P150G1P Mogryon-po

JJP-152/27 Mogryŏn-po
All three service variants of JJP-152/27. The N and D are externally identical but differ in their electronics.
Type	self-propelled howitzer
Place of origin	Menghe
Service history
In service	1975-present
Used by	Menghean Army
Production history
Designer	Inmin-Chŏlgang-Nodongja Design Bureau
Designed	1965-1973
Manufacturer	Daegok Automotive Plant
Produced	1973-1998
No. built	~9,000
Variants	JJP-152/27G, JJP-152/27N, JJP-152/27D
Specifications
Weight	27.2 metric tonnes
Length	7.77 m (gun forward)
Width	2.8 m
Height	3.35 m
Crew	4 (driver, gunner, commander, loader)
Armor	welded steel plate
Main armament	152mm L/27 howitzer
Secondary armament	12.7mm heavy machine gun
Engine	KSZ-73 diesel 320 kW (429 hp)
Power/weight	15.8 hp/tonne
Suspension	tracked
Ground clearance	36 cm
Operational range	300 km (internal fuel)
Speed	55 km/h (road)

The JJP-152/27 (Formal designation: 장갑 자주 곡사포 152밀리 27구경장 / 裝甲自走曲射砲152밀리27口徑長, Janggab jaju goksapo iroi-milli ichil-gugyŏngjang, "armored self-propelled howitzer, 152mm, 27 calibers length;" short designation 목련포, Mogryŏn-po, "Magnolia gun") is a type of self-propelled artillerypiece used in the Menghean Army. Unlike its open-topped predecessors, it had a fully enclosed turret, providing the crew with protection from CRBN contaminants, small-arms fire, and shrapnel.

Design

Chassis

The JJP-152/27 is mounted on a unique tracked chassis, with the transmission in the front of the hull and the engine in the front right hull. It has an internal crew of four personnel: a driver seated in the front left hull, and a commander, gunner, and loader in the turret. For stationary firing, two additional loading assistants can pass ammunition through the turret side hatch, or, in -N and -D variants, through loading slots in the rear of the hull. These assistants cannot ride inside the vehicle, and normally follow behind in a battery-level supply truck.

Armament

The vehicle’s main gun, listed in the designation, is the GSP-152/27 (곡사포 152/27, Goksapo 152/27, "Howitzer, 152mm caliber, 27 calibers length"), itself a license-produced copy of an FSR weapon. The gun can be elevated from -5 to +65 degrees, and the turret can traverse freely through 360 degrees. On the N and D variants, the gun is also fitted with dedicated direct-fire sights, allowing the artillerypiece to engage enemy vehicles or infantry in the event that the artillery position is overrun. On top of this, the D variant added an automatic gun-laying drive and an improved fire-control system, improving response time and accuracy.

Loading for the gun is semi-automatic: The loader places the projectile and charge behind the gun, and they are rammed into the breech by a chain mechanism. The maximum rate of fire is listed as 4 rounds per minute, but in a sustained barrage this might be reduced to 1 round per minute to limit gun wear and ammunition expenditure.

Additional self-defense armament consists of a single 12.7mm heavy machine-gun mounted on the commander’s cupola. On the G variant this is manually fired by the commander, requiring him to breach CRBN sealing and expose himself in order to fire. The N and D variants use a different cupola with remote-control fire capability. Also included on the latter two variants is an external box carrying one YDG-38 Bidŭl shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile. In the event of an attack by enemy helicopters, the commander can dismount, remove the loaded shoulder launcher from its stowage box, and fire it against the target.

Ammunition

All JJP-152/27 variants have internal stowage space for 40 main battery rounds. The gun is compatible with all standard 152mm HE rounds used in Menghe, Polvokia, Innominada, and Letnia. The vehicle can also fire 152mm shells carrying Chŏl-u submunitions, as well as specialty smoke and illumination shells. The -D variant added compatibility with laser-guided 152mm shells, which can be used to attack precision targets or moving vehicles. Maximum range with these standard ammunition types is listed as 18 kilometers. With RAP ammunition, this maximum range can be extended out to 26 kilometers. For direct-fire engagements with enemy armor, there is also a fin-stabilized HEAT round, with a rated penetration performance of 900mm RHAe and an effective range of 3 kilometers.

Service

The main user of the JJP-152/27 was the Democratic People's Republic of Menghe, where it was designed. Initially it was introduced with one battalion of 18 guns in each Mechanized Division, but as production continued, this allocation was increased until each Mechanized and Armored division had a full artillery regiment of 54 guns. After the Decembrist Revolution, these vehicles and their production lines were inherited by the Socialist Republic of Menghe, where production continued until 1998. Total production amounted to some 9,000 units.

In the active forces of Menghe, the JJP-152/27's role as a divisional artillerypiece has been mostly replaced by the JJP-152/48, which has a longer main gun and more advanced loading and fire-control systems. Due to its large-scale production, however, large numbers of JJP-152/27s remain in service with the Menghean Army’s reservist units, where it is usually assigned at the Divisional level or higher. Some Class 3 Active Divisions operate a mixture of /27s and /48s, the former having been moved down to individual Regiments’ Artillery Battalions and the latter being massed in the divisional Artillery Regiment. Nearly all surviving Menghean examples have been upgraded to at least N standard.

In 1985, Menghe exported 60 units of the JJP-152/27G to Qusayn. As of 2014, it is reported that 48 of them are still in serviceable condition.

See also

• JJP-152/48
• GJP-152/48