107 mm divisional gun M1940 (M-60)

The gun entered production at the No. 352 Plant in Novocherkassk and at the No. 172 Plant. The former contributed 25 pieces in 1940 and a further 101 in 1941.

Soon after the outbreak of the German-Soviet War, production ceased for the following reasons:

• A shortage of artillery tractors with sufficient power meant divisional artillery would have difficulty in transporting the heavy gun;
• Corps level artillery was disbanded with the disbanding of rifle corps;
• No immediate need for a heavy gun with good anti-tank performance was perceived;
• The gun was complicated to produce and demanding to maintain;
• In the extreme circumstances of 1941, the Soviet Union did not have any spare industrial capacity for the M-60.

The barrel consisted of a loose liner and jacket which was screwed into the breech; the breechblock was of the interrupted screw type, borrowed from the 122 mm howitzer M1910/30. The variable length recoil system consisted of a hydraulic recoil buffer and hydro-pneumatic recuperator. The gun was fitted with segment-type elevation gear and screw-type traverse gear. The carriage was of the split trail type, with trolleybus-type wheels and rubber tires. To protect the crew from small arms fire and shell fragments, a shield was fitted.

In the traveling position, the barrel was pulled back. Short-distance movement with the barrel in the original position was permitted, as long as the speed did not exceed 6–7 km/h.[1]

Despite being developed as a divisional gun, the M-60 was never used by Red Army rifle divisions. In 1941, M-60s served in anti-tank artillery brigades; according to the official organization, these consisted of two regiments, each with a battalion of M-60s, (12 pieces) and two battalions of 85 mm anti-aircraft guns, with both types of weapons employed as heavy anti-tank guns. In practice, most of the brigades never received their 107 mm guns. These brigades were disbanded in late 1941 and the surviving M-60s were used in independent 12-gun battalions.[2]

In 1943 rifle corps were reintroduced. Corps artillery regiments received most of the surviving 107 mm guns, along with 122 mm guns and 152 mm howitzers; in total, each regiment had 16-20 pieces.[3]

Since the M-60 was a limited production weapon, reports about its actual use in combat are rare. Some saw action at the Battle of Kursk, with Central Front forces.[4] Six M-60s were used during the liberation of Sevastopol in 1944.

A few pieces were captured by the Wehrmacht; they were designated 10.7 cm K 353(r) by the Germans.

A surviving piece can be seen in the Artillery Museum in Saint Petersburg.

The German attack in 1941 led to a situation in which the Soviet Union had neither the requirement for a weapon like the M-60 nor the industrial capacity for its production. As a result, only a limited number of pieces were supplied to the Red Army.

The M-60 was the last 107 mm piece adopted by the Red Army. Although in 1943 another 107 mm gun, the 9S-1, was developed, it never reached production. Until the end of the war, the divisional artillery continued to rely on 76 mm guns (in conjunction with 122 mm howitzers), while larger formations employed heavier, more powerful weapons such as the 122 mm A-19. When a need for a very powerful anti-tank gun was identified later in the war, the 100 mm BS-3 was developed. Unlike the M-60, the BS-3 used fixed ammunition, resulting in a better rate of fire; the BS-3 was also lighter (3.6 tons) and had a shorter deployment time because its barrel was not pulled back for transportation. However, the use of fixed rounds - and a limited assortment of 100 mm ammunition - made it less useful as a field gun. In 1945 another weapon intended for a similar role was adopted, in the form of the 85 mm gun D-44.

For the sake of comparison, the standard German 105 mm gun, the 10.5 cm sK 18, had similar characteristics. It somewhat surpassed the M-60 in range (19 km, or 21 km for a modernized K 18/40), but was much heavier at about six tons. The German gun also fired a somewhat lighter (15 kg) shell.[5]

Another comparable weapon was the British BL 4.5-inch Medium Field Gun. Although much heavier than the M-60, it fired a 25 kg projectile to nearly 19 km.

The M-60 fired separately loaded ammunition, with the propellant charge in the cartridge. Projectiles used by the older M1910/30 could be utilized, but with a different cartridge case and propellant charge. Three different charges - full, first and second - were used.

The explosion of the OF-420 shell, with the fuse set to the fragmentation action, resulted in damage to 90% of targets in the 6 to 14 meters area and to 50% of targets in a 20 to 42 meter area. When the fuse was set to high-explosive action, the shell created a hole 1–1.5 m in diameter and 40–60 cm deep in average soil.

The shrapnel shell contained more than 600 bullets, and covered an area about 800 m long and 45–50 m wide.[6]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to M-60 107 mm gun.

• Ivanov A. - Artillery of the USSR in Second World War - SPb Neva, 2003 (Иванов А. - Артиллерия СССР во Второй Мировой войне. — СПб., Издательский дом Нева, 2003., ISBN 5-7654-2731-6)
• Kolomiets M. V. - Klim Voroshilov - The Breakthrough Tank - M. Yauza, Eksmo, 2006 (Коломиец М. В. - КВ. "Клим Ворошилов" — танк прорыва — М.: Коллекция, Яуза, ЭКСМО, 2006. — 136 с.: ил. ISBN 5-699-18754-5)
• Kolomiets M., Svirin M. - The Kursk Salient - M. EksPrint NV, 1998 (М.Коломиец, М. Свирин. Курская дуга. М.:ЭксПринт НВ, 1998. ISBN 5-85729-011-2)
• Shirokorad A. B. - Encyclopedia of the Soviet Artillery - Mn. Harvest, 2000 (Широкорад А. Б. Энциклопедия отечественной артиллерии. — Мн.: Харвест, 2000., ISBN 985-433-703-0)
• Shirokorad A. B. - The God of War of The Third Reich - M. AST, 2002 (Широкорад А. Б. - Бог войны Третьего рейха. — М.,ООО Издательство АСТ, 2002., ISBN 5-17-015302-3)
• Shunkov V. N. - The Weapons of the Red Army, Mn. Harvest, 1999 (Шунков В. Н. - Оружие Красной Армии. — Мн.: Харвест, 1999.) ISBN 985-433-469-4
• Military History Journal, no 5, 2005.