76 mm mountain gun M1938

76 mm mountain gun M1938
M1938 in the Artillery Museum of Finland.
Type	mountain gun
Place of origin	Czechoslovakia
Production history
Designer	Plant no 7
Designed	1937-1938
Specifications
Weight	785 kg (1,731 lbs)
Barrel length	1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) L/21.4
Shell	6.23 kg (13.7 lbs)
Caliber	76.2 mm (3 in)
Breech	vertical block
Carriage	box trail
Elevation	-8° to +65°
Traverse	10°
Muzzle velocity	495 m/s (1,624 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	10,100 m (11,045 yds)

The 76 mm mountain gun M1938 (Russian: 76-мм горная пушка обр. 1938 г.) was a Soviet gun used in World War II.

In 1937, USSR got a license for Skoda 75 mm M1936 mountain gun in exchange for license production of Tupolev SB in Czechoslovakia; subsequently, in 1937-1938 a team led by L. I. Gorlitskiy at Plant no 7 developed a modification eventually adopted as 76 mm mountain gun M1938.

The gun had high elevation angle and could be quickly dismantled for transporting by pack horses. Sprung wheels allowed high towing speed. The gun was light enough to be moved in combat by its crew.

By 1 June 1941, the Red Army possessed about 800 pieces. In addition to mountain units, the weapon was issued to some airborne units.

In Wehrmacht service the gun was designated as 7.62 cm GebK 307(r).

The Finnish army operated five captured pieces, known as 76 VK 38.

M1938, rear view.

References

• Chamberlain, Peter & Gander, Terry. Infantry, Mountain and Airborne Guns. New York: Arco, 1975
• Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Peter. Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939-1945. New York: Doubleday, 1979 ISBN 0-385-15090-3
• Ivanov A. - Artillery of the USSR in Second World War - SPb Neva, 2003 (Иванов А. Артиллерия СССР во Второй Мировой войне. — СПб., Издательский дом Нева, 2003., ISBN 5-7654-2731-6)
• 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)
• Soviet Mountain Artillery at mega.km.ru