Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons. These engines comprise specialised devices which use some form of stored energy to operate, whether mechanical, chemical, or electromagnetic. Originally designed to breach fortifications, they have evolved from nearly static installations intended to reduce a single obstacle to highly mobile weapons of great flexibility in which now reposes the greater portion of a modern army's offensive capabilities.

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Add media Report RSS 203mm howitzer B-4 M1931 (view original)
203mm howitzer B-4 M1931
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Description

Country Russia
Type Field Gun
Caliber 203.000 mm
Length 5,087 mm
Barrel Length 4,894 mm
Weight 17700.000 kg
Ammunition Weight 98.50 kg
Rate of Fire 1 rounds/min
Range 18,000 m
Muzzle Velocity 606 m/s

The 203 mm Howitzer M1931 (B-4) field guns were designed by Nikolai Nikititsch Magdesiew in 1931, and production began in 1932. These heavy howitzers were mounted on tracked carriages for towing. Although the firing rate of 1 round per minute was rather slow, they were used with success against German defensive fortifications as the Soviet forces advanced toward Berlin, Germany during the European War.