In the late 40s the Soviet army needed replacement 122 mm cannon A-19 (M1931 / 37), developed in a hurry and are produced in small amounts to 1945 of the year, but recognized too heavy, and also has a very small range of fire for the intended role for her fight with enemy artillery. As a result, on arms was adopted by the 130-mm field gun M-46, However, the development of the design bureau headed by Petrov was also launched in small quantities in production. Subsequently, this gun, first appeared in the army in 1955 year, and received the designation 122-mm field gun D-74.
Photo gun D-74
Although gun D-74 came in very limited quantities in the Soviet Army (perhaps, Until now, these tools are on standby), the majority of the issued instruments are exported to such countries, China, Egypt, Cuba, North Korea and Vietnam. One batch of guns was even put in Peru, but in the Chinese A-74 made such an impression, that they have established their own production counterparts, receiving designation 122mm gun Type 60.
Barrel of the gun D-74 is mounted on the same carriage, that of gun-howitzer D-20 - the usual dvuhstaninnom pallet and plate for hanging the wheels in position for shooting, With this plate the entire gun rather quickly and easily deployed to 360 °. Long barrel lengths of about 50 calibres equipped with double-slotted muzzle brake. The gun has a relatively small shield and optional wheels on the ends of the trails for ease of maintenance.
Types D-74 gun ammunition used in basically the same as those, that are used by other 122-mm artillery systems with loading the kartuznym, but the power of propellant charges may be different. Maximum range is 24 000 m. As is customary in the Soviet artillery systems development, gun D-74 can be used to fight against armored targets. For this purpose, armor-piercing shell weighing 25 kg solid core, able at a distance 1000 meters thick pierce armor 185 mm. Currently, however, this type of munitions in all artillery systems are obsolete and are not used.
The performance characteristics of the D-74 cannons
| Crew | 10 human |
| Full combat weight | 5500 kg |
| barrel length | 6,45 m |
| gun Overall length stowed position |
9.875 m |
| The width of the tools in the stowed position |
2,35 m |
| Maximum range | 24 000 m |
| The initial velocity of the projectile | 885 m / s |
| The mass of the projectile | 27,3 kg |
| The maximum angle of declination / exaltation, city. |
—5/+45 |
| angle horizontal guidance, city. |
(of Carriages) 45 |
