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​The russian Military Use Rare Korean 130 mm Projectiles for the Stalin-era M-46 Gun

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The 130 mm towed field gun M-46 / Open source illustrative photo
The 130 mm towed field gun M-46 / Open source illustrative photo

Photos showing that the Russian occupiers are using DPRK-made 130mm HE-Frag projectiles to fire M-46 caliber 130 mm M-46 field gun have appeared in open access

These photos were shared by the War Noir account on the X network.

This is the second public reference in the last six months that the russian army in the war against Ukraine uses, in particular, M-46 towed guns, which were put into service with the Soviet army during the reign of Joseph Stalin. It should be noted that these guns were manufactured back in the 1950s. They are rare for the russian occupation forces in Ukraine due to their specific caliber of 130mm as well as the limited supply of ammunition for them.

Read more: The russians Revealed That Ukrainian Forces Destroyed Their Zemledeliye System, Which Is a Rather Rare Event

At the beginning of 2022, the russian troops did not use the M-46 field guns at all. The Military Balance 2023 guide indicated that by the beginning of 2023 there could be up to 350 guns of this type on storage bases in russia.

The russian Military Use Rare Korean 130 mm Projectiles for the Stalin-era M-46 Gun, Defense Express
russian occupiers use the M-46 field gun in battles against the Armed Forces of Ukraine, January 2024 / Open source photo

Apparently, the russians rushed to deconserve the rare M-46 guns due to the high losses of the artillery systems, which they bear due to the effective counter-battery fight that the Ukrainian military conduct on the battlefield.

It seems that due to the appearance of a large number of these guns in the russians, they may have problems with ammunition for them. The use of 130 mm projectiles was not a standard for the russian army, so it is unlikely that the corresponding projectiles were mass-produced at the facilities of the russian defense industry.

The russian Military Use Rare Korean 130 mm Projectiles for the Stalin-era M-46 Gun, Defense Express
russian occupiers use the M-46 field gun? in battles against the Armed Forces of Ukraine, January 2024 / Open source photo

It is quite likely that in this case, deliveries of 130-mm projectiles from North Korea could be the only solution to the problem of the russians with ammunition for M-46 guns. It should be noted that as of the beginning of last year, such guns were still in service with the North Korean army.

From this, we can conclude that it is critically important for the russians to close their own problems, which they have with the availability of scarce types of projectiles, which are currently not manufactured in russia, for the sake of supplies from the DPRK

The russian Military Use Rare Korean 130 mm Projectiles for the Stalin-era M-46 Gun, A 203mm projectile, probably received from iran, at the disposal of the russian forces, Defense Express
A 203mm projectile, probably received from iran, at the disposal of the russian forces / Photo credit: Ukrainian Informant

As Defense Express reported, Possibly iranian 203mm Artillery Shells Found in russian Forces.

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