The 2S5 ''Giatsint-S'' () is a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

152 mm

self-propelled gun Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...

. "2S5" is its

GRAU The Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (), commonly referred to by its transliterated acronym GRAU (), is a department of the Russian Ministry of Defense. It is subordinate to the Chief of ...

designation. It has nuclear, biological, and chemical protection. The 2S5 is capable of engaging targets at longer ranges and at a higher rate of fire than the more widely produced

2S3 Akatsiya The SO-152 (Russian: СО-152), usually known by its Main Missile and Artillery Directorate, GRAU designation 2S3 (), is a Soviet Union, Soviet 152.4 mm self-propelled gun developed in 1968, as a response to the American 155 mm M109 how ...

152 mm self-propelled gun, and is capable of firing nuclear projectiles.

Production history

Production of the 2S5 Giatsint-S (Hyacinth) started in 1976 along with the towed version the 2A36 Giatsint-B. It uses a chassis modified from the

SA-4 The 2K11 ''Krug'' (; English: 'circle') is a Soviet Union, Soviet and now Russian medium-range, medium-to-high altitude surface-to-air missile (SAM) system. The system was designed by NPO Novator and produced by Kalinin Machine Building Plant. I ...

Krug surface-to-air missile system with good cross-country mobility and is powered by a V-59 diesel engine which develops 520 hp. Giatsint-S can carry 30 152 mm rounds with a range of 28 kilometers, or 33-40 kilometers for rocket-assisted projectiles. In addition to high explosives, the gun can also fire HEAT, cluster, smoke and nuclear projectiles. Deploying to fire the gun takes 3 minutes, and it can sustain a rate of fire of 5 to 6 rounds per minute. Most of the crew, with the exception of the gunner, deploys outside of the vehicle while firing. It is usually accompanied by an ammunition carrier with an additional 30 rounds of ammunition. The 2S5 was introduced into service in 1978, replacing the 130 mm M46 field gun battalions in Soviet artillery brigades at the Army and Front level, and has also been known as the M1981 by the United States. Production ceased in 1991.

Operational history

The 2S5 was first used in combat by the Soviet Union in

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 46-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic o ...

. Later, Russian forces used it in the

First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also referred to as the First Russo-Chechen War, was a struggle for independence waged by the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria against the invading Russia, Russian Federation from 1994 to 1996. After a mutually agreed on treaty ...

and

Second Chechen War Names The Second Chechen War is also known as the Second Chechen Campaign () or the Second Russian Invasion of Chechnya from the Chechens, Chechen insurgents' point of view.Федеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 19 ...

. The 2S5 has been employed by the

Ukrainian Army The Ukrainian Ground Forces (SVZSU, ), also referred to as the Ukrainian army, is a land force, and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was formed from Ukrainian units of the Soviet Army after Declaratio ...

and Russian Army in the

war in Donbas The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

Operators

Current operators

* − 107 * − 13 * − 85 (850 in storage) * − 10 * − Reportedly

Former operators

* − 10 former Russian vehicles * − 18, under the designation 152 TELAK 91 * − 2,100 in 1989

Bibliography

References

External links

2S5 Giatsint-S description at the website of its manufacturer
– scroll down the page {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Self-propelled artillery of the Soviet Union 152 mm artillery Military vehicles introduced in the 1970s Tracked self-propelled howitzers