The 130 mm towed field gun M-46 () is a manually loaded, towed 130 mm

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

piece, manufactured in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in the 1950s. It was first observed by the West in 1954. For many years, the M-46 was one of the longest range artillery pieces in existence, with a range of more than (unassisted) and (assisted).

Design history

The order was given in April 1946 to design a "duplex" artillery piece to replace the obsolete

122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19) 122 mm corps gun M1931/37 (A-19) () was a Soviet Union, Soviet field gun developed in late 1930s by combining the barrel of the 122 mm gun M1931 (A-19) and the carriage of the 152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20). The gun was in production from ...

152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20) The 152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20) (), is a Soviet Union, Soviet heavy gun-howitzer. The gun was developed by the design bureau of the plant no 172, headed by Fyodor Petrov, F. F. Petrov, as a deep upgrade of the 152-mm gun M1910/34, in ...

and other World War II era field guns, such as 122 mm Model 1931, 152 mm Model 1910/30, 152 mm Model 1935 (BR-2). The new pieces, designed by the factory No 172 (MOTZ), shared the same carriage and were given the designators M-46 (130 mm) and M-47 (152 mm). The respective

GRAU The Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (), commonly referred to by its transliterated acronym GRAU (), is a department of the Russian Ministry of Defense. It is subordinate to the Chief of ...

designators are 52-P-482 and 52-P-547. The development phase was finished in 1950 and one year later, series production began. Many M-46s were exported. A second "duplex" artillery system was subsequently designed by FF Petrov's design bureau at Artillery Factory No 9. This comprised a 122 mm gun and a 152 mm

howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

. The

D-74 122 mm field gun The 122mm D-74 towed gun is a Soviet field gun. Developed in the late 1940s, it served with the Soviet Army and was widely exported. A number were produced under license in the People's Republic of China as the '' Type 60''. History The 122 m ...

was a competitor to the M-46; and while many were produced, the M-46 became the only long range gun in Soviet service until new 152 mm guns were made in the 1970s.

Description

Finnish Army 130 mm Gun M-46 direct fire

The M-46 was developed from the M-36 130 mm naval gun used on ships and for coast defence. It is a true gun, being unable to fire much above 45° and having a long barrel and a single propelling charge. In contrast, most Western field guns of this period had a dual high and low angle fire ability, a

gun-howitzer Gun-howitzer (also referred to as gun howitzer) is a type of artillery weapon that is intended to fulfill the roles of both an ordinary cannon or field gun, and of a howitzer. It is thus able to convey both direct fire, direct and indirect fire. Mo ...

. It has a 55 calibre barrel with a tied jaw horizontal sliding-block breech and 'pepperpot'

muzzle brake A muzzle brake or recoil compensator is a device connected to, or a feature integral (ported barrel) to the construction of, the muzzle or barrel of a firearm or cannon that is intended to redirect a portion of propellant gases to counter re ...

. The latter is not notably efficient, but subjective reports suggest that it is quite effective in reducing muzzle flash. The hydro-pneumatic recoil system comprises a buffer below the barrel and a recuperator above the barrel. The long barrel enables a substantial propelling charge by providing more length in which to achieve 'all-burnt' and hence projectile acceleration space and thus achieve its 930 m/s muzzle velocity. The barrel is mounted on a

split-trail A gun carriage is a frame or a mount that supports the gun barrel of an artillery piece, allowing it to be maneuvered and fired. These platforms often had wheels so that the artillery pieces could be moved more easily. Gun carriages are also used ...

carriage, with deep box section trails and foam filled road wheels on the ground when firing and 50° of top traverse. The small shield protects little more than the sights, possible including from the effects of muzzle blast, and some protection from machine gun fire in anti-tank engagements. The gun has long and robust trails to provide stability when firing, a large detachable spade is fitted to the end of each when the gun is brought into action. Non-reciprocating sights are standard Soviet pattern, designed for one-man laying. Included are a direct fire anti-tank telescope, a panoramic periscopic indirect-fire sight (a dial sight) in a reciprocating mounting, an angle of sight scale, and a range drum engraved with the range (distance) scale, coupled to a mounted elevation levelling bubble. The range drum enables the standard Soviet technique of semi-direct fire when the piece is laid visually on the target and the range set on the range drum. An APN-3 was later provided for direct fire at night in place of the day telescope. For travel, the gun is towed via a two-wheeled limber fitted to the end of the closed trails, with the spades removed and carried on each trail. Simple jacks on the trails just behind the main wheels are used to lift and support the closed trails so that the limber can be connected. The barrel and recuperator are pulled back between the closed trails and locked in a travelling position. There is a large bicycle chain arrangement on the right trail for this, and a compressed air cylinder, charged by the gun firing, is used to bring the barrel forward when the gun is brought back into action. It takes about four minutes to bring the gun into action, the normal detachment is eight strong. Propelling charges are in metal cartridge cases and loaded separately from the projectile. Projectiles originally included HE fragmentation, Armour Piercing solid shot, smoke, illuminating and chemical. HE shells weigh ~. Illuminating shells have a substantially lower muzzle velocity. APHE and extended range shells were introduced later. Maximum rate of fire is probably 6-7 rounds/minute, and about 70 rounds/hour. The standard Soviet unit of fire was 80 rounds.

Operational history

The M-46 was first seen openly at the 1954 May Day Parade in Moscow. It initially replaced the 100 mm BS-3 field and anti-tank gun. However, its long range made it well suited for counter-battery actions. There are reports of poor fragmentation. Its Soviet use with an integrated

fire-control system A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a hum ...

including SNAR-2

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

s has also been reported. In Soviet service, M-46 battalions were in Army and Front artillery brigades. It is or has been in service with at least 25 countries and has been license manufactured in China as the Type 59. It was replaced in Soviet/Russian inventory by the 2A36 Giatsint-B and the self-propelled

2S5 Giatsint-S The 2S5 ''Giatsint-S'' () is a Soviet Union, Soviet 152 mm self-propelled gun. "2S5" is its GRAU designation. It has CBRN defense, nuclear, biological, and chemical protection. The 2S5 is capable of engaging targets at longer ranges and at a ...

. Several companies, like Soltam and RDM Technology BV, have presented upgrade packages for the gun. These include, for instance, an upgrade to a 45 caliber 155 mm gun. Its long range made it especially useful in the Vietnam War. The M-46 saw extensive combat service with the

People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola The People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola () or FAPLA was originally the armed wing of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) but later (1975–1991) became Angola's official armed forces when the MPLA took control o ...

(FAPLA) during the

Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War () was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. It was a power struggle between two for ...

and

South African Border War The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and Angol ...

. From the mid to late 1970s Angolan M-46s were deployed with some success in the counter-battery role against South African artillery units, which possessed comparatively short-ranged BL 5.5-inch medium guns. South Africa later acquired six M-46s from Israel for evaluation purposes; this likely influenced its development of the

G5 howitzer The G5 is a South African towed howitzer of 155 mm calibre developed in South Africa by Denel Land Systems. The G5 design was based on the Canadian GC-45 howitzer, GC-45 155 mm gun which was highly modified to suit southern African conditio ...

, which was adopted to counter the range and effectiveness of the FAPLA field guns. Cuba also deployed M-46 batteries of its own in support of FAPLA operations during its lengthy military intervention in Angola. Cuban and FAPLA M-46s were used most notably during the

Battle of Cuito Cuanavale The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale was fought intermittently between 14 August 1987 and 23 March 1988, south and east of Cuito Cuanavale, Angola, by the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) and Cuba against South Africa an ...

, where individual guns were deployed in ones or twos rather than concentrated in single positions to reduce the threat posed by counter-battery fire from South African G5s. Cuban tacticians were able to repeatedly stall a South African mechanized and armored offensive by using minefields to channel the attackers into bottlenecks where the M-46s could concentrate their fire.

Tanzania People's Defence Force The Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF) () is the military force of the United Republic of Tanzania. It was established in September 1964, following a mutiny by the former colonial military force, the Tanganyika Rifles. From its inception, ...

fielded some M-46 guns during

Uganda–Tanzania War The Uganda–Tanzania War, known in Tanzania as the Kagera War (Kiswahili: ''Vita vya Kagera'') and in Uganda as the 1979 Liberation War, was fought between Uganda and Tanzania from October 1978 until June 1979 and led to the overthrow of Ugand ...

in 1978–1979. A version of this gun, possibly the Chinese-manufactured Type 59–1, is suspected to have been used by North Korea for shelling the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong in the Yellow Sea on 23 November 2010. The

Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

deployed M-46 guns during the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. Up to half the M-46s in reserve storage were scheduled to be reactivated in 2024 to replace heavy losses of Russian towed artillery. According to Ukrainian press reports, Russia has increasingly sourced the guns' 130mm shells from North Korea as its domestic stockpiles of this ammunition type have been depleted by the war.

Variants

Soviet Union

* M-47 – This is a 152 mm field gun () that was developed alongside the M-46. The M-47 had a range of 20,470 m and was far less successful than its 130 mm counterpart. Only a small number was built between 1954 and 1957. Externally, the M-46 and M-47 are virtually identical, except for the calibre.

China

* Type 59 – This is a licensed version of the M-46.Janes Armour and Artillery 2003–2004

* Type 59-1 – This is a combination of the 130 mm ordnance of the Type 59 with the carriage of the Type 60 (D-74 copy). The result is a gun with the same range as the M-46, but with a much lower weight of 6.3 t. The M59-1M is the Egyptian licence version. For the export market, a version with APU and redesigned carriage was developed. Also for the export market, a self-propelled variant, based on the

Type 83 SPH The Type 83 is a 152 mm self-propelled howitzer used by the People's Liberation Army of China. This self-propelled gun system was developed by Factory 674 ( Harbin First Machinery Building Group Ltd) and based on a tracked chassis. The proj ...

was designed.Janes Armour and Artillery 1993–1994 * Type GM-45 – For the export market,

NORINCO China North Industries Group Corporation Limited, doing business internationally as Norinco Group (an abbreviation of "North Industries Corporation"), and known within China as China Ordnance Industries Group Corporation Limited (), is a Chinese ...

(China North Industries Corporation) developed this upgrade package where the original barrel of the Type 59 is replaced by the 155/45 mm ordnance of the WA 021. The Type GM-45 has a maximum range of 39 km when ERFB-BB ammunition is used.

Cuba

* The Cuban army operates two different, locally designed self-propelled versions of the M-46. One is based on the tracked chassis of the

T-34-85 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank from World War II. When introduced, its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was more powerful than many of its contemporaries, and its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, ...

tank, while the other is based on a heavily modified

KrAZ KrAZ (, ''Kremenchutskyi Avtomobilnyi Zavod'', Kremenchuk Automobile Plant, АвтоКрА́З or AvtoKrAZ) is a factory in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, that produces trucks and other special-purpose vehicles, particularly heavy-duty off-road models. Th ...

6x6 truck. These and other modifications were shown for the first time during the 2006 military parade.

Egypt

* The

Egyptian Army The Egyptian Army (), officially the Egyptian Ground Forces (), is the land warfare branch (and largest service branch) of the Egyptian Armed Forces. Until the declaration of the Republic and the abolishment of the monarchy on 18 June 1953, it w ...

operates a locally assembled variant of the M-46

India

* The Indian Army has a total of around 1,000 of the 130 mm towed guns that were acquired from the former Soviet Union starting in 1968. * Project Karan – Indian Army contracted the Israeli firm Soltam to upgun a total of 180 M-46 guns of 9 artillery regiments to 155 mm 45-calibre guns. All were delivered as of 2018. * Project Sharang – Another 155 mm upgrade of M-46 towed guns is being careied out by state-owned

Ordnance Factory Board The Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination & Services) (abbreviated: DOO(C&S)) is an authority under the Department of Defence Production (DDP) of Ministry of Defence (MoD), Government of India. Its primary work is to management, give instructio ...

(OFB). The upgraded M-46, weighing 8.4 tonnes, has a range of 39 km. The warhead per round has been increased from 3.4 kg of

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

to 8 kg of TNT. After the upgrade the total length and width of the gun measured 11.84 m and 2.45 m with a 6.9 m-long barrel. On 25 October 2018, the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

(MoD) has awarded an contract to the OFB for the upgrade. As per the contract, 300 units of M-46 field guns of 15 artillery regiments will be upgraded to 155 mm 45-calibre to augment the Army's firepower. Post corporisation of Ordnance Factories, the order of these guns is with AWEIL and AVNL. The upgrade is being carried out at

Vehicle Factory Jabalpur Vehicle Factory Jabalpur (Hindi: वाहन निर्माणी जबलपुर), is a military motor vehicle factory, located in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India, part of Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited which was previously a part of ...

and Gun Carriage Factory Jabalpur of AVNL and AWEIL, respectively. AVNL has delivered 26 units of Sharang as of July 2024. * SP-130 "Catapult" – Indian-designed self-propelled version, mounted on the hull of the

Vijayanta The ''Vijayanta'' () was a main battle tank built in India based on a licensed design of the Vickers Mk.1. The Vijayanta was the first indigenous tank of the Indian Army. The prototype was completed in 1963 and the tank entered service on Decem ...

tank.

Israel

* M-46S – This is an upgrade of an existing M-46 or Type 59, carried out by Soltam Systems Ltd. The original barrel is replaced by a new model of 155/45mm (western ammunition) for a range of 25.8 (HE) to 39 km (ERFB-BB). A 39-calibre barrel is optional. In March 2000, Soltam won a contract worth $47,524,137 for upgrading 180 M-46s to M-46S standard (Indian designator: 155/45mm (E1) Soltam). A follow-on deal for 250 retrofit kits was optioned for. In 2005, after only 40 howitzers were modified, the M-46S programme was terminated due to a fatal barrel explosion.

North Korea

The US

Defense Intelligence Agency The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is an intelligence agency and combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) specializing in military intelligence. A component of the Department of Defense and the United States In ...

has reported the existence of a number of locally designed self-propelled artillery systems, including the SPG 130 mm M1975, the SPG 130 mm M1981 and the SPG 130 mm M1991. Details are not available, but they appear to be M-46/Type 59s mounted on a tracked chassis “Tokchon”.

Serbia

* M46/84 – This is a conversion that involved replacing the original 130 mm barrel with a new 155/45 mm barrel or 152 mm barrel. With ERFB-BB ammunition, this version has a range of 38,600 m and with M05 152 mm range exceeds 40 km.

Netherlands

* RDM Technology BV is yet another company that offers an upgrade of the M-46/Type 59 that involves fitting a new 155mm/45 barrel.

Romania

* A412 – License-built Chinese Type 59–1 with D-20 carriage. In

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Forc ...

service, the A412 is known as the 130 mm towed gun M1982 (). The A412 was also exported. Type 59-1 was manufactured by Arsenal Resita under the designation A412 Model 1982 between 1982 and 1989. A maximum range of was reached Using NORINCO's Base Bleed ammunition. The A412 cannon can fire a 7-8 rounds per minute. The A412 was exported to four other countries: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cameroon, Guinea, and Nigeria.

Vietnam

* PTH130-K225B – A self-propelled prototype placed on

6x6 truck was revealed, based on

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

's variant.

Projectiles

* Frag-HE, 3OF33 (with full charge 3VOF43) – range: 27,490 meters * Frag-HE, 3OF33 (with separate charge 3VOF44) – range: 22,490 meters * Frag-HE, ERFB-BB – Extended Range Full Bore – Base Bleed, range: 38,000 meters * APCBC-HE-T, BR-482 and BR-482B – range: 1,140 meters * Guided Shell, Firn-1 – range: 24,000 meters * Smoke * Chemical * Illumination

Operators

* − 10 as of 2024 * − 48 as of 2024 * − 35 as of 2024 * − 62 Type-59-1 as of 2024 * − Type 59-1, unknown number in service as of 2024 * − 12 A412 (reported) and 12 Type 59 as of 2024 * − 100 Type 59 and Type 59-1 as of 2024 * − 5 as of 2024 * − 42 Type 59 and Type-59-I as of 2024 * − Unknown number in service as of 2024 * − 420 as of 2024, unknown number of guns converted into self-propelled guns * − 19 as of 2024 * − Unknown number in service as of 2024 * − 12 as of 2024 * − 6 as of 2024, serviceability doubtful * − ~600 in service and ~500 in storage as of 2024; 200 modified to 155 mm caliber * − The first batch of 136 supplied in 1970. 985 as of 2024 * − 60+ M-46 and Type 59 as of 2024 **

Popular Mobilization Forces The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF; ), also known as the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), is an Iranian-backed paramilitary umbrella group that operates within Iraq. Although formally and legally part of the Iraqi Armed Forces and reportin ...

* − 10 as of 2024 * − 15 as of 2024 ** − Used in Syria * − Unknown number in service as of 2024 * − 18 as of 2024 * − 6 as of 2024 * − unknown number in service as of 2024 * − 7 as of 2024 * − Unknown number in service as of 2024 * − 12 M-46s and 12 Type 59-I as of 2024 * − 410 Type 59-I as of 2024 * − 36 as of 2024 * − 350 as of 2024 * − 18 as of 2024 * − Unknown number in service as of 2024 * − 30 Type 59-I as of 2024 * − Unknown number of M-46 and Type 59-I in service as of 2024 * − Unknown number in service as of 2024 **

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA; ) is a Big tent, big-tent coalition of decentralized Syrian opposition (2011–2024), Syrian opposition rebel groups in the Syrian civil war founded on 29 July 2011 by Colonel Riad al-Asaad and six officers who defe ...

* − 30 Type 59-I as of 2024 * − 6 as of 2024 * − 221 as of 2024 * − 15 as of 2024 * : 20 Type 59-I as of 2024 * − Unknown number in service as of 2024 * − 18 as of 2024

Former operators

M46 130mm Guns of the Army of Republika Srpska

* * − 18 Type 59-I in 2011 * − 61 in 2011 * − 60 in 2011 * − 79 in 2011 * * − 322 units, designated as K 54 * - Former East German guns; 166 sold to Finland in 1993 * * − 34 * − 40 M-46 converted to 155 mm in storage as of 2024 *

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eela ...

− 12 Type 59-I * − 330 in 2011 * * − 18 in 2011 * − 10 acquired from East Germany * * − 130 mm towed gun M1982, no longer in front line service in 2011 * * − 6 on loan from Israel, later returned *

South Lebanon Army The South Lebanon Army or South Lebanese Army (SLA; , ), also known as the Lahad Army () or as the De Facto Forces (DFF), was a Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-dominated militia in Lebanon. It was founded by Lebanese military officer Saad H ...

− 5 acquired from Israel * *

Tigray Defense Forces The Tigray Defence Forces (TDF; ), colloquially called the ''Tigray Army'' (), is a paramilitary group located in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. It was founded by former generals of the Ethiopian Military in 2020 to combat federal forces enf ...

− At least 9 in 2021. Surrendered to the Ethiopian forces in the aftermath of the Tigray War * − 60 in 2011 *

Bibliography

* * *

References

External links

M-46

Type 59 130mm towed gun

130 K 54 RT
Finnish 130 K 154 Training {{Soviet and Russian artillery after WW2 130 mm artillery Field artillery of the Cold War Cold War artillery of the Soviet Union Motovilikha Plants products Military equipment introduced in the 1950s