152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20)

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152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20)
ML-20 in museum "The Smolensk Region in the years of Great Patriotic War", Smolensk.
Type	Howitzer
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
Wars	Winter War World War II Six-Day War Yom Kippur War
Production history
Designer	Design bureau of No. 172 Plant, headed by F. F. Petrov
Produced	1937-1947
No. built	6,884
Specifications
Mass	combat: 7,270 kg (16,027 lb) travel: 7,930 kg (17,482 lb)
Length	8.18 m (26 ft 10 in) (with limber; barrel pulled back)
Barrel length	bore: 4.24 m (13 ft 11 in) L/27.9 overall: 4.412 m (10 ft) L/29 (without muzzle brake)
Width	2.35 m (7 ft 9 in)
Height	2.27 m (7 ft 5 in)
Shell	152 x 547 mm R
Caliber	152.4 mm (6 in)
Breech	interrupted screw
Recoil	hydro-pneumatic
Carriage	split trail
Elevation	−2° to 65°
Traverse	58°
Rate of fire	3-4 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity	655 m/s (2,150 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	17.23 km (10.7 mi)

The 152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20) (Russian: 152-мм гаубица-пушка обр. 1937 г. (МЛ-20)), is a Soviet heavy gun-howitzer. The gun was developed by the design bureau of the plant no 172, headed by F. F. Petrov, as a deep upgrade of the 152-mm gun M1910/34, in turn based on the 152-mm siege gun M1910, a pre-World War I design by Schneider. It was in production from 1937 to 1946. The ML-20 saw action in World War II, mainly as a corps / army level artillery piece of the Soviet Army. Captured guns were employed by Wehrmacht and the Finnish Army. Post World War II, the ML-20 saw combat in numerous conflicts during the mid to late twentieth century.