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152 Mm & 155 Mm Artillery Guns

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152 Mm & 155 Mm Artillery Guns CHARACTERISATION OF EXPLOSIVE WEAPONS ANNEX B 152 MM & 155 MM ARTILLERY GUNS The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) is an expert organisation working Daily). to reduce the impact of mines, cluster munitions and other explosive hazards, in close partnership with states, the UN and other human security actors. Based at the Maison de la paix in Geneva, Industry the GICHD employs around 55 staff from over 15 countries with unique expertise and knowledge. Our work is made possible by core contributions, project funding and in-kind support from more Defense than 20 governments and organisations. credit: The research project was guided and advised by a group of 18 international experts dealing with (Photo weapons-related research and practitioners who address the implications of explosive weapons in Iraq in humanitarian, policy, advocacy and legal fields. This document contributes to the research of the gun characterisation of explosive weapons (CEW) project in 2015-2016. artillery towed M777 Characterisation of explosive weapons study, annex B – 152 mm & 155 mm artillery guns GICHD, Geneva, February 2017 155 mm 155 ISBN: 978-2-940369-63-8 Army U.S. The content of this publication, its presentation and the designations employed do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) regarding the legal status of image: any country, territory or armed group, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. All content remains the sole responsibility of the GICHD. Cover CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 4 152/155 MM HEAVY ARTILLERY WEAPON SYSTEMS 6 D-20 Gun-Howitzer 6 2S3 Akatsiya Self-Propelled Gun 6 2S19 MSTA-S 152mm Self-Propelled Howitzer 7 LW155 155mm Ultralightweight Field Howitzer 8 HIGH EXPLOSIVE ARTILLERY AMMUNITION – OVERVIEW 9 HEAVY ARTILLERY CASE STUDIES 12 Brief Descriptions 12 CASE STUDIES 14 Case Study 1 14 Case Study 2 16 Case Study 3 18 Case Study 4 21 Case Study 5 23 Annex B Contents 3 INTRODUCTION This study examines the characteristics, use and effects of heavy artillery. It is part of a series of technical studies on explosive weapons undertaken by the GICHD, providing evidence and contributing to the analysis of the final report on Characterisation of Explosive Weapons (GICHD, 2017). Photo 1. A boy examines a house damaged by an artillery attack (Photo credit: Reuters). Artillery guns are designed to provide fire support for armour and infantry forces by firing munitions at greater distances than small arms and light weapons. In this report, the term ‘artillery gun’ is used to refer specifically to self-propelled, towed, and emplaced guns (i.e. not man-portable) of a calibre greater than 57 mm which are designed for indirect fire and capable of hitting targets at a considerable range (Ferguson et al., 2015) 1. Artillery guns typically operate as a unit, or ‘battery’, and are intended to deliver salvo fire against an area target. Artillery guns can either be towed or self-propelled, and can be armoured or unarmoured. Modern artillery systems primarily exist to deliver ‘indirect fire’ onto targets (Dullum et al., 2016). Artillery guns in 152 mm or 155 mm calibres can be found in the majority of current and recent conflicts that involve at least one regular army, and many that involve primarily non-state actors. The former Warsaw Pact nations selected guns 1 Artillery guns are also taken to chambered for the 152 mm calibre developed in Russia, while NATO members include those weapons termed and other ‘western’ forces chose to adopt the 155 mm calibre, originally ‘howitzers’, which are generally understood to be comparatively developed in France (REF). The two calibres are broadly similar in capabilities; short-range artillery guns firing both are able to deliver a projectile of approximately 40 kg to ranges of 17-40 km. a relatively heavy projectile at a relatively low muzzle velocity 152 mm and 155 mm calibre guns are often considered to be ‘heavy artillery’. (Ryan, 1982). Annex B Introduction 4 152 mm and 155 mm artillery guns form a staple in nearly all state armed forces of moderate size or larger. Non-state actors such as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq and Syria, have successfully captured artillery guns from conventional military forces and employed these in support of their own aims. ISIL is reported to have captured 52 of the 155 mm towed artillery systems provided by the U.S. military to the Iraqi Army, although some of these have since been recaptured by Kurdish forces or destroyed by coalition air strikes (Ernst, 2014). Annex B Introduction 5 152 MM & 155 MM HEAVY ARTILLERY WEAPON SYSTEMS D-20 Gun-Howitzer Photo 2. A D-20 artillery gun (Photo credit: Dmitri A. Mottl). One of the most prevalent towed 152 mm artillery pieces is the Soviet-designed M1955 (D-20) gun-howitzer. Copies, variants, and derivatives of this weapon are currently in service in at least 38 different countries throughout the world (IISS, 2016). In addition to the Soviet Union, copies or derivatives have been manufactured by the People’s Republic of China, Romania, the Former Republic of Yugoslavia and the People’s Republic of North Korea. The D-20 remains in use in a large number of current and recent conflicts. 2S3 Akatsiya Self-Propelled Gun The 2S3 Akatsiya (‘Acacia’) is a Soviet-designed self-propelled gun that was first developed in the late 1960s, and entered into service with the Soviet Army in 1971 (Shirokorad, 1996). It is currently in service with eighteen countries (IISS, 2016). The main armament is derived from the D-20 towed artillery gun, which has been modified and designated the D-22. In an indication of just how closely related the 152 and 155 mm designs are, a 155 mm version of the 2S3 was introduced in 2000 (Karpenko, 2009). Owing to the similarity in the design of the weapons, the towed D20 and the 2S3 have the same 17,230 m range. There have been three upgrades throughout the life of this weapon system, the most important of which is the 2S3M1, introduced into service in 1975-1987. Annex B 152 mm & 155 mm Heavy Artillery Weapon Systems 6 Photo 3. 2S3 Akatsiya self- propelled artillery gun (Photo credit: www.rg.ru). All 2S3 weapon systems in Russian service have now been retrofitted with this upgrade (Karpenko, 2009). There are records of the 2S3 being used in at least nine conflicts; in 2015, it was used in several countries, including Libya, Syria and Ukraine (ARES, 2016). 2S19 MSTA-S 152 mm Self-Propelled Howitzer The 2S19 is the self-propelled version of the towed 2A65 Msta-B artillery gun. These systems were designed in parallel in the late 1970s to early 1980s, with the Msta-S entering service with the Soviet Army in 1989. It is currently in service with the militaries of eight countries (IISS, 2016). Like the 2S3 before it, the 2S19 can also be fitted with a 155 mm gun for export orders. The 2S19 can fire all 152 mm ammunition and the Krasnopol and Krasnapol-M PGMs. Photo 4. 2S19 Msta-S self- propelled artillery gun (Photo credit: Parade @ Kiev). Annex B 152 mm & 155 mm Heavy Artillery Weapon Systems 7 LW155 155 mm Ultralightweight Field Howitzer Photo 5. Photograph of the LW155 (Photo credit: Specialist Evan D. Marcy, U.S. Army). The LW155 is a British-built, towed artillery system that is currently in service with the U.S. Army, the U.S. Marine Corps (as the M777), the Canadian Armed Forces, and the Australian Army. It has been used in Afghanistan and Iraq, and has a maximum range of 24 km with unassisted rounds, and 30.5 km when firing rocket-assisted rounds (Gourley, 2012). This weapon system is fitted with a digital fire control system and can fire the Excalibur (a GPS/inertial navigation guided projectile). When firing the Excalibur, the maximum range is 40,000 m with a Circular Error Probable (CEP) 2 of less than 4 m (Milner, 2012). 2 CEP is a measure of the precision of a munition, which is further explained in the Accuracy and Precision section in the Final Report. Annex B 152 mm & 155 mm Heavy Artillery Weapon Systems 8 HIGH EXPLOSIVE ARTILLERY AMMUNITION – OVERVIEW High explosive (HE) artillery ammunition consists of a projectile, propellant and fuze, and sometimes of several other components which may or may not be present in a given design. The projectile is made up of a high explosive charge packed into a thick casing, typically constructed of hardened steel. The steel body serves two functions: firstly, it ensures that the ammunition is robust enough to withstand the intense forces it is subjected to during firing and whilst in flight; secondly, when the explosive fill detonates, it provides the primary fragmenta- tion effect. Different types of projectile bodies use different types of steel alloys. The more modern projectiles tend to use steel that has not been heat-treated, because it has been found that this type of steel shatters into smaller and more regular fragments than other types of steel, thus increasing the lethal area of the projectile for the same weight of ammunition. Similar to a bullet being fired from a rifle, artillery projectiles are spinning at a very high speed when they exit the barrel of the gun. The spinning stabilises the projectile in flight and makes it more accurate. Artillery guns are typically rifled, with spiral grooves running the length of the barrel; the raised counterparts to these grooves are known as ‘lands’.
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