122 mm howitzer M1938 ( M - 30 ) 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 . Development . In 1930 Red Army ( RKKA ) authorities started to look for a new divisional - level howitzer to replace the pre - World War I 122 - mm howitzer M1909 and 122 - mm howitzer M1910 . Although both pieces were eventually modernized , resulting in the 122 - mm howitzer M1909 / 37 and the 122 - mm howitzer M1910 / 30 respectively , these upgrades did not address some shortcomings in the original designs . The first attempt to develop a new howitzer was made by the " KB - 2 " design bureau under the supervision of German engineers . The design , known as " Lubok " , reached trials in 1932 and in 1934 was adopted as the 122 - mm howitzer model 1934 . It had a 23 caliber barrel , a maximum elevation of 50° , traverse of 7° , and a combat and travelling weight of 2 , 250 and 2 , 800 kg respectively . Like its predecessors , Lubok had a fixed trail carriage and although it was equipped with suspension , its wheels lacked tire s , limiting towing speed to only 10 km / h . Nevertheless , it was undoubtfully superior to the M1910 / 30 which remained in production until 1941 . However , after eight pieces were built in 1934 - 1935 , production was stopped for unclear reasons , possibly relating to the disbanding of KB - 2 . In the mid - 1930s , the Main Artillery Directorate ( GAU ) considered a switch to 105 mm guns as used by some other armies . A smaller shell meant that the gun could be lighter and consequently more mobile . On the other hand , a 105 mm gun would also be less powerful . Moreover , there was no Russian or Soviet experience with 105 mm ammunition , while for the 122 mm the country already possessed both production lines and large numbers of already manufactured shells ( however similar 107 mm manufacturing equipment and ammunition — for the 107 - mm gun M1910 — was available ) . Finally in 1937 the RKKA Head of General Staff I . I . Egorov supported retaining 122 mm ammunition . Consequently , three howitzers were trialled in 1938 – 1939 . The design bureau of " UZTM " ( Ural Heavy Machinery Plant , Russian : Уральский Завод Тяжёлого Машиностроения , УЗТМ ) , which was ordered by GAU to design the new howitzer , developed a piece designated " U - 2 " . Similar projects were privately undertaken by the design bureaus of Motovilikha Plants , headed by F . F . Petrov ( " M - 30 " ) , and by the No . 92 plant under V . G . Grabin ( " F - 25 " ) . The U - 2 ( barrel length 21 calibers , chamber volume 3 . 0 litres , horizontal sliding breechblock from Lubok , muzzle brake , combat weight 2 , 030 kg ) reached trials on 5 February 1939 and was rejected because of insufficient carriage strength and inferior ballistics . The F - 25 project ( barrel length 23 calibers , chamber volume 3 . 7 litres , horizontal sliding breechblock from Lubok , muzzle brake , combat weight 1 , 830 kg ) was closed by GAU on 23 March 1939 as GAU considered it redundant to the M - 30 which had reached trials earlier . The latter , after being returned several times for revision , was finally adopted in September 1939 as the 122 mm divisional howitzer M1938 ( ) . Its GAU index number was 52 - G - 463 . M - 30 versus F - 25 . A . B . Shirokorad , a well - known author of books detailing the history of the Soviet artillery , has claimed that the F - 25 could have been developed into a better gun than the M - 30 . Grabin ' s design was about 400 kg lighter , had a greater traverse and had better ground clearance — all this was achieved , according to Shirokorad , without sacrificing ballistics ( same barrel length , chamber volume and muzzle length ) . Considering how long it took to finish the development of the M - 30 , the F - 25 ' s schedule possibly did not significantly lag behind . There is no official document explaining the advantages the M - 30 had over the F - 25 . Factors that could have influenced the GAU decision were : Production . Mass production of M - 30 howitzers began in 1940 at Plant No . 92 in Gorky and No . 9 in Sverdlovsk . The former took part in the production of M - 30s only in 1940 , building a total of 500 pieces . In addition to towed howitzers , Plant No . 9 produced M - 30S barrels for arming SU - 122 assault guns . Some 700 barrels ( including both serial - production and experimental articles ) were manufactured for this purpose . Mass production continued into 1955 . In 1950 - 1960 , the M - 30 was also produced by Huta Stalowa Wola in Poland where it was known as Wz . 1938 . Description . 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 . Organization and employment . Red Army . The M - 30 was a divisional level howitzer . According to the organization of 1939 , each rifle division had two artillery regiments ; one light regiment ( a battalion of 76 mm guns ; two mixed battalions with one battery of 76 mm guns and two batteries of 122 mm howitzers ) and one howitzer regiment ( a battalion of 122 mm howitzers and a battalion of 152 mm howitzers ) , giving 28 122 mm howitzers per division . In June 1940 one more battalion of 122 mm howitzers was added to the howitzer regiment , bringing the number of guns in each unit to 32 . In June 1941 the howitzer regiment was removed and the number of howitzers dropped to 16 . This organization was used throughout the war , except in Russian Guards rifle divisions which from December 1942 had three artillery battalions ( two batteries of 76 mm guns and one battery of 122 mm howitzers each ) , totaling 12 howitzers . From December 1944 they received an extra howitzer regiment ( 5 batteries , 20 howitzers ) and from June 1945 rifle divisions were reorganized identically . Mountain rifle divisions in 1939 – 1940 had one battalion of 122 mm howitzers ( 3 batteries , 9 guns ) . From 1941 they received instead one artillery regiment ( 2 battalions , each from 3 four - gun batteries ) with 24 howitzers , but in early 1942 only one battalion ( 2 batteries , 8 howitzers ) remained . From 1944 howitzers were removed from mountain rifle divisions . Motorized divisions had two mixed battalions ( a battery of 76 mm guns and two batteries of 122 mm howitzers ) , totaling 12 howitzers . Tank divisions had one battalion with 12 howitzers . Cavalry divisions until August 1941 had two batteries of 122 mm howitzers , totaling eight , before the divisional artillery was removed . Until late 1941 rifle brigade s had a battery of four 122 mm howitzers . 122 mm howitzers were also used by the howitzer brigades of the Reserve of the Main Command ( 72 - 84 pieces ) . By the 1st of June 1941 1 , 667 M - 30s were in service , comprising only a fraction of the RKKA divisional howitzers . As the war progressed , their share grew rapidly due to mass production and because many older guns were lost in combat in 1941 - 42 . M - 30 howitzers were primarily employed for indirect fire against enemy personnel . They were also used against field fortification s , for clearing minefield s and for breaching barbed wire . Their HE - fragmentation shells presented a danger to armoured vehicles . Fragments created by the explosion could penetrate up to 20 mm of armour , - enough against thinly armoured vehicles . The shells could also damage chassis , sights or other elements of heavier armoured vehicles . For self - defense against enemy tanks a HEAT shell was developed in 1943 . Before 1943 , crews were required to rely on the high - explosive action of their regular ammunition , with some degree of success . According to a German report from 1943 , even a Tiger was once heavily damaged by SU - 122 assault guns firing high - explosive shells . M - 30 howitzers were towed by a variety of means : horses , Soviet and lend - lease trucks ( such as the Dodge WC series ) , the Stalinets STZ - 5 and Ya - 12 purpose built light artillery tractors , and occasionally manhandled by Soviet artillerymen themselves . The gun was eventually replaced by the 122 - mm howitzer D - 30 after the latter was adopted for service in 1960 . A small number of operational M - 30 howitzers are still present in Russian Army ordnance depots . They are being gradually withdrawn from reserve . M - 30s featured in many Soviet movies used for novice artillery crew training . These movies were made in the 1960s when more modern D - 30 howitzers were becoming available , however the M - 30 was considered by authorities as much more suitable for training purposes . The movies are still in use despite the absence of M - 30 howitzers even in practice exercises . Other operators . A number of M - 30s fell into the hands of the Wehrmacht in 1941 – 1942 and were adopted as 12 , 2 cm s . F . H . 396 ( r ) heavy howitzers . Germany began mass production of 122 mm ammunition for these and other captured howitzers , producing 424 , 000 shells in 1943 , 696 , 700 in 1944 and 133 , 000 in 1945 . Some captured M - 30s were used in the Atlantic Wall fortifications . The Finnish Army captured 41 guns of the type and adopted them as the 122 H 38 . These guns fired 13 , 298 shells in combat ; only a few pieces were lost . The gun was well liked ; some were used for training or stored in depots until the mid - 1980s . After World War II the gun was supplied to many countries around the globe . With the Egypt ian and Syrian armies it saw action in the Arab - Israeli Wars . Some of these guns were captured by Israel , although it is unclear whether they were ever employed by the Israeli Defense Forces . The People ' s Republic of China organized their own production of M - 30 howitzers under the Type 54 designation . According to Ian V . Hogg , the M1938 howitzer " must , surely , be the most prolific piece of artillery in history " . Current operators . According to Jane ' s Armour and Artillery the M - 30 and the Type 54 are still being used by the following countries : Self - propelled mounts . former Soviet Union . The M - 30 was mounted on the following armoured fighting vehicles ( AFV ) : Summary . 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 . Ammunition data . The M - 30 could fire all types of 122 mm howitzer ammunition used by the RKKA , including old Russian and imported shells . During and after World War II new types of ammunition were developed , notably HEAT shells . The World War II era HEAT shell BP - 460A could pierce 100 – 160 mm of armor at 90° ; the post - war BP - 1 managed 200 mm at 90° , 160 mm at 60° , and 80 mm at 30° . HE - Frag projectiles of type OF - 462 that were initially developed for the M - 30 howitzer can be fired from modern 122 mm ordnance pieces and are still in Russian Army service . Surviving pieces . M - 30 howitzers are on display in a number of military museums and are widely used as memorial pieces . Among other places , the gun can be seen :