Ukraine War: Russia Builds Old Ship Guns on Transporters – Running Out of Alternatives?

Are there no alternatives?
Russia builds old ship guns on transporters

03/06/2023 11:34 am (Updated)

Russian forces are reportedly sending modified troop ships to Ukraine. The vehicles are equipped with obsolete cannons previously used on ships.

A year after the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, Moscow’s armed forces appear to be facing a severe material crisis. Like an American newspaper”ForbesReports, among others, show that Russia is now fitting old MT-LB troop carriers with turrets that are about 80 years old, originally built for patrol boats.

According to the report, Ukrainian soldiers captured such a modified MT-LB for the first time in early February near Wuhleder in the Donetsk region. Abandoned by the Russians, the troop carrier reportedly contained a 2M-7 gun that entered service with the Red Army in 1945. These are two 14.5mm machine guns behind a steel shield to protect the gunner.

In early March, pictures of several MT-LBs with a 2M-3 cannon, including a turret on the roof, circulated on the Internet. The 2M-3 is a pair of stacked 25mm cannons mounted on a steel hull. The gun was mass-produced from 1950 to 1984 and installed as an anti-aircraft gun on more than 30 ship classes.

According to “Forbes”, the Ukrainians are also modifying older MT-LBs, for example by equipping them with 100-millimeter MT-12 anti-tank guns. The difference between the Russian MT-LB and the Ukrainian MT-LB with the MT-12 is the range. The anti-tank gun can fire up to 9,000 meters, while the range of the 2M-3 does not exceed 2,700 meters. Due to the short range, the Russian MT-LB had to approach the enemy with its 2M-3, a great risk due to the thin armor.

Alternatively, the Russian MT-LB could also be used as an anti-aircraft gun, the magazine writes. However, the troop carrier does not have a radar, which can direct fire. So the suspicion remains that Russia is repurposing old vehicles due to a lack of alternatives. A few days ago, photos showed that the Kremlin was sending old BTR-50 armored personnel carriers to the front.

(This article was originally published on Sunday, March 05, 2023.)