152 mm gun 2A36

Infobox Weapon|is_artillery=yes


caption= 152-mm gun 2A36 «Giatsint-B» in Saint-Petersburg Artillery museum
name= 2A36 Giatsint-B
type= Close support gun
origin= Soviet Union
era=Modern
target= general,
date=
prod_date=
number=
service= 1976
used_by= see text
wars=
carriage= Split trail, sole plate, auxiliary power unit and hydraulics
caliber= 152.4 mm (6 in)
part_length= 54 calibres
elevation= -2 to +57 degrees
traverse= -25 to +25 degrees
weight= 9,760 kg (21,517 lbs)
projectiles= HE, Smoke, Illuminating
cartridges=
ammo_wt= 46 kg (101 lbs)
velocity= 560-945 m/s
(1,837-3,100 ft/s)
range= (OFS): 28.5 km (17 mi)
(OFARS) 33.5 km (21 mi)
rate= 6 rounds per minute
crew= 8|The 2A36 Giatsint-B is a Soviet/Russian, towed 152 mm gun which entered service in 1976. The 2A36 is designed to suppress and destroy enemy manpower and equipment. It is also suitable for counter-artillery fire. The gun can be used in various weather conditions and has been tested in temperatures ranging from −50 °C to 50 °C. The gun is in use in Russia, a number of CIS countries, Finland and Iraq. It was also used by the Lebanese army to fire into the heavily fortified Nahr el-Bared refugee camp during the conflict there. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdvKkaKFQXw&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Elfpm%2Eorg%2Fforum%2Fshowthread%2Ephp%3Ft%3D26594%26page%3D60 Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, 2007-06-21] ] Lebanon possibly acquired some in a major arms shipment from Iraq shortly before the end of the Lebanese Civil War.

Design

The 2A36 is fitted with a semi-automatic lock, a hydro-pneumatic battery, which uses the energy from the recoil, chain-driven feeding of the shell and the propellant holder to the barrel. The carriage is raised with hydraulic power. It is also equipped with a two-speed mechanism for vertical aiming.

The gun is a rifled 152 mm 2A36 howitzer. The length of the barrel (including break) is 8,197 mm (54 calibers). The carriage is forked and suspended.

Modernization

Currently operational 2A36's have been modernized and are equipped with:
*Battery
*"NAP" satellite positioning unit
**Satellite receiver
**Antenna unit
*Self-orientating gyroscopic angle-measuring system
*Computer
*Mechanical speed gauge

Ammunition

The gun can fire shots especially developed for separate shells and propellant cartridges.- VOF39 with a fragmentation shell OF-29. This shell weighs 46 kg and contains 6.73 kg explosives (A-IX-2).- ZVOF86 with the active-reactive shell OF-59, which can destroy targets at ranges up to 30-33 km.- Atomic munitions of up to 0.1-2 kilotons (these are not legal)- cluster ammunition shell 30-13 with cluster bombs, smart munitions, active and passive radio jamming.- anti-tank and smoke shells

Dimensions

The gun is 12.92 m long in transport configuration and 12.300 m long in firing configuration.

The height is 2.760 m (in transport configuration) and the under carriage is 2.340 m wide. The wheel diameters are 1.080 m, and the width of the wheel is 300 mm, normal tire pressure is 470kPa.

In Russia, the gun is usually towed by the KrAZ-4556(6x6) truck or artillery tractors such as the AT-T, ATS, ATS-59, AT-S, MT-T.

Construction history

The Perms Automobile Factory SKV started to develop a new 152 mm gun in November 1968, which was to have an extended range of fire. Two variants were planned already from the beginning - the towed version, 2A36 "Giatsint-B", and its self-propelled variant is called 2A37 or 2S5 Giatsint-S.

The guns were field tested between 1971-1972, and deliveries to the Red Army began in 1976. Even today, the 2A36 represents the highest standards of modern artillery. It is reliable and mobile, it has great firepower, and it can be transported to any place by railroads, by waterways, and by air transport and it is capable of fulfilling all difficult wartime requirements.

Operators

*flag|Armenia
*flag|Azerbaijan
*FIN - designated 152 K 89
*flag|Georgia
*IRQ
*RUS
*flag|Lebanon

References

ee also

* [http://www.enemyforces.com/artillery/giatsintb.htm EnemyForces.com 2A36 Giasint-B]