152-mm howitzer M1943 (D-1)
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| 152-mm howitzer model 1943 (D-1) | |
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 D-1 in Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Kyiv. |
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| Type | field howitzer |
| Place of origin | USSR |
| Production history | |
| Produced | 1943-1949 |
| Number built | 2,827 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | combat: 3,600 kg travel: 3,640 kg |
| Barrel length | bore: 3,527 mm / 23.1 calibers overall: 4,207 mm / 27.7 calibers (with muzzle brake) |
| Crew | 8 |
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| Caliber | 152,4 mm |
| Breech | interrupted screw |
| Recoil | hydropneumatic |
| Carriage | split trail |
| Elevation | -3° to 63.3° |
| Traverse: | 35° |
| Rate of fire | 3-4 rounds per minute |
| Muzzle velocity | 508 m/s |
| Maximum range | 12.4 km |
152-mm howitzer model 1943 (D-1) (Russian: 152-мм гаубица образца 1943 года (Д-1)) was a Soviet 152.4 mm howitzer. The gun was used by the Red Army in World War II and also saw combat in a number of conflicts in mid and late 20th century.
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[edit] Description
D-1 was essentially a combination of a barrel of the 152-mm howitzer model 1938 (M-10) and a carriage of the 122-mm howitzer M1938 (M-30). Since the new carriage was lighter than that of the M-10, the barrel was fitted with a massive double-baffle muzzle brake to soften a recoil. The breech block was of interrupted screw type, the recoil system consisted of hydraulic buffer and hydropneumatic recuperator.
The carriage was nearly identical to the carriage of M-30. It had suspension and steel wheels with pneumatic rubber tires. Trails were initially of riveted construction, but were eventually replaced in production by welded ones. The gun wasn't equipped with a limber so it could be towed only by vehicle. Maximum transportation speed was 40 km/h on paved road, 30 km/h on cobblestone road and 10 km/h off-road. To give the crew a limited protection from bullets and shell fragments, the gun was fitted with a shield.
[edit] Development and production
In 1941 it was decided to stop production of the 152-mm howitzer model 1938 (M-10). As a result, Red Army corps artillery lacked lightweight 152-mm howitzer which would be more mobile than the 152-mm gun-howitzer M1937 (ML-20), but more powerful than the 122-mm howitzer M1938 (M-30).
In 1942 the design bureau headed by F. F. Petrov started to work privately on a new howitzer, based on a barrel of the M-10 and a carriage of the M-30. Early in 1943 Petrov notified the People's Commissar of Armaments Dmitriy Ustinov about the new project. On 13 April Ustinov informed Petrov about the answer of the State Committee of Defence, according to which five pieces were to be ready for ground tests at 1 May. On 5 May two pieces were sent to ground tests; on 7 May the gun was recommended for adoption and on 8 August it was officially adopted as 152-mm howitzer model 1943.
The D-1 was manufactured at Plant no. 9 (UZTM) from late 1943 to 1949.
| Production of D-1, pcs. [1] | |||||||||||
| Year | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | Total | |||
| Produced, pcs. | 84 | 258 | 715 | 1,050 | 240 | 240 | 240 | 2,827 | |||
[edit] Organization and employment
The D-1 was employed by corps artillery and Reserve of the Main Command units. In 1944, rifle corps of the Red Army had one artillery regiment each. Those regiment consisted of five batteries (totaling 20 pieces), equipped with D-1 along with other 152-mm howitzers, 122 mm gun M1931/37 (A-19), ML-20 or 107-mm guns M1910/30.
The D-1 was used against personnel, fortifications and key objects in the rear. The anti-concrete shell was sometimes used against armored vehicles. The gun earned a reputation of a reliable and accurate weapon.
After the war the gun was supplied to many countries around the globe, including former Warsaw Pact allies, such as Poland. As of early 2000s, it remains in service in Afghanistan, Albania, China, Cuba, Hungary, Iraq, Mozambique, Syria, Vietnam and some other countries. The gun was employed in Arab-Israeli Conflict and also in some conflicts in former republics of Soviet Union.
[edit] Variants
In addition to the towed howitzer, Petrov's team developed a vehicle-mounted variant of the D-1. The gun was originally intended for mounting in a variant of the KV heavy tank. It utilized a mount of the 85-mm D-5, leading to the unofficial name D-1-5 and eventually to the official designation D-15. Only one piece was produced. There is no information about the gun being mounted in the KV tank. There was also a project of a self-propelled gun on the T-34 medium tank chassis armed with the D-15, named SU-D15. The vehicle was never built, both because of its shortcomings (the heavy gun put too much strain on the suspension; the ammunition storage was limited) and because it was considered redundant to ISU-152.
[edit] Summary
2 - fragmentary shell O-530,
3 - HEAC (anti-concrete) shell G-530.
The D-1 project provided the RKKA corps artillery with a modern 152-mm howitzer, which combined good mobility and firepower. When compared to a typical contemporary howitzer of similar calibre, the D-1 had shorter range, but was much lighter. E.g. the German 15 cm sFH 18 had a range of 13,325 m - about one kilometer longer than that of the D-1 - but also weighed almost two ton more (5,510 kg in traveling position). The same can be said about the US 155-mm howitzer M1 (14,600 m, 5,800 kg) or 149-mm howitzer manufactured by the Italian Ansaldo (14,250 m, 5,500 kg). A German howitzer with characteristics similar to those of the D-1 - the 15 cm sFH 36 - didn't reach mass production. Compared to older pieces such as the French Schneider model 1917 (11,200 m, 4,300 kg), the D-1 had advantage in both weight and range.
[edit] Ammunition
The D-1 used separate loading, with eight different propellant loads. One of them was a "special load" for use with the BP-540 HEAT projectile. Other loads, including the "full load" Zh-536 and smaller "first" to "sixth" (the smallest) loads were used with other projectiles.
When set to fragmentation action, the OF-530 projectile produced fragments which covered an area 70 m wide and 30 m deep. When set to HE action, the exploding shell produced a crater about 3.5 m in diameter and about 1.2 m deep.
The BP-540 HEAT projectile was not used during Great Patriotic War. The projectile had armour penetration of 250 mm at the meet angle of 90°, 220 mm at 60°, 120 mm at 30°.
In late 1950s old ammunition for D-1 was removed from the inventory. The only models to remain were OF-530, O-530, G-530 / G-530Sh and possibly chemical shells. Soviet Army also possessed a 152-mm nuclear shell, but it is not clear whether that shell could be used with D-1.
| Available ammunition [2] | |||||
| Type | Model | Weight, kg | HE weight, g | Muzzle velocity, m/s | Range, m |
| Armor piercing shells | |||||
| Naval semi-AP | model 1915/28 | 51,07 | 3,2 | ||
| HEAT | BP-540 | 27,44 | 560 | 3,000 | |
| Anti-concrete shells | |||||
| Anti-concrete shell | G-530 / G-530Sh | 40,0 | 5,1 | 508 | 12,400 |
| High explosive and fragmentation shells | |||||
| HE-Fragmentation, steel | OF-530 | 40,0 | 5,47-6,86 | 508 | 12,400 |
| HE-Fragmentation, steely iron | OF-530A | 40,0 | 5,66 | 508 | 12,400 |
| HE, old | F-533 | 40,41 | 8,0 | ||
| HE, old | F-533K | 40,68 | 7,3 | ||
| HE, old | F-533N | 41,0 | 7,3 | ||
| HE, old | F-533U | 40,8 | 8,8 | ||
| HE, steely iron, old French | F-534F | 41,1 | 3,9 | ||
| HE for 152-mm mortar model 1931 | F-521 | 41,7 | 7,7 | ||
| HE, British, for Vickers 152-mm howitzer | F-531 | 44,91 | 5,7 | ||
| Shrapnel shells | |||||
| Shrapnel with 45 sec. tube | Sh-501 | 41,16-41,83 | 0,5 (680—690 bullets) | ||
| Shrapnel with Т-6 tube | Sh-501T | 41,16 | 0,5 (680—690 bullets) | ||
| Illumination shells | |||||
| Illumination, 40 sec. | S 1 | 40,2 | |||
| Chemical shells | |||||
| Fragmentation-chemical gun shell | OH-540 | ||||
| Chemical howitzer shell | HS-530 | 38,8 | |||
| Chemical howitzer shell | HN-530 | 39,1 | |||
| Chemical (post-war) | ZHZ | ||||
[edit] Surviving pieces
The surviving D-1 howitzers can be seen:
- In the Museum of Artillery and Engineering Forces, Saint Petersburg, Russia.
- In the Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Kiev, Ukraine.
- In Polatsk, Belarus, as a memorial piece.
- In Poznań Citadel, Poland.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Shirokorad A. B. - Encyclopedia of the Soviet Artillery
- ^ Shirokorad A. B. - Encyclopedia of the Soviet Artillery
[edit] References
- Shunkov V. N. - The Weapons of the Red Army, Mn. Harvest, 1999 (Шунков В. Н. - Оружие Красной Армии. — Мн.: Харвест, 1999.) ISBN 985-433-469-4
- Shirokorad A. B. - Encyclopedia of the Soviet Artillery - Mn. Harvest, 2000 (Широкорад А. Б. Энциклопедия отечественной артиллерии. — Мн.: Харвест, 2000., ISBN 985-433-703-0)
- Ivanov A. - Artillery of the USSR in Second World War - SPb Neva, 2003 (Иванов А. Артиллерия СССР во Второй Мировой войне. — СПб., Издательский дом Нева, 2003., ISBN 5-7654-2731-6)
- Ballistic Tables for the 152-mm Howitzer M1943, M. MoD, 1968 - Таблицы стрельбы 152-мм гаубицы обр. 1943 г.. - М., Военное издательство министерства обороны, 1968.
[edit] External links
| Soviet Artillery of Great Patriotic War |
|---|
| Anti-tank guns |
| 37-mm gun 1-K | 45-mm gun M1937 | 45-mm gun M-42 | 57-mm gun ZiS-2 | 100-mm gun BS-3 |
| Mountain guns |
| 76-mm mountain gun M1938 |
| Regimental guns |
| 76-mm gun M1927 | 76-mm gun M1943 |
| Divisional guns |
| 76-mm gun M1902/30 | 76-mm gun F-22 | 76-mm gun USV | 76-mm gun ZiS-3 122-mm howitzer M1909/37 | 122-mm howitzer M1910/30 | 122-mm howitzer M-30 |
| Corps and Army level guns |
| 122-mm gun A-19 | 152-mm howitzer M1909/30 | 152-mm howitzer M1910/37 152-mm howitzer M-10 | 152-mm howitzer D-1 | 152-mm gun M1910/30 152-mm gun M1910/34 | 152-mm gun-howitzer ML-20 |
| Very heavy guns |
| 152-mm gun M1935 | 203-mm howitzer B-4 | 210-mm gun M1939 280-mm mortar M1939 | 305-mm howitzer M1939 |
| Air defense guns |
| 25-mm gun 72-K | 37-mm gun 61-K | 76-mm gun M1938 | 85-mm gun 52-K |
