SPG44152 Archer

SPG44152 Archer
Archer SPG of the 4th Artillery Regiment, Baderia, 1961
Type	Self-propelled artillery
Place of origin	Velikoslavia
Service history
In service	1944-1991
Used by	Velikoslavia
Production history
Designer	Halcyon Armor Workshop
Designed	1932-1938
Manufacturer	Vushok Armor Works
Produced	1940-1963
No. built	13,293
Specifications
Weight	25.3 tonnes
Length	8.50 m
Width	3.10 m
Height	2.50 m
Crew	5 (earlier variants) 4 (later variants)
Shell	Separate loading charge and projectile
Shell weight	HE; 40 kg (88.2 lb)
Caliber	15.2cm (6 inch)
Breech	Interrupted screw
Recoil	hydro-pneumatic
Elevation	–6° to 69.5°
Rate of fire	4 rpm
Muzzle velocity	508 m/s (1,666 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	8 miles
Armor	Cast turret Hull front 30mm (upper part) 30mm (lower part), Hull side 20mm Hull rear 20mm Hull top 10 mm Hull bottom 15 mm Turret front 40 mm Turret side 30 mm Turret top 20 mm
Main armament	152mm S-1 Howtizer
Secondary armament	16 x 76mm smoke grenade launchers
Engine	Pantra YV5 4 stroke 12 cylinder 32 liter water cooled diesel engine 500 hp at 2500 RPM
Suspension	Torsion Bar
Ground clearance	0.45 m
Operational range	330 km
Speed	60 km/h on-road 40 km/h off-road

The SPG44152, known as the Archer, is a Velikoslav Self-propelled artillery that entered service in 1944 and is based off the chassis of the T3976 Medium Tank. Designed to mount the robust and powerful 152mm S-1 Howitzer on a vehicle to support armored forces, the Archer served as the primary artillery vehicle of the Grand Armed Forces of Velikoslavia for more than forty years and remained in reserve service up until 1991. It is still used in numerous places around the globe today. Notably, the Archer was the mainstay of Velikoslav artillery in the Second Partisans' War, participating in every major engagement and produced by the thousands.

Specifications

Hull and Turret

The SPG44152 uses a turret that is open at the rear and enclosed on the other sides, providing protection for the crew at the front, sides, and top. The hull is welded from rolled homogeneous armor and is divided into 3 compartments: the power compartment which houses the transmissions and the engine, the driving compartment, and the combat compartment. The engine and the transmissions are housed in the front right part of the vehicle. To the transmission's left are the driving mechanisms with chassis controls The combat compartment is located in the center of the vehicle, which is equipped with armored shielding. The ammunition rack is located to the rear in an armored structure built specifically for the purpose, which can hold 40 rounds of ammunition. The turret has a traverse range of 71.5 degrees to either the left or the right, and the maximum elevation range was from –6° to 69.5° degrees. The entire vehicle needs a crew of 5 to operate. The armor on the unit is designed to protect the crew from small arms fire and light guns, but not much more as the Archer is not designed for front line combat.

Armament

The main armament of the Archer is the S-1 152-mm howitzer. It has identical ballistic characteristics, internal mechanisms and uses the same ammunition a the towed version and the same factory that produced the S-1 was able to supply both the towed version and guns to mount on the Archer. A vertical, wedged gate is installed in the breech, along with a semi-automatic, free-floating ejector. To ease the loading process, the unit possessed a mechanical loader and eventually an autoloader on later variants in the 1970s. The gunner's seat has a panoramic sight for high-elevation indirect firing, and a direct-firing sight for observation of shell impact.

The main shell employed by the archer was the HE241 High Explosive Fragmentation shell fitted with three different possible fuse options. When fired with full propellant charge, the shells had a muzzle velocity of 508 meters per second with a maximum range of 8 miles. The HE241 has a steel casing and 5.83 kg of TNT as payload. When equipped with a contact fuse, it was capable of a 2100-square-meter area denial against enemy infantry in a standing profile, and was able to create a crater up to 1.2 m deep and up to 3.5 m in diameter. For greater effect against infantry, a fragmentation round is available which has fragmentation and air burst capabilities for damaging infantry formations. For anti-tank fire, the Archer can fire HEAT shells, with a penetration capability of up to 250 mm of Rolled Homogeneous Armor at a range of up to 3 km. Naval High-Explosive Semi-Armor-Piercing shells are also available, with the capability of penetrating 68 mm of RHA at a range of 2 km. As the service life of the vehicle wore on, special-purpose shells such as illumination rounds, smoke shells, concrete-piercing shells and chemical shells were all stockpiled for use. 4Zh5 and 54-Zh-536M propellant charges were used to fire HEAT and naval shells.

Communications

The Archer is equipped with a primary radio for communications and an internal intercom system for crew communications. Later variants were equipped with atmospheric and weather measuring devices to improve accuracy.

Engine, Transmission. and Chassis

A Pantra YV6 4 stroke 12 cylinder 32 liter water cooled diesel engine was mounted to the unit, which had several improvements over the base engine on the chassis. The oil filter was relocated for easier access during maintenance. The vehicle utilizes planetary transmission, with six shifts for going forward and two for reversing. In order to allow the chassis to deal with the increase recoil, hydraulic shock absorbers are located on the first and fifth rollers.

Variants

• Archer-M1 (SPG44152-M1) - Primary production variant that comprised the bulk of the units produced, as it was necessary to change very little over the life of the machine.
• Archer-M2 (SPG44152-M2) - Upgraded unit introduced in 1958 that featured improved sights and slightly more horsepower.
• Archer-M3S (SPG44152-M3S) - Service life extension program for export customers introduced in 2004 adding a fire control computer, modern radio equipment, and a ballistics calculation system. These changes allow the Archer to be utilized by modern militaries.
• Archer-X (SPG44152-X) - Series of prototypes introduced in 2021 designed to test fully automated artillery systems. Rather than build entirely new units, Archer-X units are old chassis that were stripped down and rebuilt.

Operators

• Velikoslavia
  • Grand Armed Forces of Velikoslavia
• Mesogeia
  • Imperial Army of Mesogeia