Armata wz. 02/26

Armata wz. 02/26 (Mark 02/26 Gun), nicknamed prawosławna (Orthodox, because of its Russian origin), was a Polish modification of Russian 76,2 mm guns left in Poland or captured from Bolsheviks in 1920. The gun was rechambered to 75 mm calibre, making it compatible with French Canon de 75 modèle 1897, which was the most numerous gun in Polish Army during the Interwar period. However, some guns were not rechambered, so that they could spend large stockpiles of 76 mm ammo.

One of such unmodernised guns was located in Military Transit Depot at Westerplatte, where World War II begun. However the gun was already destroyed on September 1st after firing 28 rounds of ammo, leaving Westerplatte's defenders with just two 37 mm Bofors anti-tank guns.

During WW2 the Orthodox guns were often used as anti-tank artillery, because the 75 mm shell was effective against any German tank from reasonable distance. During the Battle of Mokra, 2nd Horse Artillery Squadron from Volhynian Cavalry Brigade destroyed 80 German tanks, loosing 6 guns by itself.

This particular example is a replica built by reenactement group 7 Dywizjon Artylerii Konnej (7th Horse Artillery Division, or 7 DAK in short).