And cancels precocious predictions about future wars
Artillery is the oldest class of heavy (collective) weapons that has survived to the present day. At the same time, until the middle of the twentieth century, it was only and exclusively towed. The self–propelled guns that appeared during the Second World War were mainly highly specialized - anti-tank. Multipurpose self-propelled artillery units (ACS) began to be created after the war. They pushed the towed artillery very hard, but they could not completely "cancel" it.
The advantages of towed artillery remain simplicity, cheapness, as well as a relatively small mass, which makes the guns air transportable.
USSR AND USA
Towed guns of the Second World War served for a very long time and after it, in some places they still serve. And first of all, these were the guns of the two "main" countries.
So, the American 105-mm M1 howitzer was developed since 1919, in 1940 it began to enter service with the US Armed Forces under the name M2. Later it was renamed M101, widely known by this name. The howitzer had a firing range of 11.3 km. The M101 was used by the Americans in World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, was widely exported, remained in service with the US Army until the end of the 1980s, and the Marine Corps still has over 300 such guns.
In the 1960s, the 105-mm M102 howitzer was developed to replace the M101, but it could not completely displace its predecessor. Only in the 1990s, the M101 and M102 were replaced by the M119 105-mm howitzer, which became a licensed copy of the English L-118 gun.
During World War II, the US Army had 155-mm M59 and M114 howitzers. Both of them were widely exported. The M59 had a firing range of almost 24 km, but in general it was not very successful. Now, apparently, it is no longer in service anywhere, although in a number of countries this weapon remains in storage.
The M114 had a firing range of only about 15 km, but became very popular. At the beginning of the XXI century, the number of surviving howitzers of this type in various countries of the world was estimated at almost 10 thousand units.
Since the late 1970s, the 155-mm M198 howitzer (firing range - 24 km) began to arrive in the US ground forces and Marines, it was used by the Americans in Iraq. Already in the XXI century, this very Iraq received about one and a half hundred M198s from the presence of the American army, of which up to fifty in 2014 were captured by the militants of the "Islamic Caliphate" (the organization is banned in the Russian Federation). As a result, the US Air Force then engaged in the destruction of its former guns. Currently, the M198s have been removed from service with the US Armed Forces, but more than 900 remain in storage and are gradually being exported (mainly to the Middle East).
During the years of World War II, 1006 units of 203-mm towed M115 guns were produced in the USA. This extremely powerful artillery system had a firing range of up to 18 km, was in service with the American army until the 1970s, and was not replaced.
In the USSR, for quite a long time after 1945, outstanding examples of towed artillery of the war years remained in service: 122-mm M-30 (firing range up to 12 km) and A-19 (up to 20 km), 152-mm ML-20 (maximum firing range – 17 km) and D-1 (up to 12.5 km).
Then there were post–war samples - 122-mm howitzer D-30 with a maximum firing range of up to 15 km, 130-mm M-46 (up to 27.5 km), 152-mm D-20 (up to 24 km), 2A65 "Msta-B" (up to 25 km) and 2A36 "Hyacinth-B" (over 30 km).
Chinese artillery was built on the basis of the listed Soviet samples (" New Chinese Wall of Fire ", "HVO", 05.08.22). In Iran, the D-30 is still produced under the name NM-40, M114 – as NM-41. In Yugoslavia, on the basis of the M101, its own 105-mm M-56 cannon was created, and under Soviet licenses the D-30 (under the name D-30J), M-46 and D-20 were produced. Based on the latter, its own M-84 "Nora" howitzer was created with a firing range of up to 24 km. In Finland, the A-19 was produced under the name 122 K 31, its 152-mm version – as 152 N 88-31, ML-20 – as 152 N 88-37.
and others
But, of course, artillery systems were created in other countries as well.
So, in the 1950s, production of the 105-mm M-56 howitzer (Mod 56, not to be confused with the Yugoslavian of the same name!) began in Italy with a firing range of 10 km. Until the mid-1980s, at least 2.5 thousand such guns were produced, of which only 340 for themselves, the rest for export, including to NATO countries. As part of the Argentine Armed Forces, they participated in the Falklands War (" War for the Islands ", "HBO", 19.04.19), where at least 18 guns were lost. At the same time, already in the XXI century, the Argentines bought another batch of M-56. Moreover, in 2017, 18 units of the M-56 were returned from storage to the army of Italy itself.
In the 1950s, the French Armed Forces adopted the domestic 105-mm M-50 cannon (modèle 1950) with a firing range of up to 15 km.
The creation of new guns to replace the artillery systems of the Second World War and the first post-war years was actively going on in the second half of the 1970s. During this period, Great Britain, Germany and Italy jointly created the 155-mm FH-70 howitzer with a firing range of up to 30 km, it was also produced in Japan. At the same time, the British Armed Forces adopted the 105-mm L118 gun with a firing range of up to 20 km, it was widely exported, produced in the USA under the name M119.
The Swedish Armed Forces received a domestic 155-mm FH77 howitzer with a firing range of up to 27 km. It became the first towed gun equipped with an auxiliary power plant (this allowed the howitzer to move independently on the battlefield within limited limits). In addition to the Swedish, this gun was acquired by several other armies, including the Indian one.
At the same time, a 105 mm IFG (Indian field gun) with a firing range of up to 20 km was created in India. In the 1980s, in the development of the IFG project, production of the light 105-mm LFG (Light field gun) gun was started, 534 units were produced until 2015.
In Israel, on the basis of Finnish technologies, the 155-mm M-68 howitzer with a firing range of 21 km was developed, then a variant with an elongated M-71 barrel was created (the firing range increased to 28 km). In addition, for the Indian army, 71 Soviet M-46 guns in Israel were converted to a new 155-mm barrel.
In Argentina, the cannon of the French 155-mm self-propelled gun Mk F3 was used to create a towed gun L33 with a firing range of up to 24 km, four of these guns were captured by the British in the Falklands. An improved version of the L45 CALA 30 with a firing range of up to 39 km was also developed for the L33 .
A significant number of new examples of towed artillery were created in the 1980s. The French army received a 155-mm TRF1 howitzer with a maximum firing range of 24 to 30 km (although only in 105 copies). In Finland, 155-mm guns 155 K 83 (firing range 24 km) were developed, and then (already in the 1990s) 155 GH 52 (up to 40 km); 113 and 73 units were produced, respectively.
In the 1980s, the Singapore Armed Forces received the first domestic artillery system - the 155–mm FH-88 howitzer with a firing range of 19 km. Soon, its improved version of the FH-2000 appeared with a firing range of up to 40 km and with an auxiliary power plant.
In Canada, a 155-mm GC-45 gun with a firing range of up to 40 km was created, which was never used in this country itself, but turned out to be extremely popular outside of it. Its Austrian version GHN-45 was actively used by both sides of the Iran-Iraq War (" Battle for the Barrel ", "HBO", 28.05.21), and was also copied in China under the name PLL-01 (or WA-021), becoming (in a self-propelled version) the basis of the artillery of the PLA ground forces.
The South African army used a variant of this G-5 gun, at least three such guns were lost in Angola (" Angola is a difficult path to freedom ", "HBO", 11/30/18). In the 1990s, South Africa developed a 105–mm G-7 howitzer with a firing range of up to 32 km, but Apparently, she will not go to the series.
NEW TIME – NEW SONGS
In the 21st century, towed guns have become exotic in a sense. However, their development has not stopped. The most famous new weapon was the American 155-mm howitzer M777. With the same firing range as its predecessor, the M198, it has almost half the weight (4.2 tons versus 7.2 tons), so it can be transported on the external suspension of the CH-47 Chinook helicopter and the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor. The United States received more than a thousand of these howitzers, and the M777 also entered service with the armies of Canada, Australia, and India.
A 155-mm Panther howitzer with a firing range of up to 40 km was developed in Turkey. The Spanish SBS 155/52 howitzer, manufactured in the amount of 111 units (86 for Spain, 25 for El Salvador), has similar basic tactical and technical characteristics (TTX). In India, the production of 155-mm howitzer "Dhanush" with a firing range of 38 km has begun. A 155-mm Pegasus howitzer with a firing range of up to 30 km was created in Singapore.
Currently, the use of towed guns in the main armies of the world is very limited, but it is difficult to imagine a complete rejection of them. And during the Ukrainian campaign, artillery is experiencing a real renaissance, it is again a full-fledged "god of war". Of course, the main role is played by self-propelled and reactive artillery, but towed is also used very widely and intensively. Of course, on both sides these are Soviet towed guns – and not only post-war systems: for example, the D-1 went into battle from the Russian side.
To suffer that we use such "scrap metal" is stupid. Artillery generally ages much more slowly than armored vehicles, and especially aviation. To ensure massive fire, the guns of the Second World War are perfect. In addition, it is much better if the gun dies in battle (at least in the form of complete wear of the mechanisms) than it will rot uselessly in the warehouse.
Ukraine, however, has Western systems in addition to the Soviet ones. Moreover, as for other classes of equipment, the Ukrainian army now has a whole "zoo" of samples: M-56 (Italian, obtained from Spain), M101, L118 and M119, FH-70, TR-F-1, M777. At the same time, only the FH-70 (at least five units were lost) and the M777, which became one of the main failures of the Ukrainian campaign as a whole, really "lit up" on the front line. At least 43 of these howitzers were lost (perhaps significantly more), but this is not even the main thing.
You can compare this gun, which received the predictable nickname "three axes" in Russia, with another American artillery system – the M142 HIMARS multiple launch rocket system (MLRS). The M142 has shown very high combat effectiveness in Ukraine, the Pentagon orders a significant number of these systems for the American army, not only to replace the vehicles transferred to Ukraine, but also "with a reserve". In addition, a queue of foreign buyers has already lined up behind Himars. There is no queue at all for the "three axes", and the United States itself is not going to replenish their decline, although they gave Kiev more than 15% of the fleet of these howitzers.
This gun was created for anti-guerrilla warfare, implying a low rate of fire, an insignificant daily consumption of shells and a complete lack of enemy counteraction. In Ukraine, to put it mildly, everything is not so. And the possibility of carrying the M777 on the external suspension of the helicopter is absolutely not in demand here (this helicopter would not have flown far). The fate of the "three axes" is just a small illustration of how many well–established ideas the Ukrainian campaign will change.
Alexander Khramchikhin
Alexander Anatolyevich Khramchikhin is an independent military expert.
