The number of artillery pieces
in the Finnish army
At the start and end of Winter War
(The contents of this page are based on the book "Itsenäisen Suomen Kenttätykit 1918 - 1995", written by Colonel Jyri Paulaharju, published by Military Museum of Finland, 1996")
In 1938, the government accepted a budget that allowed the birth of a domestic artillery industry. It was accepted that no guns were to be expected for several years (the first domestic produced field gun was delivered in 1943) and therefore the need of guns bought from abroad was still the only option to improve the artillery arm.
As late as summer 1939 it was possible to buy relatively large numbers of modern artillery pieces, but the political decision-makers didn't approve. Only after the threat of war was looming, did the politicians issue the order to buy artillery pieces. But by then, the markets were almost nonexistent.
The following sections are found on this page:
Artillery pieces in Finland on November 30th 1939
- Guns with recoil system
- Guns without recoil system
The number of captured / lost artillery pieces during Winter War
Artillery pieces in Finland 30.11.1939
Model |
In whole |
Distributed to troops |
reserve |
|---|---|---|---|
75 K/02 |
12* |
12 |
- |
76 K/00 |
21 |
18 |
3 |
76 K/02 |
192 |
192 |
- |
76 LK/10&13 |
72 |
71 |
1 |
76 K/22 |
4 |
4 |
- |
76 K/23 |
4 |
4 |
- |
107 K/10&13 |
11 |
10 |
1** |
122 H/09&10 |
70 |
69 |
1** |
150 H/14J |
12 |
12 |
- |
152 H/10 |
8 |
8 |
- |
152 H/15-17 |
12 |
12 |
- |
TOTAL |
418 |
412 |
6 |
| * = were bought from Sweden during the mobilization phase ** = test firing model |
|||
(Table source: Jyri Paulaharju,"Itsenäisen Suomen kenttätykit 1918 - 1995", p.15)
Model |
In whole |
Distributed to troops |
reserve |
|---|---|---|---|
87 K/95-R |
33 |
4 |
29 |
87 K/95 |
47 |
18 |
29 |
107 K/77 |
114 |
41 |
73 |
107 K/77-120p |
60 |
12 |
48 |
152 K/77-190p |
24 |
- |
24 |
152 K/04 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
TOTAL |
282 |
77 |
205 |
| (The problem with the old guns was, that they were generally in bad shape and short of ammunition) | |||
(Table source: Jyri Paulaharju,"Itsenäisen Suomen kenttätykit 1918 - 1995", p.15)
Acquisitions during the Winter War:
(Here are listed the acquisitions, from which
at least a part arrived before the war ended)
| Model / seller or donator | # of guns | Arrived | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 75 K/01 / Norway | 12 | February 1940 | |
| 75 K/02 / Sweden | 24 | January - February | |
| 75 K/40A / Sweden (Argentina) | 8 | February | |
| 75 K/97 / France | 48 | February - March | 12 arrived during the war, the rest after it |
| 80 K/77 (de Bange) / France | 12 | February - March | didn't see action |
| 84 K/18 / England | 30 | 7 arrived during the war | didn't see action |
| 90 K/77 (de Bange) / France | 100 | February - March | 32 delivered to troops as auxiliary guns |
| 105 VH/10 / Sweden | 4 | December 1939 | were withdrawn into storage during the war |
| 105 K/34 / Sweden | 12 | December - February | |
| 105 KH/36 Sweden | 1 | January | experimental gun-howitzer * |
| 105 K/13 / France | 12 | February | |
| 114 H/18 / England | 24 | January | |
| 120 K/77 (de Bange) / France | 72 | February - March | 24 arrived during the war, didn't see action |
| 120 H/13 / Belgium | 13 | February-July | 12 arrived during the war, didn't see action |
| 150 H/06 / Sweden | 12 | January | |
| 155 H/15 / France | 24 | February - March | 12 arrived during the war, didn't see action |
| 155 K/77 (de Bange) / France | 48 | February - March | didn't see action |
| 210 H/17 / Sweden | 4 | February | didn't see action |
| * = The 105 KH 36 (or 105 K 36) saw action in the Taipale -sector, where it operated in the "Kaarnajoki"-coastal battery. | |||
Note: the French "de Bange" cannons were guns without recoil system
The biggest arms deal of the Winter War was made
with the U.S. , but when the war ended, almost all war material were still on route (some
guns had arrived before Germany occupied Norway, confiscating the shipments. Only after
the Winter War had ended, were the arms shipments allowed to be transported to Finland).
All U.S. sold equipment were classed as surplus weapons, and were of
varying quality (all guns had to be inspected and most of them needed repairs and
maintenance, as was the case with the majority of guns bought or donated to Finland during
the war), but the price of the U.S. guns were only nominal and therefore greatly
appreciated.
(The deal compromised 200 light field guns, model 75 K/17, and
32 heavy howitzers, model 203 H/17.
Also 208 898 shells of 75 mm and 9 178 shells of 203
mm were included.)
The number of captured / lost artillery pieces during Winter War
| War booty | Notes | Finnish losses | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | # of guns | Model | # of guns | |
| 76 K/DRP | 2* | * = captured in
Suomussalmi ** = were war booty |
||
| 76 K/02-30 | 32 | 76 K/36 | 4** | |
| 76 RK/27 | 54 | 87 K/95 | 3 | |
| 76 K/36 | 37 | 122 H/09 & H/10 | 5 | |
| 76 VK/04 | 4 | 107 K/77 | 2 | |
| 122 H/09-30 & H/10-30 | 35 | 150 H/14J | 11 | |
| 152 H/09-30 | 14 | old guns w/o rec.sys. from coastal defense | 10 | |
| TOTAL | 178 | TOTAL | 35 |
(Table source: Jyri Paulaharju,"Itsenäisen Suomen kenttätykit 1918 - 1995", p.20)
When Winter War ended, Finland had bought,
received by donations or loaned 324 guns (meaning guns that arrived before the war
ended, not those still on route).
From the 324 guns,
- 142 guns were without recoil system (the French "de bange" guns)
and only 32 saw action.
- 182 guns were with recoil system, 130 were distributed to troops and 52 were under
repairs or maintenance.
Only in early June 1940 was it
possible to count the total and exact number of artillery pieces in Finland (all
arms shipments had arrived, and war booty counted).
This included all types and calibres, and a grand total of 1 017 guns was
counted.
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