Howitzer D-30: photos and technical characteristics

The howitzer is an artillery gun designed for hanging firing. The target may be concentrations of enemy manpower, located behind artificial or natural barriers.

It should be said that hinged shooting can be used to destroy bunkers, hollows, dugouts and other types of enemy fortifications. Due to the high mass and power, this type of weapons is very effective even in mountainous terrain. As a rule, shooting from howitzers is conducted exclusively from closed positions, since it takes a considerable time to relocate them.

Today we will describe the famous D-30 howitzer, which was introduced to the Soviet army in the early 60s of the last century.

Prehistory

It is known that howitzers received the most wide spread on the battlefield during the First World War. The fact is that at that time the tactic of positional combat was widely practiced, for which the well-equipped and fortified positions of all belligerents were characteristic.

So, in the tsarist army, howitzer caliber 152 mm (a classic caliber for the Soviet and Russian armies, by the way) was in service. By the way, this weapon was subsequently used for the defense of Moscow in 1941!

How many howitzers were in the Soviet Army. The caliber was also different. Which is especially interesting. Large-caliber guns were used only by selected guards units. Thus, howitzer B-4, whose caliber was 203 mm at once, were part of special howitzer artillery regiments. They obeyed directly to the main command. Their task was the quantitative and qualitative strengthening of artillery units on all the most important defensive and offensive lines.

Corps artillery was content with standing on its arsenal howitzers of caliber 152 mm. The division used weapons of 122 mm caliber. The fact is that such weapons were much easier, and therefore had impressive mobility. In many respects this provided the popularity of the same D-30. The howitzer, whose range of fire exceeded one and a half tens of kilometers, could be served by a relatively small calculation, and no special equipment was required for its transportation.

The Second World War

In this difficult time the main divisional howitzer, which stood in service with the Red Army, was the famous M-30. Its designer was a well-known engineer F. F. Petrov. This weapon was widely used on virtually all active fronts of that era. In total during the war, more than 17.5 thousand of these cannons were dispatched, the caliber of which was 122 mm. Why, then, was not the caliber 152 mm used? The howitzer D-30, like its predecessor, was developed as much as possible mobile and easy. This imposed serious limitations on the mass of ammunition.

The M-30 was so successful from a technical point of view that it remained in service with the Soviet troops until the 1960s. In general, to replace it, the D-30 howitzer that we discussed was developed.

It was created in the design office of the plant number 9, and the development was led by the well-known Fedor Petrov. The peculiarity of this weapon is also that it was adopted into service at the very height of the "rocket boom," when Khrushchev's efforts on standard barrel artillery almost did not put a fat cross. In general, the very fact that the D-30 howitzer was adopted in service at that time proves its highest technical characteristics.

Table

How many more shots could a D-30 howitzer use? Shells of armor-piercing and incendiary type. The above are the main technical characteristics of this instrument. As you can see, the D-30 howitzer for its times was a very perfect device.

Design

Especially interesting is the gun carriage, which has a rather curious and original design. The fact is that most guns of this class have two frames, while the 122 mm D-30 howitzer has three at once. In the unfolded state they form an excellent platform on which the cannon can easily be turned by the forces of only three or four people and to fire targets at all 360 degrees. Of course, this advanced design of the carriage also predetermined the way in which the gun was transported. Unlike all the others, the 122 mm D-30 howitzer is towed forward. Especially for towing directly on the trunk are provided fastening devices. It is a question of pivot beams.

Moving

It is the beams of the gear that hooks onto the tractor tow hitch for its subsequent transportation. By the way, as a traction can be used as wheeled and caterpillar vehicles. Operational prescriptions say that on good roads the gun can be transported at a speed of up to 80 km / h, which is one of the distinguishing features of the D-30. The howitzer, whose photo is repeatedly found in the article, is put in combat position by raising the wheels above the ground level.

For this, the combat calculation requires the two guide rails to be bent at an angle of 120 degrees. It should be noted that at this point the implement must be raised by using a special jack. Then the third frame is also set aside, and the howitzer is gently lowered to the ground.

To ensure the rigidity of the gun on a not too stable surface, special coulters of hardened steel are used, which are clogged into the ground through the lugs in the frames. It should be noted that the period of transfer from marching to combat and vice versa is only two to three minutes.

Shutter mechanism and trunk

What kind of shutter was equipped with the D-30? The howitzer, whose photo you can see above, has a standard semi-automatic shutter (wedge). The barrel is threaded, in total 36 rifling are done. To raise or lower it, flywheels of the lifting and turning mechanisms are used.

To protect the calculation of the bullets and fragments on the gun mounted a special shield device. In addition, the shield serves as a barrier to the powerful muzzle wave that appears at the time of the shot and also can cause severe injury to the calculation that the gun serves. In 1978 the howitzer was modernized, during which the design of the shield device and the gun carriage itself was simplified and improved somewhat.

At the same time, the plan to transfer the gun to a caliber of 152 mm was rejected. The D-30 howitzer retained its main technical characteristics.

About the device of the chute mechanism

Often you can hear the question of what kind of strange growth is on the trunk of the howitzer, in front of the shield. This anti-roll device, which greatly facilitates the combat operation of the gun, whose mass is 3.2 tons. It is covered with a protective casing, structurally consists of two metal cylinders. The first of these is a hydraulic brake, which slows down the pullback moment, the second is a hydropneumatic driller.

As can be understood from the name of this mechanism, immediately after the shot, it returns the trunk to its original position. This mechanism not only ensures the stability of the gun during firing, but also extends the service life of the entire carriage, which results in a much lower mechanical load.

Normal movement in the barrel - from 46 to 48 atmospheres. To be clearer, you can give an example with the tires of a conventional car, in which a similar figure - just two atmospheres. As for hydraulics, the STIOL-M is used as its working fluid. It should be noted that the substance is extremely poisonous, which requires accuracy when servicing the mechanism.

Muzzle brake

If you look at any photo in the article, then immediately notice the element with which the gun is equipped. The D-30 howitzer has a slotted muzzle brake. He allowed to reduce the impact force by about half. The muzzle brake is removable, if necessary, it is dismantled by calculation forces in a relatively short time. By the way, on the territory of the Peter and Paul Fortress are mounted howitzers without these devices. Of these, at 12 o'clock in the afternoon a single shot is made daily.

Shooting, shooting characteristics

The shooting itself is carried out either by pressing directly on the trigger lever, or by using a cable that is hooked for this device.

The ammunition includes shots of separate loading. Before the salvo, a shell is sent to the barrel. After it, the throwing charge is sent there in a separate cartridge case. By varying the powder weight, it is possible to vary flexibly the required range of fire. As we have already noted, the main projectile in the ammunition is a high-explosive fragmentation shot.

To maximize effective action against clusters of enemy manpower, it is set to fragmentation. This is easy: from the fuse, which is at the very end of the projectile, a protective cap is twisted. If this is not done, then the projectile before the explosion will go deeper into the ground. This is especially useful in cases where it is required to destroy the fortified objects of the enemy or to destroy entrenched infantry.

In addition, there are lighting, smoke, agitation and other types of shots. As for propaganda shells, in their combat unit there is not an explosive substance, but a pack of leaflets. Such an explosion occurs in the air, and a whole rain of leaflets collapses on the enemy's position.

Sights

If you want to hit the enemy's armored vehicles, they use cumulative projectiles. Of course, in this case it is required to fire direct fire. To do this as efficiently as possible, the designers envisaged the possibility of mounting a special optical sight. For a target height of two meters, shooting is possible at a distance of up to 860 meters. The power of a 122-mm projectile in this case is enough for a sure defeat of almost all modern OBR (main battle tanks).

For shooting from closed positions, a panoramic sight is used. It must be said that in artillerymanship such shooting is considered the most difficult, since the training of calculation is required. It should be noted that fire management in this case is advisable only after preliminary topographical binding to landmarks.

The highest degree of mastery is recognized as shooting in mountainous terrain, where you often need to orient in the sun to make a binding . It is important to note that when shooting from closed positions, the correct and timely work of the intelligence services is crucial, which is the responsibility, including the visual monitoring of the effectiveness of the volleys. In this case, the firing range of the D-30 howitzer serves the scouts as a good service, since they can act secretly without giving out their location to the enemy.

Airborne Troops

Especially for the paratroopers, a technique for throwing a howitzer on parachutes was developed. It should be noted that for this purpose the gun does not have to be dismantled - the packaging is simple, it can be done by the platoon forces in a few minutes.

It should be noted that the howitzer D-30, the TTX of which was considered by us in the article, was used in the creation of the self-propelled automatic control system "Carnation". The gun received a somewhat modified, immovable muzzle brake. Until now, the old howitzer consists of arming the armies of more than 50 countries of the world. It was used practically in all major military conflicts of recent years. This weapon was noted in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, etc.