All PYRENEES · France, Spain, Andorra * Artillery, missiles and rockets with James Moore

152 mm M1943 (D-1): Soviet field howitzer The D-1 howitzer M1943 is a Soviet World War II 152.4 mm howitzer. The gun was developed by the engineer bureau headed by F. F. Petrov in 1942 and 1943, based on the carriage of the 122 mm howitzer M1938 (M-30) and…

All PYRENEES · France, Spain, Andorra * Blogs

All PYRENEES · France, Spain, Andorra * Blogs

152 mm M1943 (D-1): Soviet field howitzer The D-1 howitzer M1943 is a Soviet World War II 152.4 mm howitzer. The gun was developed by the engineer bureau headed by F. F. Petrov in 1942 and 1943, based on the carriage of the 122 mm howitzer M1938 (M-30) and…

152 mm M1955 (D-20): Soviet towed gun-howitzer The 152 mm gun-howitzer M1955, also known as the D-20, (Russian: 152-мм пушка-гаубица Д-20 обр. 1955 г) is a manually loaded, towed 152 mm gun-howitzer artillery piece, manufactured in the Soviet Union during…

122 mm M1931/37 (A-19). Index GRAU: 52-P-471A 122 mm corps gun M1931/37 (A-19) (Russian: 122-мм корпусная пушка обр. 1931/1937 гг. (А-19)) was a Soviet field gun developed in late 1930s by combining the barrel of the 122 mm gun M1931 (A-19) and the carriage…

203-мм гаубица обр. 1931 г. (Б-4) 242. Index GRAU: 52-G-625 During the Second World War, it was under the command of the Stavka’s strategic reserve. It was nicknamed “Stalin’s sledgehammer” by German soldiers. These guns were used with success against Finnish…

1.45 cm ZPU-4: Soviet towed anti-aircraft gun The first dedicated Soviet mount for anti-aircraft machine guns was developed around 1928 by Fedor Tokarev and was adopted for service in 1931. It was a base for mounting up to four 7.62 mm PM M1910 (Russian Maxim)…

ZU-23-2: Soviet twin anti-aircraft Development bureau: ЦКБ-14 (Tula, USSR) Year: 1960 Crew: 5 Muzzle velocity: 980 m/s Rate of fire: 2000 rounds/minute Fire range: 2500 m Weight: 950 kg Artillery Museum (Petrograd District, St. Petersburg)

25 mm 72-K: Soviet automatic anti-aircraft gun This gun was developed in late 1939 – early 1940 by the design bureau of plant №8 Kalinin under the leadership of M. N. Loginov, the direct supervisor of the project was L. A. Loktev. As developed by the plant.…

40 mm Bofors L/60: Swedish anti-aicraft gun It entered the export market around 1932 and was in service with 18 countries by 1939. Throughout World War II it became one of the most popular and widespread medium-weight anti-aircraft guns. It was used by the…

57 mm S-60: Soviet towed medium-range anti-aircraft gun In the late 1940s, the Soviets started to develop a 57 mm anti-aircraft gun, to replace its 37 mm M1939 guns. Three models were presented, and the winning design was made by V. G. Grabin. The Soviets…

Trunk of ½ pood (157 mm) regimental unicorn Manufacturer: St. Petersburg arsenal (Russian Empire) Year: 1787 Material: bronze Weight: 770 kg Artillery Museum (Petrograd District, St. Petersburg)

ZSU-23-4 “Shilka” (2A6) The previous Soviet self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG), the ZSU-57-2, was armed with two 57 mm autocannons; it was aimed optically using a basic tracking and lead calculating system. The ZSU-57-2 was not particularly successful…

152 mm 6 inch mortar Made in the Saint Petersburg’s arsenal (Russian Empire) Year: 1867 Material: bronze Weight: 1620 kg Artillery Museum (Petrograd District, St. Petersburg)

60 inch (310 mm) Prussian mortar Designer: Martin Geyntsev Manufacturer: Berlin (Prussia) Year: 1687 Length: 115 cm Material: bronze Weight: 1770 kg Artillery Museum (Petrograd District, St. Petersburg)

Barrel 1-pood (193 mm) gun “Riga Lion” Designer: Gerkhard Meyer Manufacturer: Riga (Swedish Empire) Year: 1687 Material: bronze Weight: 4102 kg Artillery Museum (Petrograd District, St. Petersburg)

Canon de 155 mm C Modèle 1915 Saint Chamond The Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 Saint-Chamond was a French howitzer used during World War I. The French government ordered 400 Saint-Chamond howitzers in 1915, these being delivered starting in late 1916. Small numbers…

127 mm Ordnance BL-60 (60 pounds) The 60-pound breech-loading gun (Ordnance BL 60) is a British heavy field gun caliber 5 inches (127 mm). It was used during the First World War in the main theaters of operations. After the war, it remained in service with…

203 mm BL Mark IV: heavy howitzer Country: United Kingdom Year: 1917 Muzzle velocity: 457 m/s Rate of fire: 1 shot/minute Fire range: 9820 m Weight: 8152 kg Artillery Museum (Petrograd District, St. Petersburg)