Original idea
behind the 152 mm ML20
I chose to build
the 152 mm ML 20 for Petite Infanterie Red army. Ours was poorly equipped compare to its
German counterpart.
Considering that
the historical Red army artillery was a powerful one (it actually contributed a
lot to Russian victory), we cannot live with the status quo.
The choice of
that model is based on a simple thing: it’s both aggressive and slender.
History of the
152 mm ML20
The original
designation of the 152 mm ML was 152 mm gun-howitzer model 1937.
This gun was
design to replace the old 152 mm Pushka obr. 1910 which was unsuited for mobile
warfare because of its weight. Like many
other Russian guns, the 152 mm ML20 was the result of continuous improvements,
baby steps by baby steps and not any kind of quantum leap revolution.
Source: The
Encyclopedia of weapons of World War II. Metrobooks Publishing, 2002.
The best way to
describe the 152 mm ML20 can be found in this Wikipedia quotation:
"The ML-20 was one of the most successful Soviet artillery pieces of World War II. Its characteristics positioned it between classical short-range howitzers and special long-range guns. Compared to the former, the ML-20 has better range (e.g. the German 15
cm sFH 18 had range of
13.3 km), which often allowed it to shell positions of enemy artillery
while remaining immune to enemy fire. Its advantage over the latter was in
weight and cost, and therefore in mobility and production rate. For example,
the German 15 cm
K 39 with range of
24.7 km weighed 12.2 tons and only 61 pieces were built; of the excellent 17 cm K 18 (23.4 t, 29.6 km) 338 pieces were
manufactured; lighter 10.5 cm sK 18 (5.6 t, 19.1 km) was more common (2,135
pieces) but its 15 kg shell was much less powerful than a 44 kg shell
of ML-20. German attempts to produce an analogue to the ML-20 were
unsuccessful. The 15 cm sFH 40 was never produced due to construction
defects; the 15 сm sFH 42 had insufficient range and only 46 pieces were built.
In 1943 and 1944 Wehrmacht announced requirements for a 15 cm howitzer
with a range of 18 km, but none reached production."
Source of pictures of the 152 mm ML20
Original drawing
of the gun can be found here
I strongly
recommend that Engine of the Red Army for any scratch builders.
Even though, the drawing is not at scale, you have everything else.
Building of the
152 mm ML 20 Fact sheets
Made of wood,
plastic and rubber
Barrel
- Barrel made with a birch wood rod.
- Muzzle brake made of a plastic tube
- Offsets in the barrel made with heat shrink tubing (the ones use for electrical wiring)
Carriage
- Wheel of the carriage made of pills cap container
- Rubber band of the wheel made of hair elastic (the flat model)
- Shield made of thin veneer (the one use to make furniture)
limber
- Wheel of the carriage made of pills cap container
- Rubber band of the wheel made of hair elastic (the round model)
