The B-4 howitzer is a 203mm large-caliber gun equipped by the Soviet Union during World War II, with an overall weight of nearly 16 tons, of which the 5.1m long 203mm barrel alone weighs 5.2 tons; to this day, the B-4 howitzer is still a "great masterpiece" in the Central Artillery Museum in St. Petersburg.
This gun is very bulky, not like other barrel guns, with two huge wheels, but in the form of a tracked gun mount, supporting the weight of the gun, the gun mount weighs 11 tons, which is very unique and different from other guns.
The Soviet military industry for the B-4 howitzer, developed a 1 m long concrete piercing shell, as well as a special tail stabilizer tile, the projectile explosion is very powerful, in Kharkov, Königsberg including the famous Battle of Berlin, although the B-4 howitzer appeared although bulky but very frightening firepower.
Often a 203mm B-4 howitzer projectile is smashed down, and a reinforced concrete solid field fortification is destroyed in an instant, so the 203mm B-4 howitzer is a very powerful weapon for siege.
The B-4 howitzer was manufactured by the Leningrad Bolshevik Arsenal and had good ballistic properties and high firing accuracy, although the gun was very bulky, due to the use of a special dual station re-entry system, the B-4 howitzer was given a very stable shooting performance.
The maximum range of 17.5 km B-4 howitzer, at the beginning, the purpose of research and development is to attack the city, to deal with very strong fortresses, fortresses and field fortifications, its projectile charge is far more than the 152mm equipped by the Soviet army and the 155mm howitzer equipped by the Western army, so the explosive power is not comparable to the 152mm and 155mm howitzers.
When the B-4 howitzer was fired, it was earth-shattering, it could be described as a sound boom, some artillerymen were shocked to the ear and nose, some artillerymen were even deaf, the projectile explosion was very powerful, most of the fortifications smashed by it were destroyed, and the killing and explosion of personnel was even more terrifying.
Because the B-4 howitzer was too bulky, it was transported by a high-power tractor, and the rear of the gun mount was equipped with auxiliary wheels that could be used to tow, but the travel speed was very slow, and the maximum road speed was only 15 kilometers per hour.
The reason is that the dirt roads of the Soviet Union, after melting in the winter, appear very muddy, trucks can not tow such a bulky B-4 howitzer, and the truck wheels are stuck in the mud, they may be difficult to protect themselves, so there can only be tractors to carry bulky B-4 howitzers, affecting the play of maneuverability.
A 15-man gun squad was responsible for controlling the B-4 howitzer, using sub-charge, that is, the projectile and the cartridge were separated, first stuffed into the projectile, and then loaded into the cartridge, because the projectile including the cartridge was very heavy, therefore, equipped with a small crane, but also affected the firing speed, the average can only fire one 203mm grenade per minute.
In the Soviet-Finnish War, the B-4 howitzer made a name for itself, and on the Horgen front, the Finnish army built more than 40 permanent fire points in the hilly area, half of which were equipped with 75 mm guns, which made the Soviet army repeatedly invincible.
To this end, the Soviet army specially dispatched a 4-door B-4 howitzer company quietly arrived, the loud sound of firing shattered the silent primeval forest, continued to smash the 203mm grenade, causing panic among the Finnish defenders, the Soviet tanks finally advanced 2.5 kilometers, the long-defended permanent fortifications, rarely stopped shooting, the original Finnish defenders have long fled.
In the Battle of Berlin, the German soldiers who saw the B-4 howitzer as a "monster" and carried it with a tractor thoroughly appreciated the great power of the B-4 howitzer.
Under the frenzied smashing of the 203mm grenade, the walls of the Reichstag were suddenly blown to pieces, blocking the fire points of doors and windows with bricks and stones, along with the SS soldiers behind them, and the thick walls of the building were also blown open with several large holes, so that the German soldiers called the B-4 howitzer "Stalin's Hammer" in horror.