152-mm howitzer M1938 (M-10) (Russian: 152

Listed here are the 152-mm howitzer M1938 (M-10) that still exist today.
vol. 1.0 Łukasz Sambor for http://www.militarnepodroze.net/
http://bronetehnika.narod.ru/stz5/stz5.html
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Introduction.............................................................................................................................................3
Information.............................................................................................................................................4
Finland.....................................................................................................................................................7
Poland......................................................................................................................................................9
Russia....................................................................................................................................................10
United States.........................................................................................................................................12
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Introduction
This document is a compilation of photos published on the web. I would like to thank the people who took these photos and put them on
their websites, or sent them to me, and those who helped me doing these lists.
For any question, you can email me at [email protected]
I’m looking for photos any 152-mm howitzer M1938 (M-10) that I forgot….
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Information
152-mm howitzer M1938 (M-10) (Russian: 152-мм гаубица обр. 1938 г. (М-10)) was a Soviet 152.4 mm (6 inch) howitzer of World
War II era. It was developed in 1937-1938 at the Motovilikha Mechanical Plant by a team headed by F. F. Petrov. Although production of
the gun was stopped in 1941, it saw combat with the Red Army until the end of Great Patriotic War and remained in service until the
1950s. Captured pieces were used by Wehrmacht and the Finnish Army. The latter kept the M-10 in service until 2000. In a tank-mounted
variant, M-10T, the gun was mounted on the KV-2 heavy tank.
Development history
By early 1930s the Red Army (RKKA) started to look for a replacement for the 152-mm howitzer M1909 and the 152-mm howitzer
M1910. Those pieces, developed before World War I, had unsprung fixed trail carriages and short barrels, which meant poor mobility,
insufficient elevation and traverse angles and short range. Although both pieces were eventually modernized, resulting in the 152-mm
howitzer M1909/30 and the 152-mm howitzer M1910/37 respectively, these were relatively minor upgrades which brought only limited
improvement in some areas and didn't address others. It was clear that a completely new design was needed. However, at that time
Soviets had little experience in developing modern artillery pieces.
Soviets initially tried to solve that problem through a collaboration with Germany. From its part, Germany, constrained by the limitations
of the Treaty of Versailles, looked for a way to proceed with development and joint projects gave them such an opportunity. Among other
weapons supplied by Germans was a heavy howitzer, designated in the USSR 152-mm howitzer M1931 (NG). Soon the Motovilikha
Mechanical Plant (MMZ) was entrusted with the production of NG. However, only 8 pieces were completed in 1932-1934, and then the
production was stopped. The design proved to be too complicated for the Soviet industry of early 1930s (the same fate befell some other
designs, e.g. the 122-mm howitzer M1934 or 20-mm and 37-mm autocannons) and was considered somewhat heavy (5,445 kg in
travelling position). But these early failures it gave Soviet developers some valuable experience.
In 1937, F. F. Petrov and his design team at the Motovilikha Ordnance Plant started work on a new design, the M-10. Technical papers
were submitted to the Artillery Directorate on 1 August 1937 and on 2 November the first prototype was completed. Ground trials (19
October - 25 October 1938) featured two pieces: No. 302 (L/25 barrel with constant rifling) and No. 303 (L/20 barrel with progressive
rifling). The No. 303 was found to be superior. The trials also revealed numerous defects in the gun construction: the howitzer suffered
from insufficient upper carriage strength, leaks in recoil buffer, unreliable suspension etc. For army tests early in 1939 an improved
design with lengthened barrel was presented. Another series of army tests followed, from 22 December 1939 to 10 January 1940, but
even before it started - on 29 September 1939 - the gun was adopted as 152 mm divisional howitzer model 1938. Later the word
divisional was removed from the designation.
Production history
The M-10 entered production at the Plant No. 172 in 1939. Until the end of the year 4 pieces were manufactured, 685 more in 1940 and
833 in 1941. About 340 barrels for KV-2 heavy tanks were also built (for 334 serial production tanks and a few prototypes and
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experimental vehicles). Soon after the outbreak of the war mass production of the gun was stopped. The following reasons are typically
cited. The M-10 was considered too heavy for divisional artillery and not powerful enough for corps artillery;
Problems with manufacturing process;
Lack of requirement for this type of weapon during the defensive phase of the war.
Some found these arguments questionable. Later in the war corps artillery employed the 152-mm howitzer M1943 (D-1) with the same
ballistics. Production rates were growing. Even early in the war, the Red Army wasn't passive, but tried to attack at every opportunity;
moreover, howitzers are certainly useful in defensive combat too, e.g. for suppressing enemy howitzers. A historian M. Svirin offered the
next explanation instead:
- Shortage in powerful artillery tractors;
- Problems with maintenance and repair;
- Complexity and steel intensity of the carriage;
- Soviet ordnance plants either were lost or were busy performing higher-priority tasks.
Description
The M-10 was much more advanced design compared to older Soviet 152 mm howitzers. It had modern split trail carriage, which allowed
for much larger traverse. The trails were of riveted construction. The carriage was equipped with suspension and with wheels from the
ZiS-5 truck, meaning higher transportation speed.
The barrel, much longer than that of older designs, was fitted with interrupted screw breechblock with recoil devices consisting of
hydraulic recoil buffer and hydropneumatic recuperator. The recoil length was variable. Gun shield provided the crew with limited
protection from bullets and shell fragments.
Unlike its eventual successor, the D-1, the M-10 was not equipped with muzzle brake. While softening a recoil and thus allowing lighter
carrige, muzzle brake has a disadvantage of redirecting some of the gases that escape the barrel toward the ground where they raise
dust, revealing the gun position.
The gun could be towed by an artillery tractor or by a horse team. In the latter case, a 400-kg limber was used.
Organization and employment
Under the organization of 1939, each rifle division had a howitzer regiment with a 152-mm howitzers battalion (12 pieces). In July 1941
these regiment were cancelled. Same fate befell 152-mm howitzers battalions of motorized and armored divisions.
In 1944, rifle corps of the Red Army had one artillery regiment each. Those regiment consisted of five batteries (totaling 20 pieces),
equipped with 152-mm howitzers, 122-mm or 107-mm guns.
Reserve of the Main Command included howitzer regiments (48 pieces) and heavy howitzer brigades (32 pieces). Those could be merged
to form artillery divisions.
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1 June 1941 the RKKA possessed more than thousand M-10s. Many were lost in the early phase of the war, combined with a decision to
stop the production it meant only limited quantity remained in service; these remaining guns in dwindling numbers were used for the
remainder of World War II. The M-10 was used against personnel, fortifications and key objects in the rear.
Many guns were captured by the Wehrmacht early in the war, and adopted as 15,2 cm sFH 443(r). The Finnish Army captured 45 pieces
and further 57 were purchased from Germany in 1944. In Finland the howitzer, designated 152 H 38, was issued to five heavy artillery
battalions and actively used in battle. Finns rather liked the gun, but considered it somewhat heavy. After the end of the hostilities, the M10 remained in the Finnish service; in 1980s there were some considerations of modernizing it, but the idea was dropped; the guns were
stored in the army depots until 2000 and then they were finally retired.
The surviving M-10 howitzers can be seen in various military museums and war memorials, for example in the Museum of Artillery and
Engineering Forces, Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the Brest Fortress, in the US Army Ordnance Museum, in Helsinki Military Museum and
Hämeenlinna Finnish Artillery Museum
Variants
In addition to the towed howitzer, a vehicle-mounted variant was developed for use in KV-2 heavy tanks. This variant - 152 mm tank
howitzer M1938 (M-10T) - had shorter barrel.
A single prototype with powder bag loading was built in 1939.
Summary
The M-10 project provided the RKKA corps artillery with a modern 152-mm howitzer, which combined good firepower with good mobility
(although, as the example of the D-1 shows, the latter characteristic could be improved without compromising the former). When
compared to a typical contemporary howitzer of similar calibre, the M-10 had shorter range, but was lighter. E.g. the German 15 cm sFH
18 had a range of 13,325 m - about one kilometer longer than that of the M-10 - but also weighed much more (5,510 kg in traveling
position). The same can be said about the US 155-mm howitzer M1 (14,600 m, 5,800 kg) or 149-mm howitzer manufactured by the
Italian Ansaldo (14,250 m, 5,500 kg). A German howitzer with characteristics similar to those of the Soviet one - the 15 cm sFH 36 didn't reach mass production. Compared to older pieces such as the French Schneider model 1917 (11,200 m, 4,300 kg), the M-10 had
advantage in range and comparable weight.
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Finland
Balcer
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:M10_hameenlinna_1.jpg
Hämeenlinna - Artillery Museum of Finland.
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Balcer
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:M10_helsinki_1.jpg
Helsinki - Military Museum
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Poland
http://www.rafael.tkdami.net/photos/roztocze/C001.html
Cybinka – Cementary Sowviet Soldiers
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Russia
Saiga20K
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:M10_Saint_Petersburg_1.jpg
Saint-Petersburg - Military-historical Museum of Artillery, Engineer and Signal Corps
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Олег Бебнев
http://pomnite-nas.ru/img/78/200706212306010.33b.jpg
Saint-Petersburg - Military-historical Museum of Artillery, Engineer and Signal Corps
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United States
Mark Pellegrini
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:152_mm_howitzer_M1938_(M-10)_1.jpg
Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD - United States Army Ordnance Museum
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