GSP-152/48
| GSP-152/48 | |
|---|---|
| File:GSP-152-48.png A GSP-152/48 howitzer. The one on the right has just been unhooked from its prime mover, which also carries ammunition. | |
| Type | Gun-Howitzer |
| Place of origin |  Menghe |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1999-present |
| Used by | Menghe |
| Wars | Innominadan Crisis |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Inmin-Chŏlgang-Nodongja Design Bureau |
| Designed | 1993-1998 |
| Manufacturer | Samsan Artillery Plant, Daegok |
| Produced | 1996-present |
| Variants | JJP-152/48, GJP-152/48, GSP-155/47, GSP-152/56 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 7,200 kg (combat load) |
| Crew | 7-12 |
| Breech | sliding-block breech |
| Elevation | -4/+70 degrees |
| Traverse | +/- 32 degrees |
The GSP-152/48 (Menghean: Goksapo 152/27, "Howitzer, 152mm, 27 calibers") is a type of towed howitzer designed in Menghe in 1993. With a 48-caliber barrel, it can achieve a longer range than the earlier GSP-152/27, even though it is still backwards-compatible with its predecessor’s 152mm ammunition. The towed variant itself sees only limited service, but its BP-152/48 barrel is also used by similarly designated Menghean self-propelled guns and truck-mounted artillery.
Development
Work on a new artillery gun began in 1991, when Menghean Army High Command issued an internal memo suggesting that the military needed a longer-range six-inch gun to replace the GSP-152/27. Responses to the advisory were slow at first, but in 1993 the artillery design bureau began work on a new type of 152mm howitzer with a longer 7.31-meter (48-caliber) barrel. Work on the towed variant proceeded simultaneously with work on a tracked SPG version, with a truck-mounted version added to the program in 1995. Upon being approved for service in 1998, the gun was designated the GSP-152/48, with 152 indicating the caliber in millimeters and 48 indicating the barrel length in calibers.
Description
With the exception of its longer barrel, the GSP-152/48 remained a highly conventional design compared to its predecessor, which was nearly 40 years older. It is mounted on a wheeled, split-trail carriage, with a turntable firing jack on the front of the carriage. This can be lowered when the weapon is deployed, allowing it to be rotated more easily, but the carriage is usually lowered onto its wheels for better stability when firing. To further facilitate deployment, each of the support legs is fitted with a heavy metal castor wheel which can be swung down underneath the leg to roll it out or swung back up when firing or towing. Once deployed the gun can traverse 32 degrees left or right, and can change elevation from -4 to +70 degrees.
In order to simplify production and logistics, the GSP-152/48 is compatible with all existing Menghean 152mm artillery munitions used by the GSP-152/27 gun. When firing the standard BT-152H1 high-explosive shell with full propellant charges, it has a maximum range of about 24.8 kilometers. A new base-bleed high explosive shell developed for the gun in 1996 extends this to 28.2 kilometers, though at the cost of a lower explosive payload. The greatest range, 44.3 kilometers, is achieved with a rocket-assisted projectile. Other ammunition types include the BT-152ChD, which carries two anti-tank submunitions, and the BT-152I “Imdang,” a GPS-guided high-explosive round with a maximum range of 38 kilometers and a CEP of 4 meters.
Because the weapon is manually loaded, the exact rate of fire varies depending on the skill of the crew. Rate of fire in a heavy barrage is listed as 6 rounds per minute, but is usually limited to 1 round per minute in a sustained barrage. Current Menghean military organization assigns each weapon a crew of 7 men, or 12 including immediate support crew. Emergency minimum possible personnel count is four: one commander, one layer, and two loaders. In order to reduce weight and increase simplicity, no APU is fitted, meaning that the weapon cannot move under its own power and elevation and traverse are performed by manual hand crank.
Service
The leading operator of the GSP-152/48 is Menghe, which has several hundred towed mounts in service. Most are used in sub-units of the Corps-level and Army-level Artillery Divisions of the 7th, 9th, and 13th Mechanized Armies. In other Armies they have been replaced by the LSBP-152/48, which is mounted on a Changsad-288 truck for increased mobility. Some towed mounts have been maintained in airmobile units and training batteries, and many are still kept in storage in the Northern Military District for use in an emergency mobilization.
Variants
- GSP-152/48: Standard towed version described above.
- JJP-152/48: Self-propelled gun using the BP-152/48 howitzer as its main armament.
- GJP-152/48: GSP-152/48 howitzer mounted on a Changsad Ch288 truck for use as a lightweight SPG.
- GSP-155/47: Export variant with a 155mm caliber for compatibility with foreign munitions
- GSP-152/56: Longer 56-caliber gun in development which could supplement or eventually replace the BP-152/48.