Type 54 122mm gun

The first large-caliber artillery equipped by our army was a 122mm howitzer that was copied and produced by the military industry department of the new China in 1954, referred to as the 54-type 122 howitzer. This howitzer began to be mass-produced and equipped with troops in the middle and late 1950s. It was once the backbone of the People's Liberation Army artillery and the basic artillery equipped by the infantry division and the army (group army) artillery regiment.

After liberation, New China planned to introduce the M30 122mm howitzer from the Soviet Union as the first medium-caliber artillery of the People's Liberation Army. In 1951, after China and the Soviet Union signed a technology transfer agreement, the country began to organize its imitation work. Thanks to the drawings and the guidance and suggestions of Soviet experts, a factory in Northeast China that was responsible for the imitation work successfully produced the first prototype gun in 1954 and transferred it to the finalization test. Because there is no risk of development, the finalization test speed is also very fast. After that, the gun was officially named "54 122mm howitzer" and began to be equipped with troops. The successful development of the Type 54 howitzer ended New China’s history of no standard artillery. For this reason, the factory received a letter of commendation signed by Chairman Mao.

The Type 54 122mm howitzer is based on the former Soviet M-30 122mm howitzer imitation made in 1954, stereotypes, its improved design finalized 54-1 type 1966, 1981 production models, the gun is now 83 type 122 mm howitzer instead. Gun with manual screw breech; recoil machine into the machine guns were arranged in the body, the lower part; aiming device consists of 58 type sight, 58 weeks depending on type sight components. The gun is equipped with anti-burst grenades, incendiary bombs, smoke bombs, flares.

The 54-122 mm howitzer belonged to the division-level artillery, a Soviet-like backbone of fire. The design dated from 1938, designed by the Soviet Union, playing a role in World War II, widely equipped with Soviet units. China bought a number of them from the Soviet Union for the Korean war. By the year 1954, after the war, China had success at a factory in Northeast China in developing a copy, known as the Type 54. At that time, the Cannon factory in Taiyuan also succeeded with a 76.2 mm field artillery imitation of a Soviet desing. Both guns were reported to Chairman Mao, who personally issued two exactly the same letter of commendation, awards two gun imitation was successful. In the weapons industry, rewarded by Chairman Mao autographed letter received only these two plants.

In the early days of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, most of our military’s weapons and equipment were captured from the enemy. In view of this, our country reached an agreement with the Soviet Union to introduce Soviet-made weapons and equipment to replace our army’s old hybrid weapons. However, to achieve the great goal of modernizing military equipment, it is far from enough to rely on imports alone-one is expensive, and the other is constrained by others. Only building one's own military industry is the long-term solution.

In 1951, the ordnance industry delegation of the Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China visited the Soviet Union. After many negotiations, it signed a contract with the Soviet Union for the Chinese factory to obtain a concession for manufacturing Soviet-style guns, ammunition, and Soviet-style guns, ammunition samples, and production technical data. And when necessary, the Soviet Union sends experts to provide technical assistance. Subsequently, in early 1952, the Soviet Union sent a team of five experts to investigate China for three months. On the basis of the opinions of the Soviet expert group, the Central Military Commission drafted the "Decision on Ordnance Industry Issues" in May 1952, and decided to use the drawings and materials provided by the Soviet Union to imitate 15 types of army weapons, including the Soviet-made 1938-style 122. Millimeter howitzer.

"The 1938-style 122mm howitzer began finalized production in 1940. Although the Soviets provided us with old guns that were used in World War II, the volunteer artillery showed that the guns were reliable, durable, and accurate in shooting. Therefore, it is reasonable for our country to choose its final improved version to carry out a large number of imitation production" Sun Xiaowen said.

The task of imitating this gun was undertaken by the 127 factory in Qiqihar. In the second half of 1952, Soviet drawings and materials came one after another, and the 127 factory began trial production under the guidance of Soviet experts. In just over a year, the imitated 122mm howitzer was successfully developed, and the first batch of finished products was trial-produced in September 1954.

After the Chinese imitation production of howitzers passed the finalization and acceptance, they were officially named "1954 122mm Howitzers". Since Factory 127 later assumed the task of trial production of the new long-range artillery, its production was adjusted to Factory 247 in Taiyuan.

The successful production of the 54-type 122 howitzer and the use of a large number of equipped troops provided our army with a reliable firepower support. After continuous inspection and improvement, it became the advanced and reliable mainstream artillery at that time. The Type 54 122 howitzer was not retired from active service until the 1980s and was replaced by a new type of artillery. At present, most of the 54-type 122 howitzers are transferred to reserve forces for continued use, and a small number of them continue to be used as national defense education exhibits in museums and memorials throughout the country.

At the gun factory of Taiyuan, improvements wre made in the Type 54 howitzer, such as the stabilization hoe. The Soviet Union's original design for the winter and summer hoe featured a summer hoe that could be folded, and a winter hoe for fixing at the large end. Because of frozen ground in winter, especially in the Soviet Union, the winter hoe was very, very narrow. During the summer, soft, its reaction would be out, in that case the gun was too easy to move. But in China, especially in southern areas, the summer resident hoe is too big, and not suited to China's conditions. In that case, the military Commission called for artillery refinement.

A big improvement came from not stereotyping poor technology from the Soviet Union. At that time, the Soviets used riveting of box-shaped components, which was very heavy. Later China replaced these by welded components, two grooved steel welded together. After soldering, good technology, weight was also reduced. An improvement was made to recoil, at that time considered to be a good improvement, but others thought that was a mistake. Liquid regulator from the Soviet Union was spring-loaded, with force reflecting the spring which rusted and was easy to jam. This was changed to a liquid-pressure device, with pneumatic spring components, gas is on the liquid sealing. This structure is readily accessible, especially in high-angle, and more likely to fail. It was finally decided the original structure unchanged.

The Type 54 howitzer was in use a long time, as it was well received in the army. Although heavy, it was very sturdy and had good accuracy. Developing a new cannon to replace it would not only have far greater range, but also it would have to be sturdy and reliable, so that the force would welcome it.

After the successful development of the 54-type howitzer, it has been the main support firepower for the PLA division level for more than 30 years of service. The Golden Gate artillery battle, the war against India, and the war against Vietnam, and in every foreign conflict after the founding of New China, the 54-type howitzer was almost always seen. At the same time, the gun is durable and reliable. The cold, hot, dry and humid environment can't affect its normal use. At the same time, the accuracy is quite good. It is popular with the army as a whole. The artillery unit even has a new type of artillery that is not as reliable as the 54 howitzer. Passing resistance. After being replaced by a new domestic howitzer, the 54-type howitzer, a successor to a World War II weapon, can still exert its waste heat, pretending to be an "American M2 howitzer" and appearing in various war movies and TV series.