M53/59 Praga | |
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M53/59 Praga, self-propelled anti-aircraft gun of Serbian Army |
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Type | Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun |
Place of origin | Czechoslovakia |
Production history | |
Number built | More than 330[1] |
Specifications | |
Weight | 10.3 tonnes |
Length | 6.92 m (22 ft 8 in) |
Width | 2.35 m (7 ft 9 in) |
Height | 2.95 m (9 ft 8 in) |
Crew | 4 (driver, commander and two gun operators) |
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Armor | Aluminum |
Main armament |
30 mm twin AA autocannon (900 rounds) |
Engine | Tatra T 912-2 6-cylinder inline air-cooled diesel 110 hp (82 kW) at 2,200 rpm |
Power/weight | 10.7 hp/tonne (8 kW/tonne) |
Suspension | torsion bar |
Operational range |
500 km (310 mi) |
Speed | 60 km/h (37 mph) |
The M53/59 Praga is a Czechoslovak self-propelled anti-aircraft gun developed in the late 1950s. It consists of a heavily modified Praga V3S 6 wheel drive truck chassis, armed with a twin 30 mm AA autocannon mounted on the rear for which the vehicle typically carries 900 rounds of ammunition, each gun being gravity fed from distinctive 50 round magazines. The vehicle has an armoured cabin.
In Czechoslovakia it was known as Praga PLDvK vz. 53/59 - "Ještěrka" (PLDvK Model 53/59 - "Lizard"[2]). PLDvK stands for Protiletadlový dvojkanón = Anti-aircraft twin-gun.
The system is optically aimed, and can only be used effectively during the day with good weather conditions. The gun can be dismounted and used independently of the vehicle.
The vehicle is now obsolete, but it can be used effectively as ground support weapon against unarmored or lightly armoured targets (as it was shown during Yugoslav wars). It remains in service with armies of Czech Republic, Egypt, Libya, Slovakia and the Former Yugoslavia.
When Czechoslovakia imported one Soviet-made ZSU-57-2 for testing it considered it to be comparable to M53/59 which was the reason for which Czechoslovakia refused the Soviet SPAAG.[3]
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