North Korea has been secretly supplying Russia with thousands of shipping containers worth of ammunition. This unofficial military aid is significant enough to be concerning in the light of discussions about the continuing support for Ukraine in the US. However, the Russian soldiers themselves are not too happy about it either.
The barrels of the Russian howitzers have been exploding since the beginning of the invasion. Image credit: Podilchanyn via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
As early as last year the Armed Forces of Ukraine have noticed that the barrels of the Russian howitzers are failing often and in a spectacular fashion. This was because a lot of these howitzers were old, pulled out of long-term storage. Also, they were being used very intensively.
You may not know this, but a barrel of an artillery weapon is actually a consumable part. Typically a barrel of a howitzer can take around 2,000 shots. After that it becomes worn – it can be inaccurate and even fail. The structural failure of a barrel is very dangerous to the crew.
However, as noted by Defence-ua.com, now the Russian barrels are exploding for other reasons, not just because they are simply getting worn out. It is believed that the North Korean ammunition is destroying the Soviet/Russian D-30 howitzers.
Experts took a look at the pictures of the destroyed barrels and determined that ruptures could be caused by the insufficient strength of the walls or bottom of the shell body, defects in the metal, poor quality of the projectile powder, and lack of a detonator. All in all, North Korean shells seem to be of dangerously poor quality. They may also be old, since North Korea has been stacking them for a long time.
A rupture of the barrel of a howitzer occurs when the barrel is either jammed or the shell explodes uncontrollably inside of it. This is extremely dangerous to the artillery crew, because the barrel essentially turns into thousands of deadly pieces of steel shrapnel. It is often a deadly event to the crew of the howitzer.
Experts agree, however, that the Russian barrel ruptures are caused not just by the defective old North Korean shells, but also by other systemic issues. Such as old howitzers, poor quality of the new barrels, poor maintenance, and intensive use.
On the other hand, it needs to be said that these issues are not going to be that significant in the full picture of the war – Russia still has plenty of howitzers, continues to produce them and a few ruptured barrels are not going to deter them at all.
Written by Povilas M.
Source: Defence-ua.com