Artillery 2024, November

In the second half of the 1950s, the Chinese military conducted an audit of anti-tank artillery. All obsolete American and Japanese 37 - 47 mm guns were retired. Soviet 45-mm, German 50-mm, British and American 57-mm guns were transferred to storage and used in training

In the period from 1977 to 1994, a unique multiple launch rocket system, the TOS-1 heavy flamethrower system (code "Buratino"), was developed, and in 1995 - adopted. It included: a combat vehicle (BM) on a tank chassis with an armored package of guides (developed by FSUE KBTM

As mentioned in the previous part of the virtual tour of the Military Museum of the Chinese Revolution, in the 1930s, there was active military-technical cooperation between Germany and China. By the beginning of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937, China had a certain number of German 37-mm

In the 1930s, China was an underdeveloped agricultural country. Economic and technological backwardness was aggravated by the fact that several warring factions fought for power in the country. Taking advantage of the weakness of the central government, inadequate training and poor equipment

AFAS / M1 self-propelled guns in a firing position In the mid-eighties, the United States studied the issue of creating a promising 155-mm self-propelled howitzer to replace the existing M109 Paladin, which ultimately led to the start of the AFAS program and the emergence of an experienced self-propelled gun XM2001 Crusader. During this period, it was proposed and worked out

Currently, the Russian army is implementing the Unified Tactical Control System (ESU TZ). General control loops are being created, uniting all branches of the armed forces, including artillery. Such modernization should significantly expand the combat capabilities of the army, and positive

The NMESIS complex launches an NSM rocket. Presumably, November 2020 Recently, several American and foreign organizations are developing a promising NMESIS coastal missile system. This product is intended for the Marine Corps and in the future

The layout of the Ukrainian medium-range air defense system, an exhibition in Kiev, June 2021, photo: mil.in.ua Today, the air defense of Ukraine is not in the most combat-ready state, like all the country's armed forces, which survived the collapse of the USSR and the subsequent shocks very hard. In many ways, anti-aircraft

TOS-2 on Red Square, June 24, 2020 Photo by the RF Ministry of Defense On June 24, 2020, during the parade on Red Square, the first public demonstration of the promising TOS-2 Tosochka heavy flamethrower system took place. Then the technique went to tests, according to the results of which the further fate will be determined

In addition to the well-known 88-mm anti-aircraft guns, the air defense units of Nazi Germany had 105 and 128-mm anti-aircraft guns. The creation of such long-range and high-altitude artillery systems was associated with an increase in the speed and altitude of bombers, as well as with the desire to increase the area of destruction of fragmentation

406-mm artillery mounts "Condenser 2P" at the parade in Moscow The largest cannon in history. The 406-mm self-propelled artillery mount of special power "Condenser 2P" (index GRAU 2A3) can be safely called the "Tsar Cannon" of its time. As well as from the "Oka" mortar, which had a monstrous length

In the foreground is the 2B1 "Oka" self-propelled mortar. The largest cannons in history. Among the most powerful artillery systems, the self-propelled Soviet mortar 2B1 "Oka" would definitely not be lost. The 420mm mortar, introduced at the height of the Cold War, is often referred to as the Soviet nuclear club. it

Transporters with Yingji-18 missiles at the parade. Photo of the Ministry of Defense of the People's Republic of China The PLA Navy has a wide range of missile weapons of different classes. Several types of cruise missiles are in operation at once, designed to attack surface or coastal targets. Some years ago

Launcher for new ammunition A promising jamming system designed for mounting on armored combat vehicles has been developed and is being tested. In its composition and principle of operation, it is similar to the widespread system 902 "Tucha", but it uses

82-mm portable mortar 2B14 "Tray". Photo Arms-expo.ru Since the thirties, the most important component of the artillery weapons of our armed forces are various mortars. In service there is a large number of such systems of different types and in different calibers. Wherein

Record shot of the XM1299 self-propelled gun with an X M1113 projectile at a range of 70 km, December 2020. Photo by US ARmy The Pentagon and a number of American enterprises continue work on the ERAMS program, the purpose of which is to create a promising long-range artillery projectile. Completed by now

Slide of the presentation with a photo from the assembly shop China continues its unusual and amazing experiments in the field of weapons. An experimental artillery unit with a rotating block of 20 small-caliber barrels was recently built and tested. Very little is known about her so far, but available data

The biggest guns in history. The sonorous and ironic nickname "Little David" was given to the American 914-mm mortar, built during the Second World War. Despite the impressive caliber, this weapon, which surpasses the huge German railway

Tracked self-propelled guns 2S35 and 2S19 on Red Square. Photo AP RF At present, the Russian army is armed with a number of self-propelled artillery units with howitzer weapons, made on a tracked chassis. In the foreseeable future, it is planned to take into service at once two howitzer self-propelled guns on

Test launch of the HISAR-A complex, 2019 The basis of the Turkish air defense system is today the American-made complexes. First of all, these are the venerable MIM-14 Nike-Hercules and MIM-23 Hawk complexes. The first models of these complexes were put into service at the turn of the late 50s

ACS 2S19 "Msta-S" on firing The armament of the Russian ground forces consists of several types of self-propelled artillery installations with different characteristics and capabilities. To date, the most widespread vehicles of this class are ACS 2S19 "Msta-S" of a number of modifications. Them

This material is a work on errors and corrects inaccuracies I made in the article "Russian and German large-caliber naval guns of the First World War", and also provides additional information that I did not have at the time of writing. In the first

By the time the Cold War ended, Japan had a scientific and technical potential that made it possible to independently create quite modern short-range and medium-range anti-aircraft missile systems. Currently, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces are mainly equipped with air defense systems developed in Japan. Exception

After the end of the war, in the USSR, anti-tank artillery was armed with: 37-mm airborne guns of the 1944 model, 45-mm anti-tank guns mod. 1937 and arr. 1942, 57-mm anti-tank guns ZiS-2, divisional 76-mm ZiS-3, 100-mm field type 1944

Model 800-mm gun "Dora" The largest cannon in history. Dora is a unique weapon. The super-heavy 800 mm railway gun was the crown of the development of the artillery of the German army during the Second World War. Developed by the engineers of the famous Krupp company, this weapon was the most powerful

Obusier de 520 modele 1916 520 mm railway howitzer In turn, the German army initially relied on heavy artillery systems, which were supposed to

600-mm mortar "Karl" and a carrier of shells on the chassis of the Pz.Kpwf tank. IV Ausf. E, photo: waralbum.ru The biggest guns in history. With the coming to power of Hitler in 1933, work on the creation of new types of weapons and military equipment intensified in Germany. The militarization of the country continued

"Big Bertha" mobile version, type M, mock-up At the time of the outbreak of the First World War, German heavy artillery was one of the best in the world. In terms of the number of heavy guns, the Germans outnumbered all their opponents by an order of magnitude. Germany's superiority was both quantitative and qualitative

The battleship HMS Benbow with 413 mm guns The second half of the 19th century was a kind of rehearsal for the arms race, which culminated in the First World War. During this period, military engineers developed more and more advanced and powerful weapons, including for the fleet. At the end of the 19th century in

During the air raids of the American B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers on the Japanese islands, it turned out that if they flew at high altitudes, then the main part of the Japanese anti-aircraft guns could not reach them. During the war, the Japanese tried to create new large-caliber anti-aircraft guns with a large

Given that the B-29 Superfortress strategic bombers could operate at an altitude of more than 9 km, heavy anti-aircraft guns with high ballistic characteristics were required to combat them. However, during devastating sorties against Japanese cities using

The armed forces of Nazi Germany had a wide variety of artillery systems for various purposes, produced in Germany, as well as in occupied countries. And the Red Army undoubtedly captured and used many of them. But today we'll talk about captured guns and howitzers

During World War II, 105-mm howitzers were the basis of the firepower of the German divisional artillery. Le.F.H.18 guns of various modifications were used by the German troops from the first to the last days of the war. In the post-war period, German-made 105-mm howitzers in a number of countries

Soviet troops began using captured guns and mortars in July 1941. But in the first months of the war, their use was episodic and non-systemic. Given that the Red Army was sorely lacking in propulsion, and there was nowhere to replenish the stock of shells, captured artillery systems

In the comments to the publication Use of German armored vehicles in the post-war period, I recklessly announced that the last article in the series will focus on the use of captured German artillery. However, having estimated the amount of information, I came to the conclusion that it is necessary to make a breakdown by

As you know, the main enemy of tanks on the battlefield during the Second World War was anti-tank artillery. By the time Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union, the Wehrmacht's infantry units in quantitative terms had a sufficient number of anti-tank guns. Another thing

At the final stage of the war, when the battlefield remained with our troops, it was quite often possible to capture various self-propelled artillery mounts abandoned by the enemy due to lack of fuel or having minor malfunctions. Unfortunately, to cover all German

In the initial period of the war, Soviet tanks of new types had an advantage in protection and firepower. However, the positive qualities of the KV and T-34 were largely devalued by the unreliable engine-transmission unit, poor sights and observation devices. Nevertheless, despite the serious

The first Soviet self-propelled gun with a pronounced anti-tank orientation was the SU-85. This vehicle, built on the basis of the T-34 medium tank, was generally quite consistent with its purpose. But in the second half of the war, the SU-85's armor no longer provided the necessary protection, and the 85-mm gun could

In the memoirs and technical literature dedicated to the Great Patriotic War, high marks are often given to the anti-tank capabilities of the Soviet self-propelled artillery installations SU-152 and ISU-152. At the same time, the authors extolling the high damaging effect of the 152-mm projectile when exposed to