130 mm towed field gun M1954 ( M - 46 ) The 130 mm towed field gun M - 46 M1954 ( ) is a manually loaded , towed 130 mm artillery piece , manufactured in the Soviet Union in the 1950s . It was first observed by the west in 1954 . There is also a Chinese copy , called Type 59 . For many years , the M - 46 was one of the longest range artillery systems around , with a range of more than 27 km . Design history . The order to design a " duplex " artillery system to replace the obsolete 122 mm gun M1931 / 37 ( A - 19 ) , 152 mm howitzer - gun M1937 ( ML - 20 ) and other World War II era field guns such as 122 mm Model 1931 , 152 mm Model 1910 / 30 , 152 mm Model 1935 ( BR - 2 ) , was given in April 1946 . The new systems , designed by the factory No 172 ( MOTZ ) , shared the same carriage and were given the designators M - 46 ( 130 mm ) and M - 47 ( 152 mm ) . The respective GRAU designators are 52 - P - 482 and 52 - P - 547 . The development phase was finished in 1950 and one year later series production started . Many M - 46s were exported . A second " duplex " artillery system was subsequently designed by FF Petrov ' s design bureau at Artillery Factory No 9 . This comprised a 122 mm Gun and a 152 mm Howitzer . The 122 mm Gun D - 74 was a competitor to M - 46 , and while many were produced the M - 46 became the only long range Gun in Soviet service until new 152 mm Guns in the 1970s . Description . The M - 46 was developed from the M - 36 130 mm naval gun used on ships and for coast defence . It is a true Gun being unable to fire much above 45° and having a long barrel and single propelling charge . It has a 52 calibre barrel with a tied jaw horizontal sliding block breach and ‘ pepperpot ’ muzzlebrake . The latter is not notably efficient but subjective reports suggest it is quite effective in reducing muzzle flash . The hydro - pneumatic recoil system comprises a buffer below and the recuperator is above the barrel . The long barrel enables a substantial propelling charge by providing more length in which to achieve ‘ all - burnt ’ and hence projectile acceleration space and thus achieve its 930 m / s muzzle velocity . The barrel is mounted on a split - trail carriage , with deep box section trails and foam filled road wheels on the ground when firing and 50° of top traverse . The small shield protects little more than the sights , possible including from the effects of muzzle blast , and some protection from machine gun fire in anti - tank engagements . The gun has long and robust trails to provide stability when firing , a large detachable spade is fitted to the end of each when the gun is brought into action . Non - reciprocating sights are standard Soviet pattern , designed for one - man laying . Included are a direct fire anti - tank telescope , a panoramic periscopic indirect - fire sight ( a dial sight ) in a reciprocating mounting , an angle of sight scale , and a range drum engraved with the range ( distance ) scale , coupled to a mounted elevation levelling bubble . The range drum enables the standard Soviet technique of semi - direct fire when the piece is laid visually on the target and the range set on the range drum . An APN - 3 was later provided for direct fire at night in place of the day telescope . For travel , the gun is towed via a two - wheeled limber fitted to the end of the closed trails , with the spades removed and carried on each trail . Simple jacks on the trails just behind the main wheels are used to lift and support the closed trails so that the limber can be connected . The barrel and recuperator are pulled back between the closed trails and locked in a travelling position . There is a large bicycle chain arrangement on the right trail for this , and a compressed air cylinder , charged by the gun firing , is used to bring the barrel forward when the gun is brought back into action . It takes about four minutes to bring the gun into action , the normal detachment is eight strong . Propelling charges are in metal cartridge cases and loaded separately from the projectile . Projectiles originally included HE fragmentation , Armour Piercing solid shot , smoke , illuminating and chemical . HE shells weigh some 33 kg . Illuminating shells have a substantially lower muzzle velocity . APHE and extended range shells were introduced later . Maximum rate of fire is probably 6 - 7 rounds / minute , and about 70 rounds / hour . The standard Soviet unit of fire was 80 rounds . Operational history . The M - 46 was first seen openly at the 1954 May Day Parade in Moscow . It initially replaced the 100 mm BS - 3 field and anti - tank gun . However , its long range made it well suited for counter - battery actions , some western troops on its receiving end have reported poor fragmentation , and large fragments would be consistent with the counter - battery purpose . Its Soviet use with an integrated fire control system including SNAR - 2 radars has also been reported . In Soviet service M - 46 battalions were in Army and Front artillery brigades . It is or has been in service with at least 25 countries and has been license manufactured in China as the Type 59 . It was replaced in Soviet / Russian inventory by the 2A36 Giatsint - B and the self - propelled 2S5 Giatsint - S . Several companies , like Soltam and RDM Technology BV have presented upgrade packages for the gun . These include for instance a barrel upgrade to 155 mm with a length caliber of 45 . The M - 46 saw extensive use by the NVA in Vietnam War , especially at the siege of Khe Sanh . It was regarded by both sides as the best all - round field artillery of the Vietnam War . A version of this artillery , possibly the Chinese - manufactured Type 59 - 1 , is suspected to have been used by North Korea for shelling of South Korean island of Yeonpyeong in the Yellow Sea on November 23 , 2010 . Variants . Democratic People ’ s Republic of Korea . The US Defense Intelligence Agency has reported the existence of a number of locally designed self - propelled artillery systems , including the SPG 130mm M1975 , the SPG 130mm M1981 and the SPG 130mm M1991 . Details are not available but they appear to be M - 46 / Type 59s mounted on a tracked chassis “ Tokchon ” . Operators . Unless stated figures are sourced from Jane ' s Armour and Artillery