×
Aircraft / Aviation Vehicles & Artillery Small Arms Warships & Submarines Military Ranks Military Pay Scale (2024) Special Forces

D-20 (Model 1955)


152mm Towed Field Howitzer


Soviet Union | 1955



"The D-20 can be towed by a variety of tracked and wheeled vehicles."

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one land system design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Model 1955 (D-20) 152mm Towed Field Howitzer.
None. This is a towed artillery system.
Installed Power
10,818 miles
17,410 km
Range
Structure
The physical qualities of the Model 1955 (D-20) 152mm Towed Field Howitzer.
8
(MANNED)
Crew
26.6 ft
8.1 meters
O/A Length
7.7 ft
2.35 meters
O/A Width
8.3 ft
2.52 meters
O/A Height
12,566 lb
5,700 kg | 6.3 tons
Weight
Armament & Ammunition
Available supported armament, ammunition, and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the D-20 (Model 1955) 152mm Towed Field Howitzer.
1 x 152mm gun barrel.
AMMUNITION:
Varies. Typical 152mm ammunition type is Frag-HE, OF32. Other types include smart munitions, incendiary, mine dispersal, chemical, anti-infantry flechette and rocket-assisted types.
Variants
Notable series variants as part of the D-20 (Model 1955) family line.
D-20 - Base Model Designation
152mm Towed Gun Howizter M1955 (D-20) - Formal Designation.
52-P-546 - GRAU designation
Type 66 - Chinese copy of the D-20 system
Type 83 - Chinese D-20 gun on tracked chassis
A411 - Romanian Army designation
M84 NORA - Yugoslavian model
Authored By: JR Potts, AUS 173d AB and Dan Alex | Last Edited: 04/08/2022 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The Soviet Model 1955 (M1955 / D-20) 152mm towed howitzer was developed in the late 1940s, too late to see combat asction in World War 2 (1939-1945). During its time as a frontline weapon system, the M1955 showed itself to have inherently strong reliability and firepower through the numerous wars that it was fielded across. The Soviet Union design bureau awarded the contract to Petrov Artillery and the M1955 was built in Yekaterinburg, a city central to Soviet arms making production during the war as many heavy factories were forced there after the German invasion in the west (Operation Barbarossa, June 1941).

The M1955 utilized the existing carriage of the D-74 system. Field trials proved the new arrangement well-designed and rugged enough during field trails. An 8 man crew was used for the gun section and an AT-S medium tractor was the prime mover along with the URAL-375 6x6 heavy truck. The barrel was made to the length of 17 feet and capped by a large, double-slotted baffle to help reduce recoil. A gun shield was mounted ahead of the wheels to protect the breech, recoil mechanism and crew. A firing pedestal was lowered to the grown before the weapon was engaged and the "split-trail carriage", also rested on the pedestal, provided full 360-degree traversal. The base gun mounting hardware gave -5 degrees to +65 degrees of elevation with a traverse of 58 degrees from centerline.

The main projectile used by the howitzer was the HE-FRAG (High-Explosive, FRAGmentation) weighing 95.92 lb which led to the sustained rate-of-fire of one round-per-minute. Special ammunition types included an AP (Armor-Piercing) shell of 237 lb that could penetrate 124mm (4.88") of armor thickness out to 1,000 meters (1,095 yards). Smoke and illuminating projectiles are also available along with a shell containing steel flechettes for anti-infantry use. Another form dispersed anti-personnel mines over a target area. Still another projectile type has become the "Krasnopol" semi-active, laser-guided smart munition.

A trained and experienced gunnery crew could stand to make 5 to 6 rounds-per-minute (1 rpm sustained). Range for HE-FRAG projectiles was 19,040 yards while Rocket-Assisted Projectile (RAP) landed as far out as 26,245 yards.

Despite its Soviet origins, the Russian military still relies to some degree on the M1955 series with as many as 1,000 guns still thought available. Efforts were made to modernize the design and keep it a viable battlefield solution for decades to come. The "Khitin" is an example of this, having added an automatic rammer and sporting an increased RoF to eight RPM.

China copied the gun as the "Type 66" and this variant went on to see deliveries all around the globe. Type 66 was made with few changes, making most Soviet parts interchangeable along with using all types of in-circulation 152mm ammunition. The Type 83 became a self-propelled version, most likely influenced by the Soviet 2S3 series vehicle. Similarly, the SPH 152mm M1974 of North Korea sees either the M1955 or Type 66 gun fitted to a tracked chassis.

Current operators range from Angola and Armenia to Vietnam and Yemen. Romanian models are designated A411. Former operates included Albania, East Germany / Germany, Finland and the former Yugoslavia (as the M84 "NORA" gun-howitzer).

Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.
Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the D-20 (Model 1955). Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national land systems listing.

Total Production: 4,200 Units

Contractor(s): No. 9 Plant - Soviet Union
National flag of Albania National flag of Angola National flag of Armenia National flag of Azerbaijan National flag of Belarus National flag of Bulgaria National flag of China National flag of Croatia National flag of Egypt National flag of Finland National flag of Georgia National flag of modern Germany National flag of East Germany National flag of Hungary National flag of Iraq National flag of Iran National flag of Kazakhstan National flag of Myanmar National flag of Nicaragua National flag of Nigeria National flag of North Korea National flag of Poland National flag of Romania National flag of Russia National flag of Serbia National flag of the Soviet Union National flag of Sri Lanka National flag of Syria National flag of Turkey National flag of Turkmenistan National flag of Ukraine National flag of Uzbekistan National flag of Vietnam National flag of Yemen National flag of Yugoslavia

[ Albania; Angola; Armenia; Azerbaijan; Belarus; Bulgaria; China; Georgia; Cambodia; Congo; Croatia; East Germany; Egypt; Finland; Hungary; Iran; Iraq; Kazakhstan; Myanmar; North Korea; Moldova; Nicaragua; Nigeria; Poland; Romania; Russia; Serbia; Soviet Union; Sri Lanka; Syria; Turkey; Turkmenistan; Ukraine; Uzbekistan; Vietnam; Yemen; Yugoslavia ]
1 / 1
Image of the D-20 (Model 1955)
Image courtesy of the United States Department of Defense imagery database.

Going Further...
The D-20 (Model 1955) 152mm Towed Field Howitzer appears in the following collections:
HOME
ARMOR INDEX
ARMOR BY COUNTRY
VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS
COMPARE VEHICLES
VEHICLES BY CONFLICT
VEHICLES BY TYPE
VEHICLES BY DECADE
COLD WAR VEHICLES
GULF WAR VEHICLES
UKRAINIAN-RUSSIAN WAR VEHICLES
VIETNAM WAR VEHICLES
Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2024 Military Pay Scale Military Ranks of the World U.S. Department of Defense Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols Breakdown U.S. 5-Star Generals List WWII Weapons by Country World War Next

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons. Special Interest: RailRoad Junction, the locomotive encyclopedia.


©2024 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2024 (21yrs)