F-22 gun (Victory Park, Samara)

The F-22 is a 76 mm divisional gun, model 1936, displayed as a monument in Victory Park in Samara, in the Sovetsky district off Aerodromnaya Street. The Second World War gun stands among the park's military vehicles as a memorial to the people's sacrifice in the war.

History of the gun

The 76 mm divisional gun model 1936 (F-22, GAU index 52-P-363A) was designed at the bureau of Plant No. 92 "Novoye Sormovo" in Gorky, led by the artillery designer Vasily Grabin. It was his team's first gun. It had a split-trail carriage and a semi-automatic breech.

The F-22 was built around the idea of a universal gun: besides firing at ground targets, it was meant to serve as an anti-aircraft gun. In practice its ballistics were not good enough for anti-aircraft fire, and the idea failed. Production stopped in 1939; on 1 June 1941 the Red Army had 2,844 of these guns. The USV model 1939 corrected its flaws, followed by the famous ZiS-3, the most numerous Soviet gun of the war.

F-22s fought at Lake Khasan and Khalkhin Gol and shelled Finnish fortifications in the Winter War; they were used most heavily in 1941. Heavy losses thinned their numbers, but they served until the end of the war. Many were captured by the German, Finnish and Romanian armies. In Germany captured F-22s were modernised and used as anti-tank guns, both towed and self-propelled.

Military equipment in Victory Park

Samara's Victory Park was planned for the 30th anniversary of the Victory: it was laid out in 1975 and opened to visitors in stages in 1983–1984. Since the 19th century the site had been the Chernovsky Gardens. Besides the F-22, the park displays a 57 mm ZiS-2 anti-tank gun of 1941 (where Prizyvnika and Veteranov alleys cross), a 152 mm ML-20 gun-howitzer of 1937, a KS-19 anti-aircraft gun, a T-34-85 tank and a BTR-40 armoured carrier.

What to see nearby

The main entrance from Veteranov alley has a red arch with the Order of Victory and a St George ribbon, with a fountain to its right whose tops look like shell cases. To the left, a monument to child prisoners of Nazi camps by Samara sculptor Ivan Melnikov was put up in 2007. Further in are the Eternal Flame, a monument to the heroes of the war and a stele naming the Samara people who marched in the Victory Parade on 24 June 1945. Behind the arch stands the Church of Saints Boris and Gleb (2004), and there are memorials to the defenders of besieged Leningrad, to the border guards and a bust of Vasily Margelov.

Getting there

The main entrances are from Aerodromnaya Street and Entuziastov Street. The nearest stop is Park Pobedy: buses 70 and 75, trams 3, 4, 11 and 23, and minibuses. Sportivnaya metro station is about 1.2 km away. The park is open around the clock.