P150G1P Mogryon-po
| P150G1P Mogryŏn-po | |
|---|---|
| Type | Self-propelled howitzer |
| Place of origin | Menghe |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1975-present |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Northwestern Armored Vehicle Plant |
| Produced | 1974-2003 |
| No. built | 3,450 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 27.2 metric tonnes |
| Length | 7.77 m (including gun) |
| Width | 2.8 m |
| Height | 3.35 m to turret roof |
| Crew | 4 |
| Caliber | 150mm |
| Breech | Vertical sliding block |
| Elevation | -5° to +65° |
| Traverse | 360° |
| Rate of fire | 4 rounds/min (max) 1 round/min (sustained) |
| Maximum firing range | 18,400 m (standard ammunition) 25,000 m (base bleed ammunition) |
| Armor | 15-30mm |
Main armament | 150mm L/27 howitzer |
Secondary armament | 12.7mm GCh-75 HMG |
| Engine | 440 hp |
| Power/weight | 16.2 hp/ton |
| Suspension | torsion bar |
| Ground clearance | 440mm |
Operational range | 450 km (road) |
| Speed | 55 km/h (road) |
The P150G1P Mogryŏn-po is a type of self-propelled howitzer developed in Menghe during the 1970s. It has a fully-enclosed turret which can traverse through 360 degrees and is armed with a 150mm L/27 howitzer with a range of 18.4 kilometers. Until the 2000s, it was the main divisional self-propelled gun of the Menghean Army. Starting in 2004, it has been replaced by the P150G2P Songsu-po, though it remains common in reservist divisions and in the regimental artillery battalions of many active divisions.
Design
Chassis
The P150G1P uses a unique tracked chassis, with the transmission in the front of the hull and the engine in the front right. 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. Two additional loading assistants can pass ammunition into the vehicle through a hatch in the side of the turret (P150G1P1) or the rear of the hull (P150G1P2), though these assistants cannot ride inside the vehicle and instead follow behind in a supply truck carrying additional ammunition.
Armament
The vehicle's main armament is a 150mm howitzer specially developed for the P150G1P. A towed variant, designated the PG-150 Type 75 howitzer, was developed as an offshoot of the P150G1P program. The gun can be elevated from -5 to +65 degrees, and the turret can traverse freely through 360 degrees. On the P2 and P3 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 P3 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 would 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 P1 variant this is manually fired by the commander, requiring him to breach CBRN sealing and expose himself in order to fire. The P2 and P3 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
Unlike most Western SPGs, which fire 155mm shells, or Letnian-derived SPGs, which fire 152mm shells, the Mogryŏn-po fires 150mm shells. This is the same caliber used by Menghean 15cm artillery during the Pan-Septentrion War. In 1942, Polvokia began producing Menghean 15cm Type 40 howitzers under license, and during the Menghean War of Liberation Polvokia supplied many of these weapons to Communist forces across the border. Thus, when the Menghean Ministry of National Defense standardized new ammunition types in the mid-1960s, it selected the 150mm caliber for new artillery and continued to produce the Type 40 howitzer under the new designation PG-150 Type 40. The P150G1P's gun was designed to be compatible with existing ammunition stockpiles, and is therefore able to accept wartime and prewar high-explosive shells.
All variants have internal stowage space for 35 150mm projectiles and their charges. A wide variety of ammunition types exist, including high explosive shells, smoke shells, illumination shells, and cluster munition shells with Chŏl-u bomblets. The P3 variant adds compatibility with laser-guided high-explosive shells, which can be used to attack precision targets or moving vehicles. Maximum range with all standard ammunition types is 18.4 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 2 kilometers. Direct-fire sights, however, were only added on the P2 variant.
Operators
See also
 Menghean postwar armored fighting vehicles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Light tanks |  | |
| Medium tanks | ||
| Main battle tanks | ||
| Infantry fighting vehicles | ||
| Armored personnel carriers | ||
| Tank destroyers | ||
| SPGs | ||
| Multiple rocket launchers | ||
| Self-propelled anti-air guns | ||
| Self-propelled SAM systems | ||
Note: r = retired from service, d = in development, e = export only. All names use foreign designations. | ||