The heaviest of the Soviet field guns during the Second World War was the 203-mm howitzer of the 1931 model, bearing the designation B-4. This weapon was very powerful. However, the main disadvantage of the howitzer was its very large mass. This howitzer was one of the few guns that were installed on a tracked tractor chassis, which was produced in large quantities in the USSR in the 1920s and 1930s. The result of the fact that this tool was placed on a tractor tracked chassis was the general policy of the country's leadership at that time, which was aimed at the development of tractor plants, in this regard, the use of tractor tracks was only part of the economic policy of the state. Therefore, the 203-mm howitzer mod. 1931, unlike other heavy tools of that time, could pass through swampy or soft soils.
The crew of the Soviet 203-mm howitzer B-4 under the command of Senior Sergeant S. Spin in the Sopot suburb of Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland) is firing at German troops in Danzig. On the right is the Church of the Savior (Kościół Zbawiciela).
This was an important advantage over other modifications, especially considering the fact that this howitzer had a huge mass. During short transitions, the howitzer was disassembled into two units. But when moving over considerable distances, it had to be disassembled into six main units and transported by heavy tractors on trailers at a speed not exceeding 15 kilometers per hour. Some modifications of the B-4 could be disassembled into five parts during transportation. In total, six different variants of the 203-mm howitzer mod. 1931 All modifications used a tracked tractor chassis, but they differed in the towing method.
The variety of modifications created by the domestic military industry for ordinary soldiers did not play a special role, since the main characteristics of the gun remained unchanged at the same level. As already mentioned, the howitzer was quite heavy. Its rate of fire was one shot per 4 minutes (the rate of fire was not increased even though it was possible to perform this operation). Despite this, when using the B-4 howitzer, it was possible to conduct powerful defensive fire. When using 100 kg shells, the gun successfully fought against powerful enemy fortifications.
Soviet artillerymen are firing at German positions from a 203-mm howitzer model 1931 (B-4)
The difficulty of transporting the gun was the reason that a large number of howitzers of the 1931 model were captured by the Germans at the beginning of the war. They were widely used as the 203mm H 503 (r). It should be noted that the German artillery felt a significant shortage of guns in the heavy artillery units. Therefore, the German units tried to use Soviet guns as much as possible. Mainly, the captured guns were used on the Eastern Front. Also, 203-mm howitzers were used by German units in Western Europe and Italy.
At the end of World War II, this weapon was removed from the armament of the USSR army. However, later it was put back into operation. Thus, the 1931 model howitzer remained in service with the SA until the early 1980s. The tracked chassis was replaced by a wheeled chassis, and in the mid-1970s it was replaced by the self-propelled unit 257 (M-1975).
The S-65 tractor tows a B-4 203 mm howitzer of the 1931 model. Karelia, Leningrad Front, transfer of Soviet heavy artillery to new positions
Howitzers B-4 were used in the Finnish War of 39-40. As of March 1, 1940, there were 142 B-4 howitzers on the Finnish front. Failed or lost 4 B-4 howitzers. Among Soviet soldiers, this weapon was nicknamed "the Karelian sculptor" (after the B-4 shells hit the Finnish bunker, it "turned" into a bizarre jumble of iron reinforcement and pieces of concrete). By the beginning of the Second World War, B-4 howitzers were available only in the RVGK high-power howitzer artillery regiments. In the period from June 22 to December 1, 1941, 75 B-4 howitzers were lost in battles, while the industry handed over 105 howitzers. After the start of the war, howitzer artillery regiments of high power RVGK were taken to the deep rear. They entered hostilities only at the end of 1942, when the strategic initiative began to pass into the hands of the Soviet Army. Several B-4s were captured by the Germans during fierce battles. Some of these guns entered service with the German army under the name 20, 3-cm N.503 (r). The Germans on the Eastern Front by March 44 had 8 howitzers 20, 3 cm N. (r). The shots for these howitzers were completed from German charges and Soviet 203-mm concrete-piercing shells G-620.
Howitzers B-4 in the Red Army until the end of the war were in service only in the artillery of the RVGK. The B-4 was successfully used as the main weapon in breaking through fortified zones, storming fortresses, as well as in street battles in large cities. From B-4 howitzers, direct fire was not provided for by the rules. However, it was for conducting such a fire that the commander of the battery of 203-mm howitzers of the Guard, Captain I. Vedmedenko, received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. On one of the sectors of the Leningrad Front on the night of 06/09/44, under the noise of a firefight, which drowned out the roar of engines, tractors dragged two huge guns to the front edge. When the shooting subsided, and the movement of the guns was completed, the camouflaged guns from the giant pillbox - howitzers targets - were at a distance of 1200 meters. Reinforced concrete walls two meters thick; three floors going underground; armored dome; approaches covered by flank bunkers fire - this structure was the main point of resistance of the enemy forces. And as soon as dawn began, Vedmedenko's howitzers began shelling. For two hours, a hundred-kilogram concrete-piercing shells methodically crushed two-meter walls, and, finally, the fortress simply ceased to exist. The most original way of using B-4 howitzers was the fighting near Kursk. In the area of the Ponyri station, a German self-propelled gun "Ferdinand" was found, which was destroyed by a 203-mm shell from a B-4 howitzer hitting its roof.
Long-range gun under the command of senior sergeant G. D. Fedorovsky is firing during the counteroffensive near Moscow - the signature under the photo in the exposition of the Museum of Artillery, Engineering Troops and Signal Corps of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in the city of St. Petersburg
Technical characteristics of the heavy 203-mm howitzer model 1931 B-4:
Caliber - 203 mm;
Overall length - 5087 mm;
Weight - 17,700 kg (in a combat-ready position);
Angle of vertical guidance - from 0 ° to + 60 °;
Horizontal guidance angle - 8 °;
The initial velocity of the projectile is 607 m / s;
Maximum firing range - 18025 m;
Projectile weight - 100 kg.
B-4 howitzer attached to the 1st Infantry Battalion of the 756th Infantry Regiment of the 150th Infantry Division of the 79th Infantry Corps of the 3rd Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front during the Berlin offensive. The battalion commander is Captain S. Neustroev, the future Hero of the Soviet Union.
