122 mm howitzer M-30

The 122 mm howitzer model 1938 (M-30, GAU index – 52-G-463) is a Soviet howitzer of the Second World War period. It was serially produced from 1939 to 1955 and has been or is still in service with the armies of many countries of the world. It was used in practically all significant wars and armed conflicts of the mid and late 20th century. This gun was mounted on the first Soviet self-propelled artillery installations of World War II, the SU-122. According to some artillery experts, the M-30 is one of the best designs of Soviet artillery of the mid-20th century. The arming of the Worker-Peasant Red Army (WPRA) with M-30 howitzers played a significant role in the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Field howitzers of divisional level that were in service with the WPRA in the 1920s were inherited from the Imperial Army. These were 122 mm howitzers of the 1910 model designed by the German concern “Krupp” and the French firm “Schneider” for the Russian Empire. They were actively used in the wars of the early 20th century. By the 1930s, these guns were clearly outdated. Modernizations carried out in 1930 for the 1910 model howitzers and in 1937 for the 1909 model greatly improved the range of fire of these guns, but still did not meet the requirements of that time, particularly in terms of mobility, maximum elevation angle, and aiming speed. On August 11, 1929, a task was issued to develop a new gun.

KB-2 started designing the new gun, which included German experts. In 1932, testing of the first prototype began, and in 1934, this gun was adopted as the “122 mm howitzer model 1934.” However, due to the complexity of production and the presence of foreign experts, only 11 copies were produced.

In September 1937, a separate design group of the Motovilikhinskiy plant under the leadership of F.F. Petrov received an assignment to create an improved version of the 122 mm howitzer. The M-30 howitzer was developed and put into serial production.