Russia has decided to demothball old, rare 130mm M-46 cannons from the 1950s. Photos have appeared in the public domain that show that the Russian occupiers began to use them in battles against the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Defense Express reports.
According to the publication, the images do not allow them to determine the likely number of M-46s that the enemy has demothballed, but one can only state that Russian troops have begun to demothball and use this Soviet artillery system.
In the case of the M-46, the following details are worth noting: these guns were manufactured from 1946 to 1950, have a non-standard calibre of 130 millimetres for the Russian Army's ground forces, and the Russians had only 350 guns of this type in storage (according to The Military Balance 2023).
Because of the non-standard calibre, the question naturally arises as to where the Russians could have obtained 130mm ammunition for the M-46. It is equally likely that the Russians found shells for these guns in their own stockpiles, and that Russia had to take 130mm ammunition from someone else. Therefore, it is likely that the Russians had to ask North Korea for shells for these guns as well.
According to The Military Balance 2023, the DPRK has both the towed M-46s and three types of 130-mm self-propelled artillery systems - M-1975, M-1981 and M-1991. However, of course, the Russians could have imported shells for the M-46 as well.
It is likely that the Russians decided to return their M-46s to service for two reasons at once: the high level of losses from Ukrainian counter-battery fire and the claimed range of these guns.
The M-46 130-mm gun is a Soviet towed gun of the 1950s. It was developed by the design bureau of Plant 172 in 1946-1950 and was intended to replace the 122-mm gun of 1931-37.