Type 54 Chinese 122mm Towed Howitzer

The Type 54 Chinese 122mm Towed Howitzer is a licensed version of the M-30 Russian 122mm Towed Howitzer. The 122 mm howitzer M1938 (M-30) was a Soviet 121.92 mm (4.8 inch) howitzer. The weapon was developed by the design bureau of Motovilikha Plants, headed by F. F. Petrov, in the late 1930s, and was in production from 1939 to 1955. The M-30 saw action in World War II, mainly as a divisional artillery piece of the Red Army (RKKA). Captured guns were also employed later in the conflict by the German Wehrmacht and the Finnish Army. Post World War II the M-30 saw combat in numerous conflicts of the mid- to late twentieth century in service of other countries' armies, notably in the Middle East. The barrel of the M-30 was of built-up construction and consisted of a liner, jacket and breech. The breechblock was of interrupted screw type, with forced cartridge case extraction. The gun was equipped with a hydraulic recoil buffer and hydropneumatic recuperator. A panoramic sight was used for both indirect and direct fire. The M-30 had a modern split trail carriage with leaf spring suspension and steel wheels with rubber tires. It was usually towed by vehicle without a limber. The carriage allowed for a towing speed of up to 50 km/h on paved road and up to 35 km/h on gravel or dirt roads, although the gun could also be moved by a team of six horses, in which case a limber was used. When the trails were swung open the suspension locked automatically . In an emergency it was possible to shoot in a "single trail" mode, at the price of a drastically reduced traverse (1°30'). The time required to set the gun up for combat was about 1–1.5 minutes. The carriage of the M-30 was later used for the D-1 152 mm howitzer. In the M-30, RKKA units finally received a modern divisional howitzer which successfully combined increased firepower and better mobility with reliability and ease of use. A summary of its employment by the Red Army was provided by Marshal G. F. Odintsov, who said "Nothing can be better". The long post-war employment of the howitzer is additional testimony to its combat and operational utility and effectiveness. It is hard to compare the M-30 directly with contemporary foreign guns since the artillery of France, Germany and United States employed in similar roles was either the much smaller 105 mm (Great Britain used the even smaller—87.6 mm—25 pounder gun-howitzer) or much larger 150 to 155 mm caliber guns. Howitzers of similar calibers existed but most of those were World War I era pieces, such as the Vickers 114 mm howitzer used by the Finnish Army. Naturally, 150 mm howitzers were more powerful, but much heavier than the M-30; while 105 mm pieces were lighter but their smaller shells contained less explosive. The most direct German equivalent was the 10.5 cm leFH 18 light howitzer. Weighing 1985 kg, it had a maximum elevation of 42°, muzzle velocity of 470 m/s and maximum range of 10,675 m. In the upgraded leFH 18/40 version, muzzle velocity was improved to 540 m/с, elevation to 45° and range to 12,325 m. About equal in range, the German howitzer had a less powerful HE shell and its smaller maximum elevation made it less effective against dug-in troops, although it also weighed some 400 kg less than M-30. Both guns were well suited for mass production with 16.887 M-30s and 15.388 leFH 18 built in 1941–45.