War of The World

The 2S3 Akatsiya (Russian - 2С3 English - 2S3 Acacia) is a 152 mm self-propelled howitzer developed by the Soviet Union as a response to appearance of American 155 mm M109 howitzer and produced during the Cold War. A project development started in 1967 according to the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of USSR from 4 July, 1967. 2S3 is its GRAU index for self-propelled artillery systems. The artillery system was developed in Sverdlovsk (design bureau No. 9 of Engineering Works named for M. I. Kalinin) and the chassis was developed by Uraltransmash Ural Vehicle Engineering Works (UZTM).

Description
152 mm self-propelled howitzer 2S3 Akatsiya.

Designated M1973 by the US Army, the Akatsiya is armed with a 152 mm howitzer based on the Soviet D-20 howitzer and is sometimes confused with the M109 self-propelled howitzer. The official Soviet designation was SO-152, but it is more known as the 2S3 Akatsiya. The factory designation of the gun is D-22 and is also known as the 2A33 (GRAU designation).

Driver's and engine-transmission compartments are located in a front part of a hull, fighting compartment with rotatory turret - in middle and rear parts of the hull. The armour is welded rolled steel. Howitzer is equipped with R-123 radio set, R-124 intercom, automatic NBC system with filtration unit and fire-fighting equipment. The V-59 12-cylinder four stroke water-cooled diesel engine connects with a mechanical twin gear transmission, a gear box is in one block with a planetary steering gear. 2S3 has self-entrenching equipment which allows to prepare a trench within 20-40 min.

The crew consists of 4-6 men: a driver, a gunner, a loader, a commander, and two ammunition bearers, which are positioned to the rear of the vehicle feeding rounds through two hatches in the hull rear when in masked firing position.
Armament

The 152.4 mm L/27 howitzer D-22 (2A33) can be elevated from -4° to +60° with a turret traverse of a full 360°. Rate of fire is 2.6 - 3.5 rounds/min depending on fire conditions. Howitzer is equipped with a double-baffle muzzle brake, a semi-automatic vertical wedge breechblock and an ejector. 2S3 has periscopic sight and telescopic sight of direct pointing. Howitzer has separate type of loading with ammunition (40 rounds) arranged in two mechanized stowages (in the turret and in the rear of the hull). The 2S3 Akatsiya can fire OF-540 and OF-25 HE-Frag 43.56-kg projectiles (also all types of rounds developed for 152 mm towed howitzer-guns ML-20 and D-20, and for towed howitzer D-1) at a maximum range of 18.5 km depending of used charge or rocket-assisted projectiles to a maximum of 24 km. Other projectiles available to the Akatsiya include BP-540 HEAT-FS (sight distance is 3 km, 250 mm armor penetration), Br-540B and Br-540 AP-T (115-120 mm armor penetration at a 1000 m), OF-38 Krasnopol laser-guided rocket-assisted projectiles, S1 illuminating, ZH3 smoke, nuclear projectiles (with explosive capacity of 2 kt). Secondary armament represents remotely-controlled 7.62 mm PKT tank machine gun on commander's cupola for anti-aircraft defence and self-defence in close combat.