent cartridge case when it is opened after a shot and a safety lock that locks the bolt after loading before the shot is fired. If for some reason it is necessary to unload the gun, you must first switch the safety switch to allow the bolt to open.

To facilitate loading at large elevation angles, the ML-20 breech is equipped with a cartridge case retention mechanism. The release is carried out by pressing the trigger using a trigger cord.

The gun had a mutually locking mechanism that prevents the bolt from opening if the barrel is not properly connected to the recoil devices. To mitigate recoil on recoil devices and the carriage, the ML-20 was equipped with a powerful, massive slot-type muzzle brake. The knurl and recoiler contain 22 liters of liquid each, the pressure in the knurl is 45 atmospheres.

A distinctive feature of the ML-20 is a unique combination of different elevation angles and initial projectile velocities, which are set by choosing one of thirteen propellant charges. As a result, the gun could be used both as a howitzer, firing along a mounted trajectory with a relatively low projectile speed, and as a cannon - along a flat trajectory with a high projectile speed. The gun was equipped with both a telescopic sight for direct fire and an artillery panorama for firing from closed positions.

The carriage with sliding frames is equipped with a balancing mechanism and a shield cover. The wheels are metal with rubber tires (some early guns had wheels with spokes and rubber weights from a gun model 1910/34), leaf springs.

The carriage of the gun was usually carried out on a carriage with the barrel in an extended position.

The transition time from traveling to combat position was 8-10 minutes. The system could be transported over short distances with the barrel not pulled out at a speed of 4-5 km/h.

The ML-20 gun carriage was recognized as normalized, received the designation 52-L-504A and was used in the modernization of the 122 mm A-19 gun.

To transport the ML-20, heavy tracked artillery tractors “Voroshilovets” and “Comintern”, which were produced by the Kharkov Locomotive Plant, were used.

"Voroshilovets"

"Comintern"

The “Stalinist” also pulled quite successfully.

The ML-20 was first used during the battles on the Khalkhin Gol River. The gun was actively used in the Soviet-Finnish war, where it was successfully used to destroy bunkers and bunkers on the Mannerheim Line.

The ML-20 took part in all major operations of the Great Patriotic War, played an important role in the Battle of Kursk, being one of the few weapons capable of effectively fighting the new well-armored German tanks and self-propelled guns. The experience of front-line use of the ML-20 showed that it was the best Soviet weapon for counter-battery fire.

Interestingly, the first shot at Germany, fired on August 2, 1944, was fired from the ML-20.

Performance characteristics:

Years of production: 1937-1946 Produced, pcs: 6,884 Calculation, persons: 9

Weight in combat position, kg: 7,270 Weight in stowed position, kg: 7,930

Firing angles: - elevation, degrees: from -2 to +60 - horizontal, degrees: 58

Initial projectile speed, m/s: 655 Rate of fire, rds/min: 3-4 Firing range, m: 17,230 Highway towing speed, km/h: up to 20

Like any significant weapon of the Red Army, the ML-20 was “planted” on a tank chassis. The first examples of such a symbiosis were the SU-152. These cars were produced only in 1943. From February to December 1943, to be more precise. And they were a system based on the KV-1s tank. 670 of these SUs were produced.

In November 1943, it was decided to “transplant” the ML-20 to another chassis, based on the IS-1 tank. This system is known as ISU-152. It was produced not only during the war, but also after. Production was completed at the end of 1946, although deliveries to the troops were made even in 1947. A total of 2,790 vehicles were produced.

There was another car. ISU-152 arr. 1945. The car is experimental. In metal it was produced in a single copy. The chassis differed from the standard ISU-152. The IS-3 chassis was used. Most likely, this model should have “amazed” the Americans along with the IS-3 at the parade in Berlin.

We will not describe this car. But, for those who are interested in self-propelled guns, we will inform you that the ISU-152, even in the ISU-152-1 or ISU 152-2 variants, is a completely new vehicle. With powerful armor, a new howitzer-cannon ML-20SM and other innovations.

In conclusion of the article I would like to say about my own feelings from this weapon. When analyzing the design features or combat use of the ML-20, you experience a constant feeling of the greatness of this weapon. It's overwhelming. Power and genius in metal. Yes, in some museums the authors of the exhibition try to “dilute” this feeling with grass and peaceful landscapes, but it does not go away.

Overall, the weapon turned out to be truly great. Great in its own place. And exploitation in many armies of the world only confirms this statement.

The gun that hit the Reich first! The first weapon of retribution for the destruction and death that our country suffered in the Great Patriotic War.

Notes

1. ↑ Shirokorad A.
   B. Encyclopedia of domestic artillery. — P. 654-655.
2. Shunkov V.
   N. Red Army. — P. 123.
3. ↑
   Shunkov V.N. Red Army. — P. 124.
4. ↑ Shirokorad A.
   B. Encyclopedia of domestic artillery. — P. 655-656.
5. Zheltov I. G. et al
   . IS tanks. Combat use. — (Tankmaster, special issue 2004).
6. ↑ Ivanov
   A. USSR artillery in World War II. — P. 4-6.
7. ↑
   Shunkov V.N. Red Army. — P. 125.
8. M. Kolomiets
   . Battles near the Khalkhin Gol River // Front-line illustration, No. 2, 2002
9. Shirokorad A.
   B. Northern wars of Russia. - M.: AST, 2001. - P. 631-632. — 848 p.
10. Shirokorad A.
    B. Northern wars of Russia. - M.: AST, 2001. - P. 684. - 848 p.
11. ↑ Svirin M., Kolomiets
    M. Kursk Bulge. - M.: ExPrint NV, 1998. - 80 p.
12. ↑ Military Balance 2007. - P. 196.
13. Shirokorad A.
    B. God of War of the Third Reich. — P. 80.
14. ↑
15. The Military Balance 2007. - P. 218.
16. The Military Balance 2007. - P. 104.
17. The Military Balance 2007. - P. 358.
18. The Military Balance 2007. - P. 70.
19. The Military Balance 2007. - P. 234.
20. The Military Balance 2007. - P. 365.
21. The Military Balance 2007. - P. 134.
22. The Military Balance 2007. - P. 138.
23. The Military Balance 2007. - P. 177.
24. ↑ Solyankin A. G., Pavlov M. V., Pavlov I. V., Zheltov I.
    G. Soviet heavy self-propelled artillery mounts 1941-1945. — P. 1111.
25. Shirokorad A.
    B. Encyclopedia of domestic artillery. — P. 1111.
26. Svirin M.
    N. Self-propelled guns of Stalin. History of the Soviet self-propelled guns 1919-1945. - M.: Yauza, Eksmo, 2008. - 384 p. — (War and us. Soviet tanks). — 10,000 copies. — ISBN 978-5-699-20527-1, BBK 68.513 C24
27. Shirokorad A.
    B. God of War of the Third Reich. — P. 348.
28. Shirokorad A.
    B. God of War of the Third Reich. — P. 102.
29. Shirokorad A.
    B. God of War of the Third Reich. — P. 103.
30. Shirokorad A.
    B. God of War of the Third Reich. — P. 371.
31. Shirokorad A.
    B. God of War of the Third Reich. — P. 105-106.
32. Shirokorad A.
    B. God of War of the Third Reich. — P. 78.
33. Shirokorad A.
    B. God of War of the Third Reich. — P. 76-77.
34. Chamberlain P., Doyle
    H. Encyclopedia of German tanks of World War II: A complete illustrated reference book of German battle tanks, armored vehicles, self-propelled guns and half-tracks 1933-1945. - M.: AST, Astrel, 2002. - 271 p. — ISBN 5-17-018980-Х
35. ↑ Shirokorad A.
    B. Encyclopedia of domestic artillery. — P. 656-661.

Mark on history

ML-20 has a fairly successful design. Howitzer guns, despite some inconvenience and heavy design, showed themselves to be excellent universal weapons, but at the same time, in certain areas they were inferior to specialized guns.

This is precisely the reason for its removal from service. Modern howitzers are superior to the ML-20 in all respects, including the range of mounted fire, but at the same time, not a single howitzer can support the advance of rifle units at direct fire; the insufficient barrel length and correspondingly low range when firing at direct fire prevent this.

In addition to towed guns, the ML-20 was installed in self-propelled guns, which were based on tanks: KV-1, IS-1. These self-propelled guns, known under the name “Zveroboev,” showed themselves excellently in the fight against German armored vehicles; the armor of the vaunted “Tigers” and “Panthers” burst and crumbled from the impacts of the heavy 152 mm shells of these guns.

Interesting! In St. Petersburg, in the period 2002-2009, it was this weapon that was used daily

Combat use

For the first time, the ML-20 howitzer-cannon fought in Mongolia; during the battles on the Khalkhin Gol River, its shells demolished the fortifications of Japanese infantry units and artillery batteries. Then there was the Winter War and the “million-dollar” pillboxes of the Mannerheim line.

It was there that this howitzer first tested itself as a cannon, firing direct fire at the embrasures of camouflaged and impregnable concrete fortifications. Even then, they managed to produce one and a half thousand ML-20 howitzer guns, and then the Great Patriotic War began.

During World War II, the ML-20 was used in corps artillery to provide artillery preparation in breakthrough areas and to destroy important or difficult targets. For counter-battery shooting.

This is one of the most difficult areas of fire, requiring high quality calculations and shooting accuracy. In this case, the correction is made according to the data provided by sound artillery reconnaissance.

In the RGK artillery, howitzer guns supported all strategically important operations, destroyed enemy personnel, conducted artillery preparation, and destroyed enemy strongholds and fortifications.

In addition, the ML-20s captured by the Germans ensured the defense of their Atlantic Wall.

Howitzer ML-20

One of the most famous weapons of the Second World War was the Soviet 152mm howitzer ML-20.

Created before the war, in some countries it is still in service. This weapon has been used in almost all armed conflicts since the second half of the last century. The history of the creation of the ML-20 howitzer goes back to the early thirties of the last century. At that time, the corps artillery of the Red Army was armed with an already obsolete siege weapon of the 1910 model, created by the French. It needed serious modernization or replacement with new models. Therefore, in design bureau No. 172 of the Perm plant in Motovilikha, under the leadership of the famous Soviet weapons designer F.F. Petrov, work began on the design of a new weapon. Initially, two guns were created: ML-20 and ML-15. The ML-15 howitzer was created by order of the main artillery department, and the ML-20 on the designers’ own initiative. Both guns had a large number of components and elements from the 152-mm gun mod. 1910/34 In 1936-1937, both guns underwent field and military tests; as a result, the ML-20 howitzer was adopted for service, which received the official name 152-mm howitzer-gun mod. 1937

The ML-20 cannon was mainly used from closed positions to destroy open and hidden enemy personnel, tanks, fortifications, and to combat enemy artillery. The gun had a unique combination of different elevation angles and initial projectile velocities. Therefore, the gun could be used both as a howitzer, firing along a mounted trajectory with a relatively low projectile speed, and as a cannon - along a flat trajectory with a high projectile speed. The howitzer was equipped with a telescopic sight for direct fire, and an artillery panorama for firing from closed positions. Heavy tracked artillery tractors “Voroshilovets” or “Comintern” were used to transport the guns. The first combat use, in small quantities, of the ML-20 was during the battles on the Khalkhin Gol River. Then it was actively used in the Soviet-Finnish War, in particular, against bunkers and bunkers on the Mannerheim Line. And during the Great Patriotic War, the ML-20 was used during all major operations. An interesting fact: the first cannon shot on German territory was fired by the ML-20 howitzer No. 3922 on August 2, 1944. The ML-20 gun was equipped with the famous Soviet self-propelled artillery systems SU-152 and ISU-152, which were used to combat the latest German heavy tanks. The ML-20 gun was produced only at the Motovilikha plant No. 172 from 1937 to 1946, during which time 6,884 units were produced.

The 1:72 scale model of the ML-20 howitzer is produced only by the Ukrainian company ACE. The model is packaged in a small soft cardboard box with a removable top.

It contains four large gray plastic sprues, two of them identical, and one additional with a barrel and shells.

The model was made using LND technology, which naturally affected the quality of the castings. The model has sink marks and flash; all round parts require replacement with wire or drawn sprue. The most unpleasant aspects of the model are the weights on the frames and the muzzle brake.

When removing the sink marks on the frames, the imitation linings and rivets will be damaged, which will have to be restored somehow. As an option, first grind everything down and putty, and roll the riveting on foil and glue it to the frames. You'll have to tinker with the slotted muzzle brake; you can buy a barrel for the ISU-152 from Aber 1/72 Russian ML20-S 152.4mm Gun Barrel for ISU-152, catalog number ABE72L-16. There is also a barrel from Zedval 72018 Zedval 1/72 152 mm barrel of the Ml-20 cannon for the Isu-152, but there, in my opinion, the muzzle brake is made integral with the barrel and will have to be cut off. Although, you can try to make this part yourself. I'm thinking of turning the brake cylinder itself on the motor, simulating a lathe. Then, without removing the part from the cartridge, apply notches at equal intervals, for example with a needle, to mark the slots. Then, stick on two metal strips that limit the depth of the slots and carefully cut through the muzzle brake according to the markings. But this is still just an idea; I don’t know how it will work out in practice. You also need to make a shield out of foil or tin. In general, these are only those improvements that are visible at first glance. I think that as the work progresses, a few more points will emerge that will need to be paid attention to. We should also expect some unimportant fit of parts. This model would really benefit from photo-etching.

The instructions are standard for ACE - simple, but quite understandable.

In conclusion, we can say that despite all the complexity of the model and the amount of work ahead, it has no alternative. I think if you have patience and put in the effort, you can get a decent result. The price of the model in online stores is about $7.

Production

Production of the ML-20 was carried out only at plant No. 172 in Perm from 1937 to 1946. In addition to the production of towed guns, about 4,000 ML-20S barrels were produced for installation on the SU-152 and ISU-152 self-propelled artillery mounts (in total, 3,242 ISU-152 self-propelled guns and about 670 SU-152 self-propelled guns were built, the exact number varies in various sources). The successor to the ML-20 was the 152 mm D-20 gun-howitzer, which had been in serial production since 1956. This gun had identical ballistics to the ML-20.

Apparently, there was a significant decrease in the production volumes of towed howitzer guns ML-20 in the years. was caused by two reasons. The first of these was the beginning of the production of heavy self-propelled guns SU-152 and ISU-152 - a significant proportion of the barrels produced then went into their arsenal. The second factor was the appearance of heavy tanks by the enemy, and as part of the program to increase the power of tank and anti-tank artillery of the Red Army, plant No. 172 was ordered to increase the production of 122-mm A-19 guns in line with the plan to produce ML-20 howitzer guns

Howitzer-gun ML-20 - design

According to its design, the ML-20
is a 152-mm howitzer-gun (this name for this gun ensured the presence of a long barrel) mod. 1937, like all artillery pieces, has a barrel in which rifling is placed; breech with piston-type bolt; slotted muzzle brake, balancing mechanism (two vertical pipes in front of the shield), anti-recoil devices, anti-fragmentation shield, wheel travel, support frames and a set of spare parts and accessories. To the question, why was the ML-20 a howitzer-gun? there is a logical, technically sound answer. This artillery gun is a system in which combat howitzer properties clearly prevail over cannon characteristics, the main ones of which are considered to be the ratio of caliber to barrel length and the possibility of mortar (mounted) firing. The design of the gun is quite modern for that time, equipped with a carriage with sliding massive frames and wheel travel on springs, ensuring a soft ride on smooth roads and at the same time the necessary rigidity when moving off-road. The gun barrel was produced in two main varieties - fastened (this is when the pipe itself is attached to the breech by an additional device, and monoblock, when the barrel and breech are made in one piece. There is information about a third option - a barrel with a free pipe, when when repairing the barrel it was possible to replace only pipe and this greatly reduced the cost of repairs). The ML-20 was structurally equipped with a piston bolt with locking of the barrel bore by turning the piston, a liquid brake for spindle-type recoil parts, and an air-liquid knurl. The principle of loading was a separate cartridge case with the ability to change the firing range by selecting excess gunpowder in the form of special bags (bundles). The bolt has a system for forced extraction of the spent cartridge case, which is mainly made of brass, when it is opened manually after the shot and a special fuse that reliably closes the bolt after loading until the howitzer fires. If for any reason the crew needed to unload the gun, then first of all it was necessary to first switch the fuse device to be able to open the bolt. To facilitate the loading procedure and safety during mortar shooting, the ML-20 breech is equipped with a cartridge case retention system. The shutter was released (shot) by pressing the trigger on a rope trigger cord with a sausage-shaped wooden ending. The gun had a common mutual safety mechanism that prevents the bolt from opening when the barrel is not connected to the fender for some reason. To reduce recoil and the load on recoil devices, frames and wheel travel, the ML-20 was equipped with a long, massive slotted active-type muzzle brake. The recoil brake (TOCH) contains 22 liters each of a special anti-recoil (POZH-70 is now used) fluid, the air pressure in the knurl is 45 atmospheres.

A distinctive feature of the ML-20

, like other guns with separate case loading, a wide combination of different elevation angles and initial projectile velocities is considered, for the use of which a set of 13 charges was provided and for this reason the gun could operate at different distances and hit targets of varying complexity, and accordingly be used as an anti-tank gun or mortar. But later the number of charges was reduced to 7 and this made it possible to use shots for the ML-20 howitzer-cannon for other guns. The sights of this gun were designed not only for direct fire, but also for conventional panorama of the PG-4 type for firing from closed firing positions.

The gun carriage with a pair of sliding frames, as mentioned earlier, is equipped with a spring balancing mechanism and shield, bulletproof and fragmentation protection. The wheels were iron with rubber tires (some models, especially the early ones, had wheels with metal spokes and rubber weights), and the springs were stacked leaf springs. The transition time for an experienced crew from the traveling position of the gun to the combat position should not exceed 10 minutes. To move the ML-20 during the war, the Voroshilovets and Komintern tractors were used, which were made by the Kharkov Locomotive Plant, and in the post-war period other tractors were used, including the URAL-4320 vehicle.

The production of howitzers for ML-20 guns for all the years of production, of which there were 10, took place only at plant No. 172 in Perm named after Molotov, which was located in the Urals from 1937 to 1946.
In addition to the production of trailed guns, the company produced slightly more than 4,000 gun mounts of the ML-20S for placement on the basis of the SU-152 and ISU-152 self-propelled artillery mounts (according to official statistics, 2,825 ISU-self-propelled guns were built and transferred to the troops 152, and in addition 670 self-propelled guns SU-152). The successor to the ML-20 was the D-20 gun-howitzer of exactly the same caliber, which had been in full production since 1956, which in turn served as the artillery part of the 2S3 self-propelled gun, which had the same ballistics as the ML-20.

Surviving copies

ML-20 is presented in the exhibitions of many military museums, and also serves as an element of a number of memorials. In Moscow it can be seen in the Museum of the Great Patriotic War on Poklonnaya Hill and the Central Museum of the Armed Forces, in St. Petersburg - in the Museum of Artillery and Engineering Troops and the courtyard of the Naryshkin Bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress, in Perm - in the Museum of Motovilikha Plants. In Finland, this weapon is exhibited in the museum of Hämeenlinna, in Belarus - in the Brest Fortress at the artillery weapons site, in Poland - in the Poznan Citadel, in Israel - in the Batey ha-Osef Museum, in Ukraine - in the Kiev Museum of the Great Patriotic War, in Crimea (Sevastopol) - diorama "Sapun Mountain", Zaporozhye - next to the memorial complex near the dam. Shostka - near the city museum. Highway Pskov - Gdov, as a monument

Characteristics and properties of ammunition

The ML-20 fired a full range of 152mm cannon and howitzer shells, including a variety of old Russian and imported grenades. After the Great Patriotic War, new types of ammunition were added to the range of projectiles listed below, for example, the 3OF25 high-explosive fragmentation projectile. The 53-BP-540 cumulative projectile penetrated at an angle of 90° - 250 mm, 60° - 220 mm, 30° - 120 mm.

Organizational and staffing structure

Initially, the ML-20 was intended for corps artillery. Together with the 122-mm gun of the 1931/37 model (A-19), it formed the so-called “hull duplex”. In 1940-1941. there were three types of corps artillery regiments

• two divisions of ML-20 and one division of A-19 or 107 mm guns (24 howitzer guns);
• two divisions of ML-20 and two divisions of A-19 or 107 mm guns (24 howitzer guns);
• three ML-20 divisions (36 howitzer guns).

Soon after the start of the Great Patriotic War, corps artillery was abolished along with rifle corps. It was revived again in the second half of the war. According to the staff, corps artillery regiments in the second half of the war had 122-mm cannons or 152-mm howitzers, however, some memoir sources indicate the use of ML-20 in them. It was believed that corps artillery should be equipped with more mobile guns than the ML-20. In 1943, the 152-mm D-1 howitzer was adopted, which became the basis of corps artillery, and the more powerful and less mobile ML-20 was finally transferred to army artillery

Since 1943, the ML-20 has been used in artillery regiments of a larger organizational unit - the combined arms army. The combined arms army had an artillery regiment of 18 ML-20s. Since the beginning of 1945, the Guards armies had an artillery brigade of 36 ML-20

In addition to rifle and mechanized units, the ML-20 was in service with purely artillery brigades and reserve regiments of the Supreme High Command (RVGK). The RVGK cannon regiment had 24 ML-20s. Since 1943, artillery brigades of the RVGK have been formed; the cannon brigade had 36 ML-20s. RVGK cannon brigades could be part of larger artillery formations - breakthrough artillery divisions and cannon artillery divisions

Altarillery of the Red Army. Let's talk about howitzers.

Home » Alternatives to World War II » Altartillery of the Red Army. Let's talk about howitzers.

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Ansar02 06/15/2015 3099 243

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First, the harsh realities of the main divisional art of the Red Army.

Before the war, according to the state of September 13. 39, the rifle division (SD) of the Red Army included two artillery regiments:

1. Light art. a regiment consisting of three divisions: one 76.2 mm divisional guns and two mixed divisions: two batteries of 122 mm howitzers and one 76.2 mm guns. This light regiment served, first of all, for direct support of rifle regiments, allocated for this purpose by divisions. It was equipped only with horse-drawn traction.

2. Howitzer regiment. Composition: a division of light 122 mm howitzers and a division of heavy 152 mm howitzers. Everything is clear here - the regiment works in the interests of the same rifle regiments, but without personally assigning divisions to them - that is, centrally. It was equipped only with mechanical thrust, since even light howitzers were no longer so light (the new 122 mm M-30 howitzers were supplied to the light howitzer division of the howitzer regiment).

Thus, the division had: 20 three-inch guns, 28 122 mm howitzers and 12 152 mm howitzers. In principle, it’s not even bad.

After the Germans smashed first Poland and then France, complete with the British Expeditionary Force, to smithereens, our artillery specialists, marveling at such success, decided to change the structure of the SD artillery.

They carried out a sort of castling: the cannon division was removed from the light regiment, and in the two mixed divisions, on the contrary, two batteries of three-inch guns and one 122 mm howitzers were made. What is clear is that VET began to be given special importance, and the number of old, relatively light 122 mm howitzers in divisions was reduced, and the number of heavier new ones, on the contrary, grew. Accordingly, another division of 122 mm howitzers was added to the howitzer regiment.

Now, SD had as many as 32 light and 12 heavy howitzers, plus 16 divisional three-inch howitzers!

Cool? And if we remember that instead of three-inch guns, the DIVISIONS were seriously “wooed” by 107 mm guns, which previously were the exclusive prerogative of corps artillery? That would be the coolest thing ever! However, the war interrupted the ongoing production of the M-60 cannon on the 127th gun. The finished guns were distributed among the newly formed anti-tank artillery brigades and were no longer released. The divisions remained with their dead “three-inch” guns.

(107 mm M-60 gun model 40 g)

Now, about what's not cool.

SD (in other countries PD) is known to be the most numerous in any army in the world. Accordingly, their weapons are also the most numerous. In fact, this is the basis of the aircraft.

In the Wehrmacht PD, ALL artillery (except for anti-tank artillery, which POSSIBLY provided with high-speed mechanical traction) moved exclusively on horse-drawn traction.

The light 105 mm howitzers were just that: light (half a ton lighter than our 122 mm), and the heavy 150 mm, although heavier than ours, fired a kilometer further and, moreover (more importantly), could be disassembled for transportation into two carts, towed by the same horse teams.

Moreover. The Germans made their light howitzers lighter and lighter from model to model - if the first version of their 105 mm howitzer weighed 2040 kg. then the last arr. 42 already only 1630 kg!

The Red Army had two problems with SD howitzer artillery:

1. Old-style howitzers, which did not have either suspended carriages or special dollys, could not be towed faster than 8-12 km/h. However, for divisions where almost the entire l/s moves purely on their own two feet, this is not critical.

(122 mm howitzers model 10/30)

2. The second problem arose after rearmament.

The new lightweight 122 mm howitzer M-30 already weighed a ton (!) more than the previous ones and almost caught up in weight with the old six-inch howitzer, which required from 8 to 10 horses in a harness.

(“Light” divisional 122 mm howitzer M-30 model 38)

The new, 152 mm M-10 howitzer was not only very heavy (one and a half tons heavier than the previous one), but it was also non-dismountable, which is why it could only be towed by mechanical traction.

(Heavy divisional 152 mm howitzer M-10 model 37)

Therefore, it is not surprising that the SD GAP had to be fully provided with mechanical traction.

No, of course, the front of the horse-drawn traction for the M-30, which was intended for PAWS, was also depicted, but in this transport position, the new light howitzer already weighed MORE than the old heavy one and only a natural knacker could count on horses as a means of traction.

(122 mm howitzer model 38 in SD)

That is, being essentially in a cavernous state compared to Germany in mechanical engineering and transport, the Soviet Union aimed at the complete mechanization of howitzer artillery of the most numerous SD! After this, is it any wonder that when comparing the structure and staff of the Red Army SD and the Wehrmacht PD, you are surprised to see that the Germans in the PD not only have a crapload of trucks, but even horses twice as many as in the SD. But there are as many as 99 tractors in the SD of the Red Army versus 66 among the Germans! How many moose! But in fact?

Stupidity? No. Fools who do stupid things are eliminated along with their stupidity. The mechanization of modern artillery is an inevitable direction, since it is obvious. If, of course, the appropriate prerequisites are ripe for this! Here something much worse happened - a mistake, the tragedy of which surfaced already during the war. Its result was a real disaster with howitzer divisional artillery. The old one (like the new horse-drawn one) did not have time to fend off breakthroughs from the mechanized Wehrmacht troops (which is natural), and besides, the old one was simply broken by shaking when trying to move faster than permissible. And for towing with the new mechanized tractor, there were not enough equally slow-moving tractors (it is clear that the scarce specialized SD artillery tractors were not used at all) and even those arrived from the national economy in frankly depressing condition. The organization of maintenance in the SD was very weak, which inevitably led to the massive and final failure of those tractors. Providing spare parts and fuels and lubricants – naturally, you can’t imagine anything worse. Do you think this was not expected? At least, they probably suspected it, having excluded one division of light howitzers from the State Aviation Administration in April 1941 and using this savings to staff the AP of new divisions.

As a result, the howitzer divisional artillery, having less propulsion means than guns (despite the fact that the artillery staffing also differed significantly from the staffing table), not only did not have time to support its infantry anywhere, it did not even have time to retreat with it - especially if it was necessary to leave the road somewhere in order to get around the Germans who had broken through and straddled the road or to hide from an air raid.

Further. After the start of mobilization and huge losses, including in artillery systems, in the summer of ’41, the country’s leadership made a forced decision to completely exclude the State Enterprise from the SD.

This means that now in the only SD artillery regiment there were only 8,122 mm howitzers and 16 76.2 mm divisional guns left against 36,105 mm and 12,150 mm howitzers in the Wehrmacht PD. So much for howitzer disaster. Considering the problems with deployment, transport and mobilization of industry, this was a disaster that lasted throughout the war. Even in the victorious 45th GUARDS SD had no more than 20 light howitzers according to the staffing table and no more than 16 in fact!

And then, in the terrible 1941, all the 122 mm howitzers “saved” in this way went to equip the newly formed divisions, and 152 mm corps.

Really, what could be simpler? The SD, equipped with artillery according to the pre-war states, is taken in some rear district and, as befits a “troika,” deploys into a corps. Its regiments become divisions. The former howitzer regiment is immediately torn apart - 6 light howitzers are allocated to the newly formed divisions, and the heavy howitzer division becomes subordinate to the corps. Voila! Or “bingo!” - as you like.

The divisions that were formed “from scratch” from scratch initially received only what industry could provide them with and no more than was determined by the new states. Where to go?

Now, if our army and artillery in particular had not suffered those terrible losses in border battles, it is quite possible that the divisions would have been allocated more than those unfortunate 8 light howitzers against 36 light and 12 heavy German ones. Especially considering the sharply growing production of new ones. The Germans, by the way, by the end of the war also reduced the howitzer artillery in their PD to 24,105 mm and 4,150 mm.

(The main light howitzer of the Red Army at the beginning of the Second World War was 122 mm model 10/30. Of the 8,700 light howitzers, 5,900 were of this type)

(Our losses... Pay attention to this interesting “road train” - a two-axle cart is attached to the tractor and a horse-drawn front end of a six-inch model 9/30 is attached to it.)

As a result, the howitzer artillery of our divisions and corps turned out to be weak. And the worst thing is that it was practically useless to strengthen it! For howitzers mod. 38 there is no transport and there is not enough ammunition for howitzers of all types. And shells and gunpowder for charges. Just like in WWII! However, in the 42nd, divisions receive another 4,122 mm howitzers and 4 three-inch howitzers. But, this was already in 1942, when the completely mobilized and evacuated industry got back on its feet and began to produce a VAL of military products, including artillery. And finally, Lend-Lease arrived in tangible volumes (which included gunpowder and components for the production of high-quality gunpowder). But what is 12 of our lg versus 36 lg + 12tg of the Germans?

And at the end of 1941, in the Red Army, in order to simplify the structure and “save” the command staff, the corps unit was abolished. All rifle corps (except for the guards) were disbanded, and their artillery (152 mm howitzers and 107 mm cannons) was transferred to... do you think to a division or to the army level? Fuck it! For SD and 8-12 light howitzers with a shortage of transport and ammunition, this is already a luxury, and army artillery as such will appear in our army only in 1943! All corps artillery (what else has survived) is transferred to the ARGK (Reserve Artillery of the High Command)! And after that, for two years, 1942 and 1943, the country did not produce 152 mm heavy howitzers. And 107 mm guns were no longer produced at all! Only for the ARGK did the industry produce long-range 152 mm ML-20 howitzer guns and 122 mm A-19 guns.

(Howitzer-cannon ML-20 model 37)

But, since this is precisely the ARGK, this artillery was used, even if massively, then purely sporadically, diligently preserving its expensive materiel and accumulating ammunition.

Moreover. Realizing the importance of not only heavy, but also light howitzers, as well as the absolute impossibility of providing SD of those howitzers in decent quantities, a decision was made to form ARGK artillery brigades, equipped with light howitzers in large quantities (from 72 to 84 pieces!). These brigades were part of the breakthrough artillery divisions. It was the breakthrough artillery divisions and even the breakthrough artillery corps that provided those monstrous densities of fire with which our army broke into the German defenses.

But it was impossible to simply distribute those light howitzers to the division. Firstly, there are simply not enough of them for this. Secondly, to distribute means to put a yoke on the neck of industry to provide the SD with additional volumes of ammunition - which we could not afford then. But for the ARGK, much less ammunition was required - after all, the super-massive use of artillery divisions and breakthrough corps was very short-term and ammunition for the upcoming operations could be amassed in a few months, without further forcing the already raped industry.

The same story repeated itself with heavy howitzers. Most of the old, relatively light six-inch guns were lost in border battles.

(152 mm howitzer model 9/30)

And the new M-10s that survived, with the abolition of the corps, became subordinate to the ARGC.

(German trophy heavy howitzer M-10 with its standard mechanical traction in the form of a low-speed agricultural tractor)

In 1943, the remarkable 152 mm D-1 howitzer, created by crossing the barrel of a heavy M-10 with the carriage of a light M-30, was put into service. The howitzer turned out to be excellent, weighing only 3600 kg versus 4150 for the M-10.

Just in case, I remind you that the M-10 was developed for SD! But, being non-separable, it quite rightly turned out to be too heavy for the SD. And here is the D-1, just a little over a ton heavier than the M-30, for the same type of artillery tractor. What is not a counter-argument against the German 150 mm howitzers and their PD?

But - to hell with it! All D-1s marched in a friendly march to... ARGC, despite the fact that they produced almost as many of them as the Germans managed to produce 150 mm howitzers for their PD (where their number had already been reduced from 12 to 9 by that time). The reasons are the same - the impossibility of maintaining these howitzers in the SD. There are not enough tractors or ammunition. And the ARGK, which “knows how” to accumulate ammunition and preserve its mechanical thrust, just began to need more mobile artillery than the ML-20 and A-19.

So, as a result of the war, such a crap turned out that we produced and had more artillery than the Germans, but due to the lack of ammunition and transport, we could only use it en masse to organize breakthroughs in strategic operations and to the very minimum extent in current ones. Here, divisions could only rely on weak three-inch guns and mortars. Needless to say, this led to unjustified losses.

Why did it happen that the hope and support of the country - its SD - were stripped of their howitzers?

The origins of this disaster lie back in the damned times of tsarism, when 122 mm howitzers were adopted by the Russian imperial army. It wasn't stupid either. Stupidity is stupid because it is immediately obvious. Everything is much worse - it was a mistake, the awareness of which will come only during WWI, and then not to everyone, and not immediately.

It is known what motivated the GAU RIA for adopting a 122 mm howitzer into service - as the Russian-Japanese showed, it, unlike, say, 105 mm, could destroy well-fortified dugouts and bunkers, thereby compensating for the small number of expensive and inactive heavy howitzers. That is, it looks like an attempt to kill two bunnies at once - to save on heavy howitzers and save on coordination at the division-corps level, when the division commander can not waste time requesting and receiving corps artillery support, but suppress those same dugouts and bunkers cash 122 mm howitzers.

And in theory, it all looked really quite promising. It’s trite that our light howitzers were more powerful than the enemy’s, which means that to achieve the same goals, fewer of them are needed! Grace! That’s what they asked for, even though a 122 mm howitzer is heavier than a 100-105 mm one, costs much more accordingly, and the weight of a light 122 mm howitzer is close to the limit for towing it with a team of six. They didn’t think at all about subsequent upgrades, with the inevitable increase in weight.

And what did WWI show?

We saved a lot of money! 152 mm howitzers in the army turned out to be unbearably small. 122 mm too. Of course, all the pre-war plans for arming the active army with howitzers were carried out (although there were not enough 122 mm howitzers in the mobile reserves, and plans for equipping fortresses with them were generally thwarted), but the war demanded disproportionately more. And here, our economy got to our side. If we adopted the caliber of the new light howitzers not 122, but 107 mm, we could produce more guns and shells, since their metal consumption is different. As is the need for gunpowder.

At the front, too, everything turned out completely differently than expected.

Yes, a 122 mm howitzer, unlike a German 105 mm howitzer, could destroy a powerful field dugout or bunker. But! To do this, she needed to accomplish the almost impossible (given our shortage of shells) - to achieve a direct (or almost direct) hit!

Now, imagine the picture - bunkers do not allow our infantry to advance. In principle, there are few hull howitzers, they have even fewer shells, and it is unknown where they will arrive and when they will arrive. And the command is in a hurry - why wait for those clumsy monsters with their ten (at best!) shells per barrel, when your divisions have remarkably powerful 122 mm howitzers? They MUST handle those bunkers!

And so the commander reluctantly gives his commander the order to destroy those bunkers. And the divisional 122 mm howitzers begin to waste their extremely limited ammunition on sport shooting at point targets. Maybe they'll even get there! But there will be nothing left to support the infantry offensive. BK yok!

But a German won’t bother with bullshit. His howitzers will do what they naturally do. The light ones will support their infantry by plowing trenches and mowing down our infantry, and the bunkers will be dealt with by purely heavy howitzers, the powerful high-explosive shells of which do not need to achieve a direct hit so that the bunker ceases to be combat-ready.

The war clearly proved that everyone should mind their own business. That is why the “intermediate” Russian 122 mm howitzers did not have any copycat followers in the world. Everyone was convinced of a truth as simple as a mooing cow - a light howitzer should be light and preferably numerous, and a heavy one should be really powerful.

The revolution, it would seem, could contribute to a “revolutionary” correction of the error. But the Civil War turned out to be a war without a clear front line and howitzers were used to a limited extent (especially given the eternal shortage of ammunition for them) - the lion's share of the work went to three-inch guns. Like all the glory.

Accordingly, the Red Army inherited a relatively large number of 122 mm howitzers from the Tsarist army, in contrast to those who could point out that very mistake. The new father-commanders were also very impressed by the deceptive superiority in the power of those howitzers and were not frightened by their metal consumption, weight, or price - especially since production had been established. They weren't going to change anything.

However, there were bright heads in the USSR too. The same V.G. Grabin proposed a new 107 mm light howitzer. But who listened to him? But they could put it into production - for starters, at least for the cavalry, which was then just replacing worn-out English 114 mm howitzers with standard infantry 122 mm howitzers.

But that was half the trouble.

The trouble came precisely when rearmament with new equipment began. As mentioned above, the 122 mm howitzer of the new generation M-30, for all its remarkable qualities, had one fatal flaw - it was too heavy (it was not for nothing that the Germans classified all captured M-30s as heavy).

So how do you fix those mistakes?

1. Adopt the caliber of new generation light howitzers - 107 mm. And limit the weight to a maximum of two tons (versus two and a half for the M-30, saving a fifth of the weight!). Thus, we will get a fairly powerful weapon (the projectile is slightly more powerful than the 105 mm German one, and the range, I hope, is at the same level), which will be quite satisfactory to tow a six-wheeler or absolutely any tractor, including the banal ZiS-5.

2. The new heavy howitzer of 152 mm caliber must be made dismountable, so that, like the Germans, they have the opportunity to choose how to carry it - assembled with a furnace, or disassembled with good old horses. For the USSR of that time, this was IMPORTANT!

Someone will say - the horse does not behave very disciplined under the same air raid! But on the other hand, without one or two horses actually injured during the air raid, on a good road, we can continue to move slowly. But the tractor that was damaged in the same air raid can no longer be started. If they didn’t supply them with fodder at the time, it’s lousy, of course, but for some time, the horses will subsist on hay or even just pasture in the form of grass - without oats for a long time with hard work, they won’t last. But the most wonderful tractor without fuel or even some lousy spare parts is just a pile of useless iron. No - the Germans are right here - if you cannot ensure ideal operation of transport logistics in the PD, then it is more reliable to have horse-drawn traction. It was not for nothing that they preferred to have a lot of trucks in the PD for the rapid delivery of ammunition, and to carry the guns themselves on horses. It's a pity that it was the other way around for us! Instead of horses there are tractors, and there are very, very few trucks compared to the Germans. But, God bless these trucks and horses, we could easily provide our SD no worse than the Germans!

(Intact M-30 and a dead artillery tractor)

Deadlines.

The 122 mm M-30 howitzer was developed in 1938. They were put into service in 1939, and mass production began in 1940. That is, by the beginning of the Second World War, the howitzer had not yet been fully mastered by the troops.

The 152 mm M-10 was developed earlier - in 1937. But it took a long time to fine-tune it and put it into service and put it into production almost in parallel with the M-30.

And now, let’s go back to 1931, when the USSR bought and received from the German samples and technical documentation for a number of artillery systems, of which only the 37 mm anti-tank gun and 76.2 mm anti-aircraft gun were adopted and put into mass production.

Maybe it made sense, instead of those artillery systems for which the money was essentially paid in vain, to buy a light 105 mm howitzer 10.5 cm leFH18 developed back in 1929 and a heavy 15 cm howitzer developed in 1930 sFH18? The same artillery systems with which the Wehrmacht went through the entire WWII! In the end, these were also Rheinmetall products (although they were also produced at Krupp).

(The main hope and support of the German infantry is the 105 mm light howitzer 10.5 cm leFH 18)

(150 mm heavy howitzers 15 cm sFH 18)

By the way, among those purchased artillery systems, there is also a heavy howitzer “NG” (not to be confused with the 15 cm infantry gun “NM” also purchased), but, like some other artillery systems from Rheinmetall, it turned out to be complete bullshit, suitable only for homemade production.

So much for AI. In 1931, we bought the latest German 105 and 150 mm howitzers (no one would have refused us this then!). I think it’s not difficult to convert them to 107 and 152 mm. It is more difficult to master mass production. But! In any case, the army would have started receiving these artillery systems much earlier than the RI M-10 and M-30. By the beginning of the Second World War there would already be a lot of them in the army. They would not require mandatory mechanical traction and would be well mastered by personnel.

Moreover. On the carriage of a light howitzer, it was possible to install a rocker from a German 88 mm anti-aircraft gun mod. 28, having bought it INSTEAD of 76.2 mm - which was essentially its own castrated version, which still required, however, its own original ammunition. Thus, we would receive a powerful divisional gun with very attractive prospects and generally would no longer waste resources on useless problems with three-inch divisional guns. Their age is over. In addition, we would no longer need that belated nonsense with experiments on 85, 95 and 107 mm divisional guns!

The 88 mm caliber would satisfy everyone - divisional artillery, anti-aircraft gunners, and tank crews (as weapons for promising heavy tanks).

(In the Republic of Ingushetia, by the way, there was an attempt to attach a 3K anti-aircraft gun barrel to an M-30 carriage, but they quite rightly decided that “the game wasn’t worth the candle”).

But a complete abandonment of divisional guns in favor of howitzers alone would be an equally fatal mistake. There is no point in pointing at the Germans here - their industry is not ours, and their tactics were also very different from ours. Howitzers are not suitable for anti-tank guns, they are expensive, have a shorter range, a significantly shorter direct shot range, i.e., in principle, they will not be able to replace guns, and our industry will never be able to produce expensive and powder-metal-intensive ammunition for them in sufficient quantities . And where that gap would be closed by cannons and mortars, with their higher rates of fire and better provision of cheap ammunition, there will simply be a gaping hole.

AI-Structure.

In AP SD we will make three divisions of the same type: a battery of 88 mm divisional guns and two batteries of 107 mm howitzers on a single carriage, each. For direct support of rifle regiments, this is just the thing.

There is no howitzer regiment. Instead, in the same single artillery regiment there is one division of 152 mm howitzers. In total, the division has 12 88 mm guns, 24 107 mm and 12 152 mm howitzers. Moreover, 152 mm howitzers are initially old, relatively light models. 9/30 Only after fully equipping the corps artillery with new six-inch guns can we begin to replace the heavy howitzers in the divisions.

(Parade on Red Square. Heavy 152 mm howitzers model 9/30 on horse-drawn traction. Noteworthy is the barrel pulled back into the transport position - a feature characteristic of many heavy artillery systems)

There is only one corps artillery regiment (KAP) (in the Republic of Ingushetia there were two). Composition: a division of 88 mm cannons, three divisions of heavy 152 mm howitzers and one division of heavy 107 mm cannons (created by applying the barrel of a model 10/30 gun to the carriage of a heavy 152 mm howitzer). In total, the KAP has 12 88 mm cannons, 36 152 mm howitzers and 12 107 mm cannons.

The maximum weight of assembled artillery systems is no more than 5.5 tons. Despite the fact that mechanical traction must be provided for all corps artillery, all heavy corps artillery guns are disassembled into two horse-drawn carts.

The ARGK artillery (not counting anti-tank, anti-aircraft and rocket) consists of separate regiments of four main types: cannon (36,107 mm hull guns in each), howitzer (36,152 mm hull howitzers), heavy howitzer-cannon (36,152 mm howitzers). ML-20 guns) and mortars (27,203 mm mortars on an ML-20 carriage) (the mortar battery has not 4, but 3 guns).

Towing vehicle for heavy artillery systems ARGK - artillery tractor "Comintern". Due to the circumstances that the maximum weight of the ARGK base is no more than 8 tons, and the Comintern artillery gun has a high speed, we will no longer have the need to produce heavy artillery systems in abnormally large quantities, and then, with the outbreak of war, stupidly keep them in the rear. That is, if industry is capable of providing the army with a thousand “Cominterns”, then the army no longer needs, as in the Republic of Ingushetia, to have 1300 122 mm A-19 guns, 2800 152 mm ML-20 howitzer guns and 849 203 mm howitzers for overwhelming most of whom simply do not have suitable transport. It will be enough to have only a thousand artillery systems of similar power. (The Germans had about the same number of heavy artillery systems in their GRK). But, being fully equipped with suitable means of traction, this thousand will operate much more efficiently. And all the saved resources will be used to create mobile reserves of the same 107 and 152 mm howitzers and, of course, ammunition for them.

Additional divisions of the TAON and railway batteries of special power are considered additional to the ARGK.

In 1940, our impressionable comrades decided to straighten the structure as follows:

All divisions of the Red Army are divided into two categories.

1. First line SD (constant combat readiness). All 88 mm guns were excluded from the artillery regiment and reduced to a heavy anti-tank division (info on the successes of the Panzerwaffe in France and misinformation on the new heavy German tanks will help us!). The artillery regiment was reorganized according to the German model: three divisions (36 pieces) of 107 mm howitzers and one division (12 pieces) of 152 mm howitzers.

2. Second-line SD is essentially the same potential “triplet”. In peacetime, for combat training they have the same artillery as the first line SD. But in case of announcement of mobilization and deployment of the SD into the corps, additional artillery units are stored in them in advance.

Being greedy is harmful. Therefore, when deployed, divisions receive lightweight artillery regiments of reduced strength:

Division (12 pieces) of 88 mm guns (on this stuff, like on 76.2 mm guns in the Republic of Ingushetia, we can’t save much of them and so it turns out very significantly less), two divisions (24 pieces) 107 mm howitzers, one battery (4 pcs.) 152 mm howitzers, so that everyone in the division minds their own business! 88 mm cannons destroyed fortifications with direct fire and destroyed an openly advancing enemy (including tanks), 107 mm howitzers suppressed everything that was not sufficiently protected, and 152 mm howitzers destroyed durable field bunkers and dugouts.

The CAP is also being reduced. The 88 mm cannon is assigned to a heavy anti-tank division, and one division of 152 mm howitzers is withdrawn.

Of course, the fire of an entire division of six-inch guns is much more effective than the fire of one battery. But I don’t want to fall into rabid post-knowledge adventurism. If we in the Republic of Ingushetia, even at the corps level, could not afford six-inch howitzers - having them exclusively in the ARGC, then in the AI, I provide the SD with one six-inch battery, and compress the KAP to only one of their divisions, due to the savings that can be obtained by limiting themselves in the heavy artillery of the ARGC, six-inch guns at the divisional and corps level. And to have not 8 but 24 light howitzers in divisions will allow the transition in “light weight” from 122 mm to 107 - after all, this is the most massive artillery in the SD, its lightness, greater maneuverability, not so acute problems with ammunition and, accordingly, lower losses and increased release.

Naturally, at the beginning of mobilization, in favor of the new KAPs, we will slightly irritate the ARGC. The ARGK will be based on 152 mm ML-20 howitzer-guns and 203 mm mortars on the same carriage.

(The basis of the ARGK, the ML-20 howitzer-gun at work. By the way, it is one of four gun systems that were produced in the USSR throughout WWII)

Traction means. As has already been hinted at several times above, ALL SD artillery is purely horse-drawn. Teams of six on paved roads and teams of eight on unpaved roads for 88 mm guns and 107 mm howitzers. The same figure-eight teams are used to transport the new 152 mm howitzers, disassembled into two parts.

At the hull level, to transport the same 152 mm non-separable howitzers and 107 mm guns, ordinary civilian tractors S-60 or S-65 are used - which, thanks to horse-drawn traction in the divisions, are more than enough for the hulls! All “Cominterns” will accordingly be received by the ARGK, and we leave special high-speed artillery tractors and lighter types of transport tractors exclusively at the disposal of the mechanized units.

I hope in this situation it will be easier with howitzers in the SD. If only we could provide enough ammunition for everyone (fortunately, 107 mm can be produced much more than 122 mm with the same amount of raw materials) and we can fight! By the way, it is not true to think that what we gain with light howitzers, we lose with divisional guns (88 mm caliber instead of 76.2). I don’t at all imagine such an insane mass production of divisional three-inch guns (6 thousand before the war and up to 60 thousand during it!). And having already begun in 1931 the reorientation of industry from the “three-inch shaft” to the maximum production of howitzer ammunition and 88 mm cartridges for anti-aircraft guns and quite a few divisional guns (no more than 12 per SD), by the end of the 30s, I think we will have more balanced artillery and the artillery industry that provides it.

And generally speaking. If someone thinks that it was possible not to fence this garden at all, but simply to increase the production of RI howitzers, transport for them and, of course, ammunition, then most likely this is even less feasible - since the country already gave the army everything it could give in a state, given the structure of the artillery.

Quantity. We will proceed from the first wave of SD formation as in RI, i.e. the same 198 (can be rounded to 200) SD. If we have 50 SD of the first line, the artillery regiment of which, relative to howitzers, is equivalent to the German (36 lg and 12 tg plus 12 88 mm dp in the heavy anti-tank division), and 50 SD of the second line, which are deployed into corps of 3 SD in each (reduced artillery regiment: 12 88 mm dp, 24 lg and 4 tg), and all 66 infantry fighting vehicles are equipped with KAPs of 12 88 mm dp, 24 tg and 12 tp (107 mm), then the total is the same 200 SD and 66 infantry fighting vehicles in total - 3192 88 mm guns are required (compared to 6 thousand RI 76.2 mm divisional guns?), 5400 107 mm lg, 3576 152 mm tg and 792 107 mm tp.

Not so much in general and at the same time, quite enough for the first echelon troops (in the Republic of Ingushetia there were approximately 140 SD EMNIP).

Well, three conclusions in the end:

Firstly, the artillery will be provided with transport much better than in the Republic of Ingushetia (both horse-drawn and mechanical).

Secondly, the existing artillery will be much better supplied with ammunition.

Thirdly, all artillery produced in AI in excess of the specified number is used to equip cavalry artillery regiments, mechanized troops, SD of the second wave of formation, etc. - that is, there is no need to fall into a quiet panic that there is significantly less artillery than is listed not only in the RI Red Army, but also in the adversary. What's the point of having a lot of artillery only to quickly lose it all without being able to use it effectively?

Design and performance characteristics

From a gun arr. 1910/30 The eye howitzer received only the barrel; all other design elements were developed from scratch. First of all, it is worth noting the introduction of a characteristic muzzle brake; the slotted design with the reflection of the shock wave of powder gases back compensated for the rollback of the gun and gave the shot a unique sound, known to all artillerymen.

The valve is of a classic design, piston type. The chamber is bored out for more powerful shells. Loading was separate, first a projectile was inserted into the barrel, then a half-charge; at high elevation angles, the cartridge case was kept from falling out of the barrel by a special mechanism. This ensured a high combat rate of fire.

Performance characteristics of ML-20

To fire a shot, it was necessary to pull the trigger cord. It was possible to open the bolt only after firing, since a safety mechanism was installed in the design of the gun. After opening the bolt, the automatic mechanism ejected the cartridge case.

The gun had excellent fire maneuverability. The long barrel and howitzer aiming angles gave the projectile high speed and a flat, or, if necessary, mounted flight path.

Sights consisted of a Hertz panorama for canopy shooting and a telescopic sight for direct fire. The gun's ammunition included both traditional howitzer OFS and concrete-piercing shells, as well as shells designed to combat armored targets: naval semi-armor-piercing grenade mod. 1915/28 for example, or later sharp-headed and cumulative armor-piercing shells.

To increase the towing speed, the carriage was equipped with leaf springs, the wheel travel was represented by stamped discs with a solid rubber band.

This increased the towing speed to 20 km/h on the highway. For artillery of this caliber and weight, this is a fairly good indicator. During transportation, the gun barrel rolled back to its extreme position, which reduced its dimensions when moving.

The gun frames were sliding, this provided the gun with a quick transfer of fire to another target, and also greater stability when firing. To protect the crew during firing, the gun was equipped with a shield cover. In addition, for the first time for howitzer artillery, each gun was equipped with a counting mechanism - an adder. It was used to calculate shooting parameters.

History of creation

Of the heavy guns of the corps-army unit of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army (RKKA), the 152-mm siege gun of the 1910 model was inherited from the Russian army. This gun was designed by the French (Schneider) for the Russian Empire and was used in the First World War and the Civil War. By the 1930s, it was clearly outdated and was subjected to two modernizations - in and out. Modernizations have significantly improved the characteristics of the gun mod. 1910, but, nevertheless, it did not fully satisfy the requirements of its time, mainly in terms of mobility, maximum elevation angle and aiming speed. In - years, the design bureau (KB) of plant No. 172 (Perm plant) in Motovilikha tried to continue modernizing the gun, but the Main Artillery Directorate (GAU) did not support this work, and it was stopped. Design of a new weapon has begun

The design bureau of plant No. 172 designed two howitzer guns - ML-15 and ML-20. A group of engineers led by the famous Soviet gunsmith designer F.F. Petrov worked on the design of the ML-20, and initially work on this weapon was carried out on an initiative basis, while the ML-15 was created on the instructions of the State Autonomous Army. Both guns had numerous borrowings from the 152-mm gun mod. 1910/34 - barrel with bolt, recoil devices. The ML-20 also had a common wheel travel, suspension and frame with this gun, while for the ML-15 these design elements were developed anew

In April 1936, the first sample of the ML-15 was sent for field testing, but failed and was sent for revision. In March 1937, the ML-15 entered repeated field tests, which passed without any comments. The ML-20 entered field testing on December 25, 1936, and the following year - for military testing. Based on the results of these tests, the ML-20, after eliminating the shortcomings, mainly related to the carriage, was recommended for adoption. On September 22, 1937, the ML-20 was put into service under the official name “152-mm howitzer-gun mod. 1937"

From today's point of view, the choice of ML-20 instead of ML-15 is difficult to explain. The author of publications in the field of domestic artillery A. B. Shirokorad believes that the ML-15 had clear advantages over the ML-20 - it was significantly lighter (600 kg in the stowed position, 500 kg in the combat position) and was more mobile (speed carts - up to 45 km/h). On the other hand, the ML-15 had a more modern and complex carriage design. Other sources claim that the choice was made for economic reasons - the technological equipment for the ML-20 was already ready

Howitzer-gun ML-20 152 mm

152 mm gun-howitzer ML-20

Years of production: 1937-1946

Produced: 6,884 units

The 152-mm ML-20 gun-howitzer was designed in the design bureau of plant No. 172 under the leadership of F.F. Petrova. After military tests, the ML-20 system was put into service on September 22, 1937 under the name “152-mm GP mod. 1937."

The ML-20 was used for firing from closed positions at the enemy’s dug-in and openly located manpower, his barriers, and important objects in his near rear.

This weapon was armed with the most powerful Soviet self-propelled artillery units of the Great Patriotic War - SU-152 and ISU-152.

In relation to the 152-mm gun mod. 1910/34, from which many parts and components were borrowed, the ML-20 had a number of differences: new lifting and balancing mechanisms, sighting devices, devices for changing the length of the rollback and turning off the suspension. Vertical guidance of the gun was carried out by a sector lifting mechanism at an angle of up to 65°. The balancing mechanism consisted of two columns located in front of the shield cover.

The wide range of shells used made this weapon unique. The following separate cartridge-loading rounds are used for the ML-20 howitzer gun: high-explosive fragmentation OF-540; The BR-540 armor-piercing tracer projectile, when fired at direct fire at a distance of up to 800 m, penetrated the armor of all enemy tanks; when it hit the turret, it tore it off the shoulder strap.

The gun had a carriage design that was quite modern for its time - with sliding frames - and a sprung wheel drive. The barrel was produced in two varieties - bonded and monoblock. The ML-20 was equipped with a piston bolt, a hydraulic recoil brake, a hydropneumatic knurler, and had separate cartridge loading. The bolt has a mechanism for forced extraction of the spent cartridge case when it is opened after a shot and a safety lock that locks the bolt after loading before the shot is fired. If for some reason it is necessary to unload the gun, you must first switch the safety switch to allow the bolt to open. To mitigate recoil on recoil devices and the carriage, the ML-20 was equipped with a powerful massive slot-type muzzle brake.

A distinctive feature of the ML-20 is a unique combination of different elevation angles and initial projectile velocities, which are set by choosing one of thirteen propellant charges. As a result, the universal weapon could be used both as a howitzer, firing along a mounted trajectory with a relatively low projectile speed, and as a cannon, firing along a flat trajectory with a high projectile speed. The gun was equipped with both a telescopic sight for direct fire and an artillery panorama for firing from closed positions. To transport the ML-20, heavy tracked artillery tractors “Voroshilovets” and “Comintern” were used.

Tactical and technical characteristics

Ammunition and ballistics

The ML-20 fired a full range of 152mm cannon and howitzer shells, including a variety of old Russian and imported grenades. After the Great Patriotic War, new types of ammunition were added to the range of projectiles listed below, for example, the 3OF25 high-explosive fragmentation projectile. The 53-BP-540 cumulative projectile penetrated at an angle of 90° - 250 mm, 60° - 220 mm, 30° - 120 mm.

Howitzers and mortars | USSR

122 mm howitzer mod. 1909/37

This howitzer is the result of modernization of the howitzer mod. 1909 The main goal of modernization was to increase the firing range. For this purpose, the chamber was lengthened, the carriage was strengthened, and a normalized sight was installed. The barrel group was mounted on a single-beam carriage without suspension of the wheel travel. Wheels are wooden. The gun had 6 charges (No. 1-5 and full). The howitzers captured by the Wehrmacht were designated “12.2-cm le.FH-386(r).” The guns captured by the Finnish Army were designated "122 H/09-37" or "122 H/09-40". A total of 920 guns were modernized. Howitzer performance characteristics: caliber – 121.9 mm; trunk length – 1.7 m; gun weight - 2.5 tons; projectile weight - 21.7 kg; initial speed - 364 m/s rate of fire - 2 rounds per minute; firing range - 8.9 km crew - 7 people; transportation speed on the highway is 7 km/h.

122 mm howitzer model 1910/30

The gun was obtained as a result of the modernization of the howitzer mod. 1910 The main goal of modernization was to increase the firing range. For this purpose, the chamber was lengthened, the carriage was strengthened, and a normalized sight was installed; The lifting mechanism has been strengthened. Until 1936, the gun had wooden wheels, after which it had metal wheels with molded rubber tires. The howitzer was armed with the SU-5 self-propelled gun. The guns captured by the Wehrmacht received the designation “12.2-cm le.FH-388(r)”. In Finland, the guns were designated "122 H/10-30" or "122 H/10-40".

The gun used fragmentation and high-explosive fragmentation ammunition. As of June 1941, 5,900 guns were in service. Howitzer performance characteristics: caliber – 121.9 mm; height – 1.8 m; ground clearance - 298 mm; trunk length – 1.6 m; weight in firing position - 1.5 tons, in stowed position - 2.5 tons; projectile weight - 21.7 kg, initial speed - 364 km/s; rate of fire - 5 rounds per minute; maximum firing range – 9 km; height of the firing line – 1.1 m; calculation – 7 people; transportation speed on the highway is up to 12 km/h.

122-mm howitzer M-30 mod. 1938

The M-30 howitzer has been mass-produced since 1940 at factories No. 9 and No. 92. It had a carriage with sliding frames and sprung wheel travel, separate-case loading, a spent cartridge extraction mechanism, and metal wheels with rubber tires. The gun was transported both by horse and mechanical traction. The M-30 fired: high-explosive fragmentation, illumination, propaganda, smoke, chemical shells and shrapnel. The howitzer (M-30S) was armed with the SU-122 self-propelled gun. In Germany, French tractors Geschützwagen Lorraine-Schlepper (f) were armed with captured 12.2-cm Kanone (r) guns. The guns captured by the Wehrmacht were designated “12.2-cm s.FH-396(r)”, and the Finnish ones were designated “122 H/38”. A total of 17,526 guns were produced during the war. Howitzer performance characteristics: caliber – 121.9 mm; length – 5.9 m, length with front end – 8.6 m; width – 1.9 m; height – 1.8 m; trunk length – 2.8 m; ground clearance – 330 – 357 mm; weight in traveling position - 2.9 - 3.1 tons, in combat position - 2.3 - 2.5 tons; projectile weight - 13.8 - 21.7 kg; initial speed – 335 – 570 m/s; rate of fire - 5-6 rounds per minute; height of the firing line – 1.2 m; maximum firing range – 11.8 km; transportation speed on the highway – up to 50 km/h; calculation – 8 people; the transition time from transport to combat position is 1-1.5 minutes.

152 mm howitzer mod. 1909/30

The gun is the result of modernization of the 152-mm howitzer mod. 1909 Some howitzers received metal wheels with rubber tires. The barrel group was mounted on a single-beam carriage without suspension of the wheel travel. The ammunition included howitzer shells: a high-explosive steel grenade, a fragmentation grenade and a concrete-piercing shell. The guns captured by the Wehrmacht were designated “15.2-cm s.FH 445(r).” About 100 guns served Finland. As of June 1941, there were 2,550 guns in service. Howitzer performance characteristics: caliber – 152.4 mm; length in traveling position - 6.8 m, in combat position - 5.8 m; width – 1.5 m; height – 1.9 m; ground clearance - 390 mm; trunk length – 2.1 m; weight in traveling position - 3.1 tons, in combat position - 2.7 tons; projectile weight – 38 – 45 kg; initial speed – 370 – 391 m/s; rate of fire - 6 rounds per minute; transportation speed on the highway with an extended trunk on metal wheels – 12 km/h; firing range – 10 km; calculation – 8 people; the time for their transport to go into combat position is up to 1 minute.

152 mm howitzer mod. 1910/37

This gun is the result of modernization of the 152-mm howitzer mod. 1910. The gun barrel was placed on a single-beam carriage. Wheels are wooden or metal with weight tires, without suspension. The howitzer was moved by eight horses, for which there was a gun limber. The gun could use all cartridges and charges from the 152-mm howitzer mod. 1909/30, except complete. The ammunition was transported by a separate team. In Germany, the gun was designated “15.2-cm sFH-446(r).” A total of 99 guns have been converted since 1936. Howitzer performance characteristics: caliber – 152.4 mm; gun length - 8.3 m; height – 1.9 m; ground clearance – 500 mm; trunk length – 1.8 m; weight in traveling position - 2.5 tons, in combat position - 2.1 tons; projectile weight – 38 – 45 kg; initial speed – 370 – 391 m/s; rate of fire - 6 rounds per minute; maximum firing range – 8.8 km; calculation – 8 people; transportation speed on wooden wheels is 10 km/h, on truck tires – 18 km/h.

152-mm howitzer M-10 mod. 1938

The howitzer was mass-produced during 1939-1941. The gun was based on a 152-mm howitzer mod. 1931 (NG), developed at one time in Germany. The howitzer had a carriage with two sliding frames, suspension, and wheels with rubber tires. In the stowed position the barrel was pulled back. To protect the crew from bullets and shrapnel there was a shield cover. The gun could be moved either by horseback (it had a front end weighing about 400 kg) or by mechanical traction. The M-10 could fire a full range of 152mm separately loaded howitzer shells with fragmentation, high-explosive and concrete-piercing shells. When firing a high-explosive fragmentation projectile weighing 40 kg with an initial speed of 508 m/s, the firing range was 12.3 km. The 53-G-530 concrete-piercing projectile with an initial speed of 457 m/s on the first charge penetrated 80 cm into a reinforced concrete wall 1 km away and exploded inside it, ensuring penetration of 114 cm of reinforced concrete. On the basis of the howitzer, the M-10T tank gun was developed, which was equipped with the KV-2 tank. The guns captured by the Wehrmacht were designated “15.2-cm s.FH-443(r).” A total of 1,522 guns were fired. Howitzer performance characteristics: caliber – 152.4 mm; trunk length – 3.7 m; weight in traveling position - 4.5 tons, in combat position - 4.1 tons; ground clearance - 305 mm; rate of fire –3 – 4 rounds per minute; height of the firing line – 1.3 m; calculation – 8 people; transportation speed on the highway is 35 km/h.

152-mm howitzer D-1 mod. 1943

The 152-mm howitzer "D-1" was put into service in 1943. The gun was a superimposition of the barrel group of the 152-mm howitzer mod. 1938 (M-10) on the carriage of a 122-mm howitzer mod. 1938 (M-30). To mitigate recoil on a less massive carriage compared to the M-10 howitzer, the gun was equipped with a two-chamber muzzle brake. All D-1 howitzers were equipped with steel wheels with rubber pneumatic tires, and the wheel travel was equipped with suspension. The gun did not have a limber; transportation was carried out exclusively by mechanical traction. To protect the crew from bullets and small fragments, the howitzer had a shield cover. Loading is separate cartridge case; in total, 8 different propellant charges were provided for the gun. "D-1" could fire the entire range of 152-mm howitzer shells. A total of 1,057 guns were produced during the war. Howitzer performance characteristics: caliber – 152.4 mm; trunk length – 3.5 m; weight – 3.6 t; ground clearance - 370 mm; projectile weight - 36 - 47 kg; initial speed – 405 – 650 m/s; rate of fire - 3 - 4 shots; height of the firing line – 1.2 m; transportation speed on the highway – 40 km/h; firing range - 13.7 km; calculation – 8 people.

152-mm howitzer ML-20 mod. 1937

The 152-mm howitzer-gun “ML-20” is a weapon in which howitzer properties prevail over cannon ones. The basis for its development was the 152-mm gun mod. 1910/34 The gun was equipped with both a telescopic sight for direct fire and an artillery panorama for firing from closed positions. The carriage with sliding frames is equipped with a balancing mechanism and a shield cover. The wheels are metal with rubber tires (some early guns had wheels with spokes and rubber weights from a gun model 1910/34), leaf springs. The carriage of the gun was usually carried out on a carriage with the barrel in an extended position. The ML-20 fired a full range of 152mm cannon and howitzer shells, including a variety of old Russian and imported grenades. About 4 thousand SU-152 (3242) and ISU-152 (670) were armed with this weapon.

Howitzer ML-20

For installation on self-propelled guns, the ML-20S version was produced. The guns captured by the Wehrmacht were designated "15.2-cm KH.433/1(r)", by the Finnish army - "152 H/37". A total of 6,869 guns were produced during the war. Howitzer performance characteristics: caliber – 152.4 mm; length – 8.1 m; width – 2.3 m; height – 2.3 m; trunk length – 4.2 m; mass in travel mode - 8.1 tons, in combat mode - 7.2 tons; ground clearance - 315 mm; projectile weight – 27.6-56 kg; initial speed – 550 – 680 m/s; rate of fire - 3-4 rounds per minute; height of the firing line – 1.6 m; maximum firing range – 20.5 km; calculation – 9 people; transition time from traveling to combat position - 8 - 10 minutes; transportation speed on the highway is 40 km/h.

152-mm mortar NM mod. 1931

The gun was created by the Germans and was classified as a mortar, but in fact it was a universal weapon, combining the properties of a cannon, howitzer and mortar. Its main purpose was shooting along a mounted trajectory. In Germany, the same gun was designated “sIG-33”. The barrel group of the gun was mounted on a single-beam box-shaped carriage with spring-sprung wheel travel and a folding coulter. Metal wheels with removable rubber tires. The shield consisted of three parts - the top and two sides. Loading is separate-sleeve. There were 5 charges placed in a special case, which was a standard case from 152 mm howitzers, cut to a length of 125 mm. High-explosive fragmentation shells were created specifically for this weapon. An old Russian howitzer grenade was used as a high-explosive shell. Serial production was carried out in 1932-1935. At the same time, more than 700 changes were made to the design of the gun. Of the 140 guns, by June 1941, 51 guns remained in service. Performance characteristics of mortars: caliber – 152.4 mm; length – 3.7 m; width – 1.7 m; height – 1.2 m; ground clearance - 383 mm; trunk length – 1.4 m; weight in combat position - 1.2 tons; projectile mass - 38-41 kg, explosive mass - 7 - 7.6 kg; initial projectile speed – 250 m/s; rate of fire - 5 rounds per minute; height of the firing line – 760 mm; maximum firing range – 5.2 km; calculation – 8 people; transportation speed on the highway is 17 km/h.

203-mm howitzer-gun B-4 mod. 1931

Howitzer-gun B-4

The B-4 howitzer was put into service in 1933 and was mass-produced throughout 1936-1941. A special feature of the howitzer was its carriage with caterpillar tracks. The design of the carriage ensured high maneuverability and allowed firing from the ground without the use of special platforms. For transportation, the howitzer was disassembled into two parts. Transportation was carried out by Kommunar tracked tractors at speeds of up to 15 km/h. Loading: separate cap, it was planned to use full and 11 variable charges. The mass of the full charge was 15 kg of gunpowder, and the 11th - 3 kg. The ammunition included: high-explosive (weight - 100 kg, initial speed - 288-607 m/s) and concrete-piercing shells (weight - 146 kg). A concrete-piercing projectile pierced a concrete floor up to 1 m thick. To facilitate loading the howitzer, a manually operated lift was mounted on the carriage. The howitzers captured by the Wehrmacht were designated with the index “20.3-cm H-503(r).” As of June 1941, there were 889 guns in service. Howitzer performance characteristics: caliber – 203.4 mm; length – 9.3 m, width – 2.5 m; trunk length – 5.1 m; weight of the barrel with the bolt - 5.2 tons; weight in traveling position - 19 tons, in combat position - 17.7 tons; carriage weight – 12.5 tons; rate of fire – 1 shot in 2 minutes; firing range - 18 km; height of the fire line – 1.9 m; crew of 15 people; the time it takes to transfer a gun from traveling to firing position is 1-2 hours.

Mortar Br-5 during transportation

Mortar Br-5

The Br-5 mortar was produced in 1939-1940. It had air-hydraulic recoil devices. The carriage was tracked and consisted of an upper machine, a lower machine and a chassis, which included a caterpillar track, a braking device, suspension and a winch for turning the howitzer. It took 25 minutes to deploy the mortar. There was a special loading mechanism that ensured quick adjustment of the barrel to a horizontal position.

For distances up to 5 km. Unseparated transportation of the gun with the barrel pulled out was allowed.

For transportation by mechanical traction, the gun had a front end weighing 1.3 tons with a coupling device. Transportation of guns over long distances is carried out separately. The guns were towed by Voroshilovets tracked tractors, and the gun carts were towed by Komintern tractors. The mortar had cap loading. The charge scale is individual for each of the projectiles used. The range of shells included three types of high-explosive shells (weight - 286 kg, explosive mass - 58 kg, initial speed - 290 m/s, firing range - 7 km) and one type of concrete-piercing (weight -246 kg, explosive mass - 44 kg, initial speed - 356 m/s, firing range - 10 km) shells. A total of 47 guns were manufactured. Performance characteristics of mortars: caliber – 279.4 mm; length – 8.9 m; width – 2.7 m; height – 2.6 m; ground clearance – 320 mm; trunk length – 4.7 m; weight in traveling position - 19.7 tons, in combat position - 18.4 tons; rate of fire – 1 shot in 4 minutes; height of the firing line – 1.9 m; transportation speed on the highway - 15 km/h; calculation – 15 people; The time it takes for a gun to move from a combat position to a traveling position is 1-2 hours.

305 mm howitzer mod. 1915

305-mm howitzer Br-18 mod. 1939

The 305-mm howitzer of the 1939 model (Br-18), as well as the Br-17 cannon, were manufactured according to purchased prototypes and technical documentation.
The gun had a separate case loading and a horizontal wedge breech. Loading is cap, a total of five charges were used. When loading the howitzer, the projectile was manually loaded onto a special projectile cart. Then the cart was rolled up to the beginning of the rail track, and the projectile was loaded onto a projectile boat. The carriage with the projectile was pulled up to the breech of the gun using a hand winch mounted on the carriage truss. A high-explosive shell on sandy soil formed a crater 22.5 m deep and 5.58 m in diameter, or destroyed vertical brick walls up to 2 meters thick. A concrete-piercing shell destroyed a reinforced concrete floor 2 m thick. For transportation, the gun was disassembled into three parts. A total of 3 guns were manufactured. Howitzer performance characteristics: caliber – 305 mm; installation length – 12.5 m; width – 6.9 m; height – 7.6 m; trunk length – 6.7 m; height of the firing line – 2.7 m; weight in combat position - 43 tons; weight of a concrete-piercing projectile - 465 kg, high-explosive - 330 kg; firing range of a high-explosive projectile - 16 km, concrete-piercing projectile - 13 km; initial projectile speed – 530 m/s; rate of fire – 1 shot in 3 minutes; transition time from transport to combat position - 12 hours; calculation – 26 people. Share to: