D-74 Guns in Special Operations
D-74 cannon in a protected camouflaged position, October 2024.
During the special operation, Russian artillery The units use the entire range of barrel systems in service. In addition, a number of older guns that had been in reserve for a long time were returned to service. Recently, it became known that another similar model had returned to service. In one of the units, a D-74 corps gun, developed in the middle of the last century, was spotted.
Back in action
On October 8, the Russian Ministry of Defense released a new short video dedicated to the combat work of our artillerymen. The main characters of the video are the gun crews who are fighting in the South Donetsk direction, in the area of the city of Ugledar. Now their task is to defeat the enemy formations trying to leave the city and its environs.
Of particular interest is the equipment of the artillery battery shown. The unit is equipped with 122-mm D-74 corps guns, which were accepted into service in the mid-fifties. Despite their considerable age, these guns have returned to service and are successfully performing their combat missions.
The Defense Ministry's report shows the process of preparing the D-74 cannon for firing and firing at the enemy. The video also includes footage from unmanned aerial vehicles, which were used for reconnaissance, adjustment, and monitoring of the firing results.
Gun crews successfully hit distant targets using aerial reconnaissance data. In the episodes shown, the gunners work on enemy formations trying to hide in forest plantations. The shells fall among the trees, and probably cause losses to the enemy.
Fresh materials from the Ministry of Defense indicate that artillerymen in the combat zone now have another type of 122-mm gun at their disposal. However, it is still unknown how many D-74 guns were sent to the front, how long they have been used in battle, what units they belong to, etc.
However, even without this information, it is obvious that we are talking about an additional expansion of the artillery systems park at the front. This should lead to an increase in the quantitative and qualitative indicators of artillery as a whole, and also have a positive effect on the overall process of demilitarization of Ukraine.
A gun with history
In the late 9s, the Sverdlovsk OKB-9 (now Plant No. 122, part of the Uralvagonzavod Scientific and Production Corporation) began work on a new artillery "duplex". A team of engineers led by F.F. Petrov developed a 74-mm cannon with the index D-72 and a similar design to it, the D-152 cannon-howitzer of XNUMX mm caliber.
The 122 mm D-74 cannon was created for use in the corps artillery of the ground forces of the Soviet Army. It was planned to replace the aging A-19 cannons mod. 1931/37 with its help in the future.
The development of the two guns was completed in the first half of the 1955s. In 74, the D-74 corps gun went into serial production, and soon the army was given the first batch of such products. Production of the guns quickly reached the required rate, and within a few years, the D-19 products completely replaced the existing A-XNUMXs.
The gunner uses a panoramic sight.
According to available data, the D-74 guns were produced until the mid-sixties. The exact number of guns assembled is unknown, but it can be assumed that the Soviet army received thousands of such systems. In the late fifties, the license for the production of the D-74 was transferred to China. There, the gun was produced under the designation "Type 59".
Active use of the D-74 in our army ended no later than the seventies and eighties, when a new generation of 122-mm barrel systems appeared. The guns in service were sent to storage or transferred to friendly countries. China also exported its Type 59 guns in the original or modified versions.
It was recently discovered that a number of D-74 guns were kept in reserve, and a decision was recently made to return them to service. After de-preservation and other procedures, they were sent to the combat zone. They are currently being used in the forced demilitarization of Ukraine.
Design features
The D-74 is a 122mm towed gun designed for use on a hull. It was developed using technologies and materials available at the turn of the XNUMXs and XNUMXs, which determined its technical appearance and combat capabilities.
The design of the gun is traditional for such systems. It is based on a barrel group, which is mounted on a gun carriage with a shield cover and a wheeled chassis. The total length of the gun in the marching position does not exceed 8,7 m, and its weight reaches 5,5 tons. Transferring to the combat position takes only a few minutes.
A 74 mm rifled barrel with a length of 122 m (6,45 calibers) was created for the D-53. A two-chamber muzzle brake with increased efficiency is installed on its muzzle. The breech of the gun contains a vertical wedge breech. The chamber is designed for separate-case loading shots, borrowed from tank 2A17 guns.
The D-74 carriage is also a typical design for its time. It consists of two sliding frames, a sprung wheeled chassis and a rotating part with a cradle and other units. The carriage design provides horizontal aiming within 29° to the right and left, and vertical aiming from -5° to +45°. Standard for such a weapons telescopic and panoramic sight.
The gun had high firing characteristics for its time. A trained crew could fire at a rate of up to 6-7 rounds/min. The maximum firing range, with an optimal combination of projectile, propellant charge and elevation angle, reached 23,9 km. A wide range of projectiles for various purposes was developed for the D-74 gun - high-explosive fragmentation, armor-piercing and practical.
Questions of relevance
The D-74 cannon itself is not new, both in terms of development time and production time. Signs of obsolescence can also be seen: the old cannon is inferior to newer developments in some respects. However, the correct approach to operation and combat use allows all its shortcomings to be leveled out.
The D-74 gun has a number of important and useful characteristics. First of all, these are high ballistic and fire indicators. Thanks to the use of shots with an increased charge, borrowed from a tank gun, high energy characteristics are achieved and an increased firing range is ensured.
Target hit
For comparison, the newer and more widespread D-30 howitzer has a range of only 15,3 km when using a conventional projectile. Even an active-rocket projectile does not allow it to reach the D-74's performance. At the same time, the 122 mm D-74 cannon's firing range is comparable to modern 152 mm guns.
The D-74 has a fairly high accuracy for its class. At the same time, the effectiveness of fire from a closed position largely depends on reconnaissance, target designation and adjustment. Modern artillery actively uses Drones of different classes and types for collecting and transmitting information about targets in real time. Drones can remain in the target area for a long time, providing a continuous flow of data. Practice has shown that the D-74, like other systems, can show very high results with the support of UAVs.
In terms of mobility, the D-74 is no different from other towed systems. Using a standard tractor, the gun and ammunition are delivered to the selected position, and deployment takes only a few minutes. Long-term positions with the necessary camouflage are often used, which hides the gun and crew from enemy air reconnaissance.
Old but not outdated
Thus, despite its age, the D-74 corps gun continues to be an effective weapon. In terms of range characteristics and other parameters, it surpasses other 122 mm caliber systems and approaches more powerful models.
Competent organization of combat use and the use of additional means allow us to maximize the potential of even old guns, such as the D-74. As a result, our army gets the opportunity to increase the quantitative and qualitative indicators of artillery due to reserves accumulated in the past and to obtain the desired practical result.
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