76-mm Divisional Gun M1942

The 76-mm Divisional Gun M1942 (ZiS-3) was a Russian 76.2-mm field gun which was extensively used by the Soviet Army during World War II. It was also issued with armor-piercing shells, which could penetrate 64-mm-thick steel plate at 1,000 m. This artillery piece had been developed from the 76-mm Divisional Gun M1939 (USV), an earlier model, which had not been quite successful as the ZiS-3. Due to its anti-tank capabilities, the M1942 was also used in the Soviet T-34 medium tank and, after the war, in the PT-76 amphibious tank. This artillery piece, along with its carriage, was designed and massively built by the VR Grabin Design Bureau in Artillery Arsenal No 2 in Gorky.

As a result to the improvement made to its M1939 (USV) predecessor, it became an outstanding field and anti-tank gun, which was produced in vast numbers, with production totaling more than 100,000 guns built by the end of 1945. As mass production of the M1942 ZiS-3 was stopped after the war, it would be replaced by the 85 mm D-44 Divisional Field Gun. The D-44 had better anti-armor capabilities, but inferior mobility due to its increased weight. The 76-mm Divisional Gun M1942 would be also used by North Korean forces during the Korean War (1950–1953). It was also fielded by the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) during the Angolan Civil War and the South African Border War.

Technical Characteristics

The 76-mm Divisional Gun M1942 was fitted with a semi-automatic vertical sliding-wedge breech and a hydro-pneumatic recoil system. It featured a rifled barrel lining, with 32 grooves. It fired 6.3-kg high explosive and 6.2-kg fragmentation shells. It also fired shaped charge and hardened-tip rigid anti-tank ammunition. Towed by truck, the gun was mounted on a Bofors-type cradle set up on a split-trail carriage, with suspension. The carriage was equipped with metal wheels with rubber tires. Sights and elevation controls were located on different sides of the barrel. The chamber was able to lodge the standard model 1900 cartridge, which meant that the gun could use ammunition manufactured for older 76.2 mm divisional and regimental guns.

Specifications

Type: field gun with anti-tank capabilities.

Caliber: 76.2-mm (3-inch)

Weight (gun and breech): 620 kg (1,366-lb)

Total Weight in Action: 1,200 kg (2,646-lb)

Barrel Length: 2.98 m (117.45 inches)

Barrel Rifling: 32 grooves, right hand

Recoil System: hydro-pneumatic

Breech Type: vertical sliding wedge

Carriage: split-trail

Elevation: -5° to +37°

Traverse: 27° right and left of zero

Muzzle Velocity: 680 m/s

Maximum Range: 13.29 km (12,152 yards)

Above, the Soviet 76-mm M1942 gun.

Three 76-mm ZiS guns in an open museum in Belarus.

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D-20 Howitzer

The D-20 Howitzer is a towed, 152-mm, field artillery piece developed and produced by the Soviet Union right after World War II. Although it entered service with the Red Army in 1953, it was made public to the West in 1955; hence, it is also known as the M1955 gun-howitzer by NATO countries. With the Soviet/Russian inventory identification '52-P-546', this artillery piece was developed by the State-run company Petrov Artillery Design Bureau. It would be massively produced by the Soviet Union during first two decades of the Cold War, with over 11,000 howitzers built. It was used in anger in many armed conflicts around the globe, such as the Vietnam War, Soviet-Afghan War, Six Day War, and the Iraq-Iran War.

When it was introduced in 1953, the D-20 replaced the 152-mm Howitzer M1937, which had been used during World War II. Since it has a muzzle velocity superior to that of a howitzer (650 m/s), its official designation is 'gun-howitzer', even though it is almost always used in the indirect-fire mode. The D-20 howitzer was also widely exported and produced under license in Eastern European countries, China, and North Korea. In Soviet service, it equipped artillery regiments within motor rifle divisions as well as artillery brigades during the Cold War. This gun-howitzer was also used by both Russian and Ukrainian forces fighting in Ukraine, with Russian units deploying pieces from storage.

Technical Characteristics

The D-20 152-mm howitzer is fitted with a semi-automatic vertical sliding-block breech and a hydraulic buffer recoil system, with a hydro-pneumatic recuperator. This artillery piece employs separate-loading ammunition, with the metal cartridge case and the shell, which are loaded into breech first. The howitzer fires a wide range of shells, which include high-explosive fragmentation, smoke, illuminating, and chemical rounds. The D-20 has a split-trail carriage and it is towed by truck. It has an L/34-calibers-long (5.19 m) barrel, which is mounted in a long ring cradle with the trunnions just forward of the breech. The recoil system is set up on the cradle above the barrel. The breech is fitted with a projectile retaining catch to avoid that the shell slides down out of the breech at higher elevations before it is rammed with a manual ram. The box girder section split trail legs are hinged to the cradle support with bolts to lock them into either the open or closed position.

Above, an Iranian D-20 howitzer open fires on Iraqi positions in the 1980s.

Specifications

Type: field howitzer

Caliber: 152-mm

Shell: separate-loading charge

Weight: 5.6 tons

Total Length: 8.69 m

Barrel Length: 5.19 m

Carriage: split trail

Breech Type: vertical sliding wedge block

Elevation: -5° to +45°

Traverse: 58°

Rate of Fire: between 5 and 6 rounds per minute

Muzzle Velocity: 650 m/s

Maximum Range: 24 km (15 miles)

The D-20 howitzer in action (video)

The 152-mm gun-howitzer in an open-air museum in Hungary

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Ordnance QF 18-pounder

The Ordnance QF 18-pounder was an 84-mm field gun which was widely used by the British Army during World War I and II. Developed and produced by Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd and Vickers, it was a quick-firing gun which had a sustained rate of fire of 4 rounds per minute and a maximum rate of fire of up to 20 rpm. It was based on the Ordnance QF 15-pounder gun, which the United Kingdom had imported from Germany in 1901. Thus, the 18-pounder had the same type of hydro-spring recoil system, which absorbed all the recoil of firing.

In service since 1904, the QF 18-pounder gun was massively manufactured, with more than 10,000 ordnance built in five versions: Mk I, II, III, IV, and V. This horse-drawn field gun was deployed on all fronts of World War I: the Western Front, Gallipolli, and the Middle East. After this armed conflict, it would remain in service during the inter-war period. In World War II, the 18-pounder gun served with the British Expeditionary Force during the German invasion of France in May and June 1940. It was also used by the Australian and Indian forces in Burma and New Guinea. The World War II variant of the gun had tire wheels instead of the wooden-rimmed ones of the all versions.

Technical Characteristics

The QF 18-pounder was a quick-firing horse-drawn field gun. It was conceived to be towed behind a limber and six horses. The gun barrel was wire-wound nickel-steel with a single-motion, interrupted-screw breech, with a cartridge extractor. It was known as "quick firing" because the gun fired a fixed round of shell and cartridge fixed together at a quick rate per minute. The lower carriage comprised a single hollow steel trail fixed to the center of the axle-tree. The limited traverse saddle supported the elevating mass and a shield. Traverse controls were on the left and elevation on the right of the saddle. Recoil was by a hydraulic buffer with telescopic running-up springs to return the barrel to its firing position.

Specifications

Type: horse-drawn field gun

Caliber: 83.8-mm (3.3-inch)

Shell: 8.4 kg (18.5 pounds) High Explosive/armor-piercing/ or smoke

Weight: 1,280 kg (2,822-pounds)

Barrel Length: 2.34 m (7 feet, 8 inches)

Width: 1.91 m (6 feet, 3 inches)

Breech Type: interrupted screw

Recoil System: hydro-spring, constant.

Elevation: -5° to +16°

Traverse: 3° left and right

Carriage: pole-trail

Crew: 6

Above, the 18-pounder, which was based on the German-made QF 15-pounder.

The QF 18-pounder at the Battle of the Somme, in 1916, WW1.

Side view of the field gun, Mk IV version in the 1930s. Notice the interrupted screw breech, which is open.

The 18-pounder during training a couple of years before WW1.

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QF 4.5-inch howitzer

The Ordnance QF 4.5-inch howitzer was a British, 114.3-mm artillery piece fielded by the British Expeditionary Force during World War I & II. Introduced in 1908, it would be massively produced, with a total of 3,359 pieces built, and it would become the standard field howitzer of the British, Australian, and New Zealander Army. It was also used by both the British and Imperial Czarist forces during the Russian Civil War, which ensued the 1917 October Revolution. During WWII, in June 1940, when the Germans had invaded France, many QF 4.5-inch howitzers employed by the BEF were lost to the Wehrmacht. During the same armed conflict, it was also fielded by the British and Commonwealth forces deployed in East Africa fighting against the Italian Army. The letters 'QF' stands for quick firing.

Technical Description

The QF 4.5-inch howitzer was designed as a replacement to the Ordnance BL 5-inch howitzer, which had been fielded by the British Empire during the Second Boer War. The new artillery piece had a faster rate of fire and it was also easier to mount, charge, and fire as it employed a 16-kg (35-lb), High Explosive shell. Mounted on the gun cradle, the 5-ft (1.5-m) long barrel was fitted with a horizontal sliding block breech, which consisted of a steel block that slid into a rectangular recess in the breech ring before firing. The howitzer carriage was conceived to be towed behind a two-wheeled cart by a team of six horses. The gun was fitted with a limited traverse saddle, which supported the elevation system and shield. It was fitted with hydro-pneumatic recoil system, which allowed the barrel to slide back to its position after firing.

Specifications

Type: field howitzer

Weight: 1,370 kg (3,010-lb)

Caliber: 114.3-mm (4.5 inches)

Length: 2.7 m (9 feet)

Barrel Length: 1.5 m (5 feet)

Recoil System: hydro-pneumatic

Breech Type: horizontal sliding block

Elevation: -5° to +45°

Traverse: 3° left and right

Shell: 16 kg (35-lb)

Rate of Fire: 4 rounds per minute

Muzzle Velocity: 308 m/s

Maximum Range: 6,200 m (6,800 yards)

Crew: 6

Above, Australian soldiers operating the QF 4.5-inch howitzer during the Battle of the Somme, WWI.

The howitzer on exhibition in the War Museum, Canberra, Australia.

The horizontal sliding block type breech employed on the QF 4.5-inch.

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Howitzer

A howitzer is a type of artillery piece for indirect fire at covered targets, with the projectile flying in an arc (lob) trajectory. It was designed to attack enemy positions hidden and protected behind low hills and fortifications, in forests, and in trenches, with the shell falling from above. Thus, the main characteristic of a howitzer is its high-angle maximum elevation, which is between 65° and 70°, while its barrel is usually shorter than that of a cannon. It also has a lower muzzle velocity than a field gun. Therefore, a howitzer is not used as an anti-tank weapons.

World War I trench warfare forced European armies to massively produce and employ howitzers as the field gun (cannon) was only able to shoot in direct fire fashion (horizontally), aiming directly at the enemy troops, which could be seen at the horizon. At the beginning of the 20th century, new weapons, such as the machine gun and breech-loading artillery, with hydro-pneumatic recoil systems, wiped out the cavalry from the battlefield, forcing the infantry to hide in deep trenches to protect themselves from machine gun and field gun fire. This new battlefield landscape forced armies to massively use howitzers.

Howitzers are part of troop artillery (field artillery in foreign armies). They have a caliber of 100 mm or more, a relatively short barrel (from 15 to 30 calibers), a multi-section charge, a range of fire of up to 17 km, and a relatively high rate of fire (a round every other minute or every minute to six rounds per minute depending on the caliber). Most modern howitzers are self-propelled, while the old systems use mechanical traction. Siege howitzers were super heavy artillery pieces, which were especially designed and used to attack reinforced concrete fortifications and bunkers; one example was Big Bertha, which was a 420-mm howitzer employed by the Germans in World War I.

The first howitzers were built in Europe in the 15th century (Italy and Germany) and were used for firing stone-filled canisters. In the second half of the 16th century, howitzers began firing explosive shells. In Russia the first howitzers were built in the middle of the 16th century. They were called gakovnitsy, gaufnitsy, and gafunitsy. In the 1760’s Russia developed longer howitzers, which were named unicorns. The change from smooth-bore to rifled guns in the 1860’s led to the building of rifled howitzers. The greater use of field fortifications in the wars in the second half of the 19th century increased the need for howitzers. They were widely used in all armies in the two world wars. During the Great Patriotic War (1941-45) the highest performance indexes were displayed by the Soviet 122-, 152-, and 203-mm howitzers.

A World War 1 Italian howitzer: Obice da 149-mm.

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Walther Model 1 and 2

The Walther Model 1 and 2 were German, semi-automatic, 6.35-mm pistols produced before World War I. These early designs of semi-automatic handguns were conceived for low-power cartridges and they were fitted with a blowback-type ejection system. Model 1 was designed in 1909 and it had no special features which distinguished it from the common blowback .25-caliber ACP semi-automatic pistol. When mass production began in 1910, it was simply called "Deutche Selbstlade Pistole Walther" (German Self-loading Pistol Walther). Its recoil spring was located above the trigger guard under the barrel, while the slide was cut away to expose the front part of the barrel.

In 1913, Carl Walther Waffenfabrik's factory announced the design of Model 2, which would be released in 1914. This was an attempt to improve the Model 1. They did that by replacing the recoil spring with one which was concentric with the pistol barrel. A removable barrel bush held the concentric recoil spring and it also served as a demounting catch, similar to the .45 Colt 1911 pistol. An odd cocking indicator was incorporated in the rear sight, which operated as follows: when the gun had a round in the chamber, the sight was in a raised position, indicating that it was ready to use. But when the chamber was empty, the sight became flush with the slide.

The great success of the Walther Model 1 and 2 pistols resulted in the design of a third variant: Model 3. The new version was outwardly similar to Model 2, however it was of heavier construction and it was chambered for the .32 ACP cartridge (7.65-mm x 17-mm).

Specifications (Model 1)

Type: semi-automatic pistol

Caliber: 6.35-mm - Browning (.25 ACP)

Weight: 0.368 kg (13-oz)

Length: 11 cm (4.375 inches)

Barrel Length: 5.33 cm (2.1 inches)

Operating System: blowback

Trigger: single-action

Feeding System: 6-round detachable magazine.

Sights: fixed iron

Frame: steel

Grip: hard rubber

Safety: cross-bolt

Above, Model 1 pistol. Left side. Notice the external trigger bar and the Walther emblem on the grip. 

The right hand side of Model 1.

Above, Walther Model 2. Left side.

Right side of Model 2

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Walther PP

The Walther PP was a German, 9-mm, self-loading pistol, which was first issued to the German police in 1935. However, during World War II, it would also be issued to the Wehrmacht troops due to the shortage of standard-caliber weapons. Thus, the designation 'PP' merely derived from the fact that the original use of the pistol was for the police: Polizei Pistole. Walther GmbH would also develop and manufacture a derivative of this handgun; the PPK, which was a compact version chambered for the 7.65-mm (.32-cal.) cartridge. 'PPK' stands for 'Polizei Pistole Kriminal'.

The Walther PP had been designed by Carl Walther in 1929. It was massively produced by Walther Waffenfabrik, entering service with the German police in 1935, and with German Army and Luftwaffe in 1939. Thus, along with the Walther P38, it would be the standard sidearm of the Wehrmacht's officers during the war. Although production was discontinued at the end of the war, it would be activated again in the late 1950s. This pistol was also used by police forces in western European countries. The PPK is made also in the United States of America under license, but it is chambered for the 9-mm x 17-mm short cartridge (.380 ACP). It had also been manufactured in France for civilian use.

Technical Characteristics

The Walther PP and the PPK were semi-automatic, blowback-operated pistols. They were fitted with a double-action trigger and an external hammer. Thus, the PP and PPK could be fired in the similar manner to a double-action revolver. A steel block allowed the weapon to be carried with a round in the chamber and the hammer down in complete safety; when needed, the trigger was pulled and the handguns fired double-action. From the first shot onward, the pistols worked as a normal semi-automatic gun. The pistol frame and moving parts were entirely made of steel. They were fed from a detachable, single-column magazine which held seven rounds, and ten rounds in the PPK version.

Specifications (PP)

Type: semi-automatic pistol

Caliber: 9-mm

Cartridge: 9x17-mm short

Weight: 0.665 kg

Length: 17 cm

Barrel Length: 9.8 cm

Loading Mechanism: straight blowback

Muzzle Velocity: 308 m/s

Effective Range: 50 m

Feeding System: 7-round detachable box magazine

Sights: fixed iron sights

Above, left-side view of the Walther PP.

Right-side view of the same pistol, with the slide to the rear and the ejection port open.

Above, the Walther PP showing the colored sights.

The PPK, a compact version of the original one.

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