2A36 Giatsint-B (M1976) 152-mm Towed Gun
The 2A36 (M1976) 152-mm Towed Gun has a distinctive four-wheeled carriage and armored shield slopeing to the rear and extending over the wheels. The 49-caliber barrel features a multi-slotted muzzle brake, with the recoil system mounted above the ordnance towards the rear. Elevation and traverse is manual with the former being from -2° 30' to +57° with traverse being 25° left and right. First observed being towed by the new KrAZ-260 6x6 truck, the 2A36 can also be towed by the KrAZ-255B 6x6 truck or ATT, ATS or ATS-59 full tracked vehicles. The four rubber-tire wheels provide for high speed road-towing as well as for improved cross-country mobility. In firing position the 2A36 is supported on a circular jack under the carriage and on the trails, which are equiped with spades.The quick firing load assist system includes a hydraulic rammer, by which a projectile placed on the loading tray is rammed into the ordnance. The cartridge cased charge is loaded in a similar manner, and once the breech is closed and the rammer returns to the side the weapon is ready to fire. The system is capable of a sustained rate of fire of six rounds a minute, and an entire battery can put almost one ton of ammunition onto a target in one minute.
The ammunition system used by the 152 mm 2A36 is of a new design that is not inter-operable with earlier artillery systems such as the 152 mm 2S3. Separate loading ammunition includes high explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG) and armor-piercing tracer (AP-T). The former weighs 46 kg and has a maximum muzzle velocity, using the top charge, of about 800 m/s. The AP-T round is used in the direct fire mode against armored vehicles. The standard HE-FRAG projectile has a maximum range of 27000 meters, and a rocket-assisted HE-FRAG projectile can also be fired to a maximum range of 40000 meters. Other projectile include chemical, smoke, concrete piercing, incendiary and tactical nuclear.
Specifications
range, conventional (km) 28.5 extended range 44 direct fire 25639 rate of fire (rpm), burst 6 sustained 1 ammunition type HE
HE-BB
HE-Frag
ICM
APT
concrete piercing
chemical
nuclear
Krasnopol semi-active laser-guidedelevation (degrees) -2.5 to 57 traverse (degrees) 25 emplace/displace time (min) 5/10 speed towing, road (kph) 80 off road 45 prime mover weight (kg) 9800 length (m), travel position width (m) height (m) crew remarks ICM round penetration is 100-mm. 
Sources and Resources
- 2A36 152-mm Towed Gun by Mike Galope