76 mm mountain gun M1958 (2A2)

76 mm mountain gun M1958 2A2
A 2A2 in the Technical Museum Of Togliatti
Type	Mountain gun Airborne gun
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
Used by	Soviet Union
Production history
Designer	Plant № 172
Designed	1951
Manufacturer	Plant № 172
Produced	1958
Specifications
Mass	Travel: 750 kg (1,650 lb) Firing: 735 kg (1,620 lb)
Length	Travel: 3.3 m (10 ft 10 in) Firing: 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in)
Barrel  length	1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) L/21.4
Width	1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Height	Travel: 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) Firing: 1 m (3 ft 3 in)
Shell	Semi-Fixed QF
Shell weight	6.23 kg (13 lb 12 oz)
Caliber	76.2 mm (3.00 in)
Breech	Semi-automatic horizontal sliding block
Recoil	Hydro-pneumatic
Carriage	Split trail
Elevation	-10 to +70 degrees
Traverse	-45 to +45 degrees
Rate of fire	10-20 RPM
Muzzle velocity	485 m/s (1,590 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	10 km (6.2 mi)

The 76 mm mountain gun M1958 (M-99, GP or 2A2) was a Soviet mountain gun designed during the 1950s.

History

Developed by SKB-172 under the guidance of Mikhail Yurievich Tsirulnikov. The M-99 passed factory tests in December 1954 and passed military tests on 21 April 1955.

The M-99 was officially adopted in 1958 under the name 76 mm GP mountain gun. At this time, a new indexing of guns was introduced, and the M-99 received the GRAU index number 2A2. ^[1]

Design

The barrel is the same as the 76 mm mountain gun model 1938. It has a split-trail carriage, a hydro-pneumatic recoil mechanism, a semi-automatic horizontal sliding wedge breech, torsion bar suspension, and pneumatic tires for motor transport. The gun is collapsible or can be broken down into 10 pack loads for transport.

Surviving examples

• Museum of the History of PJSC Motovilikha Plants, Perm.
• Museum of Russian Military History, Moscow.
• UMMC Museum Complex, Sverdlovsk.
• Central Museum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Moscow.
• Tula Artillery Engineering Institute, Tula.
• Omsk Cadet Military Corps, Omsk.

Ammunition

Designation	Type
53-VOF-356	HEF
53-UBK-356	HEAT
53-UBK-356M	HEAT
53-UBP-356	AP
53-UBP-356A	AP
53-UBP-356M	AP
53-UBR-356	AP-T
53-UBR-356A	AP-T
53-UBR-356B	AP-T
53-UBR-356SP	AP-T
53-UD-356	Smoke
53-UD-356A	Smoke
53-UZ-356	Incendiary
53-UO-356A	Frag
53-UOF-356	HE
53-UOF-356A	HE
53-UOF-356AM	HE
53-UOF-356M	HE
53-UOKh-356	Fragmentation-Chemical
53-USh-356	Shrapnel
53-USh-356T	Shrapnel

See also

• 76 mm mountain gun M48 — A similar Yugoslavian Cold War design
• OTO Melara Mod 56 — A similar Italian Cold War design
• M116 howitzer — A similar American WWII design

References

1. "76-mm mountain gun model 1958 2A2(M99)". nuou.org.ua.

Further reading

• Shirokorad A. B, Encyclopedia Of Soviet Artillery, Kharvest, 2017 ISBN   985-433-703-0
• Ruzaev S.V, Artillery systems from the collection of the UMMC Museum of Military Equipment, Ural Worker, 2017 ISBN   978-5-85383-687-7