After "shooting" and anti-tank weapons, let's move on to artillery and start with the towed one.
Immediately after the creation of the KPA, they began to supply it with Soviet artillery systems. In total, before the start of the Korean War, 2499 units of artillery systems were delivered:
- 646 45-mm (model 1937 and M-42 model 1942) and 24 57-mm (ZiS-2 model 1943) anti-tank guns;
- 561 76-mm regimental (model 1927 and 1943), mountain (model 1909) and divisional (F-22 model 1936, USV model 1939 and ZiS-3 model 1942) guns;
76-mm regimental cannon model 1927 in a firing position during the Korean War
Trophy North Korean 76-mm regimental cannon model 1942 ZiS-3 on tests at the American proving ground in Aberdeen
- 192 122 mm howitzers (sample 1910/1930 and M-30 sample 1938);
- 877 battalion 82-mm (model 1937, 1941 and 1943), 199 107-mm mountain (model 1938) and 120-mm regimental (model 1938, 1941 and 1943) mortars.
There were also samples of artillery weapons of Japanese origin: a battalion 70-mm howitzer "Type 92" and a 75-mm field gun "Type 38", left over from the Japanese occupation of Korea.
Japanese 70-mm battalion howitzer "Type 92"
Of course, deliveries continued during the Korean War, and not only Soviet artillery systems were supplied, but also captured German ones captured during World War II: 105-mm light field howitzers of the 1918/1940 leFH 18/40 model, 150-mm heavy field howitzers howitzers mod. 1918 sFH 18 and even the famous Nebelwerfer 42 rocket launchers.
German sFH 18 150 mm heavy field howitzer, behind which are visible the leFH 18/40 105 mm light field howitzer and the 1936 Soviet 76 mm F-22 regimental cannon at the KPA Museum in Pyongyang
Thanks to Soviet supplies, the KPA ended the Korean War with twice as many artillery systems. what she had at the beginning of this war. As of the date of the end of the Korean War, July 27, 1953, the KPA had 5397 field artillery pieces and mortars:
- 45 mm anti-tank guns - 628;
- 57 mm anti-tank guns - 92;
- 76 mm regimental, mountain and divisional guns - 722;
- 107-mm guns used as coastal guns - 50;
- 122-mm howitzers - 288, 82-mm battalion mortars - 2559;
- 107-mm mountain and 120-mm regimental mortars - 968.
During the Korean War, the North Korean gunners demonstrated high skill and heroism. Thus, coastal batteries, which received conventional Soviet field guns of 76 and 107 mm caliber, fought fierce artillery duels with enemy cruisers, destroyers and patrol ships. Even the American battleship New Jersey was among the enemy ships they damaged. Of course, the steel giant got off with a "mosquito bite". On January 7, 1951, the North Korean gunners won their biggest victory of the entire war. Off the east coast of Korea, the Thai frigate "Prasae" of the English type "Flower" (formerly Pennant w / n K274, transferred in 1947) with a displacement of 1030 tons, which came to shell coastal targets, came under massive fire from 5-10 guns camouflaged on the shore … The frigate came too close to the shore, and already the third salvo was covered. The gun crew was almost completely disabled, several shells hit the superstructure, a fire started in the middle part, which could not be extinguished. The next hits set fire to the stern superstructure. The commander threw the ship onto the beach. There the ship burned for almost a day. On January 13, the frigate "Prasae" was expelled from the Thai Navy.
Thai frigate "Prasae", destroyed by North Korean gunners on January 7, 1951
Soviet and then Chinese deliveries of artillery systems continued after the end of the war. However, the DPRK has established its own production of artillery systems, and is currently capable of producing, according to Western experts, 3,000 guns of caliber above 100 mm per year.
Currently, the KPA has, apart from self-propelled systems, 3, 5 thousand towed field artillery guns (122-mm cannons and howitzers, 130-mm cannons and 152-mm howitzers, howitzer-guns and cannon-howitzers - all Soviet models) and up to 7, 5 thousand mortars (domestic 60-mm, Soviet 82-, 120-, 160- and 240-mm) as part of 2 artillery corps and 30 artillery brigades. There are also artillery units of the RKKGV with powerful weapons up to 130-mm long-range field guns and 122-mm 40-barreled multiple launch rocket systems of the Soviet BM-21 Grad type, mounted on trailers towed by agricultural tractors. Thus, without a doubt, the KPA ground forces have at their disposal powerful field artillery, which, as it seems, is superior in its aggregate firepower to the artillery of the South Korean army. At the same time, in terms of fire control systems and artillery reconnaissance, the North Koreans are significantly inferior to the enemy. However, in turn, they gouge out firing positions in the rocks.
North Korean artillery positions hollowed out in the rocks
And they actively use dummies of artillery pieces and equip false firing positions to mislead the enemy.
Models of artillery pieces made of stones and branches on the banks of the Yalu River from the North Korean side, opposite the Chinese city of Hekou
All experts note the high combat qualities of the North Korean artillerymen, despite the lack of modern fire control systems. So, during the artillery shelling of the South Korean island of Yongpyeong in the Yellow Sea on November 23, 2010, the DPRK artillery, represented by obsolete towed 130-mm M-46 cannons and, possibly, 76-mm ZiS-3 Soviet-made in the first 12 minutes, fired about 150 volleys, of these, about 80 shells hit the target.
130 mm gun M-46
76, 2-mm cannon ZiS-3
As a result of the shelling, 14 South Korean servicemen were injured, three of them were seriously injured, and four were killed. It was also reported that some of the houses of the civilian population were destroyed.
In turn, the South Korean artillery, equipped with modern 155-mm self-propelled howitzers K9 Thunder of its own production, fired 50 shells in response, without causing any significant harm to the North Koreans.
155-mm South Korean self-propelled howitzer K9 Thunder
After that, both sides exchanged another 20-30 volleys from each side.
Satellite image of craters from the return fire of South Korean artillery on the positions of the northerners. As you can see, not a single projectile hit the target.
North Korean towed artillery is represented by the following systems:
- 122-mm howitzer model 1938 M-30, deliveries of which began even before the start of the Korean War and continued after its end. In addition, its Chinese copy "Type 54" was supplied to the DPRK. At present, the M-30 and Type 54 howitzers are being removed from service and transferred to mobilization depots and RKKG.
- 122 mm howitzer D-30 (2A18). However, on its basis the North Koreans created their own howitzer, using the D-30 barrel and the carriage of the 130-mm M-46 cannon or its Chinese counterpart "Type 59".
122 mm North Korean howitzers based on the Soviet D-30
- 122-mm cannon model 1931/37 (A-19), the first copies of which were delivered before the start of the Korean War. They are used in the coastal defense system, possibly already withdrawn from service and transferred to mobilization depots or RKKG.
- 122 mm D-74 cannon and its Chinese copy "Type 60" and modification "Type 59-1" for 130 mm caliber, which is 6.3 tons lighter than the M-46 cannon. The cannon has an effective range of 23,900 meters, but it was created in 1955. There is evidence that the DPRK has imposed the production of modernized D-74 guns.
- 130-mm gun M-46 and its Chinese copy "Type 59" with a maximum firing range of 37 km, which at one time was the most long-range weapon of the Soviet Army, with the exception of large and special power guns.
130-mm gun M-46 or its Chinese counterpart "Type 59" as a coastal gun
- 130-mm gun mount SM-4-1, used in coastal artillery.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits a coastal battery armed with 130mm SM-4-1 artillery mounts
- 152-mm howitzer model 1938 (M-10) with a maximum firing range of 13,700 meters, the first copies of which were also delivered before the start of the Korean War. They are used in the coastal defense system, possibly already withdrawn from service and transferred to mobilization depots or RKKG.
- 152-mm howitzer-gun of the 1937 model (ML-20), deliveries of which also began before the Korean War. ML-20, which has a maximum range of 20,500 meters, is still in service with the KPA.
- 152-mm howitzer model 1943 (D-1) with a maximum firing range of 13,700 meters. A certain number of D-1s are in service with the KPA, but some of the guns are already stored and transferred to the RKKG.
152-mm D-1 howitzer in the Museum of the History of the KPA, the 122-mm M-30 howitzer is visible on the right, opposite the 130-mm M-46 cannon
- 152-mm gun-howitzer D-20 and its Chinese copy "Type 66". However, the DPRK produces its own version of the D-20 with a muzzle brake borrowed from the Soviet 130-mm coastal artillery mount SM-4-1. The howitzer cannon has a maximum range of 24,000 meters and is the main towed weapon of the KPA.
North Korean version of the D-20 howitzer cannon
North Korean version of the 152-mm D-20 howitzer cannon at the KPA History Museum
Mortars:
- 60mm Type 31 company mortar, is a Chinese unlicensed copy of the American M-2 mortar during the Second World War, a large number of which were captured during the Korean War. The total length is 0.726 m, the combat weight is 19 kg. The angles of elevation and rotation are not limited, since the mortar was mounted on a rotating mount. The firing range of a fragmentation mine weighing 1.34 kg is from 68 to 750 m, the initial flight speed of the mine is 158 m / s, the practical firing range is up to 320 m, the maximum is 1800 m.
60-mm company mortar "type 63"
- 82-mm battalion mortar model 1937 (BM-37), its modifications of the model 1941 and 1943 and a Chinese copy of the "Type 53". It is also possible produced in the DPRK itself. Deliveries of Soviet 82-mm mortars began even before the start of the Korean War, after which Chinese deliveries were added.
- 120-mm regimental mortar model 1938 PM-38.
- 120-mm regimental mortar model 1943 PM-43.
Perhaps, these mortars are produced in the DPRK itself, in addition, on their basis, a self-propelled mortar was created using the North Korean-made VTT-323 armored personnel carrier chassis.
- 160-mm divisional mortars of the 1943 model (M-43) and the 1949 model (M-160) and its Chinese copy "Type 56".
- 240 mm M-240 mortar of the 1950 model. The mortar is loaded from the breech, for which the barrel is lowered to a horizontal position. The firing range is from 800 to 9650 m. The mortar shoots an F-864 high-explosive mine weighing 130.7 kg with an explosive charge mass of 32 kg.
