Designations of Russian Artillery - Further Modifications - 1950s

1950s

This system was used throughout and well after the Second World War. In the 1950s, another change took place. The year was dropped from the official names of newly designed pieces, and instead of the M19XX (обр. 19ХХ г.), the developer index became used as the unique identifier, e.g., 122-мм гаубица Д-30 (122 mm howitzer D-30). The change was not applied to old pieces, e.g., the D-1 was still referenced as a 152 mm howitzer M1943, and not as a 152 mm howitzer D-1.

The third change was connected with introduction of the GRAU system of indices for ordnance, weapons, and munitions. After this introduction, the developer index was dropped from the official piece name (but it still officially exists through the design and testing process); henceforth, the GRAU designation was used as the unique identifier, e.g., 152-мм пушка 2А36 (152 mm gun 2A36). This is the current system used by the Russian Federation's Agency for Missiles and Artillery (still known as GRAU) and the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces.