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Land Systems / Battlefield

D-20 (Model 1955)


152mm Towed Field Howitzer [ 1955 ]



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



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.

VIEW SPECIFICATIONS [+]
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).©MilitaryFactory.com
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

Specifications



No. 9 Plant - Soviet Union
Manufacturer(s)
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
Operators 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
1955
Service Year
Soviet Union
National Origin
Active
Project Status
8
Crew
4,200
Units


FIRE SUPPORT / ASSAULT / BREACHING
Support allied forces through direct / in-direct fire, assault forward positions, and / or breach fortified areas of the battlefield.


26.6 ft
(8.1 meters)
Length
7.7 ft
(2.35 meters)
Width
8.3 ft
(2.52 meters)
Height
12,566 lb
(5,700 kg)
Weight
6.3 tons
(Light-class)
Tonnage


None. This is a towed artillery system.
Drive System
10,818 miles
(17,410 km)
Road Range


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.


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


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Images



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Image of the D-20 (Model 1955)
Image courtesy of the United States Department of Defense imagery database.

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