The recoil system consisted of hydraulic compressor and hydro-pneumatic recuperator, both mounted in the gun cradle.

The carriage was of box trail type, with equilibrator, suspension and a folding recoil spade.

The cooperation with USSR allowed Germany, constrained by the Treaty of Versailles, an opportunity to proceed with arms development.

In 1929, German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall created a dummy company Butast for contacts with USSR.

Rheinmetall supplied pre-production samples, documentation and parts from which in USSR a few pieces of each type could be assembled.

172 (MZM - Motovilikha Machinery Plant; Russian: МЗМ - Мотовилихинский завод машиностроения).

The resulting self-propelled gun, designated SU-5-3, successfully underwent factory trials in 1934 and even took part in a parade at the Red Square.

The NM was employed in divisional artillery, which from 1935 to June 1941 included a battalion of 152 mm howitzers.

Despite some advantages of the NM, notably its versatility and very light weight for a 152-mm piece, the production was cancelled after a limited number of guns were built.

Also, the NM poorly fitted the Soviet artillery doctrine, mainly because of its range - too short for a divisional gun.

Eventually, a need for a divisional weapon more powerful than a 122 mm howitzer became apparent; in 1943 the RKKA adopted another infantry mortar, the 160 mm divisional mortar MT-13, which was similar to the NM in terms of weight, range and shell weight.