152-mm howitzer M1938 (M-10)
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| 152-mm howitzer model 1938 (M-10) | |
|---|---|
 M-10 in Hämeenlinna artillery museum, Finland. |
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| Place of origin | USSR |
| Production history | |
| Produced | 1939-1941 |
| Number built | 1,522 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | combat: 4,150 kg travel: 4,550 kg |
| Crew | 10 |
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| Caliber | 152,4 mm |
| Carriage | split trail |
| Elevation | -1° to 65° |
| Traverse: | 50° |
| Rate of fire | 3-4 rounds per minute |
| Maximum range | 12.4 km |
152-mm howitzer model 1938 (M-10) (Russian: 152-мм гаубица образца 1938 года (М-10)) was a Soviet 152.4 mm (6 inch) howitzer of World War II era.
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[edit] Development history
By early 1930s the Red Army (RKKA) started to look for a replacement for the 152-mm howitzer M1909 and the 152-mm howitzer M1910. Those pieces, developed before World War I, had unsprung fixed trail carriages and short barrels, which meant poor mobility, insufficient elevation and traverse angles and short range. Although both pieces were eventually modernized, resulting in the 152-mm howitzer M1909/30 and the 152-mm howitzer M1910/37 respectively, these were relatively minor upgrades which brought only limited improvement in some areas and didn't address others. It was clear that a completely new design was needed. However, at that time Soviets had little experience in developing modern artillery pieces.
Soviets initially tried to solve that problem through a collaboration with Germany. From its part, Germany, constrained by the limitations of the Treaty of Versailles, looked for a way to proceed with development and joint projects gave them such an opportunity. Among other weapons supplied by Germans were heavy artillery systems, designated in the USSR 152-mm mortar M1931 (NM) and 152-mm howitzer M1931 (NG). Soon the Motovilikha Mechanical Plant (MMZ) was entrusted with the production of NM. However, only 8 pieces were completed in 1932-1934, and then the production was stopped. The design proved to be too complicated for the Soviet industry of early 1930s (the same fate befell some other designs, e.g. the 122-mm howitzer M1934 or 20-mm and 37-mm autocannons) and was considered somewhat heavy (5,445 kg in travelling position). But these early failures it gave Soviet developers some valuable experience.
In 1937, F. F. Petrov and his design team at the Motovilikha Ordnance Plant started work on a new design, the M-10. Technical papers were submitted to the Artillery Directorate on 1 August 1937 and on 2 November the first prototype was completed. Ground trials (19 October - 25 October 1938) featured two pieces: No. 302 (L/25 barrel with constant rifling) and No. 303 (L/20 barrel with progressive rifling). The No. 303 was found to be superior. The trials also revealed numerous defects in the gun construction: the howitzer suffered from insufficient upper carriage strength, leaks in recoil buffer, unreliable suspension etc. For army tests early in 1939 an improved design with lengthened barrel was presented. On 29 September 1939 it was finally adopted as 152-mm howitzer model 1938. The testing was not done, however - another series of army tests followed, from 22 December 1939 to 10 January 1940.
[edit] Production history
The M-10 entered production at the Plant No. 172 in 1939. Until the end of the year 4 pieces were manufactured, 685 more in 1940 and 833 in 1941. A number of barrels for KV-2 assault tanks were also built. This variant had shorter barrel and was known as 152-mm tank howitzer M1938 (M-10T).
Soon after the outbreak of the war mass production of the gun was stopped. The following reasons are typically cited:
- The M-10 was considered too heavy for divisional artillery and not powerful enough for corps artillery;
- Problems with manufacturing process;
- Lack of requirement for this type of weapon during the defensive phase of the war.
Some found these arguments questionable. Later in the war corps artillery employed the 152-mm howitzer M1943 (D-1) with the same ballistics. Production rates were growing. Even early in the war, the Red Army wasn't passive, but tried to attack at every opportunity; moreover, howitzers are certainly useful in defensive combat too, e.g. for suppressing enemy howitzers. A historian M. Svirin offered the next explanation instead:
- Lack of powerful artillery tractors;
- Problems with maintenance and repair;
- Complexity and steel intensity of the carriage;
- Soviet ordnance plants either were lost or were busy performing higher-priority tasks.
[edit] Organization and employment
Under the organization of 1939, each rifle division had a howitzer regiment with a 152-mm howitzers battalion (12 pieces). In July 1941 these regiment were cancelled. Same fate befell 152-mm howitzers battalions of motorized and armored divisions.
In 1944, rifle corps of the Red Army had one artillery regiment each. Those regiment consisted of five batteries (totaling 20 pieces), equipped with 152-mm howitzers, 122-mm or 107-mm guns.
Reserve of the Main Command included howitzer regiments (48 pieces) and heavy howitzer brigades (32 pieces).
On 1 June 1941 the RKKA possessed 1058 M-10s. Many were lost in the early phase of the war. combined with a decision to stop the production it meant only limited quantity remaind in service; these remaining guns in dwindling numbers were used for the remainder of World War II. The M-10 was used against personnel, fortifications and key objects in the rear.
Many guns were captured by the Wehrmacht early in the war, and adopted as 15,2 cm sFH 443(r). The Finnish Army captured 45 pieces and further 57 were purchased from Germany in 1944. In Finland the howitzer, designated 152 H/38, was issued to five heavy artillery battalions and actively used in battle. Finns rather liked the gun, but considered it somewhat heavy. After the end of the hostilities, the M-10 remained in the Finnish service; in 1980s there were some consideretions of modernizing it, but the idea was dropped; the guns were stored in the army depots until 2000 and then they were finally retired.
[edit] Summary
2 - fragmentation shell O-530,
3 - HEAC (anti-concrete) shell G-530.
The M-10 project provided the RKKA corps artillery with a modern 152-mm howitzer, which combined good firepower with good mobility (although, as the example of the D-1 shows, the latter characteristic could be improved without compromising the former). When compared to a typical contemporary howitzer of similar calibre, the M-10 had shorter range, but was lighter. E.g. the German 15 cm sFH 18 had a range of 13,325 m - about one kilometer longer than that of the M-10 - but also weighed much more (5,510 kg in traveling position). The same can be said about the US 155-mm howitzer M1 (14,600 m, 5,800 kg) or 149-mm howitzer manufactured by the Italian Ansaldo (14,250 m, 5,500 kg). A German howitzer with characteristics similar to those of the Soviet one - the 15 cm sFH 36 - didn't reach mass production. Compared to older pieces such as the French Schneider model 1917 (11,200 m, 4,300 kg), the M-10 had advantage in range and comparable weight.
[edit] Ammunition
When set to fragmentation action, the OF-530 produced fragments which covered an area 70 m wide and 30 m deep. When set to HE action, the exploding shell produced a crater about 3.5 m in diameter and about 1.2 m deep.
The BP-540 HEAT shell was not used during Great Patriotic War. The projectile had armour penetration of 250 mm at the meet angle of 90°, 220 mm at 60°, 120 mm at 30°.
| Available ammunition | |||||
| Type | Model | Weight, kg | HE weight, g | Muzzle velocity, m/s | Range, m |
| Armor piercing shells | |||||
| Naval semi-AP | model 1915/28 | 51,07 | 3,2 | ||
| HEAT | BP-540 | 27,44 | |||
| Anti-concrete shells | |||||
| Anti-concrete shell | G-530 / G-530Sh | 40,0 | 5,1 | ||
| High explosive and fragmentation shells | |||||
| HE-Fragmentation, steel | OF-530 | 40,0 | 5,47-6,86 | ||
| HE-Fragmentation, steely iron | OF-530A | 40,0 | 5,66 | ||
| HE, old | F-533 | 40,41 | 8,0 | ||
| HE, old | F-533K | 40,68 | 7,3 | ||
| HE, old | F-533N | 41,0 | 7,3 | ||
| HE, old | F-533U | 40,8 | 8,8 | ||
| HE, steely iron, old French | F-534F | 41,1 | 3,9 | ||
| HE for 152-mm mortar model 1931 | F-521 | 41,7 | 7,7 | ||
| HE, British, for Vickers 152-mm howitzer | F-531 | 44,91 | 5,7 | ||
| Shrapnel shells | |||||
| Shrapnel with 45 sec. tube | Sh-501 | 41,16-41,83 | 0,5 (680—690 bullets) | ||
| Shrapnel with Т-6 tube | Sh-501T | 41,16 | 0,5 (680—690 bullets) | ||
| Illumination shells | |||||
| Illumination, 40 sec. | S 1 | 40,2 | |||
| Chemical shells | |||||
| Fragmentation-chemical gun shell | OH-540 | ||||
| Chemical howitzer shell | HS-530 | 38,8 | |||
| Chemical howitzer shell | HN-530 | 39,1 | |||
| Chemical (post-war) | ZHZ | ||||
[edit] References
- Shunkov V. N. - The Weapons of the Red Army, Mn. Harvest, 1999 (Шунков В. Н. - Оружие Красной Армии. — Мн.: Харвест, 1999.) ISBN 985-433-469-4
- Shirokorad A. B. - Encyclopedia of the Soviet Artillery - Mn. Harvest, 2000 (Широкорад А. Б. Энциклопедия отечественной артиллерии. — Мн.: Харвест, 2000., ISBN 985-433-703-0)
- Ivanov A. - Artillery of the USSR in Second World War - SPb Neva, 2003 (Иванов А. Артиллерия СССР во Второй Мировой войне. — СПб., Издательский дом Нева, 2003., ISBN 5-7654-2731-6)
[edit] External links
| Soviet Artillery of Great Patriotic War |
|---|
| Anti-tank guns |
| 37-mm gun 1-K | 45-mm gun M1937 | 45-mm gun M-42 | 57-mm gun ZiS-2 | 100-mm gun BS-3 |
| Mountain guns |
| 76-mm mountain gun M1938 |
| Regimental guns |
| 76-mm gun M1927 | 76-mm gun M1943 |
| Divisional guns |
| 76-mm gun M1902/30 | 76-mm gun F-22 | 76-mm gun USV | 76-mm gun ZiS-3 122-mm howitzer M1909/37 | 122-mm howitzer M1910/30 | 122-mm howitzer M-30 |
| Corps and Army level guns |
| 122-mm gun A-19 | 152-mm howitzer M1909/30 | 152-mm howitzer M1910/37 152-mm howitzer M-10 | 152-mm howitzer D-1 | 152-mm gun M1910/30 152-mm gun M1910/34 | 152-mm gun-howitzer ML-20 |
| Very heavy guns |
| 152-mm gun M1935 | 203-mm howitzer B-4 | 210-mm gun M1939 280-mm mortar M1939 | 305-mm howitzer M1939 |
| Air defense guns |
| 25-mm gun 72-K | 37-mm gun 61-K | 76-mm gun M1938 | 85-mm gun 52-K |
