76 mm mountain gun M48

76 mm mountain gun M-48
76 mm mountain gun M-48
	A Croatian M48 photographed in 2011
Type	Mountain gun
Place of origin	Yugoslavia
Service history
Used by	Yugoslavia; Serbia; Myanmar
Production history
Manufacturer	Crvena Zastava
Produced	1948-UNK
No. built	unk
Specifications
Mass	680 kg (1,500 lb)
Barrel length	1.25 m (4 ft 1 in) L/16.4
Caliber	76.2 mm (3 in)
Breech	interrupted screw
Recoil	hydraulic recoil compensation
Carriage	folding split trail
Elevation	-15 / +45 degrees, manual handwheel
Traverse	25 degrees
Rate of fire	20 - 25 rpm
Muzzle velocity	387 m/s (1,270 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	7.8 km (4.5 mi)

The 76 mm mountain gun M-48 (AKA the Tito Gun), was developed after the Second World War to meet the requirements of Yugoslav People's Army mountain units, it can also be used as a field gun.

Description

The first M-48B-1 models may have been Czech M28 mountain guns (bought by Yugoslavia in 1930s) relined from original 75mm calibre to Soviet 76mm (as used on their 76mm regimental and divisional guns), with muzzle-brake added to cope with increased recoil (also Skoda type, borrowed from M.36 AA model).

There have been at least five variants of the M48.

The M-48 (B-1) has pneumatic tyres and a maximum towing speed of 60 km/h. It can also be towed by animals in tandem or disassembled into eight pack loads.
The M-48 (B-1A1-I) has the pneumatic tyres and wheels as fitted to the M48 (B-1), plus some of the features of the suspension of the M48 (B-1A2).
The M-48 (B-1A2) can also be used as a field piece but cannot be towed by animals or disassembled for pack transport.
The M-48 (B-1A2) has light alloy wheels with solid rubber tyres and modified suspension, its maximum towing speed is 30 km/h.
The final production model of the 76 mm mountain gun M48 was called the B-2 about which little is known.

The Tun de munte calibru 76 mm model 1982 was a Romanian built version which equipped Mountain, Paratroop and Naval infantry.

Ammunition

Ammunition is of the semi-fixed type with four charges. It is based on that used for the obsolete Russian 76 mm Regimental Gun M1927 which fired fixed ammunition HE-unitary, HE-Frag, HESH, HEAT, Smoke, Inert training:

HE M55 projectile weighing 6.2 kg with a muzzle velocity between 222 and 398 m/s;
High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) projectile weighing 5.1 kg which will penetrate 100 mm of conventional steel armour at a range of 450 m; and
Smoke shell WP M60 weighing 62 kg.