76 mm air defense gun M1931
76 mm air defense gun M1931 | |
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![]() 76 mm M1931 at Kempele, Finland. | |
Type | Anti-aircraft gun |
Place of origin | Soviet Union |
Service history | |
Used by | Soviet Union Finland Nazi Germany |
Wars | Winter War World War II |
Production history | |
Produced | 1931–1938 |
Specifications | |
Mass | Travel: 4,820 kg (10,630 lb) Combat: 3,650 kg (8,050 lb) |
Barrel length | 4.1 m (13 ft 5 in) L/55 |
Crew | 10[1] |
Shell | Fixed QF 76.2 × 558 mm. R[2] |
Shell weight | 6.6 kg (14 lb 9 oz) |
Caliber | 76.2 mm (3 in) |
Breech | Semi-automatic vertical sliding-wedge |
Recoil | Hydro-pneumatic |
Carriage | Two-wheeled carriage with collapsible cruciform outriggers |
Elevation | −2° to +82° |
Traverse | 360°[1] |
Rate of fire | 10–20 rounds per minute |
Muzzle velocity | 815 m/s (2,670 ft/s) |
Maximum firing range | 9.3 km (31,000 ft) AA ceiling[1] |
The 76 mm air defense gun M1931 (Russian: 76-мм зенитная пушка обр. 1931 г.) was an anti-aircraft gun used by the Soviet Union during the Winter War and the first stages of World War II.
History
The configuration of the air defense gun M1931 owed much to the design of the contemporary Vickers 3-inch anti-aircraft guns. The Soviet M1931 like the Vickers gun had a two-wheeled carriage with collapsible cruciform outriggers.[1]
The M1931 was replaced in production in 1938 by the 76 mm air defense gun M1938 which had a four-wheeled dual-axle carriage with two collapsible outriggers. The M1931 and M1938 had nearly identical performance and were gradually replaced by the more powerful 85 mm air defense gun M1939.[1]
A number of M1931 guns were captured by Finland during the Winter War and were employed by them as the 76 ItK/31 ss during World War II.[3] Likewise, M1931 guns captured by the Germans were given the designation 7.62 cm Flak M.31(r) and used until they were either worn out or their ammunition supply ran out. A few were rebored to fire German 8.8 cm ammunition and redesignated the 7.62/8.8 cm Flak M.31(r). However, the majority were scrapped in 1944.[1]
After the war, a number of Finnish guns were converted into light coastal guns (76 ItK 31 Rt, where "Rt" stands for "rannikkotykistö" = coastal artillery) by the addition of a scope site with manual lead mechanism for direct fire against moving surface targets. These guns were still in use as training guns of the coastal artillery into the 1980s.[4]
Photo Gallery
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- AA guns of the 268th Separate Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion during the defense of Nikolayev, August 1941
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Chamberlain, Peter; Gander, Terry (1975). Anti-aircraft guns. New York: Arco Pub. Co. p. 62. ISBN 0668038187. OCLC 2000222.
- ^ "77-77 MM CALIBRE CARTRIDGES". www.quarryhs.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2015-01-17. Retrieved 2017-09-13.
- ^ "FINNISH ARMY 1918 - 1945: ANTIAIRCRAFT GUNS PART 3". www.jaegerplatoon.net. Retrieved 2017-09-13.
- ^ Enqvist, Ove 1999, Itsenäisen Suomen rannikkotykit 1918-1998. Helsinki: Sotamuseo
References
- Shunkov V. N. - The Weapons of the Red Army, Mn. Harvest, 1999 (Шунков В. Н. - Оружие Красной Армии. — Мн.: Харвест, 1999.) ISBN 985-433-469-4
External links
- http://www.quarryhs.co.uk/ammotable9.html Archived 2015-01-17 at the Wayback Machine
- http://www.jaegerplatoon.net/AA_GUNS3.htm
- v
- t
- e
- 37 mm anti-tank gun M1930 (1-K)
- 45 mm anti-tank gun M1932 (19-K)
- 45 mm anti-tank gun M1937 (53-K)
- 45 mm anti-tank gun M1942 (M-42)
- 57 mm anti-tank gun M1943 (ZiS-2)
- 100 mm field gun M1944 (BS-3)
- 100 mm D-10 tank gun
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union_%281936_%E2%80%93_1955%29.svg/80px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union_%281936_%E2%80%93_1955%29.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/RAF_A_emb-Artillery1924.gif/100px-RAF_A_emb-Artillery1924.gif)
- 76 mm mountain gun M1909 (76-09)
- 76 mm mountain gun M1938
- 76 mm divisional gun M1902/30
- 76 mm divisional gun M1933
- 76 mm divisional gun M1936 (F-22)
- 76 mm divisional gun M1939 (USV)
- 76 mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3)
- 85 mm divisional gun D-44
- 107 mm divisional gun M1940 (M-60)
- 122 mm howitzer M1909/37
- 122 mm howitzer M1910/30
- 122 mm howitzer M1938 (M-30)
- 152 mm mortar M1931 (NM)
- 107 mm gun M1910/30
- 122 mm gun M1931 (A-19)
- 122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19)
- 152 mm howitzer M1909/30
- 152 mm gun M1910/30
- 152 mm gun M1910/34
- 152 mm howitzer M1910/37
- 152 mm howitzer M1938 (M-10)
- 152 mm howitzer M1943 (D-1)
- 152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20)
- 152 mm gun M1935 (Br-2)
- 203 mm howitzer M1931 (B-4)
- 210 mm gun M1939 (Br-17)
- 280 mm howitzer M1914/15
- 280 mm mortar M1939 (Br-5)
- 305 mm howitzer M1939 (Br-18)
- 25 mm automatic air defense gun M1940 (72-K)
- 37 mm automatic air defense gun M1939 (61-K)
- 45 mm anti-aircraft gun (21-K)
- 76 mm air defense gun M1931
- 76 mm air defense gun M1938
- 85 mm air defense gun M1939 (52-K)