M-46 field gun vs Soltam M-71: Specs Compared

AArtillery

M-46 field gun

Towed field gun

Credit

Bandanschik · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Resized · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source ↗ · Modified

Soltam M-71 — licensed reference photograph

BArtillery

Soltam M-71

Howitzer

Credit

Ido Stern · CC BY 3.0 · Resized · CC BY 3.0 · Source ↗ · Modified

First system

Second system

At a glance

Side by side

M-46 field gunlarger figure on 1 of 2

Muzzle velocity+13%

Soltam M-71larger figure on 1 of 2

Mass+19%

Counts only measures both sources give with the same scope. A larger figure is not a better system.

Measured figures

Head to head

18 of 78 rows sourced on both sides

11.73m

—

Length

All recorded figures & sources

11.73 m

Length

Single source

11.73 m (38 ft 6 in)^[source]

2.45m

—

Width

All recorded figures & sources

2.45 m

Width

Single source

2.45 m (8 ft)^[source]

2.55m

—

Height

All recorded figures & sources

2.55 m

Height

Single source

2.55 m (8 ft 4 in)^[source]

7.7t

9.2t

Mass+19%

All recorded figures & sources

7,700 kg

Mass

Single source

7,700 kg (17,000 lb)^[source]

9,200 kg

Mass

Single source

9,200 kg (20,300 lb )^[source]

Crew

All recorded figures & sources

8 people

Crew

Single source

8^[source]

8 people

Crew

Single source

8^[source]

44kmMaximum; rocket assisted

29kmMaximum; Maximum firing range

RangeScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

35 km

Maximum; base-bleed

Single source

44 km

Maximum; rocket assisted

Single source

27.15 km

Maximum; unassisted

Single source

27.15 km (16.87 mi) (unassisted) 35 km (22 mi) (base-bleed) 44 km (27 mi) (rocket assisted)^[source]

21 km

Effective; NATO standard ammunition

Single source

23.5 km

Effective; Tampella standard ammunition

Single source

7.15mBore L/55

6.05mL/39

Barrel lengthScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

7.15 m

Bore L/55

Single source

Bore: 7.15 m (23 ft 5 in) L/55^[source]

6.045 m

L/39

Single source

6.045 m (19 ft 10 in) L/39^[source]

130mmCaliber

155mmNATO

CalibreScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

130 mm

Caliber

Single source

130 mm (5.1 in)^[source]

155 mm

NATO

Single source

155 mm NATO^[source]

8rpmburst

—

Rate of fire

All recorded figures & sources

8 rounds/min

burst

Single source

6 rounds/min

normal

Single source

5 rounds/min

sustained

Single source

6 rpm (normal) 8 rpm (burst) 5 rpm (sustained)^[source]

930m/s

820m/s

Muzzle velocity+13%

All recorded figures & sources

930 m/s

Muzzle velocity

Single source

930 m/s (3,051 ft/s)^[source]

820 m/s

Muzzle velocity

Single source

820 m/s (2,700 ft/s)^[source]

Bars compare reported quantities only. A larger figure does not make a system better; configurations and test conditions differ.

Configuration

Details

M-46 field gun and Soltam M-71 configuration
Specification	M-46 field gun	Soltam M-71
Type	Towed field gun^[source]	Howitzer^[source]
Place of origin	Soviet Union^[source]	Israel^[source]
Wars	Vietnam War Cambodian Civil War Eritrean War of Independence South African Border War Six-Day War Yom Kippur War Ethiopian Civil War Angolan Civil War Uganda–Tanzania War Sino-Vietnamese conflicts (1979–1991) Lebanese Civil War Iran–Iraq War Sri Lankan Civil War First Nagorno-Karabakh War Yugoslav Wars Kosovo War Syrian Civil War Yemeni Civil War (2014–present) Second Nagorno-Karabakh War Tigray War Israeli–Lebanese conflict Russo-Ukrainian War^[source]	Yom Kippur War Lebanese Civil War South African Border War 1982 Lebanon War Gaza War Myanmar Civil War 2025 Cambodia-Thailand border conflict^[source]
Designed	1946–1950^[source]	1971–1974^[source]
Manufacturer	MOTZ^[source]	Soltam^[source]
Produced	1951–1971^[source]	1975–^[source]
Shell	130 x 845 mm R (R/184.6mm) separate-loading charge and projectile^[source]	—
Breech	Horizontal sliding-wedge^[source]	Horizontal sliding block^[source]
Recoil	hydro-pneumatic^[source]	—
Carriage	Split-trail^[source]	Split trail^[source]
Elevation	−2.5° to 45°^[source]	-3° to 52°^[source]
Traverse	50°^[source]	±37.5° from centerline^[source]
Used by	—	See users^[source]
Designer	—	Soltam Systems^[source]
Variants	—	Soltam M-68^[source]
Reported operators	Reported operator · Algeria Reported operator · Angola Reported operator · Azerbaijan Reported operator · Bangladesh Reported operator · Cambodia Reported operator · Cameroon Reported operator · China Reported operator · Congo-Brazzaville Reported operator · Congo-Kinshasa Reported operator · Cuba Reported operator · Egypt Reported operator · Eritrea Reported operator · Ethiopia Reported operator · Guinea Reported operator · Guyana Reported operator · India Reported operator · Iran Reported operator · Iraq Reported operator · Popular Mobilization Forces Reported operator · Kurdistan Region Reported operator · Laos Reported operator · Lebanon Reported operator · Hezbollah Reported operator · Mongolia Reported operator · Morocco Reported operator · Mozambique Reported operator · Myanmar Reported operator · Nigeria Reported operator · North Korea Reported operator · Oman Reported operator · Pakistan Reported operator · Peru Reported operator · Russia Reported operator · Serbia Reported operator · South Sudan Reported operator · Sri Lanka Reported operator · Sudan Reported operator · Syria Reported operator · Tanzania Reported operator · Turkmenistan Reported operator · Uganda Reported operator · Ukraine Reported operator · United Arab Emirates Reported operator · Vietnam Reported operator · Zambia	Reported operator · Cameroon Reported operator · Myanmar Reported operator · Botswana Reported operator · Chile Reported operator · Israel Reported operator · Philippines Reported operator · Singapore Reported operator · Slovenia Reported operator · South Africa Reported operator · Thailand

FORCETALLY

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M-46 field gun

Soltam M-71

Type

Towed field gun^[source]

Howitzer^[source]

Place of origin

Soviet Union^[source]

Israel^[source]

Wars

Vietnam War Cambodian Civil War Eritrean War of Independence South African Border War Six-Day War Yom Kippur War Ethiopian Civil War Angolan Civil War Uganda–Tanzania War Sino-Vietnamese conflicts (1979–1991) Lebanese Civil War Iran–Iraq War Sri Lankan Civil War First Nagorno-Karabakh War Yugoslav Wars Kosovo War Syrian Civil War Yemeni Civil War (2014–present) Second Nagorno-Karabakh War Tigray War Israeli–Lebanese conflict Russo-Ukrainian War^[source]

Yom Kippur War Lebanese Civil War South African Border War 1982 Lebanon War Gaza War Myanmar Civil War 2025 Cambodia-Thailand border conflict^[source]

Designed

1946–1950^[source]

1971–1974^[source]

Manufacturer

MOTZ^[source]

Soltam^[source]

Produced

1951–1971^[source]

1975–^[source]

Shell

130 x 845 mm R (R/184.6mm) separate-loading charge and projectile^[source]

—

Breech

Horizontal sliding-wedge^[source]

Horizontal sliding block^[source]

Recoil

hydro-pneumatic^[source]

—

Carriage

Split-trail^[source]

Split trail^[source]

Elevation

−2.5° to 45°^[source]

-3° to 52°^[source]

Traverse

50°^[source]

±37.5° from centerline^[source]

Used by

—

See users^[source]

Designer

—

Soltam Systems^[source]

Variants

—

Soltam M-68^[source]

Reported operators

Reported operator · Algeria
Reported operator · Angola
Reported operator · Azerbaijan
Reported operator · Bangladesh
Reported operator · Cambodia
Reported operator · Cameroon
Reported operator · China
Reported operator · Congo-Brazzaville
Reported operator · Congo-Kinshasa
Reported operator · Cuba
Reported operator · Egypt
Reported operator · Eritrea
Reported operator · Ethiopia
Reported operator · Guinea
Reported operator · Guyana
Reported operator · India
Reported operator · Iran
Reported operator · Iraq
Reported operator · Popular Mobilization Forces
Reported operator · Kurdistan Region
Reported operator · Laos
Reported operator · Lebanon
Reported operator · Hezbollah
Reported operator · Mongolia
Reported operator · Morocco
Reported operator · Mozambique
Reported operator · Myanmar
Reported operator · Nigeria
Reported operator · North Korea
Reported operator · Oman
Reported operator · Pakistan
Reported operator · Peru
Reported operator · Russia
Reported operator · Serbia
Reported operator · South Sudan
Reported operator · Sri Lanka
Reported operator · Sudan
Reported operator · Syria
Reported operator · Tanzania
Reported operator · Turkmenistan
Reported operator · Uganda
Reported operator · Ukraine
Reported operator · United Arab Emirates
Reported operator · Vietnam
Reported operator · Zambia

Reported operator · Cameroon
Reported operator · Myanmar
Reported operator · Botswana
Reported operator · Chile
Reported operator · Israel
Reported operator · Philippines
Reported operator · Singapore
Reported operator · Slovenia
Reported operator · South Africa
Reported operator · Thailand