Red Army Arty Ammo

[jacobs_ladder2]

Hello

Just doing some research into ammunition used by the Red Army in 1942. I have found several lists of HE, HEF or F projectiles, but have been completely unable to figure out which ones were actually used or when they were introduced/used?

For example:

The 76.2mm Model 1927 Regimental Gun used the:

OF-350M (HE Frag)

O-350A (Frag)

F-354 (HE)

F-354F (HE)

OF-343 (HE Frag)

I do not know if this is an exhaustive list.

Does anyone know which of these were commonly used? Or, can anyone suggest sources?

Cheers

Paul

[ November 20, 2005, 10:19 PM: Message edited by: jacobs_ladder2 ]

[JasonC]

Several years ago during the debate over C rounds for CMBB, Jeff Duquette posted the following -

Posted by Jeff Duquette (Member # 3389) on September 03, 2002 03:24 AM:

Firstly I would like to say that I am very much enjoying the CMBB Demo, and am looking forward to the full-blown version of the game. Thanks much BTS!..or is it BTC?

There are some not so subtle difference between canister and shrapnel.

“Canister” or “Case” shot (not to be confused with grape shot), used to be constructed of a light metallic container that was filled with small iron or steel balls or bullets. When a gun fired the container burst open upon exiting the muzzle, releasing the balls, which spread out with a shotgun like effect. US ARMY 37mm Canister employed by the Stuart Tank was apparently effective to approximately 150 yards (Interestingly enough the old beehive canister round employed by the M48’s 90mm had a lethal range rated at approximately 150m to 200m). While canister was very effective at short ranges, its effect quickly dissipated with range.

“Shrapnel” on the other hand was a fused shell, complete with driving band to take advantage of rifling for accurate long range fire. Shrapnel is basically a steel shell filled with iron or steel balls and a burster charge. The shell was fired at enemy personal in a manner similar to HE shell. When the fuse ignited -- hopefully in the middle of your intended target – the burster charge exploded the shell casing and the steel balls went speeding along their way seeking out soft tissue.

The difference between canister and shrapnel shell was that obviously shrapnel’s steel balls would not spread out quickly with range from the muzzle as the shrapnel balls are encased within a shell. Shrapnel could be lobed out to 3000meters, and when the shell casing exploded you have a very high density of deadly steel balls attacking your target…i.e. the balls spread begins from the shell burst, not from the end of the muzzle.

The Shrapnel shell was sort of the precursor to modern day high-explosive shells. Shrapnel really began to be phased out of most armies’ arsenals during World War One in favor of the more effective high explosive ammunition. The Red Army was a noted exception to this rule, and still manufactured Shrapnel Shells through the end of WWII. The Red Army’s reluctance to give up shrapnel was apparently based upon several positive experiences the Russian Army had with the projectile during WWI.

The Soviets produced canister ammunition for their M-37 and M-42, 45mm Anit-Tank guns for close defense of the weapon against infantry. This round was the USH-243. In addition, a canister round was also produced for the ZiS-2, 57mm anti-tank gun. This was the USH-271.

The USH series of ammunition produced for the 76.2mm howitzer and gun were actually shrapnel shells. Canister was not produced for any of the 76.2mm field pieces, nor was a version produced for the tank version of the 76.2mm gun (L-11 and/or F-34).

The USH shrapnel shell series for the 76.2mm include the following: USH-353D employed by the M-27 76.2mm Regimental gun, USH-354 employed by the M-43 76.2mm Regimental gun, and the USH-356 and USH-356T employed by the M-38 76.2mm Mountain Gun.

The M-36 and M-42 76.2mm Field Guns employed a plethora of shrapnel shells including: USH-354, USH-354T, USH-354G, USH-354B, USH-354D, USH-354I, and USH-R2-354.

The Models M-31 and M-38 76.2mm Anti-Aircraft gun employed the USH-361 & USH-361B rod shrapnel projectiles.

There were several main-guns employed on the early T-34. To include a small number of vehicles with the 57mm ZiS-4, the M-38 76.2mm gun (L-11), and the M-40 76.2mm gun (F-34). The ammunition employed by the T34/76 included:

UBR-350A Armored Piercing

UBR-350B Armored Piercing Ballistic Capped

UBR-350P “Arrowhead” APCR

OF-350 High Explosive

OF-350A High Explosive

USH-350 Shrapnel (this is basically the L-11 and F-34 version of the USH-354)

In addition, it is noted that both the 76.2mm L-11 and F-34 could fire the full range of ammunition employed by the M-36, M-39, and M-42 76.2mm field guns.

The Soviet did not produce a canister round for any of their 76.2mm guns or howitzers.

FWIW...

[John Kettler]

jacobs_ladder2,

Found this at Russian Battlefield www.battlefield.ru

http://www.battlefield.ru/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=10&id=45&Itemid=64〈=en

The four boxed items are links to ammunition tables which should prove a big help to you.

JasonC,

Had I known those same tables were available, I could've saved myself hours of searching for Russian 120mm mortar shell data. Grr!

Regards,

John Kettler

[jacobs_ladder2]

Thanks, guys. Good information.

I just wanted to be clear about my question. I need to know which rounds were commonly used in late 1942 (or basically from Stalingrad through to the end of the Russian offensives).

Cheers

Paul

[ November 20, 2005, 10:31 PM: Message edited by: jacobs_ladder2 ]