1/ One last thread to end 2024! Let's take a quick look at Russia's towed AA guns in storage: S-60s and KS-19s 🧵
2/ So it's no mystery that this war is full of stark contrats: Leopard 2s and self-propelled MT-LBs, Ladas and BMP-3s... And also old towed AA guns repurposed for ground targets. The main Soviet systems in this regard were S-60s and KS-19s.
3/ Both Ukraine and Russia have been using them extensively since 2022. But while Ukraine at times modernizes them with targeting systems (not always tho)...
4/ ...Russia, well, it's just Russia:
5/ So, considering it's not so weird to see them in battlefield-related media, let's see how many they had in storage and how many do they still have mothballed.
6/ And here are the numbers!
7/ Now let's take a closer look at the evolution of each base: let's start by the 80th artillery arsenal: there were 68 towed AA guns before the war at two spots, but by 2023 they were gone.
8/ Same with the 744th arsenal, tho only 6 guns here prewar:
9/ And at the 347th (formerly 216th) there were also just 28 before the war, 2 in 2023, and 0 in 2024:
10/ Next, the main towed artillery base: the undesignated one near Planovyi. 382 before the war, 350 in 2023 and 302 in 2024:
11/ In 2024:
12/ Now let's go to the 7020th, another one of the three main storages: 181 prewar, 177 in 2023 and 103 in 2024:
13/ 2023 and 2024:
14/ Then the 109th arsenal. This base in mainly about MLRS, tho there are also some towed tube pieces, including 36 S-60s before the war which were then gone:
15/ At the 243rd something weird happened. Before the war there were 18 pieces:
16/ But by 2023 it had increased considerably, to 90 pieces in total mostly at a new spot while the previous one didn't had almost any pieces left there:
17/ Yet by 2024 it was mostly depleted, just a little higher than prewar numbers (25 in total left):
18/ The last major base is the arsenal near Lesnoi Gorodok: 275 in 2020, 233 in 2022 and just 89 in 2024. This follows the pattern of the rest of artillery pulled out from this base:
19/ 2022 and 2023:
20/ Now let's loom at the 120th arsenal. This artillery storage base has served as the "artillery BTRZ" since the invasion started because it's so near the Ukrainian border and due to the lack of proper artillery repair bases, unlike AFVs.
21/ However, there were only 20 pieces here in 2021, gone by the time of newer footage:
22/ It's possible that by 2023 there were some in the artillery cannibalization hub, but it's so hard to tell:
23/ The last base is the 904th. There were actually no towed AA guns here before the war, but 10 S-60s appeared by 2023 as this base was reformed into a collection and repoir point (kudos to @waffentraeger):
24/ And that's it. Unfortunately I didn't try to distingish between S-60s and KS-19s because at some bases it's easy to ID but at other is nigh impossible.
25/ This thread was also a good way to get better at artillery IDs. All those that read me on an usual basis know that I'm decent at IDing AFVs, but not artillery by a long shot (pun intended).
26/ This also brings back memories of one of my earliest, obscure threads. Good way to finish 2024 almost as I started it!
27/ As usual, big thanks to all those that help! @HighMarsed who did the early IDs, @waffentraeger and @Ath3neN0ctu4 for helping, @hizzo_jay and the rest of the gang!
@HighMarsed @waffentraeger @Ath3neN0ctu4 @hizzo_jay 28/ Until the BTRZ thread, then!
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.