By Lasse Jensen

Last updated 18 April 2002

76.2mm Pushka obr. 1902/30 g L/30
 

General


Designer Schneider-Putilov


76.2mm Pushka obr. 1902/30 g L/30
Original Manufacture Russia
Original Manufacture name 76.2mm Pushka obr. 1902/30 g L/30
Is this a license build gun? no
License Manufacture ~
Customer Aim Domestic military, Export
Prototype naming
Indented country naming Russia, 76.2mm Pushka obr. 1902/30 g L/30
Naming variants Germany - '7.62cm FK 295/1(r)'
Finland - '7.62cm K 02-30'
reversion models 76.2mm Pushka obr. 1902/30 g L/40
Licenses build variants
Export variants
Nature of weapon Field gun
Introduction date 1930
First action date
Production time
Production number
Crew

Gun dimension

Caliber, bore 76.2mm

Caliber, length/bore L/30
Muzzle brake no
Recoil system
Breech mechanism
Barrel length (all) 
Barrel length (ex breech)
Barrel weight (all)
Weight (firing position) 1320kg
Weight (traveling order)
Length (firing position)
Length (traveling order)
Width (firing position)
Width (traveling order)
Height (firing position)
Height (traveling order)
Ground Clearance (towing)

Gun performers

    

Traverse Right
Traverse Left
Elevation +35°
Depression -6°
Ammunition types 4.82kg -HE1
6.23kg -HE2
Maximum Range ?m -HE1
10.600m -HE2
Muzzle velocity 425m/s -HE1
625m/s -HE2
Charge weight 1.08kg
Rate of Fire - 30s ~4-5 rounds
Rate of Fire - 4m ~15-20 rounds
Rate of Fire - 10m ~25-35 rounds
Rate of Fire - 1h, sustained ~60 rounds

Carriage

    

Name
Variants
Shield yes
Weight
Wheels (if any) yes
Tyres (if any) no

Towing vehicle

    

Primary type
Trailer

 

History
In the mid-1920's, the Red Army High Command decided to modernize the existing 76.2 mm Gun Model 1902 - the most famous and one of the best Russian three-inch field guns. The main goal was to increase the range of the gun, but the technical standards of the Soviet High Command were poor at that time. Poorly educated, M. Tukhachevsky was Deputy Minister (zam. narkoma) of Weapons; and I. Pavlunovsky, who had no education at all, was Deputy Minister of Heavy Machine Building. These two men proposed many weak and opposite schemes, and ordered that they be carried out. They knew nothing about artillery and its problems.

Obviously, if the caliber of a gun is changed, not only will the range be increased, but also the charge must be raised by a great margin (up to a power of three!). Unfortunately, this was not obvious to Tukhachevsky and Pavlunovsky. They decided to increase the range of the 3-in gun without changing its caliber (and thus its projectile and cartridge). How was that to be accomplished? Of course, the cartridge of the original 3-inch gun was developed with some reserve capacity, thus the propellant charge could be increased from 0.9 kg to 1.08 kg. Furthermore, the projectile's aerodynamic properties were improved, and the maximum elevation angle of the gun was increased.

The last scheme was to increase the barrel's length from 30 calibers to 40 or even 50 calibers. In fact, the range increased little while the gun's weight and length increased considerably and, as a result, the gun's maneuverability and acceptability decreased significantly.

Until the end of 1937, the modernized 76.2 mm Gun Model 1902/30 was in mass production. The 76.2 mm Gun Model 1902/30 used the same ammunition as the 76.2mm obr 1927.

Finnish forces captured 32 guns of this type during the Winter War.
More Pictures
         
         
         

References: 
Russian Battlefield
 JED Military Enthusiasts Directory
Additional web resources.
Various web notes.

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