152 mm howitzer M1938 (M-10)

152-mm howitzer M1938 (M-10)
M-10 in Hämeenlinna artillery museum, Finland.
Type	Howitzer
Place of origin	USSR
Production history
Manufacturer	Plant no. 172
Produced	1939–1941
No. built	1,522
Specifications
Weight	combat: 4,150 kg (9,049 lbs) travel: 4,550 kg (10,031 lbs)
Crew	10
Caliber	152.4 mm (6 in)
Breech	interrupted screw
Recoil	hydropneumatic
Carriage	split trail
Elevation	-1° to 65°
Traverse	50°
Rate of fire	3-4 rounds per minute
Maximum firing range	12.4 km (7.7 mi)
Sights	panoramic

152-mm howitzer M1938 (M-10) (Russian: 152-мм гаубица обр. 1938 г. (М-10)) was a Soviet 152.4 mm (6 inch) howitzer of World War II era. It was developed in 1937–1938 at the Motovilikha Mechanical Plant by a team headed by F. F. Petrov. Although production of the gun was stopped in 1941, it saw combat with the Red Army until the end of World War II and remained in service until the 1950s. Captured pieces were used by Wehrmacht and the Finnish Army. The latter kept the M-10 in service until 2000.

In a tank-mounted variant, M-10T, the gun was mounted on the KV-2 heavy tank.

By the early 1930s the Red Army (RKKA) started to look for a replacement for the 152-mm howitzer M1909 and the 152-mm howitzer M1910. Those pieces, developed before World War I, had unsprung fixed trail carriages and short barrels, which meant poor mobility, insufficient elevation and traverse angles and short range. Although both pieces were eventually modernized, resulting in the 152-mm howitzer M1909/30 and the 152-mm howitzer M1910/37 respectively, these were relatively minor upgrades which brought only limited improvement in some areas and didn't address others. It was clear that a completely new design was needed. However, at that time Soviets had little experience in developing modern artillery pieces.

Soviets initially tried to solve that problem through a collaboration with Germany. From its part, Germany, constrained by the limitations of the Treaty of Versailles, looked for a way to proceed with development and joint projects gave them such an opportunity. Among other weapons supplied by Germans was a heavy howitzer, designated in the USSR 152-mm howitzer M1931 (NG). Soon the Motovilikha Mechanical Plant (MMZ) was entrusted with the production of NG. However, only eight pieces were completed in 1932–1934, and then the production was stopped. The design proved to be too complicated for the Soviet industry of the early 1930s (the same fate befell some other designs, e.g. the 122-mm howitzer M1934 or 20-mm and 37-mm ) and was considered somewhat heavy (5,445 kg in travelling position). But these early failures it gave Soviet developers some valuable experience.