Russian 203mm Howitzer M1931 B-4. How did it work? Cant find anything on the internet on how it worked in the field. How did it change direction of fire? I mean the thing was massive. Could the tracs be operated manualy? How did they remove the barrel for transport? If anybody knows I would be so happy.:
I had some time up my sleeve so went surfing for the M193/37 B.4 203mm howitzer. It gets several mentions but their is very, very little about the gun. i found the info below on Wiki. The gun moved on tracks rather than wheels. Was used against heavy fortifications and in Urban combat for destroying buildings and bunkers. Type heavy howitzer Place of origin USSR Production history Designer Nikolai Nikititsch Magdesiew Designed 1931 Produced 1932-? Number built 871 Specifications Weight combat: 17,700 kg (39,022 lbs) travel: 19,000 kg (41,888 lbs) Barrel length bore: 4,894 mm / 24.1 calibers overall: 5,087 mm / 25 calibers -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shell HE: 100 kg (220 lbs) Caliber 203 mm (8 in) Elevation 0° to 60° Traverse 8° Rate of fire 1 round per minute Muzzle velocity 607 m/s (1,990 ft/s) Maximum range 18 km (11 mi)
And then their was this. B-4 M1931 203-mm howitzer The M1931 (B-4) is a rather old weapon developed in 1931 and adopted for service in 1934. The modified version (B-4M) with four-wheeled carriage appeared only after World War II. It may be found in the heavy artillery brigade at front level. The B-4M was replaced by the 203-mm self-propelled gun Ml975, which is mounted on a tracked chassis. The 203-mm howitzer M1931 (B-4) has a relatively short tube, only 25 calibers long. It has a hydraulic recoil buffer, a hydropneumatic recuperator, and a screw-type breechblock, and fires bag-type, variable-charge, separate-loading ammunition. Early models were mounted on a full-track (but not self-propelled) carriage in firing position and for short moves. For longer moves, the tube was removed and transported on a separate four-wheeled tube transporter. On later models (B-4M) the tracked carriage was replaced by a large four-wheeled carriage to permit long moves without removing the tube. In firing position, the wheels of the B-4M are raised, and the weapon rests on a firing platform. Both models use the same box trail and are towed by the AT-T tracked artillery tractor. The M1931 fires a 98.8-kg HE round to a maximum range of 18,025 meters. It also has been adapted to fire a nuclear round. The M1931 has a very limited traverse of 8 degrees and a slow rate of fire of 0.5 rd/min (some reports indicate 1 rd/min).
