Squadron of Soviet Antique Cannons Spotted in Syria (Video)

A video, showing the Soviet M-30 howitzers, using by Syrian troops in Homs, has been published online.

A video, captured on positions of the Syrian Army in Homs, has been published online. The video shows government troops, successfully using the Soviet M-30 howitzers, which were taken into service before the Second World War.

The 122-mm divisional howitzer, developed by the Motovilikhinsky factory, was passed into service in 1938. The M-30 was liked by customers of the Main Artillery Directorate of the Red Army due to the lack of a muzzle recoil compensator, which usually raises clouds of dust during firing and unmasks the position, as well as due to using a larger number of kits in the structure and a possibility to use a gun-carriage for installation of more powerful weapons.

Serial production of the howitzer was started in 1939 and lasted for 16 years. The M-30 successfully passed the Second World War – a direct hit of a 122-millimeter high-explosive shell could destroy a tower of the PzKpfw III, and in 1943 hollow charge shells appeared – the howitzer was mounted on the SU-122, the first Soviet self-propelled gun. According to artillery experts, the M-30 became one of the best examples of Soviet cannon artillery of the mid of the XX century.

After the war, the M-30 was used practically in all major armed conflicts of the second half of the XX century. The cannon stands or stood in service in 30 countries. As of 2016, there were about 3,750 howitzers, stored in Russia. Earlier, the M-30s also could be seen in Syria, but it was very rarely to have a chance to see the howitzer, operating singly.