The D-74 is a Soviet 122 mm towed field gun from the F. F. Petrov design lineage at No. 9 Uralmashzavod. It paired a long 52/53-caliber barrel with a split-trail carriage shared with the D-20, offered more range than common 122 mm howitzers, and was exported or copied as the Chinese Type 60 before documented appearances with North Vietnamese, Syrian, and Russian forces.
Russian forces were filmed using D-74 122 mm guns in Donetsk region in October 2024, including firing toward Ukrainian positions near the Vuhledar direction; later open-source loss reporting documented a Russian D-74 destroyed in Ukraine.
Role detailsNorth Vietnamese forces used the D-74 as a long-range towed gun in independent artillery regiments, giving them a 24 km-class ground artillery piece during the Vietnam War.
Bellingcat's Khanasir report identified two 122 mm D-74 field guns among artillery captured by Islamic State fighters from Syrian government and allied positions in eastern Aleppo in 2016, and said the D-74s had been delivered to Syria by Russia during the preceding year.
The useful way to read the D-74 is as a long-barrel 122 mm gun on a carriage shared with the D-20, not as a standard D-30-family howitzer. Its range advantage came with distinct ammunition and a comparatively limited Soviet service life.
WeaponSystems.net describes the D-74 as firing separate-loading 122 mm ammunition that is incompatible with D-30 ammunition.
The gun used a two-wheel split-trail carriage with shield protection and a central firing pedestal for rapid full-circle traverse after emplacement.
Open references place standard maximum range around 23.9 to 24 km, which explains the weapon's long-range artillery role despite its age.
Open references treat the Soviet D-74 as the baseline gun, with Chinese Type 60 and North Korean production following the same 122 mm D-74 pattern rather than a large Soviet variant family.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| Type 60 | Chinese production model | WeaponSystems.net and ODIN identify Type 60 as the Chinese production version of the Soviet D-74 / 122 mm towed gun. Sources: 122mm D-74 - WeaponSystems.net, ODIN Type 60 Chinese 122mm Towed Gun |
| North Korean production D-74 | North Korean-built or held model | WeaponSystems.net lists North Korean production, and Ukraine-war reporting links Russia's 2024 D-74 appearances to possible North Korean supplies or ammunition. Sources: 122mm D-74 - WeaponSystems.net, Business Insider Russia D-74 in Ukraine |
The D-74 belongs to the postwar Soviet long-range gun replacement lane around the older A-19 and the contemporary D-20 carriage family.
| Compatible item | Item type | Compatibility evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Predecessor 122 mm corps gun | WeaponSystems.net describes the D-74 as a late-1940s Soviet design intended to replace the Second World War-era A-19 field gun, although the 130 mm M-46 ultimately became the longer-lived Soviet long-range gun. Sources: 122mm D-74 - WeaponSystems.net |
 | Contemporary 152 mm gun-howitzer on a shared carriage | WeaponSystems.net states that the D-74 uses the same split-trail carriage as the 152 mm D-20, with the D-74 distinguished by its longer and thinner 122 mm ordnance. Sources: 122mm D-74 - WeaponSystems.net |
 | Parallel 130 mm long-range field gun | WeaponSystems.net describes the M-46 as the other Soviet long-range gun developed to replace older A-19-class weapons, with the M-46 outlasting the D-74 because of its greater range and heavier ammunition. Sources: 122mm D-74 - WeaponSystems.net |
WeaponSystems.net places D-74 development in 1947-1950 under the F. F. Petrov design bureau as a Soviet replacement candidate for older 122 mm guns.
Sources: 122mm D-74 - WeaponSystems.net
Open reference data places D-74 production from 1955, with the gun entering Soviet service in the mid-1950s before broad export and Asian production.
Sources: 122mm D-74 - WeaponSystems.net, D-74 122 mm field gun - Wikipedia
HistoryNet describes the D-74 as a 24 km-class weapon used by North Vietnamese independent artillery regiments during the Vietnam War.
Sources: HistoryNet North Vietnam D-74
Bellingcat reported two 122 mm D-74 field guns among heavy weapons captured by Islamic State fighters from Syrian government and allied positions near Khanasir in eastern Aleppo.
Sources: Bellingcat Khanasir Captured Weapons
Russian Ministry of Defence footage republished and analyzed by media showed D-74 crews firing in the South Donetsk / Vuhledar direction during the full-scale Russia-Ukraine War.
Sources: Wikimedia Commons D-74 firing video, Business Insider Russia D-74 in Ukraine, UNITED24 Russia Deploys D-74
UNITED24 reported that Oryx had visually confirmed a Russian D-74 122 mm gun loss in Ukraine, adding loss evidence to the earlier firing footage.
Sources: UNITED24 Russian D-74 Loss
