S-23 (Nywka C-23) 180mm Towed Artillery System

Specifications

Year: 1955
Manufacturer(s): State Factories - Soviet Union
Production: 3,000
Capabilities: Fire Support/Assault/Breaching;

Crew: 16
Length: 34.38 ft (10.48 m)
Width: 9.81 ft (2.99 m)
Height: 8.60 ft (2.62 m)
Weight: 24 tons (21,450 kg); 47,289 lb

Power: None. This is a towed artillery piece.

Range: 19 miles (30 km)

Operators: Cuba; Egypt; Ethiopia; India; Iraq; Libya; Mongolia; North Korea; Somalia; Syria; Yemen

The S-23 was a heavy gun to be used in Europe if the Cold War got hot. It was available to Soviet allies and operations were trained by the members of the Soviet army. This massive weapon uses a 16 man crew and is towed by an AT-T heavy-tracked tractor which also carriers the crew their supplies and some ammunition. This ammo was large and heavy, the HE round is 84.09kg (185.4 lbs) and the concrete piercing round weighs 97.7 kg (215.4 lbs). The gun was also available to shoot a 0.2kt nuclear projectile.

A Soviet Army heavy artillery brigade had 12 S-23 weapons; the amount of fire power was staggering along with 155mm and 130 mm artillery howitzers in the division.

The S-23 had an 8.8 m (28 ft 10.46 in) barrel. To reduce the overall length the barrel could be moved and linked to the trailing double wheel carriage. The carriage was a standard split type with two twin rubber tires in front and a dolly in the rear, also with two rubber tires.

Rate of fire was 1 round per minute and 1 round per 2 minutes of sustained fire. The effective range of an HE projectile was a reported 30,400 meters (33,245 yards) while a rocket-assisted projectile could reach within 43,800 meters (47,900 yards).

Armament

1 x 180mm gun barrel

Ammunition:
Dependent upon Ammunition Carrier

Variants / Models

• S-23 - Base Series Designation
• 180mm Nywka C-23 - Alternative Designation