1/ Russian artillerymen are reportedly having significant problems with inconsistently filled propelling charges for shells, which is undermining their accuracy and range, but have been forbidden by the Russian General Staff from trying to fix the problem themselves. ⬇️ 
2/ The 'Philologist in ambush' Telegram channel reports that "complaints continue to come from artillerymen about the quality of ammunition, including the floating weight of gunpowder charges."
3/ "That is, the problem with the weight of gunpowder remains, and artillerymen are forced to continue to weigh gunpowder charges in order to somehow ensure more or less acceptable accuracy."
4/ The channel suggests that "manufacturers are tinkering with the weight in view of the general complexity of the situation with powders, which results in a variation of products." (Russia is still reportedly dependent on foreign raw materials to make propelling charges.)
5/ "That is, the floating of the charge itself can be caused primarily by the floating characteristics of different powders. Perhaps the reason for the difference in weight in the powder charges of imported shots is similar.
6/ "However, in any case, the masses of the powder charges float not only very significantly, but also unpredictably.
7/ "Including within the batches received by the artillerymen (and this somehow hints that in addition to the variety of powder, purely production flaws are quite likely).
8/ "So, in view of the objectively existing variety of powders, it is really undesirable to try to select the mass of the charge empirically by adding or subtracting. But it is necessary to sort powder charges by more or less similar mass indicators!
9/ "Otherwise there are high risks of random dispersion. And such sorting is impossible without weighing the charges."
10/ The problem is, as the author notes, that the Russian MOD has specifically prohibited soldiers from carrying out the disassembly, weighing and selection of charge mass in the field. This is not actually a new prohibition but has been in place since at least May 2024.
11/ According to the 'Two Majors' channel, artillerymen measured the charges they had been given and found significant variations in weight. However, this discrepancy was blamed on soldiers tinkering with the charges, rather than on manufacturing issues, hence the prohibition.
12/ The 'Philologist' wrote disgustedly at the time: "All our artillerymen were essentially told: you yourselves are clumsy, you don't know how to shoot, and don't you dare check the powder charge yourself!"
13/ "Because with all these checks you are making the respected representatives of industry nervous, and we are already fed up with your appeals."
14/ He insists that "the problem of ensuring the accuracy of artillery fire due to the variety of gunpowder and its weight differences definitely exists, and it is (suddenly) not solved by prohibiting the weighing of gunpowder charges."
15/ "Moreover, the variety of gunpowder and its weight differences obviously do not allow for stable accuracy of destruction even with well-trained personnel, rebarreled guns and a normal reconnaissance and fire profile." /end
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
