Profile
- Type
- 85 mm towed field gun
- Conflict side
- Ukraine
- Origin
- Soviet Union
- Service note
- Early Cold War design still appearing in the Russia-Ukraine War
Artillery
D-44
The D-44 is a Soviet 85 mm divisional field gun developed after World War II as a replacement for the 76 mm ZiS-3. Although originally a towed direct-fire and light artillery weapon, Ukrainian forces have documented improvised mobile use during the Russia-Ukraine War by mounting the gun on MT-LB carriers to gain limited shoot-and-scoot mobility.
- Conflict side
- Ukraine
- Built by
- No. 9 Uralmashzavod
- Built in
- Soviet Union
Service History
- In service
- Entered service in 1946; limited modern service and wartime use
- Used by
- Ukrainian Armed Forces
- Wars
- Russia-Ukraine War
Production History
- Designer
- F. F. Petrov design bureau
- Designed
- 1943-1946 development period
- Built by
- No. 9 Uralmashzavod
- Built in
- Soviet Union
- Produced
- 1946-1953
- Number built
- About 10,800 D-44 guns
- Variants
- D-44, SD-44, D-44N, Type 56
Specifications
- Caliber
- 85 mm
- Crew
- 8
- Combat weight
- About 1,725 kg
- Maximum range
- About 15.2-15.65 km with high-explosive ammunition
- Rate of fire
- About 15 rounds per minute practical; up to 20-25 rounds per minute short-duration
- Carriage
- Two-wheel split-trail towed carriage
Conflict Usage
- Russia-Ukraine War
- Side: Ukraine
Ukrainian forces have used 85 mm D-44 guns in improvised mobile artillery configurations, including a D-44 mounted on an MT-LB carrier for shoot-and-scoot fire missions against Russian forces.
Related Weapon Systems
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2A36 Giatsint-B152 mm towed field gunThe 2A36 Giatsint-B is a Soviet 152 mm towed field gun built for long-range indirect fire and counter-battery work. Its 49-caliber barrel gives it greater reach than many older Soviet 152 mm systems, and Ukrainian forces have fielded the type during the Russia-Ukraine War, including likely Finnish 152 K 89 guns supplied from Finnish stocks.
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D-20152 mm towed gun-howitzerThe D-20 is a Soviet 152 mm towed gun-howitzer developed in the early Cold War for divisional and army-level fire support. Its split-trail carriage, semi-automatic breech, and standard 17.4 km range made it a long-lived Warsaw Pact artillery system, and Ukrainian forces have documented captured Russian D-20s being turned back against Russian units during the Russia-Ukraine War..jpg?width=480)
D-30 122 mm howitzer122 mm towed howitzerThe D-30 is a Soviet 122 mm towed howitzer built around a distinctive three-leg carriage that gives the gun 360-degree traverse. In the Russia-Ukraine War it remains relevant because both armies use Soviet-caliber artillery, Ukraine has received additional D-30s from partners, and Russian D-30 positions continue to appear in frontline strike reporting.Sources
85mm D-44Publisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports D-44 origin, developer, production, manufacturer, role, variants, and technical specifications. | Accessed: 2026-06-20D-44 Gun Combined With MT-LB in an Improvised Hybrid for Ukrainian ArmyPublisher: Defense Express | Note: Supports Ukrainian Russia-Ukraine War use of a D-44 gun mounted on an MT-LB carrier for mobile fire missions. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Russian 85mm Divisional Gun D-44, Georgia Veterans State ParkPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and CC BY-SA 4.0 licensing for the D-44 photograph used as the primary image. | Accessed: 2026-06-20