Exceptional overhead photograph from 1942 captured by war correspondent Dmitry Kozlov, showing a Soviet 152mm ML-20 gun-howitzer crew operating at high barrel elevation on the Volkhov Front.
Soviet 152mm Gun-Howitzer M1937 (ML-20) in Action on the Volkhov Front (1942)
This striking elevated photograph captured in 1942 by famed Soviet war correspondent Dmitry Kozlov shows a Red Army gun crew operating a heavy 152mm gun-howitzer M1937 (ML-20) at a camouflaged field firing position on the Volkhov Front.
To capture this dynamic top-down perspective of artillery operations, the photographer climbed a nearby tree overlooking the gun pit, creating one of the most iconic images of heavy Soviet Corps-level artillery during the battle to relieve Leningrad.
Technical Specifications and Operational Details
The photograph offers a comprehensive look at the setup and ammunition preparation required for heavy artillery fire missions:
- High Elevation Angle: The 152mm barrel is set to a steep elevation angle (approaching its maximum 65° limit), indicating indirect high-trajectory shelling targeting German defensive positions, dugouts, or supply nodes at long distances (maximum range up to 17.2 km).
- Ammunition Handling: Positioned near the split-trail carriage are heavy 152mm high-explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG) shells and separate brass propellant cases ready for immediate loading by the gun crew.
- Camouflage and Cover: The gun emplacement is heavily integrated into the dense coniferous forest terrain characteristic of the Volkhov and Leningrad regions, using pine branches and timber pits to conceal the position from Luftwaffe aerial reconnaissance.
- Dual-Purpose Design: Designed by Fyodor Petrov, the ML-20 combined the long range of a gun with the trajectory flexibility of a howitzer. Its successful ordnance design was later adapted as the primary armament (ML-20S) for the SU-152 and ISU-152 heavy assault guns.
The Volkhov Front and the Defense of Leningrad
During 1942, artillery units on the Volkhov Front played a pivotal role in pinning down German forces of Army Group North, engaging in counter-battery warfare and supporting Red Army offensives aimed at breaking the blockade of Leningrad.
📍 Location: Volkhov sector, Leningrad Region, RSFSR, USSR
📅 Date: 1942
📷 Photographer: Dmitry Kozlov (Soviet War Correspondent)
📰 Primary Source: Central Archive of the Russian Ministry of Defense (CAMD) / RIA Novosti State Archive
Recommended reading:
- Technical development of the 152mm gun-howitzer M1937 (ML-20)
- Evolution from towed artillery to self-propelled guns: The SU-152 and ISU-152
- Artillery operations during the Battle for the Volkhov River sector (1942)
- Counter-battery tactics of the Red Army Corps Artillery on the Eastern Front