F-22 76.2MM SOVIET FIELD/AT GUN

The F-22 is a Soviet, divisional 76.2 mm towed cannon from the interwar period and World War II. The initial velocity of the shell from this gun was up to 706 m / s, with a maximum range of about 13,600 meters. The rate of fire of the weapon, with a well-trained crew, reached 10-12 rounds per minute. Serial production was carried out in the years 1936-1939 and led to the creation of about 2,950 pieces of this weapon. Design work on the F-22 began in 1934 and was aimed at creating a successor to the wz.1902 / 30 gun. It was also assumed, rather riskily, that the new cannon would be truly universal and would also be able to provide anti-aircraft cover for its own troops. The designer of the weapon was Vasily Grabin. In the course of exploitation, it turned out that the ability to combat air targets is close to zero, and the gun has a complicated structure of the front, which in addition was heavy and reduced the maneuverability of the weapon in the field. For these reasons, the design was simplified and a modernized version called the F-22 USW was put into production. The F-22 cannons took part in the battles on Lake Charan (1938) and on the Chałchyn-Goł River (1939). They were also widely used in World War II as an infantry support and anti-tank weapon. Also the Germans and Finns used captured copies of this weapon mainly in the latter role.