76.2mm Divisional Gun model 1936 (F-22)

The 76.2mm Divisional Gun Model 1936 (F-22)introduced a new split trail, and largely replaced the older Model 1933 in Soviet Service.

The Model 1933 was an interim design that had matched a new L/50 barrel with the box trail from the 122mm Field Howitzer Model 10/30.

The Model 1936 had a slightly longer L/51.1 calibre barrel. The biggest change was the use of a new split tubular trail carriage, which raised the maximum elevation to 75 degrees and the range of traverse to 60 degrees. It had a sloping gun shield and used pneumatic tyres, allowing it to be towed by motor vehicles. As with the older guns, the recoil mechanism was carried in the cradle below the barrel. The Model 1936 had been intended to serve as a ‘universal gun’, capable of serving as a normal divisional artillery piece, an anti-tank gun and an anti-aircraft gun, taking advantage of the high elevation. However it was a poor AA gun, and the recoil system tended to overheat when the gun was fired rapidly for long periods of time in the AA role. The next gun to be developed, the 76.2mm Divisional Gun M1939 USV dropped the anti-aircraft role.

The Germans captured a large number of the Model 1936. They pressed it into service as the 7.62cm FK 296(r) and even produced their own ammunition for it.

The Germans also rebuilt the Model 1936 to serve as an anti-tank gun, to produce the 7.62cm Pak 36(r), which could fire the same ammo as the PaK 40.

Russian Weapons of World War II, David Porter. A good overview of the weapons used by the Soviet Union during the Second World War, ranging from individual infantry weapons up to the battleships of the Soviet fleet, as well as the various lend lease items that supported the Soviet war effort. Well illustrated, acknowledges the problems dealing with Soviet sources, and accurate in areas of some confusion (such as the various types of artillery pieces in service) (Read Full Review)

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