Artillery

A-19 122 mm field gun

Also known as
  • 122 mm gun M1931
  • 122 mm gun M1931/37
  • 122 mm corps gun M1931/37
  • 122 mm corps gun M1931/37 (A-19)
  • M1931/37 A-19
  • A-19 M-1931/37 Field Gun
  • 52-P-471
  • 52-P-471A
  • 122 K/31

The A-19 is a Soviet 122 mm towed corps gun developed for long-range artillery fire, combining a high-velocity barrel, separate-loading ammunition, and an approximately 20 km range. This entry tracks direct Soviet Second World War service along with conservative modern conflict evidence: pre-war Yemeni Army inventory available to Yemen battlefield parties and a photo/video-evidenced YPG/SDF A-19 in northern Syria.

A-19 122 mm field gun, 122 mm towed corps gun, Artillery
Image source: A-19 gun at Sapun Mountain museum image

Role in Conflicts

Second World War
Fire SupportLong-Range StrikeAnti-Armor
Side
Allied Powers

The Victory Museum describes A-19 guns in Soviet wartime service for artillery preparations, counter-battery fire, assaults on fortified areas, and emergency direct-fire anti-armor tasks, including documented Battle of Moscow, Kursk, and Berlin context.

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
Soviet Union
Type
122 mm towed corps gun
Service note
Designed in the 1930s; Second World War service and legacy appearances in 2010s conflicts
Designer
S. P. Shukalov-led VOAO design group for the original A-19; F. F. Petrov-led No. 172 Plant design bureau for the M1931/37 modernization
Designed
1927-1936 original A-19 program; 1937-1939 M1931/37 modernization
Produced
1933-1946 overall; original M1931 production at Barrikady before M1931/37 production from 1939 to 1946
Number built
About 2,926 M1931 and M1931/37 guns overall; about 2,450 M1931/37 guns

Specifications

Caliber
121.92 mm
Configuration
Towed field gun; original M1931 on its early split-trail carriage, later M1931/37 on the ML-20 carriage family
Crew
9
Combat weight
About 7,117 kg
Barrel length
5.65 m overall; 46.3 calibers
Maximum range
About 20.2-20.4 km, depending on projectile/source
Muzzle velocity
About 800 m/s with standard gun projectiles
Rate of fire
3-4 rounds per minute in WeaponSystems.net; 5-6 rounds per minute in the Victory Museum technical table
Traverse and elevation
58 degrees traverse; -2 to +65 degrees elevation on the M1931/37
Ammunition
Separate-loading 122 mm projectile and propellant charge
Design And Employment Notes

The A-19 family moved from the original M1931 carriage to the M1931/37 duplex arrangement with the ML-20 carriage family. That change improved elevation and standardized major carriage elements while keeping the 122 mm gun role.

Primary role

Corps and reserve artillery for counter-battery fire, rear-area targets, fortified positions, and heavy direct-fire tasks when needed.

Mobility

Towed by medium artillery tractors; the modernized carriage could be moved at road speeds up to about 25 km/h in the Victory Museum profile.

Ammunition

Separate-loading 122 mm ammunition included high-explosive fragmentation, armor-piercing tracer, and concrete-piercing projectiles.

Variants

A-19 covers the original M1931 corps gun and the later M1931/37 modernization, which retained the 122 mm ordnance while adopting the ML-20 carriage family.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
122 mm gun M1931Original A-19 corps gun

Original production model associated with Barrikady; it used the early A-19 carriage and was replaced in production by the M1931/37 modernization.

Sources: Victory Museum A-19 encyclopedia, 122mm A-19

122 mm gun M1931/37Modernized carriage variant

No. 172 Plant's modernization placed the A-19 barrel group on the normalized ML-20 carriage, improving mobility, elevation, and production commonality.

Sources: Victory Museum A-19 encyclopedia, 122mm A-19

Ammunition Fired

The A-19 ammunition table and related reference plates explicitly list the gun's documented 122 mm projectiles and shells.

AmmunitionAmmunition typeFiring evidence
BR-471 122 mm armor-piercing projectile, 122 mm armor-piercing projectile, MunitionsBR-471 122 mm armor-piercing projectile122 mm armor-piercing projectile

The A-19 ammunition table lists BR-471 among the gun's armor-piercing shells.

Sources: 122 mm gun M1931 (A-19) BR-471

BR-471B, 122 mm armor-piercing capped shell, MunitionsBR-471B122 mm armor-piercing capped shell

The ammunition plate for the A-19 and D-25T family explicitly names BR-471B among the listed armor-piercing shells.

Sources: D25T shells.svg BR-471B

OF-471, 122 mm high-explosive fragmentation shell, MunitionsOF-471122 mm high-explosive fragmentation shell

Wikipedia's A-19 ammunition table and the Commons ammunition plate both list OF-471 as the A-19's 122 mm high-explosive fragmentation shell.

Sources: A-19 ammunition table, D25T shells.svg A-19 plate

G-471, 122 mm anti-concrete shell, MunitionsG-471122 mm anti-concrete shell

The A-19 ammunition table lists G-471 as an anti-concrete shell with a 25 kg projectile, 2.2 kg HE filler, 800 m/s muzzle velocity, and 20.4 km range.

Sources: 122 mm gun M1931 (A-19) G-471

OF-462, 122 mm high-explosive fragmentation shell, MunitionsOF-462122 mm high-explosive fragmentation howitzer shell

Reference sources state the A-19 could also fire 122 mm howitzer shells, including OF-462, with the limitation that they could not be used with full charge.

Sources: 122 mm gun M1931 (A-19) OF-462

The same ammunition table also shows the A-19 could fire the OF-462 howitzer shell with charge no. 1.

Sources: 122 mm gun M1931 (A-19) OF-462

Timeline

A-19 122 mm field gun Key Events

  1. Red Army requirement

    The Red Army sought a more powerful 122 mm corps gun to replace older 107 mm corps artillery.

    Sources: Victory Museum A-19 encyclopedia

  2. Original A-19 accepted

    The Red Army accepted the original A-19 as the 122 mm gun model 1931 after early development by the Shukalov-led design group.

    Sources: Victory Museum A-19 encyclopedia

  3. M1931/37 trials

    The modernized gun, combining the A-19 barrel group with the ML-20 carriage, completed proving-ground trials in autumn 1938.

    Sources: Victory Museum A-19 encyclopedia

  4. M1931/37 adopted

    The modernized version was accepted as the 122 mm corps gun model 1931/37 while retaining the A-19 designation.

    Sources: Victory Museum A-19 encyclopedia

  5. No. 172 Plant wartime production

    After early Barrikady production, wartime A-19 production was established at Motovilikha / No. 172 Plant in Perm.

    Sources: Victory Museum A-19 encyclopedia

Media

A-19 122 mm field gun Videos

Related Weapon Systems
ATS-59-122, Yemeni 122 mm tracked self-propelled artillery conversion, ArtilleryArtilleryATS-59-122Yemeni 122 mm tracked self-propelled artillery conversionThe ATS-59-122 is a rare Yemeni self-propelled artillery conversion that pairs an ATS-59-family tracked artillery tractor with a 122 mm D-30-type gun. Its Yemen Civil War record is source-limited: Oryx identifies the vehicle in pre-war Yemeni Army self-propelled artillery stocks, while separate sources support the Soviet/Polish chassis lineage and distinguish related North Korean Tokchon ATS-59-based guns from the Yemeni conversion.
100 mm KS-19 anti-aircraft gun, Towed 100 mm anti-aircraft gun, Air DefenseAir Defense100 mm KS-19 anti-aircraft gunTowed 100 mm anti-aircraft gunThe KS-19 is a Soviet 100 mm towed anti-aircraft gun designed for high-altitude, radar-directed air defense with fixed ammunition, a powered carriage, and PUAZO/SON-9 fire-control support. U.S. studies tied the gun to North Vietnam's heavy AAA network and Iraqi inventories retained it into the 1990 Gulf War, while later conflict records show legacy KS-19s displayed in Houthi air-defense equipment and repurposed as long-range ground-fire weapons in Nagorno-Karabakh and Ukraine.
BTR-152M armored personnel carrier, 6x6 wheeled armored personnel carrier, Armored VehiclesArmored VehiclesBTR-152M armored personnel carrier6x6 wheeled armored personnel carrierThe BTR-152M armored personnel carrier is a Yemeni-service listing within the Soviet BTR-152 6x6 APC family, retained from older Yemeni Army stocks and documented during the 2014 Yemen Civil War. Public evidence supports a conservative role: legacy protected mobility where serviceable vehicles remained available, plus broader BTR-152-family use as a base for improvised AK-630 or GSh-6-30K naval-gun installations by Yemeni government forces.

Sources

122mm A-19Publisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports A-19 background, design lineage, manufacturer, production, ammunition, rate of fire, weight, and range specifications. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Victory Museum A-19 encyclopediaPublisher: Victory Museum / Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War | Note: Supports direct Second World War use by Soviet forces, including A-19 employment in artillery preparations, counter-battery fire, fortified-area assaults, and emergency direct-fire anti-armor tasks, plus designer, modernization, adoption, production, and specification context. | Accessed: 2026-07-06A-19 ammunition tablePublisher: Wikipedia | Note: Supports the OF-471 and G-471 ammunition-table rows, including the high-explosive fragmentation shell, anti-concrete shell, projectile masses, filler values, muzzle velocities, and ranges. | Accessed: 2026-06-23122 mm gun M1931 (A-19)Publisher: Wikipedia | Note: Supports the A-19 ammunition table and the gun's listed armor-piercing and high-explosive shell compatibility. | Accessed: 2026-06-23D25T shells.svg A-19 platePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports the ammunition plate that explicitly lists BR-471, BR-471B, and OF-471 for the A-19 and D-25T family. | Accessed: 2026-06-23D25T shells.svgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and the ammunition plate that explicitly lists OF-471, BR-471, and BR-471B among the A-19 and D-25T shells. | Accessed: 2026-06-23122 mm gun M1931 (A-19) BR-471Publisher: Wikipedia | Note: Supports the A-19 listing of BR-471 as an armor-piercing shell. | Accessed: 2026-06-23D25T shells.svg BR-471BPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports the ammunition plate that explicitly lists BR-471B among the A-19 and D-25T shells. | Accessed: 2026-06-23122 mm gun M1931 (A-19) OF-471Publisher: Wikipedia | Note: Supports the A-19 listing of OF-471 as a high-explosive fragmentation shell. | Accessed: 2026-06-23122 mm gun M1931 (A-19) OF-462Publisher: Wikipedia | Note: Supports the A-19 listing of OF-462 as a howitzer shell that could be fired with charge no. 1. | Accessed: 2026-06-23122 mm gun M1931 (A-19) G-471Publisher: Wikipedia | Note: Supports the A-19 listing of G-471 as an anti-concrete shell. | Accessed: 2026-06-23Pre-War Yemeni Fighting Vehicles And EquipmentPublisher: Oryx | Note: Supports 2014 Yemen Civil War context: the A-19 was listed in Yemeni Army pre-war inventory and framed as equipment available to Yemeni battlefield parties. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Kurdish Armour YPG Equipment in Northern SyriaPublisher: Oryx | Note: Supports 2011 Syrian Civil War context: one 122 mm A-19 field gun is listed in a photo/video-evidenced YPG heavy-weapons inventory in northern Syria. | Accessed: 2026-07-06A-19 gun at Sapun Mountain museum imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and licensing context for the replacement A-19 image. | Accessed: 2026-06-22