Howitzers 2 world war. Antitank guns. Artillery at the beginning of the war
. German troops used a wide range of anti-tank weapons during the war: some were taken from the enemy, others were the result of their own promising developments. In 1939, the standard anti-tank gun with which the Wehrmacht entered the war was 37 mm Cancer 35/36.
Wehrmacht anti-tank artillery anti-tank gun Pak 36 photo
The name RaK is a standard abbreviation for Panzerabwehr Kanon - anti-tank gun. Small, lightweight and relatively easy to use, the PaK 35 gun was far from ideal for encounters with heavy, bulletproof armored vehicles that were coming into service by the start of the war in the Allied army.
photo 3.7-cm PaK 36 close-up France, June 1940
The standard German 37 mm anti-tank gun at the beginning of the war, the RaK 35. Designed in 1920, it was a light and handy weapon in combat, but in 1940, after being used in the European theater, its calculations realized that it could not cope with a thick armor of British and French tanks. Indeed, the gunners sympathetically dubbed her "knock on the door" due to their weak performance. Attempts to improve armor penetration included the use of tungsten-core shells and HEAT grenades with stabilizers that were loaded from the muzzle - Stielgranate 41. Watch a short video, the deployment of the gun, the shelling of the elevator in Stalingrad and the death of the German crew, as a result of an attack with tank support.
German soldiers pulling an artillery piece to the river bank
The PaK 35 gun had a maximum firing range of 4025 m with a high-explosive projectile and could penetrate 35 mm armor at an angle of 30 ° with a 500 m conventional projectile or 180 mm armor with a 300 m Stielgranate 41 grenade. Over 20,000 of these guns were manufactured during the war. Conscious of the shortcomings of the RaK 35/36, the Wehrmacht demanded a larger caliber weapon. Developed since 1938, the 38-mm gun PaK 38 entered service in 1940. Cancer 38 had a maximum firing range of 2652 m with a high-explosive projectile. With a tungsten core projectile, it could penetrate 55 mm armor from a distance of 1 km.
Wehrmacht anti-tank artillery 50mm pak 38 at the time of the invasion of the USSR, the infantry division had 72 anti-tank guns, of which 14 were pak 38 50-mm and 58 were Cancer 35/36 37-mm
Anti-tank artillery of the Wehrmacht in World War II photo , Skoda guns. The Germans also used the 47-mm anti-tank gun of the Czech company Skoda, which they inherited after the annexation of Czechoslovakia in 1939. It was designated as 4.7cm Cancer 36(t). She weighed 400 kg in combat position, fired a 1.45-kg armor-piercing projectile with an initial speed of 900 m / s. The gun could penetrate 51 mm armor from 500 m.
47-mm anti-tank gun of the Czech company Skoda 4.7 cm RaK 36 t
Another booty that went to Austria and capitulated by Poland and Denmark was the Austrian 47-mm anti-tank gun Boler (Voleg). In Germany it was designated 4.7 cm Cancer or "Boler" and and was attached to the mountain divisions.
47-mm Austrian anti-tank gun Boler photo
The appearance of the KV-1, protected by thick armor, added urgency to the need to develop a new anti-tank gun. As a result, two new 75 mm guns were designed. Cancer 40, produced by Rheinmetall-Borsig (Pheinmetall-Borsig), and RaK 41, produced at the Krupp factories, soon entered the army.
Wehrmacht anti-tank guns 7.5 cm PaK 40 photo
Both of them turned out to be quite powerful, although the RaK 40 is a more efficient, larger modification of the RaK 38.
German 7.5 cm PaK 40 camouflaged in snowy terrain, Russia, February 1943 photo
75 mm Cannon RaK 40- one of the most effective and numerous anti-tank guns of the war; RaK 40 was used on all fronts after it entered service in 1941. Until 1945, more than 23,000 guns were produced.
Moving a 7.5 cm Pak 40 anti-tank gun on the muddy roads of Northern France, October 1943
Cannon RaK 41, with significantly improved performance, was a new development. The Krupp design is one of the first cannons with a "stretched barrel" to enter service. The inner bore of the barrel gradually narrowed from the breech to the muzzle. The pressure behind the armor-piercing projectile with a tungsten core Pzgr Patr 41 (NK) increased with the movement of the projectile in the barrel, making it possible to obtain an exit velocity of 1125 m/s.
anti-tank gun 42-mm RaK 41 photo
The projectile had a light aerodynamic fairing, behind which was a tungsten carbide core. The core was enclosed in an outer shell with protrusions in the center and base. The protrusions withstood the pressure of gases during movement in the barrel. The armor penetration of the newly introduced improved weapons was remarkable: the shells fired from the PaK 41 could penetrate 145 mm of armor from a range of 1 km. Fortunately for the Allies, Germany was short of tungsten. Another problem was barrel replacement: the high pressure meant that gun barrels had to be replaced after 500 rounds. In the end, only 150 RaK 41 guns were made.
Germany experimented with two more tapered barrels during the war. The small sPz B 41 entered service in 1942 and was considered by the German army as a heavy anti-tank rifle, more preferable than a cannon.
Heavy anti-tank gun of the Wehrmacht sPz B 41 photo
Soldiers from the division "Grossdeutschland" 2.8cm anti-tank rifle sPzB 41 mounted on an armored personnel carrier Sd.Kfz.250
It fired a 28mm projectile from a barrel tapering from 28mm at the breech to 20mm at the muzzle, resulting in a terrifying speed of 1402 m/s and a maximum range of 1 km. The airborne version of the sPz B 41 gun - le Feldlafette 41 - weighed only 118 kg in combat position, but, like the main version, it could only penetrate 50 mm armor at an angle of 30 ° from 500 m.
Airborne version of the gun sPz B 41 - le Feldlafette 41photo
At a cursory glance, the 42 mm Pak 41 looked like a Pak 35/36 with an elongated barrel. In reality, its barrel narrowed from 42 to 28 mm. The gun had a maximum firing range of 1 km and pierced 70 mm armor at an angle of 30 "from 500 m and 50 mm armor from 1 km. It was not widely used, but it is known that it was used in some airborne divisions in 1942-1943.
Anti-tank artillery of the Wehrmacht in World War II photo .
In 1944, the Rheinmetall plant introduced the 80 mm PaW 600 barrel-loaded cannon, which fired a 2.7 kg feathered shaped charge projectile. It was a very advanced development for that time, the gun penetrated 140 mm armor at an angle of 30 ° from 750 m, but could not open fire on the enemy beyond this distance.
A sample of the 80 mm PAW 600 gun on display at the Aberdeen Museum
anti-tank gun, 8.8 cm Pak 43 was developed on the basis of Krupp Gerat 42, mentioned in the article. A new cruciform carriage is used, with a lower position, it is now much easier to hide, the lower silhouette makes it difficult to hit the gun. To provide better protection, thicker and more angular shield armor is used. Then, to simplify the design and reduce the dimensions Pack 43 mounted on a carriage from a 105-mm field howitzer.
Various modifications of the Pak 43 based on the 88 mm FlaK anti-aircraft gun
The Tiger's standard armament, the KwK 43 tank gun, was essentially Pack 43 slightly modified to accommodate it in the tower.
- Models Pak 43 88mm appeared
- in "Elephant" (former name "Ferdinand"),
A heavily armored "Elephant" was discovered, too bulky and mechanically unreliable. "Rhinoceros" too slow chassis; its armor only provides protection against shell fragments and 30-caliber bullets. In total, about 900 pieces were made.
88 mm pak 43-41 Wehrmacht anti-tank guns photo
All gun versions 8.8 cm Pak 43 could penetrate about 200 mm of armor at a distance of 1000 m, which allows Pack 43 and its modifications, guaranteed to hit any enemy tank of that period. The Model 1943 projectile of the 88mm cannon has a very high muzzle velocity, which allows gunners to hit even distant moving targets.
Ukraine, December 1943 PaK 43
The projectile trajectory was so flat that, with some adjustments, the gunner could make his own calculations of altitude ranges of 3400 meters for HE rounds and 4400 meters for AP rounds. The flat trajectory, of course, means that gunners can open fire on tanks and other armored vehicles without prior calculation. Model 8.8 cm Pak 43, but as we do 88 mm had certain disadvantages. With increasing projectile speed, the Germans tried to reduce the weight of the gun. The result is a barrel with a significantly reduced safety factor. Thus, the German crews of the gun were warned not to use high-velocity ammunition in the 1943 gun models, after firing 500 shells, the barrel needed to be replaced. To keep the gun barrel from eroding, they could fire high-explosive fragmentation projectiles at 1,080 feet per second. This ammunition gives a maximum range of only 7765 meters.
Bulky but effective anti-tank gun PaK 43/41
pak 43/41 very heavy (9660 pounds) 4,381 kilograms, fully loaded it weighs almost the same as the 150-mm howitzer SFH 18. This weight excludes manual rotation of the gun, the main reason for the death of the gun and crew, attacking a position not from the firing sector. The lack of mobility led to heavy losses, both in the servants of the gun and in the materiel. The entry into battle of the guns meant either victory on the battlefield or defeat, without the ability to maneuver. It is impossible to describe in one article, all the variety of Wehrmacht artillery weapons used to fight tanks, namely, anti-tank artillery caused the most significant damage to the Allied tank forces.
west of Kyiv 41-42, shelling of the village
An interesting photo, if a machine gunner fires, then nothing, but a shot from a gun can cause irreparable damage to the farm, a machine gunner.
Artillery is a branch of the armed forces whose main armament is artillery guns - firearms with a caliber of at least 20 mm designed to defeat the enemy on land, sea and air. Under the same concept, they understand the entire set of items of artillery weapons (guns, ammunition, firing devices, etc.).
The principle of operation of an artillery gun is based on the physicochemical process of converting the combustion energy of the powder charge in the barrel into the energy of the projectile movement that occurs during the shot. When fired, high temperatures (3000–3500 degrees) and pressures of 400–500 MPa develop in very short periods of time (0.001–0.06 s). At the same time, 25-35% of the charge energy is spent on the forward movement of the projectile, the rest of it goes to secondary work (rollback of moving parts, dynamic balancing of recoil in recoilless guns and grenade launchers, ensuring the operation of automation in automatic weapons, etc.) or is lost. The gases flowing out of the bore form flames, smoke and a shock wave, which is the source of sound.
An artillery gun consists of two main parts - a barrel with a bolt and a gun carriage. The barrel is designed to throw a projectile (mine) with a certain initial speed and give it a stable flight in the right direction. It is a pipe, the inner cavity of which is called the bore. The inner diameter of the bore is called the caliber. For rifled weapons in Russia, the caliber is determined by the distance between opposite fields of rifling, in the USA and Great Britain - by the distance between rifling. Usually the caliber of a weapon is expressed in linear units: inches (25.4 mm), lines (2.54 mm), millimeters. The caliber is also called the diameter of the projectile (rocket) according to their largest cross section.
The end sections of the barrel are called breech and muzzle. The bore after loading and during firing from the breech is closed by a bolt, which is located in the bolt nest of the breech. The bore consists of a chamber where the propellant charge is placed and the leading part. In the chamber, the propellant charge is burned and its chemical energy is converted into the kinetic energy of the projectile. The leading part is designed to guide the movement of the projectile. With rifled barrels, it is also used to give the projectile rotational motion.
The barrels of some guns have muzzle brakes and ejectors. A muzzle brake is a device designed to absorb the energy of recoil parts (by 25–75%). The use of a muzzle brake reduces the load on the carriage and reduces the total mass of the gun. Muzzle brakes differ in the number of chambers (tubeless, single and multi-chamber), the number of rows of side holes (single and multi-row) and their shape (slotted, mesh and window). Muzzle brakes according to the principle of action are divided into active, reactive and active-reactive action.
Ejector - a device for purging the bore of an artillery gun from powder gases, as well as reducing the gas contamination of the combat compartments of tanks, self-propelled guns and shipborne artillery turrets. The operation of the ejector is based on the principle of ejection (suction) of powder gases due to the creation of a gas pressure difference in the breech and muzzle of the barrel.
Depending on the device of the leading part of the channel, the trunks are rifled and smoothbore. In most countries, the right-hand cutting of weapons is adopted (from left to top to right). The rifling gives the projectile a rotational movement, which ensures its stability on the trajectory, increases the accuracy of fire and range. In turn, smoothbore guns have a number of advantages. Their absence of rifling makes it possible to significantly increase the pressure of powder gases in the bore and, accordingly, increase the initial speed and armor penetration of armor-piercing projectiles. A smooth barrel is less susceptible to erosion from powder gases, has less bore wear when firing high-velocity armor-piercing projectiles. Its service life is about twice as long as that of a rifled barrel. It is also cheaper to manufacture.
According to the arrangement of the walls, gun barrels are divided into unfastened, fastened (self-fastened) and collapsible. Loose barrel - a monolithic pipe, called a monoblock barrel; made from one piece. Bonded barrel - a barrel that has artificial stresses created in advance in the manufacturing process in the walls, which increase its strength. To do this, the barrel is made of two or more pipes put on one another with tension. The outer tube is called the casing. Collapsible barrel - a barrel consisting of two pipes put on one another with a gap that is selected during the shot. Collapsible barrels come with a free pipe or a free liner. A free pipe has thicker walls compared to a liner and is not covered over its entire length, but only in that part where the highest pressures of powder gases develop in its channel. The use of collapsible barrels makes it possible to quickly replace their worn-out part in combat conditions (re-barrelling) and increases ease of use (disassembly into packs in mountainous conditions).
Shutter - a device designed to send an artillery shot into the chamber, lock and unlock the bore, fire a shot and eject the cartridge case. The shutters of artillery pieces are divided by design into wedge and piston. Wedge gate - a gate, the locking part of which is a wedge. It is used in artillery guns of unitary and separate-sleeve loading. There are vertical wedge gates (in small-caliber guns) and horizontal (in large-caliber guns). Piston valve - a valve, the locking part of which is a piston. It is used in artillery guns of medium and large caliber with separate case and cartridge loading.
Carriage - a machine on which the barrel of an artillery gun is fixed. Designed to give the barrel vertical and horizontal angles (with the help of pickup mechanisms), absorb the recoil energy when fired (by recoil devices) and transfer the resulting forces to the ground (or to the base of the installation), as well as to move the artillery gun. Carriages are movable (wheeled or tracked), semi-stationary (on a movable base for tank, self-propelled, ship, aircraft guns) and stationary (on a fixed base for casemate and coastal guns).
The carriage consists of a cradle with recoil devices, upper and lower machine. A cradle with recoil devices and a barrel make up the swinging part of the gun. The barrel and recoil devices are fixed in the cradle. When fired, the barrel rolls back along the cradle for a certain length, the recoil devices slow down the barrel during the rollback, after which, with the help of the recoil devices, the barrel returns to its original position. The upper machine is the basis for the swinging part of the tool. A cradle, a balancing mechanism, aiming mechanisms, sights and a shield cover are fixed on it. With the help of a rotary mechanism, the upper machine rotates in a horizontal plane.
Sights are used for precise aiming of the gun at the target and consist of a gun panorama and an artillery sight. The gun panorama serves for a circular view of the terrain, aiming and marking the gun. The artillery sight provides aiming of the gun in the horizontal and vertical planes.
The shield cover, made of steel sheets 3-10 mm thick, is designed to protect the gun crew and vulnerable parts of the carriage from bullets and shell fragments.
The lower machine with beds and undercarriage is the base of the rotary part of the tool. The beds, when bringing the gun into a combat position, are bred and fixed in the ground with coulters, which ensures the gun immobility when fired and lateral stability when changing the direction of fire. In the stowed position, the beds are brought together and fixed on the front end of the gun, in its absence on the hook of the tractor.
The main combat properties of an artillery gun include: the power of shells, accuracy of fire, range, rate of fire, fire maneuverability, mobility, air transportability, reliability in operation, simplicity and ease of maintenance.
The power of ammunition is an indicator of the effectiveness of its action on the target. Thus, the power of high-explosive projectiles is determined by the area of the destruction zone, which depends on the mass and properties of the explosive charge, the ability to penetrate obstacles, and the installation of the fuse; fragmentation projectiles - the area of the reduced fragmentation zone, determined by the number, mass and speed of fragmentation, the vulnerability of the target and the conditions of the encounter; armor-piercing shells - the thickness of pierced armor at a given angle of impact, the probability of hitting an armored target.
Shooting accuracy is a probabilistic assessment of the possible positions of the points of impact (explosions) of shells, missiles relative to the target. It is characterized by accuracy and accuracy of fire.
Range - the greatest range at which a weapon can throw a projectile (rocket, mine).
Rate of fire - the number of shots that can be fired from a given type of weapon per unit of time (usually one minute); one of the main tactical and technical characteristics of a weapon that determines its power and effectiveness of shooting. Distinguish between combat and technical rate of fire of weapons. Combat rate of fire - the practically possible rate of fire of a weapon in the conditions of its combat use, i.e. taking into account the time for aiming, reloading and transferring fire from one target to another. Technical rate of fire - the highest rate of fire of a weapon allowed by its technical capabilities. It is determined by the time between two consecutive shots (the time of reloading and firing a shot).
Fire maneuverability is determined by the speed of opening fire and the flexibility of fire. Flexibility of fire - the ability to fire at targets occupying any position in relation to the weapon, the speed of opening and transferring fire from one target to another.
The mobility of an artillery gun is the ability of an artillery gun to move quickly before the start of a battle and during hostilities. It is characterized by an average speed of movement and the time it takes to deploy to a combat position, as well as to withdraw from positions.
Artillery guns have a diverse classification according to a variety of criteria. So, according to the type of troops, artillery of the ground forces and naval artillery (coastal and ship) are distinguished.
According to their design features (type), guns are subdivided into cannons, howitzers, cannon-howitzers, mortars, mortars, recoilless rifles and rocket weapons.
According to the device of the bore - rifled and smoothbore.
According to their functional purpose, guns are classified into aviation, mountain, infantry, anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft, ship and coastal guns.
By caliber or power, small-caliber guns (20-75 mm), medium-caliber guns (75-155 mm), large-caliber (heavy) guns (155-460 mm) and guns of special power (over 460 mm) are distinguished.
According to ballistic properties, guns with a flat trajectory (guns) and a mounted trajectory (howitzers, mortars and mortars) are distinguished.
According to organizational and staffing, artillery is subdivided into battalion, regimental, divisional, corps, army and strategic reserve artillery.
According to the methods of movement, artillery is divided into self-propelled, towed, self-propelled, transportable and stationary artillery.
According to the method of loading, artillery is divided into separate-loading guns, guns with a unitary shot, cap guns, automatic guns, semi-automatic guns and guns with manual loading.
According to the design of the sight, guns with an independent aiming line (remains stationary when the lifting mechanism is operating), guns with a semi-dependent aiming line and guns with a dependent aiming line (fixed motionless on the swinging part of the gun and moves with it when the lifting mechanism is operating) are distinguished.
In some countries, field artillery is distinguished for battles in the open field; positional (siege), where the battle is less volatile due to the fact that the targets are stationary, or positions are occupied for a longer time; fortress (casemate or coastal), installed permanently with a narrow one with special shooting techniques.
The main tactics of artillery include the following.
Artillery offensive - artillery combat operations in an offensive operation with the aim of suppressing enemy defenses and continuous support of infantry and tanks with massive artillery fire in breakthrough areas. This achieves superiority over enemy artillery in the direction of action of the strike groupings of troops. To ensure interaction with the advancing units, the artillery concentrated on the breakthrough site was combined into artillery groups subordinate to combined arms commanders. Based on the nature of the actions of infantry and tanks at different stages of the offensive, the artillery offensive was divided into three periods: artillery preparation for the attack; artillery support for the attack; artillery support for infantry and tank operations in the depths of enemy defenses.
Artillery preparation for the attack was carried out by conducting massive and concentrated fire to the entire tactical depth of the enemy defense (8-10 km) in combination with the fire of guns allocated for direct fire at targets on the front line. Artillery support for an attack was achieved by successive concentrations of fire or a barrage of fire to a depth of 3-5 km, as well as a combination of these two types of fire. Artillery escort of infantry and tanks during the battle in depth was carried out by a combination of fire and maneuver of escort guns with the concentrated fire of artillery groups.
Artillery preparation is understood as attacking tactical actions of artillery designed to destroy or suppress enemy fire weapons, manpower, defensive structures and other objects before the offensive of friendly troops. Depending on the task, artillery preparation was carried out from several tens of minutes to several hours.
Fork - a technique used in artillery, in which two such shots are fired, so that with one of them the projectile flies a little over the target, and with the second one it does not reach the target a little. Forking the target is the desired zeroing result after which shooting to kill can be started using the average values between the firing settings for the first and second shots if they are not too different. If the fork is too large for the transition to fire to kill, then the fork begins to be “halved” (reduced by 2 times with each change of overshoot sign) until sufficient accuracy is achieved.
Barrage (cutting off) fire is a type of artillery fire used suddenly to repel attacks and counterattacks by enemy infantry and tanks at pre-planned and, as a rule, targeted lines (areas). Barrage fire is divided into frontal and flank fire in relation to the front of its subunits. Removing the nearest barrage line from friendly units outside cover ensures the safety of friendly troops. The depth of the areas of barrage fire usually reaches 150-200 meters. When the enemy leaves the area of barrage fire, the fire is transferred to the next line. To destroy air targets, barrage fire can be used by anti-aircraft artillery and anti-aircraft machine guns.
Sound metering (sound intelligence) is a method of determining the location of an object by the sound it creates. It is especially widely used in military affairs to identify the location of enemy artillery batteries and conduct counter-battery fire.
Counter-battery fire is the firing of artillery pieces from closed firing positions at similarly located enemy artillery fire weapons. As a rule, counter-battery firing is carried out by an entire artillery unit (battery or division) against a group of enemy guns located close to each other. Most often, the target turns out to be an enemy battery, and it is precisely
because of this, counter-battery shooting got its name. Counter-battery firing is considered successful if the enemy fire weapons and their crews are suppressed or destroyed. Suppression implies a further temporary inability of enemy fire weapons to continue firing. It is caused by the need for enemy gun crews to wait out the fire raid in shelters. If the area of impact is in close proximity to the enemy's guns, then his inability to fire may continue for some more time, necessary to change the firing position. Even if the area of impact is far from the enemy's guns and does not pose an immediate danger to them, they can also be silenced to prevent them from more accurately determining their location. This case is also considered a successful suppression of the target. If the hit area during counter-battery firing covers an enemy firing position and after firing the enemy guns and their crews are irretrievably disabled, then the target is considered destroyed.
Counter-battery shooting has its own characteristics. The main one is the large remoteness of the target from the front line (up to several tens of kilometers), which makes it impossible for direct observation by artillery reconnaissance on the front line. Therefore, the following means are used to determine the coordinates of the target: direct observation from an aircraft, the results of aerial photography, a sound reconnaissance unit, a radar station, visual observation of the phenomena associated with shooting, the deployment of reconnaissance agents or the use of agents in the enemy’s near rear.
There are methods to counteract counter-battery fire. Thus, when choosing a firing position, one takes into account the features of the terrain, which can simplify or complicate the task of hiding the battery from the above-mentioned technical reconnaissance equipment. For sound camouflage of the location of the battery, explosive packs were used, imitating the sound of an artillery shot, in order to cause counter-battery fire at the location of the explosive packs, and thereby reveal the position of the enemy battery. To distract the enemy's attention from the location of the main artillery forces, various demonstrations, false positions, and wandering guns were used to disperse his counter-battery fire.
In artillery, several methods of firing are practiced, in which an artillery gun is aimed at a target and sends a projectile, depending on the purpose of the gun, the location of the target and the combat situation, along one or another trajectory.
Direct fire is a shooting method in which the shooter visually observes the target and aims by aligning the sight with the target.
Semi-direct fire is a shooting method in which the shooter visually observes the target, aiming in the horizontal plane is carried out by combining the sight with the target, and aiming in the vertical plane is carried out as when shooting from closed positions.
Shooting from closed positions - conducting artillery fire at targets that are not in direct line of sight from the firing position, aiming is carried out with the help of third-party observers.
Mounted firing - firing from artillery pieces at barrel elevation angles over 20 °. Mortar shooting - firing from artillery pieces at elevation angles over 45 °.
A volley is a simultaneous shot from several artillery pieces. When firing from guns, a volley retains its significance, both due to its amazing impression, and in the sense of a strong destructive effect with the combined hit of several shells and a mass of lesions in a short period of time. Volley fire of artillery is carried out in those cases when the guns are well aimed, and must be consistent with the actual need, properties and importance of the target. A volley is made either on command, or automatically, by means of electrical devices and fuses; automatic volley is used for fortress guns and for ship artillery.
In addition to the above tactical methods of using artillery, the following types of artillery fire are known: fire on an individual target, concentrated fire (conducted simultaneously by several batteries or divisions on one precisely defined target), sequential fire concentration (focused on enemy strongholds and other targets in front of the front and on flanks of the attacking troops, successively transferred to the depth), combing fire (clears the entire strip between the lines of the fire curtain and suppresses enemy firing points reviving in some places), fire fringing (a kind of barrage fire), debilitating fire (long-term, massive fire on one and the same the same specific targets), harassing fire (methodical, infrequent fire on the same areas without an exact definition of the target), etc.
Artillery has a long history. However, its appearance, reflected in the Second World War, was laid before the start of the First World War and during its course. Artillery guns created at this time
served as the basis for the creation of guns in service during the Second World War. Already by the beginning of the First World War, artillery pieces had a rifled barrel, a recoilless single-bed carriage with openers, an arc sight with a side level and a goniometer, a charge of smokeless powder, and a unitary loading with a breech.
The role of artillery in the conduct of combat operations in all armies increased. During offensives, to break through the enemy defenses, guns began to be used more and more massively, concentrating up to 80 - 100, and in some operations up to 120 - 160 guns per 1 km of the front in breakthrough sectors. Accordingly, the number of guns in the armies increased. So, by the beginning of the war, the main warring countries had the following number of guns: Russia - 7,088, France - 4,300, England - 1,352, Germany - 9,388, Austria-Hungary - 4,088 guns. During the war, the number of guns was increased by 2-3 times.
Along with the quantitative growth of artillery, its quality improved: the range and power of the guns increased. Infantry escort artillery, anti-tank and anti-aircraft artillery appeared. Increased the caliber of heavy guns. Artillery began to be transferred to mechanical traction, used firing from closed firing positions. New means and methods of conducting artillery reconnaissance were created, an artillery instrumental reconnaissance service appeared. Observation aircraft and balloons began to be used to correct firing at unobserved targets.
In the interwar period, the tactical and technical characteristics of old guns and ammunition were improved, new guns were created, and self-propelled artillery was being developed.
The armies of the world entered World War II with old, partially modernized guns and outdated tactics for their use. The concepts for the development of artillery in all countries were different, and, as practice has shown, they were erroneous. Germany relied on bomber aircraft, leaving artillery a supporting role. At the same time, she actively developed anti-aircraft artillery, assuming the same enemy strategy. France was based on infantry fire support artillery - field and infantry guns, and also built mortars. Great Britain and the United States paid primary attention to howitzers and mortars, while modernizing the old multi-purpose artillery arsenal. In the USSR, they tried to create universal field guns and at the same time modernized their old stock. Japan treated artillery as an auxiliary weapon and did not pay any attention to its development.
Thus the war began with approximately the same artillery weapons as the First World War, but used on a much larger scale. The outbreak of hostilities quickly revealed shortcomings in the existing artillery arsenals and led to the comprehensive, rapid development of artillery, especially its new types: anti-tank, jet and self-propelled. In anti-aircraft artillery, the rate of fire has increased, fire control systems have appeared. The role of mortars increased sharply, and recoilless guns began to be used. The number of guns produced has increased significantly.
Estimated number of guns, samples of which took part in the war by countries and types of guns (without transferred/received)
| Types and number of guns | ||||||
| mountain tools | Zenith. | Infantry and field guns | Howitzers and mortars | Fri. Guns 1) |
Railway guns 2) |
|
| Australia | — | — | — | — | ||
| Austria-Hungary | — | 577 | 638 | 580 | ||
| Belgium | — | 1 024 | — | 750 | ||
| England | 40 583 | 2 350 | 22 033 | 63 605 | ||
| Germany | 204 413 | 25 314 | 35 833 | 58 574 | ||
| Denmark | — | — | — | 1200 | ||
| Italy | 4 409 | 4 301 | 1 144 | 276 | ||
| Spain | — | — | — | — | ||
| Netherlands | — | 686 | — | 380 | ||
| Norway | — | — | 8 | — | ||
| Poland | 146 | 628 | — | 1 200 | ||
| the USSR | 51 991 | 56 301 | 37 477 | 113 868 | ||
| USA | 211 509 | 716 | 29 731 | 37 744 | ||
| Finland | — | — | — | 544 | ||
| France | 2 294 | 22 341 | 2 863 | 5 768 | ||
| Czechoslovakia | 387 | 304 | 1 611 | 1 807 | ||
| Sweden | — | 492 | 786 | 3 600 | ||
| Japan | 43 319 | 4 041 | 2 590 | 8 000 | ||
| 559 051 | 119 075 | 134 714 | 297 896 | |||
Table continuation
| The country |
Types and number of guns |
|||||
|
Cor. Guns 3) |
Heavy Guns 4) | TOTAL | ACS | Mortars 5) |
Avia. Guns 6) |
|
| Australia | — | 213 | — | |||
| Austria-Hungary | 46 | 4 435 | 202 | |||
| Belgium | — | 1 774 | — | |||
| England | 5 343 | 145 404 | 5 549 | 147 000 | ||
| Germany | 102 | 327 759 | 29 296 | 107 300 | ||
| Denmark | — | 1 200 | — | |||
| Italy | 10 | 13 262 | 1 054 | |||
| Spain | 19 | 19 | — | |||
| Netherlands | — | 1 066 | — | |||
| Norway | — | 36 | — | |||
| Poland | — | 1 974 | — | |||
| the USSR | 810 | 263 406 | 24 767 | 402 300 | ||
| USA | 849 | 307 862 | 37 915 | 111 000 | ||
| Finland | 14 | 558 | 18 | |||
| France | 1 390 | 36 834 | — | 32 400 | ||
| Czechoslovakia | — | 4 366 | — | |||
| Sweden | 48 | 5 339 | 42 | |||
| Japan | — | 62 134 | 132 | 125 300 | ||
| 8 631 | 1 177 641 | 98 975 | 946 400 | |||
1) Anti-tank guns
2) Railway guns
3) Ship guns
4) Heavy and coastal guns
5) Mortars and recoilless guns
6) Aircraft guns
In addition to the above data, Germany had 40.2 thousand rocket launchers, the USSR - 26.2 thousand, and the British and US Navy - 5.1 installations mounted on ships.
Thus, in World War II, at least 2.8 million guns and mortars could be received without taking into account aircraft guns.
The characteristics of the state and development of artillery in some countries during the war is as follows.
Great Britain, modernizing old guns, practically did not create new models. The main attention in the pre-war period was directed to the development of medium-caliber howitzers of sufficiently high performance characteristics. The industry was not able to master the production of medium-caliber aircraft guns (30-45 mm), as a result, aviation was overloaded with numerous heavy machine guns and 20-mm guns, which, especially in the second half of the war, were ineffective. The basis of British naval guns were medium-caliber guns built in the pre-war years and the second half of the war. Almost all large-caliber guns were built before the First World War or during its period, some of them were modernized in the interwar period.
Great Britain was almost the only maritime state that did not have large-caliber heavy and coastal guns in service. This task was solved by a mass of medium-caliber guns and ships. At the same time, the number of small-caliber coastal guns (up to 100 mm) was extremely large, which was due to the British fear of the German mosquito fleet. To reinforce coastal defenses, large-caliber railway guns, usually decommissioned from ships, were used.
The anti-aircraft artillery of Great Britain, despite its relative modernity, turned out to be qualitatively and quantitatively not ready to repel mass German air raids. This problem was not resolved even by the end of the war, even taking into account US Lend-Lease supplies. The effectiveness of anti-aircraft, naval and coastal artillery increased significantly in the second half of the war due to the use of radar stations and fire control systems.
Great Britain and the countries of the British Commonwealth were among the leaders in the production of mortars. At the same time, light mortars located directly in the infantry units occupied more than half of the entire issue. At the same time, the number of field and infantry guns in service with the army was too small. At the same time, most of the guns were modernized artillery of the First World War. The number of anti-tank guns fired by Great Britain ranks third in the world, but two-thirds of them were small-caliber. The country did not have specialized guns to fight heavy tanks.
British self-propelled artillery was not numerous and consisted, for the most part, of anti-tank guns and howitzers mounted on the basis of obsolete tanks. Self-propelled anti-aircraft installations were more often based on the chassis of trucks, less often - light tanks. Rocket weapons in the UK were in the early stages of development. Multiple launch rocket systems were in serial production, which served as auxiliary weapons.
In the first half of the war, German aircraft guns met the requirements of the time, but in the second part of it, there was clearly a lack of large-caliber guns, the development of which turned out to be “raw”. German naval guns, for the most part, were built in the prewar years and were qualitatively different from similar enemy models, which allowed German sailors to engage in artillery duels with ships that had superior numbers and larger caliber guns.
Germany had a significant number of large-caliber coastal guns converted from naval guns, both of its own production and captured. Almost all of these guns were produced before the First World War. To fill the shortage of heavy guns on the Eastern Front. Germany actively used railway guns of medium, and especially large caliber. They were built on the basis of obsolete naval guns, as well as specially designed guns. The guns were used both in offensive operations and in defense, distinguished by their high range.
German anti-aircraft artillery, both in quantitative and qualitative terms, was the best during the war years. A large number and high mobility of small and medium caliber anti-aircraft guns provided effective air defense for troops at the front. Large-caliber anti-aircraft guns equipped with radar stations and fire control systems created a fairly dense barrage over cities and military installations. In addition, the number of captured German anti-aircraft guns exceeded the number of anti-aircraft guns produced by many countries, incl. and the USSR for the entire period of the war.
Germany has created new models of light and heavy howitzers, as well as super-heavy mortars. At the same time, its industry was able to establish their mass production. Infantry and field guns in Germany were represented by a wide range of modernized World War I guns and wartime developments, which accounted for at least half of the artillery armament of infantry units. In addition to guns, medium-caliber mortars significantly increased the firepower of infantry units and occupied more than 70% of their total output.
Being one of the first countries to create specialized anti-tank guns, Germany in 1941-1942. found itself without an effective gun capable of withstanding the medium and heavy tanks of the enemy. And only at the beginning of 1943, having adapted an anti-aircraft gun to fight tanks, she no longer had problems with this.
In terms of effectiveness on the battlefield, German self-propelled artillery mounts rightfully occupied a leading position. Applying the specialization of self-propelled guns in terms of functionality, Germany has reached the second place in the world in terms of the number of units produced. Along with the USSR, she built self-propelled guns according to special projects, which significantly prevailed over the "hybrids".
Developments in rocket science and mass production of rockets had no analogues in the world. However, the shortcomings in their design and the lack of resources for production did not allow Germany to achieve significant results in their application. Rocket artillery in Germany was put into mass production and approximately corresponded in terms of quality to analogues produced in the USSR, and in quantitative terms it was 1.5 times higher. At the same time, the German military perceived rocket artillery without "hysterical delight", since they considered it a senseless waste of explosives in dimensionless territories.
Italian naval guns were predominantly medium caliber built during the interwar period. However, according to their tactical and technical data, they lagged behind the requirements of the time. Italy did not have large caliber anti-aircraft guns at its disposal, and medium caliber anti-aircraft guns were issued in the interwar period, i.e. were obsolete. A small amount of modern small-caliber artillery could not solve the problems with air defense.
To equip the army, howitzers were used mainly from the First World War, and only a third of the guns were built in the interwar period. The number of mortars fired was insignificant. At the same time, only medium-caliber mortars were mass-produced. Almost all of Italy's arsenal of infantry and field guns consisted of modernized World War I guns. Only two models were produced in the interwar period, and even then in small quantities.
Aviation guns in the USSR, both in quantitative and qualitative terms, met the requirements of the time. The only problem that was not solved during the war was the aiming devices for air weapons. The basis of the ship guns of the USSR was medium-caliber artillery built before the First World War, and only a small number of guns were fired in the interwar period. All large-caliber guns were pre-war Russian models. However, only a few ships had fire control systems.
Based on the length of the border coastline, the USSR possessed a meager number of coastal defense guns, represented by a medium caliber of interwar construction and a large caliber of guns created before the First World War. At the same time, they had a significant impact on the course of defensive military operations in the first half of the war. It was mainly thanks to coastal batteries that the defense of Sevastopol, Odessa, and, to some extent, Leningrad was held.
Numerous, and quite modern, mobile heavy artillery, belonging to the reserve of the headquarters of the commander-in-chief, turned out to be ineffective, both in defensive operations and in offensive ones. The reason for this situation was the unprofessional command in its use. The lack of heavy artillery was partially compensated by medium-caliber railway guns. Possessing sufficient mobility and firing range, they effectively conducted a counter-battery fight against the enemy.
Anti-aircraft artillery in the USSR was the most backward among all types of artillery weapons, both in quantitative and qualitative terms. This gap was not overcome by the end of the war. The USSR did not have large-caliber anti-aircraft guns at all, practically did not use fire control systems and gun automation, and there was a critical lack of radar stations. Air defense systems, except for those protecting Moscow and Leningrad, existed only nominally.
The largest number of howitzers, infantry, field guns and mortars during the war years was built in the USSR, which in separate operations on the Soviet-German front in 1943-1945. allowed to reach the density of artillery in the areas of penetration of the prepared positional defense of the enemy 200 - 300 artillery pieces per 1 km of the front, and in some cases even more. Soviet artillery was the most effective branch of the Red Army. According to the calculations of the Soviet side, up to 60-80% of the German losses came from artillery fire.
Not having a single mass-produced self-propelled gun by the beginning of the war, the USSR was able to launch the production of almost all calibers of universal self-propelled guns during the war. And by the end of the war, he could compete with Germany in tank destroyers and assault guns. At the same time, the production of ZSU and self-propelled howitzers in the USSR was not established.
Rocket engineering in the USSR during the war was at the stage of experiments. At the same time, rocket artillery was actively developing, to which the Soviet command attached special importance. This attitude was due to the high rate of fire of multiple rocket launchers, the large destructive power of shells and the possibility of firing at squares. Having the largest number of artillery pieces among all the warring countries, the Soviet military did not know how and did not have the opportunity to shoot at targets, but "hit" at squares. However, this method of firing required a huge number of guns and shells, which successfully replaced rocket launchers. Hence the love of the command for the "Katyusha" and "Andryusha" and the legend of their "exceptional efficiency."
In the United States, the basis of aircraft guns was 20-mm guns, which fully satisfied the demands of the Pacific theater of operations, and clearly lagged behind European requirements. Despite the mass construction of the fleet during the war, the ships were armed with medium-caliber guns developed in the interwar period. Less than half of the battleships built during the war years received modern large-caliber guns.
Seeing no military threat from the sea, the United States had less than two hundred stationary coastal guns of obsolete modifications. About 700 heavy mobile guns were used to improve the situation. In addition, like Great Britain, the United States used medium and large caliber railway guns previously decommissioned from ships.
During the war, the United States produced the largest number of anti-aircraft guns, two-thirds of which were small-caliber, which was due to the specifics of military operations in the Pacific theater. Large-caliber long-range guns, in the absence of an enemy, were produced in symbolic quantities.
In the United States, pre-war developments were limited to medium-caliber howitzers, which, although they did not have outstanding performance characteristics, were produced with a large margin during the war years. The release of light mortars in the United States occupied about 60% of the total release.
The release of anti-tank guns in the United States was limited to small caliber, which coped well with the anti-bullet armor of Japanese tanks. In Europe, the Americans used British guns. The United States, having produced the largest number of self-propelled guns, did not create a single special installation project.
Specialized guns were mounted on trucks, armored personnel carriers and tank chassis. At the same time, the quality component of the installations relied more on "self-propelled" than on the effectiveness of weapons, the shortcomings of which were replaced by the number of self-propelled guns produced.
US rocket science was in the experimental development stage, and rocket artillery was used as an auxiliary fire support weapon for infantry or landing forces.
France could not advance further than 20-mm guns either in development or in the production of aircraft guns. Most medium caliber naval guns were built in the pre-war years, at a time when almost all large caliber guns were built before the First World War. France replaced the dilapidation of its coastal and heavy guns with their abundance, which led it to receive the status of the main supplier of captured weapons to the Wehrmacht. In addition, many decommissioned medium and large caliber naval guns were put on railway platforms. Heavy-duty guns (caliber over 400 mm) were also created. Almost all of them, like the previous ones, fell into the hands of the enemy.
The number of anti-aircraft guns built by France was insignificant, moreover, medium-caliber guns were among the modernized ones. France, modernizing old guns, created medium and large-caliber howitzer guns, but their number was clearly not enough to conduct effective combat operations. Light mortars occupied a predominant place in their total release, although their total number was clearly insufficient for the French army. At the same time, the number of infantry and field guns was only slightly inferior to Germany, although half of them were produced during the First World War and subsequently modernized. Due to the lack of special anti-tank guns to fight tanks with anti-shell armor, the French used infantry and field guns.
Japan, having created magnificent models of medium-caliber aircraft guns, was unable to arrange their production in sufficient quantities, having waged a war with ineffective 20-mm weapons. Almost all medium-caliber naval guns were created in the interwar period. Large-caliber battleship guns were produced both in the period before the First World War and in the interwar period. And only 460-mm guns for the largest battleships in the world were built in 1941.
Of the large-caliber land guns, Japan had only 30 railway installations, which did not have time to take part in hostilities. Despite the relative "freshness" of the produced anti-aircraft guns, most of them were obsolete, especially of large calibers. In this regard, even a fairly large number of anti-aircraft guns fired did not provide significant resistance to the Allied aviation.
In the prewar years in Japan, a number of samples of medium-sized cannons and large-caliber howitzers were created. During the war, giving primary importance to the actions of the infantry, no special attention was paid to the improvement of artillery. And their number excluded the conduct of military operations adequate to the enemy.
Japan, having released a significant number of light mortars, did not pay enough attention to medium and heavy calibers. A 47-mm anti-tank gun was created to fight tanks. In terms of anti-tank artillery in Japan, there were only small-caliber guns that did not penetrate the anti-shell armor of the allied tanks.
Rocket artillery in Japan was in its infancy, and was used sporadically in combat operations.
“Artillery is the god of war,” I. V. Stalin once said, speaking of one of the most significant branches of the military. With these words, he tried to emphasize the great importance that this weapon had during the Second World War. And this expression is true, since the merits of artillery can hardly be overestimated. Its power allowed the Soviet troops to mercilessly smash enemies and bring the much-desired Great Victory closer.
Further in this article, the artillery of the Second World War, which was then in service with Nazi Germany and the USSR, will be considered, starting with light anti-tank guns and ending with super-heavy monster guns.
Anti-tank guns
As the history of the Second World War has shown, light guns by and large turned out to be practically useless against armored vehicles. The fact is that they were usually developed in the interwar years and could only withstand the weak protection of the first armored vehicles. But before World War II, technology began to rapidly modernize. The armor of tanks became much thicker, so many types of guns turned out to be hopelessly outdated.
mortars
Perhaps the most accessible and effective infantry support weapon was mortars. They perfectly combined such properties as range and firepower, so their use was able to turn the tide of the entire enemy offensive.
German troops most often used the 80mm Granatwerfer-34. This weapon earned a grim reputation among the allied forces for its high speed and the utmost accuracy of firing. In addition, its firing range was 2400 m.
The Red Army used the 120 mm M1938, which entered service in 1939, to provide fire support to its infantrymen. He was the very first mortar with such a caliber that was ever produced and used in world practice. When the German troops encountered this weapon on the battlefield, they appreciated its power, after which they put a copy into production and designated it as the Granatwerfer-42. M1932 weighed 285 kg and was the heaviest type of mortar that the infantrymen had to carry with them. To do this, it was either disassembled into several parts, or pulled on a special cart. Its firing range was 400 m less than that of the German Granatwerfer-34.
Self-propelled installations
In the very first weeks of the war, it became clear that the infantry was in dire need of reliable fire support. The German armed forces ran into an obstacle in the form of well-fortified positions and a large concentration of enemy troops. Then they decided to strengthen their mobile fire support with the Vespe self-propelled 105-mm artillery mount mounted on the PzKpfw II tank chassis. Another similar weapon - "Hummel" - was part of the motorized and tank divisions since 1942.
In the same period, the Red Army was armed with the SU-76 self-propelled gun with a 76.2 mm caliber gun. It was installed on a modified chassis of the T-70 light tank. Initially, the SU-76 was supposed to be used as a tank destroyer, but during its use it was realized that it had too little firepower for this.
In the spring of 1943, Soviet troops received a new car - ISU-152. It was equipped with a 152.4 mm howitzer and was intended both to destroy tanks and mobile artillery, and to support infantry with fire. First, the gun was mounted on the KV-1 tank chassis, and then on the IS. In combat, this weapon proved to be so effective that it remained in service with the Warsaw Pact countries until the 70s of the last century.
This type of gun was of great importance during the conduct of hostilities throughout the Second World War. The heaviest of the then available artillery, which was in service with the Red Army, was the M1931 B-4 howitzer with a caliber of 203 mm. When the Soviet troops began to slow down the rapid advance of the German invaders on their territory and the war on the Eastern Front became more static, heavy artillery was, as they say, in its place.
But the developers were always looking for the best option. Their task was to create a weapon in which, as far as possible, such characteristics as a small mass, a good firing range and the heaviest projectiles would harmoniously merge. And such a weapon was created. They became the 152-millimeter howitzer ML-20. A little later, a more modernized M1943 gun with the same caliber, but with a weighted barrel and a large muzzle brake, entered service with the Soviet troops.
The defense enterprises of the Soviet Union then produced huge batches of such howitzers, which fired massively at the enemy. Artillery literally devastated German positions and thereby thwarted enemy offensive plans. An example of this is Operation Hurricane, which was successfully carried out in 1942. Its result was the encirclement of the 6th German army near Stalingrad. For its implementation, more than 13 thousand guns of various types were used. Artillery preparations of unprecedented power preceded this offensive. It was she who largely contributed to the rapid advance of the Soviet tank troops and infantry.
German heavy weapons
According to after the First World War, Germany was forbidden to have guns having a caliber of 150 mm or more. Therefore, the specialists of the Krupp company, who were developing the new gun, had to create a heavy field howitzer sFH 18 with a 149.1-mm barrel, consisting of a pipe, a breech and a casing.
At the beginning of the war, the German heavy howitzer moved with the help of horse traction. But later, its modernized version was already dragging a half-track tractor, which made it much more mobile. The German army successfully used it on the Eastern Front. By the end of the war, sFH 18 howitzers were mounted on tank chassis. Thus, the Hummel self-propelled artillery mount was obtained.
Rocket troops and artillery is one of the divisions of the ground armed forces. The use of missiles during the Second World War was mainly associated with large-scale hostilities on the Eastern Front. Powerful rockets covered large areas with their fire, which compensated for some of the inaccuracy of these unguided guns. Compared to conventional shells, the cost of rockets was much less, and besides, they were produced very quickly. Another advantage was their relative ease of use.
Soviet rocket artillery used 132 mm M-13 rounds during the war. They were created in the 1930s and by the time Nazi Germany attacked the USSR, they were in very small quantities. These rockets are perhaps the most famous of all such shells used during the Second World War. Gradually, their production was established, and by the end of 1941, the M-13 was used in battles against the Nazis.
It must be said that the rocket troops and artillery of the Red Army plunged the Germans into a real shock, which was caused by the unprecedented power and deadly effect of the new weapon. BM-13-16 launchers were placed on trucks and had rails for 16 rounds. Later, these missile systems would be known as "Katyusha". Over time, they were modernized several times and were in service with the Soviet army until the 80s of the last century. With the advent of the expression "Artillery is the god of war" began to be perceived as true.
German rocket launchers
A new type of weapon made it possible to deliver explosive explosive parts both over long and short distances. Thus, short-range projectiles concentrated their firepower on targets located on the front line, while long-range missiles attacked objects located behind enemy lines.
The Germans also had their own rocket artillery. "Wurframen-40" - a German rocket launcher, which was located on the Sd.Kfz.251 half-tracked vehicle. The missile was aimed at the target by turning the machine itself. Sometimes these systems were introduced into battle as towed artillery.
Most often, the Germans used the Nebelwerfer-41 rocket launcher, which had a honeycomb structure. It consisted of six tubular guides and was mounted on a two-wheeled carriage. But during the battle, this weapon was extremely dangerous not only for the enemy, but also for their own calculation because of the nozzle flame escaping from the pipes.
The weight of projectiles with had a huge impact on their range. Therefore, the army whose artillery could hit targets located far behind the enemy line had a significant military advantage. Heavy German rockets were useful only for indirect fire when it was necessary to destroy well-fortified objects, such as bunkers, armored vehicles or various defensive structures.
It is worth noting that the firing of German artillery was much inferior in range to the Katyusha rocket launcher due to the excessive heaviness of the shells.
Super heavy guns
Artillery played a very important role in the Nazi armed forces. This is all the more surprising since it was almost the most important element of the fascist military machine, and for some reason modern researchers prefer to focus their attention on studying the history of the Luftwaffe (air force).
Even at the end of the war, German engineers continued to work on a new grandiose armored vehicle - a prototype of a huge tank, in comparison with which all other military equipment would seem dwarfed. Project P1500 "Monster" did not have time to implement. It is only known that the tank was supposed to weigh 1.5 tons. It was planned that he would be armed with an 80-cm Gustav gun from the Krupp company. It is worth noting that its developers have always thought big, and artillery was no exception. This weapon entered service with the Nazi army during the siege of the city of Sevastopol. The gun fired only 48 shots, after which its barrel wore out.
Railway guns K-12 were in service with the 701st artillery battery, stationed on the coast of the English Channel. According to some reports, their shells, and they weighed 107.5 kg, hit several targets in southern England. These artillery monsters had their own T-shaped track sections, necessary for installation and targeting.
Statistics
As noted earlier, the armies of the countries that participated in the hostilities of 1939-1945 came to grips with obsolete or partially modernized guns. All their inefficiency was fully revealed by World War II. Artillery urgently needed not only to be updated, but also to increase its number.
From 1941 to 1944, Germany produced more than 102,000 guns of various calibers and up to 70,000 mortars. By the time of the attack on the USSR, the Germans already had about 47 thousand artillery pieces, and this is without taking into account assault guns. If we take the United States as an example, then over the same period they produced about 150 thousand guns. Great Britain managed to produce only 70 thousand weapons of this class. But the record holder in this race was the Soviet Union: during the war years, more than 480 thousand guns and about 350 thousand mortars were fired here. Prior to this, the USSR already had 67 thousand barrels in service. This figure does not include 50mm mortars, naval artillery and anti-aircraft guns.
During the years of World War II, the artillery of the warring countries has undergone great changes. Constantly, either modernized or completely new guns came into service with the armies. Anti-tank and self-propelled artillery developed especially rapidly (photographs of that time demonstrate its power). According to experts from different countries, about half of all losses of the ground forces are accounted for by the use of mortars during the battle.
The Germans named the most gigantic cannon of the Second World War by the female name "Dora". This artillery system, caliber 80 centimeters, was so huge that it moved only by rail. She traveled half of Europe and left an ambiguous opinion about herself.
Dora was developed in the late 1930s at the Krupp plant in Essen. The main task of the super-powerful gun is the destruction of the forts of the French Maginot Line during the siege. At that time, these were the strongest fortifications that existed in the world.
"Dora" could fire shells weighing 7 tons at a distance of up to 47 kilometers. The fully assembled "Dora" weighed about 1350 tons. The Germans developed this powerful weapon while preparing for the battle for France. But when the fighting began in 1940, the biggest gun of World War II was not yet ready. In any case, the Blitzkrieg tactics allowed the Germans to capture Belgium and France in just 40 days, bypassing the Maginot defensive line. This forced the French to surrender with minimal resistance and the fortifications did not have to be stormed.
"Dora" was deployed later, during the war in the East, in the Soviet Union. It was used during the siege of Sevastopol to shell the coastal batteries that heroically defended the city. The preparation of the gun from the traveling position for firing took a week and a half. In addition to the direct calculation of 500 people, a security battalion, a transport battalion, two railway trains for the transport of ammunition, an anti-aircraft division, as well as its own military police and a field bakery were involved.
A German gun as high as a four-story house and 42 meters long fired concrete-piercing and high-explosive shells up to 14 times a day. To push out the largest projectile in the world, a charge of 2 tons of explosives was needed.
It is believed that in June 1942, "Dora" fired 48 shots at Sevastopol. But due to the long distance to the target, only a few hits were obtained. In addition, heavy blanks, if they did not hit the concrete armor, went into the ground for 20-30 meters, where their explosion did not cause much damage. The supergun did not show the results that the Germans had hoped for, having “swollen” a lot of money into this ambitious miracle weapon.
When the resource of the barrel came out, the gun was taken to the rear. It was planned to use it under besieged Leningrad after repairs, but this was prevented by the deblockade of the city by our troops. Then the supergun was taken through Poland to Bavaria, where in April 1945 it was blown up so that it would not become a trophy for the Americans.
In the XIX-XX centuries. there were only two weapons, with a large caliber (90 cm for both): the British Mallet mortar and the American Little David. But the "Dora" and the same type "Gustav" (which did not take part in the hostilities) were the largest caliber artillery that participated in the battles. It is also the largest self-propelled unit ever built. Nevertheless, these 800 mm guns went down in history as "a completely useless work of art."
In the Third Reich, many interesting and unusual projects of "wonder weapons" were developed. For example, .
47 days before the Great Patriotic War, Stalin said the words that later became famous: "Artillery is the most important branch of the army. Artillery is the god of modern war." For artillery, the 20th century, with its two great wars, became a new stage of development. By that time, it had already passed a centuries-old path and, along with infantry and cavalry, was the oldest branch of the military. Already from the first days of the Second World War, artillery proved to be quite effective in the new conditions. Anti-aircraft and anti-tank artillery became the force that was able to neutralize the two main threats of that war - tanks and aircraft.
A wonderful documentary cycle of 4 episodes filmed by the studio "Wings of Russia". See also their other docs. movies by tag "".
1 series. god of War
On May 5, 1941, a solemn reception was held in the Kremlin dedicated to the graduation of students from military academies. After the official part, at the banquet, Stalin uttered the famous words: "Artillery is the god of modern war!" Before the German invasion of the territory of the USSR, 47 days remained. With what kind of artillery weapons did our country approach the beginning of this tragic period in our history? This series tells about divisional artillery, both Soviet and German.
2 series. difficult target
Starting the Second World War, Germany relied on tank troops and aircraft as the main tools of blitzkrieg tactics. Anti-aircraft and anti-tank artillery were supposed to neutralize these two main threats. Before the first raid on Moscow, Field Marshal Kesselring promised the pilots "an easy ride." However, 22 aircraft were shot down in this raid, almost half of them were air defense. And the Soviet artillery, unlike the German, was well prepared for the fight against tanks. And in the initial, most difficult period of the war, many air defense guns were used as anti-tank ones. During the battle for Moscow, the calculation of one anti-aircraft gun under the command of Hayk Shadunts stopped the attack of 23 German tanks.
3 series. Artillery duel
During the years of World War II, German heavy artillery worked at full capacity only in the Soviet Union. This meant one thing - the German victorious blitzkrieg tactics were over. The Wehrmacht began to use heavy-duty artillery pieces, including the 800 mm Dora railway installation. Her projectile weighed over 7 tons. And the Red Army successfully fought with the domestic ML-20 howitzer gun with a caliber of only 152 mm. To fight the tanks, her shells did not even need a direct hit.
4 series. New weapon
During the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army acquired two new types of weapons - rocket and self-propelled artillery. Already in mid-July 1941, the Orsha railway station was hit by BM-13 rocket artillery combat vehicles - the legendary Katyushas. All attempts by German designers to produce such weapons did not lead to success. And the creation of self-propelled artillery was due to a turning point in the course of the war: mobile guns are needed most of all in the offensive. So the legendary self-propelled guns - SU-76, SU-122, SU-85, SU-100, as well as the famous "St. John's wort" - ISU appeared in service with our army.