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122 mm gun M1931 (A-19)
Encyclopedia
122 mm corps gun M1931 () was a Soviet
field gun, developed in late 1920s and early 1930s. In 1939 the gun was replaced in production by an improved variant, M1931/37. The piece saw action in World War II
with the Red Army
. Captured guns were employed by Wehrmacht
and the Finnish Army
.
initiated development of a new 122 mm gun for corps
artillery. The development was initially entrusted to GRAU
design bureau (led by F. F. Lender
until its death in September 1927), and from June 1929 - to the design bureau of All-Union Ordnance Trust, with assistance from GRAU designers.
On 17 June 1929 a prototype
piece, along with technological documentation, was ordered from Motovilikha Plants
. The piece underwent trials starting in October 1931, with two barrels of different construction, both fitted with muzzle brake
. In May 1932 the gun was sent for improvements to the No 38 Plant, and it received that plant's designation A-19. In 1933, three more prototypes were ordered from the Barrikady Plant in Stalingrad and were completed in March 1935. The gun reached trials again in November 1935. After successfully completing the trials, it was adopted by RKKA on 13 March 1936 as 122 mm corps gun M1931 (A-19).
of the M1931 with the carriage of the 152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20). The exact number of pieces manufactured is not known; estimations are 450-500 pieces.
-era guns, the M1931 had split trail carriage, allowing for much wider traverse angle. The carriage was fitted with leaf spring
suspension and ten-spoke metal wheels with solid rubber tire
s. Some late production pieces had ML-20-type wheels with pneumatic tires. The carriage also featured spring-type equlibrator. The shield
gave the crew some protection from small arms and shell fragments.
The barrel consisted of liner
, jacket and screwed-upon breech. Early production barrels hade built-up construction, but in 1936 these were replaced in production by free liner barrels. The breechblock was of interrupted screw
type, similar in construction to that of the 152 mm howitzer M1910/37
. Unlike early prototypes, productional barrels did not have muzzle brake. Recoil
system consisted of hydraulic
recoil buffer and hydropneumatic recuperator, both located inside the cradle under the barrel.
The limber of the experimental 152 mm ML-15 was used.
Initially a separate transportation (with the barrel removed from the carriage and transported on a special wagon) was considered. However, following the trials it was decided to always tow the gun as a single piece. Several types of artillery tractor
s were employed: S-2 Stalinets-2, Komintern and, from 1943, Ya-12.
artillery. Together with ML-20 it formed a so-called "corps duplex". In 1940-41 there were three types of corps artillery regiment
s:
Soon after the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War
the corps artillery was eliminated (as rifle corps themselves were eliminated) and was only reintroduced late in the war. Those new artillery regiments were issued 122 mm guns along with other pieces, mainly 107 mm guns and 152 mm howitzers, in total 16-20 pieces per regiment. On 1 June 1944, RKKA corps artillery possessed 387 A-19s (along with some 750 107 mm and 152 mm pieces), an on 1 May 1945 - 289 A-19s (again along with some 750 100 mm, 107 mm and 152 mm pieces).
The gun was also used by artillery units of the Reserve of the Main Command (RVGK). In mid-1941 a cannon regiment of the RVGK had 48 A-19; in autumn 1941 these regiments were reorganized, a new, smaller, regiment had 18 A-19s. From 1942 cannon brigade
s were introduced, with 36 A-19s each. Such brigade could be a part of an artillery division
- a huge formation, with up to four brigades of A-19 or ML-20 (meaning up to 144 pieces).
The first combat use of the A-19 was in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol
. It also saw combat in the Winter War
. On 1 March 1940 there were 130 A-19 guns at the frontline. Three pieces were lost.
By June 1941 the RKKA possessed, according to different sources, 1257 (1236 in the Army and 21 in the Navy) or 1300 A-19s. The gun proceeded to be used throughout the Great Patriotic War.
The A-19 was primarily used for indirect fire against enemy personnel, fortification
s and key objects in the near rear. It was also equipped with armour-piercing shells for direct fire against armoured targets. Although not an ideal anti-tank gun because of its large size, slow traverse and relatively slow rate of fire, in 1943 the A-19 was one of a few guns effective against new German
tanks.
. Both variants were adopted - M1931 as 12,2 cm K.390/1(r) and M1931/37 as 12,2 cm K.390/2(r). Germans used a total of 424 of these guns in field
and coastal artillery
and manufactured ammunition for them.
The Finnish Army
captured 25 pieces in 1941 and also pressed them into service. The same designation 122 K/31 was applied to both variants. Because of shortage in heavy tractors, the gun was mostly used in coastal artillery. Four pieces were lost; the rest remained in service after the war. In 1980s some pieces had their barrels replaced with 152 mm barrels of ML-20; the resulting pieces were designated 152 H 37-31. In late 1980s both 152 H 37-31 and the remaining 122 K/31 received new 152 mm L/32 barrels manufactured by Vammas
, to become 152 H 88-31. Only in 2007 the Finnish Army began to remove these guns from service.
As mentioned above, late production M1931s differed from early production ones. Guns manufactured starting in 1936 had free liner barrel construction in contrast to the earlier built-up barrels; in 1937 changes in breech block construction were introduced, and some late production pieces received ML-20-type wheels with pneumatic tires.
In addition, the M1931 had a number of experimental variants.
In 1933, development of a carriage with improved off-road mobility was started. The carriage in two variants - on tracks and on large, tractor-type wheels - reached trials in 1937 and was found to be not durable enough.
In 1933-36 the gun was involved in experiments with pre-rifled projectiles. For these experiments a special variant of the barrel was produced. The experiments were stopped because of inherent deficients of those projectiles, namely more complicated loading process and lower accuracy.
Another variant, with bag loading, designated Br-3, reached trials in 1937, but was not adopted.
The carriage of M1931, almost unmodified, was used for the 152 mm gun M1910/34.
As already mentioned, in Finland carriages of the A-19 were fitted with 152 mm barrels, resulting in two models:
The carriage of M1931 had a number of shortcomings though. The elevation mechanism was slow and unreliable; solid-tired wheels hindered mobility to some extent; there were technological problems in carriage production. These shortcomings eventually led to adopting a better carriage, creating the M1931/37.
As calibers similar to 122 mm were not typical for western field artillery of World War II era, pieces directly comparable to the M1931 were rare.
The German 10.5 cm sK 18
was significantly lighter (5.64 t) while having about the same range (19 km), but fired much smaller 15 kg shell; on the other side, the 15 cm K 18
was heavy (combat weight 12.46 t), limited production (101 pieces) weapon, more comparable to the Soviet 152 mm Br-2
. Late in the war Germans worked on a number of 128 mm field guns; one of these designs, the 12.8 cm K 81/2, was a gun with combat weight of 8.2 t, based on a heavily modified carriage of captured 152 mm ML-20. However, little is known about its characteristics; anyway, none of these 128 mm designs reached mass production.
British Army
and U.S. Army
both employed 4.5 inch (114 mm) pieces with similar characteristics, and designed to utilize the same ammunition - BL 4.5 inch Medium Field Gun
and 4.5 inch Gun M1
respectively. The 5.65-ton M1 fired a 24.9 kg shell to the maximum range of 19.3 km; however the only type of ammunition available for the gun was a HE-frag shell, and that contained only about two kg of explosives.
The M1931 can be seen:
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
field gun, developed in late 1920s and early 1930s. In 1939 the gun was replaced in production by an improved variant, M1931/37. The piece saw action in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
with the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. Captured guns were employed by Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
and the Finnish Army
Finnish Army
The Finnish Army is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces.Today's Army is divided into six branches: the infantry , field artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, engineers, signals, and materiel troops.-History of the Finnish Army:Between 1809 and 1917 Finland was an autonomous part of...
.
Development history
From late 1920s the RKKA sought to upgrade its First World War era artillery pieces. In January 1927 the Main Artillery Directorate (GRAU)Grau
Grau is a German word meaning "gray" and a Catalan word meaning "grade". It may refer to:* BAP Almirante Grau , a De Zeven Provinciën class cruiser in service with the Peruvian Navy* Grau Käse, Tyrolean grey cheese...
initiated development of a new 122 mm gun for corps
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
artillery. The development was initially entrusted to GRAU
Grau
Grau is a German word meaning "gray" and a Catalan word meaning "grade". It may refer to:* BAP Almirante Grau , a De Zeven Provinciën class cruiser in service with the Peruvian Navy* Grau Käse, Tyrolean grey cheese...
design bureau (led by F. F. Lender
Frantz Lender
Frantz Lender was a Russian and Soviet weapons designer.-References:...
until its death in September 1927), and from June 1929 - to the design bureau of All-Union Ordnance Trust, with assistance from GRAU designers.
On 17 June 1929 a prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
piece, along with technological documentation, was ordered from Motovilikha Plants
Motovilikha Plants
Motovilikha Plants is a Russian metallurgical and military equipment manufacturer. The full official name of the company is Open stock venture for special machinery and metallurgy "Motovilikha Plants" .*...
. The piece underwent trials starting in October 1931, with two barrels of different construction, both fitted with muzzle brake
Muzzle brake
Muzzle brakes and recoil compensators are devices that are fitted to the muzzle of a firearm or cannon to redirect propellant gases with the effect of countering both recoil of the gun and unwanted rising of the barrel during rapid fire...
. In May 1932 the gun was sent for improvements to the No 38 Plant, and it received that plant's designation A-19. In 1933, three more prototypes were ordered from the Barrikady Plant in Stalingrad and were completed in March 1935. The gun reached trials again in November 1935. After successfully completing the trials, it was adopted by RKKA on 13 March 1936 as 122 mm corps gun M1931 (A-19).
Production history
The M1931 was in production in 1935-1939. It was gradually improved until 1937, so late production peces differ from the early production ones. In 1939, the gun was replaced in production by an improved variant, M1931/37, which combined barrelGun barrel
A gun barrel is the tube, usually metal, through which a controlled explosion or rapid expansion of gases are released in order to propel a projectile out of the end at a high velocity....
of the M1931 with the carriage of the 152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20). The exact number of pieces manufactured is not known; estimations are 450-500 pieces.
| Production of M1931, pcs. | |||||||||||
| Year | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | ||||||
| Produced, pcs. | 30 | 91 | 78 | 150 | 256 (including M1931/37) | ||||||
Description
In contrast with World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
-era guns, the M1931 had split trail carriage, allowing for much wider traverse angle. The carriage was fitted with leaf spring
Leaf spring
Originally called laminated or carriage spring, a leaf spring is a simple form of spring, commonly used for the suspension in wheeled vehicles...
suspension and ten-spoke metal wheels with solid rubber tire
Tire
A tire or tyre is a ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel rim to protect it and enable better vehicle performance by providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock while keeping the wheel in close contact with the ground...
s. Some late production pieces had ML-20-type wheels with pneumatic tires. The carriage also featured spring-type equlibrator. The shield
Gun shield
thumb|A [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine]] manning an [[M240 machine gun]] equipped with a gun shieldA gun shield is a flat piece or section of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun or artillery piece, or, more rarely, to be used with an assault rifle...
gave the crew some protection from small arms and shell fragments.
The barrel consisted of liner
Liner
Liner or LINER may refer to:In line drawing:* Eye liner, a type of makeup* Liner, a sable brush used by coach paintersIn linings:...
, jacket and screwed-upon breech. Early production barrels hade built-up construction, but in 1936 these were replaced in production by free liner barrels. The breechblock was of interrupted screw
Interrupted screw
An interrupted screw or interrupted thread is a mechanical device typically used in the breech of artillery guns. It was invented circa 1845....
type, similar in construction to that of the 152 mm howitzer M1910/37
152 mm howitzer M1910/37
152 mm howitzer M1910/37 was a limited production Soviet 152.4 mm howitzer, a modernization of the 152 mm howitzer M1910, initially designed by Schneider. The gun was employed by RKKA in World War II.-Development and production history:...
. Unlike early prototypes, productional barrels did not have muzzle brake. Recoil
Recoil
Recoil is the backward momentum of a gun when it is discharged. In technical terms, the recoil caused by the gun exactly balances the forward momentum of the projectile and exhaust gasses, according to Newton's third law...
system consisted of hydraulic
Hydraulics
Hydraulics is a topic in applied science and engineering dealing with the mechanical properties of liquids. Fluid mechanics provides the theoretical foundation for hydraulics, which focuses on the engineering uses of fluid properties. In fluid power, hydraulics is used for the generation, control,...
recoil buffer and hydropneumatic recuperator, both located inside the cradle under the barrel.
The limber of the experimental 152 mm ML-15 was used.
Initially a separate transportation (with the barrel removed from the carriage and transported on a special wagon) was considered. However, following the trials it was decided to always tow the gun as a single piece. Several types of artillery tractor
Artillery tractor
Artillery tractor is a kind of tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, a vehicle used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights.-Traction:...
s were employed: S-2 Stalinets-2, Komintern and, from 1943, Ya-12.
Organization and employment
Both variants - M1931 and M1931/37 - had the same place in army organizations, were often used alongside each other and combat reports rarely differentiate between them; consequently, the data in this section is for M1931 and M1931/37 together, unless specified otherwise.Red Army
The A-19 was originally intended for corpsCorps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
artillery. Together with ML-20 it formed a so-called "corps duplex". In 1940-41 there were three types of corps artillery regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
s:
- With two battalionBattalionA battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
s of ML-20 and one of either A-19 or 107-mm guns (a total of 24 ML-20s). - With two battalions of ML-20 and two of either A-19 or 107-mm guns (a total of 24 ML-20s).
- With three battalions of ML-20 (a total of 36 ML-20s).
Soon after the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
the corps artillery was eliminated (as rifle corps themselves were eliminated) and was only reintroduced late in the war. Those new artillery regiments were issued 122 mm guns along with other pieces, mainly 107 mm guns and 152 mm howitzers, in total 16-20 pieces per regiment. On 1 June 1944, RKKA corps artillery possessed 387 A-19s (along with some 750 107 mm and 152 mm pieces), an on 1 May 1945 - 289 A-19s (again along with some 750 100 mm, 107 mm and 152 mm pieces).
The gun was also used by artillery units of the Reserve of the Main Command (RVGK). In mid-1941 a cannon regiment of the RVGK had 48 A-19; in autumn 1941 these regiments were reorganized, a new, smaller, regiment had 18 A-19s. From 1942 cannon brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
s were introduced, with 36 A-19s each. Such brigade could be a part of an artillery division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
- a huge formation, with up to four brigades of A-19 or ML-20 (meaning up to 144 pieces).
The first combat use of the A-19 was in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol
Battle of Khalkhin Gol
The Battles of Khalkhyn Gol was the decisive engagement of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese Border Wars fought among the Soviet Union, Mongolia and the Empire of Japan in 1939. The conflict was named after the river Khalkhyn Gol, which passes through the battlefield...
. It also saw combat in the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
. On 1 March 1940 there were 130 A-19 guns at the frontline. Three pieces were lost.
By June 1941 the RKKA possessed, according to different sources, 1257 (1236 in the Army and 21 in the Navy) or 1300 A-19s. The gun proceeded to be used throughout the Great Patriotic War.
The A-19 was primarily used for indirect fire against enemy personnel, fortification
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
s and key objects in the near rear. It was also equipped with armour-piercing shells for direct fire against armoured targets. Although not an ideal anti-tank gun because of its large size, slow traverse and relatively slow rate of fire, in 1943 the A-19 was one of a few guns effective against new German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
tanks.
Other operators
In the early stage of the Great Patriotic War hundreds of A-19s fell into the hands of WehrmachtWehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
. Both variants were adopted - M1931 as 12,2 cm K.390/1(r) and M1931/37 as 12,2 cm K.390/2(r). Germans used a total of 424 of these guns in field
Field artillery
Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, long range, short range and extremely long range target engagement....
and coastal artillery
Coastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications....
and manufactured ammunition for them.
The Finnish Army
Finnish Army
The Finnish Army is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces.Today's Army is divided into six branches: the infantry , field artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, engineers, signals, and materiel troops.-History of the Finnish Army:Between 1809 and 1917 Finland was an autonomous part of...
captured 25 pieces in 1941 and also pressed them into service. The same designation 122 K/31 was applied to both variants. Because of shortage in heavy tractors, the gun was mostly used in coastal artillery. Four pieces were lost; the rest remained in service after the war. In 1980s some pieces had their barrels replaced with 152 mm barrels of ML-20; the resulting pieces were designated 152 H 37-31. In late 1980s both 152 H 37-31 and the remaining 122 K/31 received new 152 mm L/32 barrels manufactured by Vammas
Patria (company)
Patria is a Finnish company which produces a wide range of defence, aviation and aerospace technology. It carries on the firearms tradition of Valtion Kivääritehdas and the aerospace tradition of Valtion lentokonetehdas.-Patria Aviation:* NH90* Mini-UAVs...
, to become 152 H 88-31. Only in 2007 the Finnish Army began to remove these guns from service.
Variants
In addition, the M1931 had a number of experimental variants.
In 1933, development of a carriage with improved off-road mobility was started. The carriage in two variants - on tracks and on large, tractor-type wheels - reached trials in 1937 and was found to be not durable enough.
In 1933-36 the gun was involved in experiments with pre-rifled projectiles. For these experiments a special variant of the barrel was produced. The experiments were stopped because of inherent deficients of those projectiles, namely more complicated loading process and lower accuracy.
Another variant, with bag loading, designated Br-3, reached trials in 1937, but was not adopted.
The carriage of M1931, almost unmodified, was used for the 152 mm gun M1910/34.
As already mentioned, in Finland carriages of the A-19 were fitted with 152 mm barrels, resulting in two models:
- 152 H 37-31 - with barrel of the Soviet ML-20,
- 152 H 88-31 - with 152 mm L/32 barrels manufactured by Vammas.
Summary
The M1931 was one of the first Soviet artillery pieces to feature split trail carriage. This carriage construction allowed for much better traverse angles compared to earlier single trail or box trail carriages. Good elevation angle and ability to use different propellant charges made the gun flexible indirect fire weapon, and its ballistics were powerful enough to make it useful in direct fire role against enemy armor (though, as mentioned above, it was not an ideal anti-tank gun because of its size, traverse speed and rate of fire).The carriage of M1931 had a number of shortcomings though. The elevation mechanism was slow and unreliable; solid-tired wheels hindered mobility to some extent; there were technological problems in carriage production. These shortcomings eventually led to adopting a better carriage, creating the M1931/37.
As calibers similar to 122 mm were not typical for western field artillery of World War II era, pieces directly comparable to the M1931 were rare.
The German 10.5 cm sK 18
10.5 cm schwere Kanone 18
The 10 cm schwere Kanone 18 was a field gun used by Germany in World War II. The German army wanted a new 10 cm gun as well as 15 cm howitzer which were to share the same carriage. Guns are heavier than howitzers due to the longer barrel. This also led to the 15 cm sFH 18. As such both weapons had...
was significantly lighter (5.64 t) while having about the same range (19 km), but fired much smaller 15 kg shell; on the other side, the 15 cm K 18
15 cm Kanone 18
The 15 cm Kanone 18 was a German heavy gun used in the Second World War.-Design & History:In 1933 Rheinmetall began development of a new artillery piece to fulfill a German Army requirement for a replacement of the aged 15 cm Kanone 16, with the first production units received in 1938...
was heavy (combat weight 12.46 t), limited production (101 pieces) weapon, more comparable to the Soviet 152 mm Br-2
152 mm gun M1935 (Br-2)
152 mm gun M1935 was a Soviet 152.4 mm heavy gun, produced in limited numbers by the Barrikady Plant in Stalingrad in late 1930s. The most unusual feature of the gun was its tracked carriage, shared by a number of Soviet heavy artillery systems of the interwar period...
. Late in the war Germans worked on a number of 128 mm field guns; one of these designs, the 12.8 cm K 81/2, was a gun with combat weight of 8.2 t, based on a heavily modified carriage of captured 152 mm ML-20. However, little is known about its characteristics; anyway, none of these 128 mm designs reached mass production.
British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
both employed 4.5 inch (114 mm) pieces with similar characteristics, and designed to utilize the same ammunition - BL 4.5 inch Medium Field Gun
BL 4.5 inch Medium Field Gun
The BL 4.5 inch Medium Gun was a British gun used by field artillery in the Second World War. It had nothing in common with the QF 4.5 inch Howitzer or the QF 4.5 inch AA Gun.- History :...
and 4.5 inch Gun M1
4.5 inch Gun M1
The 4.5 inch Gun M1 was a field gun developed in the United States in the beginning of World War II. It shared the same carriage with the 155mm Howitzer M1 and fired the same ammunition as the British BL 4.5 inch Medium Field Gun...
respectively. The 5.65-ton M1 fired a 24.9 kg shell to the maximum range of 19.3 km; however the only type of ammunition available for the gun was a HE-frag shell, and that contained only about two kg of explosives.
Ammunition
The gun fired separate loading, cased charge ammunition, with one of four possible propellant charges - the full, no. 1, no. 2 and no. 3 (the smallest). In addition to 122 mm gun shells, the A-19 could fire 122 mm howitzer shells; however because of lesser durability of those shells they could not be used with full charge; use of steely iron howitzer shells O-460A and O-462A was prohibited.| Available ammunition | |||||
| Type | Model | Projectile weight, kg | HE weight, kg | Muzzle velocity, m/s | Range, m |
| Armor piercing shells | |||||
| АРНЕ | BR-471 | 25.0 | 0.156 | 800 | 4,000 |
| АРНЕВС (from early 1945) | BR-471B | 25.0 | 800 | 4,000 | |
| High explosive and fragmentation shells | |||||
| HE-Fragmentation, gun | OF-471H | 25.0 | 3.8 | 800 | 19,800 |
| HE-Fragmentation, gun | OF-471 | 25.0 | 3.6 | 800 | 19,800 |
| HE-Fragmentation, howitzer | OF-462 | 21.7 | 3.67 | 765 (charge no. 1) | 16,600 |
| HE-Fragmentation, gun | OF-471В | ||||
| HE-Fragmentation, gun | OF-472 | ||||
| Anti-concrete shells | |||||
| Anti-concrete, gun | G-471 | 25.0 | 2.2 | 800 | 20,400 |
| Chemical shells | |||||
| Fragmentation/chemical, gun | OH-471 | 25.0 | 800 | 19,800 | |
| Chemical, howitzer | H-462 | 21.8 | 705 (charge no. 2) | 19,800 | |
| Armour penetration table | ||
| АРНЕВС shell BR-471B | ||
| Distance, m | Meet angle 60°, mm | Meet angle 90°, mm |
| 500 | 125 | 155 |
| 1,000 | 120 | 145 |
| 1,500 | 110 | 135 |
| 2,000 | 100 | 125 |
| 3,000 | 85 | 105 |
| APHE shell BR-471 | ||
| Distance, m | Meet angle 60°, mm | Meet angle 60°, mm |
| 500 | 120 | 150 |
| 1,000 | 105 | 130 |
| 1,500 | 95 | 115 |
| 2,000 | 80 | 100 |
| 3,000 | 65 | 75 |
| Different methods of armor penetration measurement were used in different countries / periods. Therefore, direct comparison is often impossible. | ||
Surviving pieces
- In the Central Armed Forces MuseumCentral Armed Forces MuseumThe Central Armed Forces Museum also known as the Museum of the Soviet Army, is located in northern Moscow near the Red Army Theater.-History:...
, MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. - In the Museum of Artillery and Engineering Forces, Saint PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Russia. - In the Artillery Museum in HämeenlinnaHämeenlinnaHämeenlinna is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Häme in the south of Finland and is the birthplace of composer Jean Sibelius. Today, it belongs to the region of Tavastia Proper, and until 2010 it was the residence city for the Governor of the...
, FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
.