Volunteers from the Belarusian Kastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment have received American M114 howitzers from World War II for their arsenal.
According to the Ukrainian outlet Militarnyi, the unit stated that this system is the largest-caliber weapon they possess. “It operates continuously as a stationary firing point to support infantry,” the fighters said.
“The M114 is old, from 1943. We disassembled it by hand, completely removing the breech block hatch, like on a torpedo tube,” explained Zoltan, an artilleryman in the regiment.
“There are no shell casings — the entire charge burns directly from the bags. It’s convenient that there are no casings: you don’t have to carry them back and forth, and nothing gets stuck.”
The M114 is a 155 mm howitzer weighing 5.8 tons. Developed in 1941, the platform was widely used during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Iran–Iraq War, as well as in several other conflicts.
The howitzer has a short barrel with a length of 23 calibers and is capable of firing at a maximum range of up to 14,600 meters. This is relatively modest compared to modern 155 mm systems, but it is comparable to the capabilities of 105 mm artillery.
Photo: Battlefield Vegas. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
