122mm Model 1938 (M-30)

History

To avoid being defeated by the Germans in WWII (1939-1945), the Soviet Union was forced to rely on a large number of artillery pieces of different calibers. The most famous of these was the "M-30" (M1938) series of divisional towed field howitzers, which had a long service life, with a total of 19,266 produced by the end of the year. The design of the gun is attributed to the Moto Veliha factory, which was produced at the 9th and 92nd factories of the USSR from 1939 to 1955. Despite its age, the series continues to this day (2017).

Considered one of the best artillery pieces of the 20th century.

122mm caliber (121.92mm to be precise) guns were in circulation before World War II. It is a conventional gun consisting of a barrel with a recoil mechanism, a gun shield, a two-wheeled frame with mounting hardware, and a split trailing arm. The barrel is located in the center of the front, and the hydropneumatic system is located below. Both are connected to the connecting part, and this one is connected to the bracket assembly. The assigned gun shields provided only limited protection for the eight-man rifle squad.

The breech consists of an interrupted screw design with an automatic cartridge case system and is aimed by a panoramic device. The wheels allow for road trips with accompanying moving vehicles, and the trailing arms are torn when the gun is ready.

Mounting hardware allows elevation angles ranging from -3 to 63.5 degrees and +49 degrees from left to right across the centerline. This gives the gun the ability to fire both direct and indirect. The range is 7.3 miles.

A well-trained and experienced firing crew can achieve a rate of fire of 6 rounds per minute.

Complete system dimensions include 19.3 feet overall length and 6.5 feet width. The total weight was 5,400 pounds when the system was ready, but increased to 6,835 pounds when the gun was ready for transport.

About 639 guns were made for immediate use in 1940, with production peaking in 1944 when an additional 3,485 guns were added. In 1945, the last year of the war, another 2,630 guns were added, and production declined steadily from there, ending in 1955.

The artillery seized from the Bundeswehr was called the "12.2 cm sFH 396(r)" and was used as a heavy howitzer. Between 1943 and 1945, the Germans made their own 122mm ammunition, which is how many guns the Soviet Union seized. Likewise, the Finns captured a batch of useful guns in the new war with the Soviet Union and named them "122 H38".

These ran until the mid-1980s and were eventually abandoned.

By this point, the weapon has been stockpiled by many global powers who appreciate the weapon's inherent accuracy, reliability, and acquisition/maintenance costs. Many countries and nations allied with the Soviet Union relied on this type, so much so that thousands circulated around the world. With that in mind, the series is still available today (2017) in Bangladesh, China (locally produced as "Type 54/Type 54-1"), Croatia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Macedonia, Hungary (as "Tarack 38/68M" ), Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Poland (known as "wz.

1938/1985"), Romania (known as "M-30M"), Uzbekistan, etc.

The Russian Army has up to 4,000 M-30 artillery units in reserve in case they are still needed in modern or future conflicts.

The M-30 gun is also the basis for the main armament of the classic SU-122 self-propelled gun (described in detail elsewhere on this page). Several experimental models were also developed during this period, but none found success with the original M-30 until more modern designs took hold.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

Depends on the ammo supply available.

Changes