The Type 83 is a 152 mm self-propelled howitzer used by the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

of China. This

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 ...

system was developed by Factory 674 ( Harbin First Machinery Building Group Ltd) and based on a tracked chassis. The project's development started in the late 1970s and the prototype was completed in February 1980, followed by a second in 1981. Production was authorized in 1983 under the designation ''Type 83''. The first production run started in May 1983 and the first public display was on 1 October 1984.Type 83, revised 29 set 09
This self-propelled gun is similar to the 2S3, with a modified version of the Type 66 gun and a Type 321 utility tracked chassis and is the first modern self-propelled gun in service with the People's Liberation Army. Production ended in 1990, after 780 examples were built. Manufacturing also involved factory 5318 (artillery), 298 (aiming), 754 and 843. Unlike the U.S.

M109 howitzer The M109 is an American 155 mm turreted self-propelled howitzer, first introduced in the early 1960s to replace the M44 and M52. It has been upgraded a number of times, most recently to the M109A7. The M109 family is the most common Western ...

, this self-propelled gun is made from steel and not aluminum alloy. It has six wheels on each side with the engine is in the forward hull. There is stowage for 30 shells, included a Chinese version of the Krasnopol laser ammunition. The elevation is 0-62° giving a range of 17 km. There is also base-bleed ammunition with improved range, cluster and fragmentation projectiles. A secondary weapon, a 12.7 mm machine gun, is also mounted on the turret. The engine is a 520 hp (382 kW) WR4B-12V150LB four-stroke, liquid-cooled diesel engine. The maximum speed is 55 km/h and range 450 km. The typical Chinese artillery regiment (one for each armoured division) has 18 SPG organized as one battalion with three batteries. Not long after entering service it was determined to be obsolescent and China started to develop new systems, like the

PLZ-45 The PLZ-45 or Type 88 is a 155 mm self-propelled howitzer developed by Norinco. It is based on Norinco's Type 89 (PLL-01) 155 mm/45-calibre towed gun-howitzer. The PLZ-45 self-propelled howitzer is used by the Chinese People's Liberat ...

(mainly for international market) and the real Type 83's replacement, the PLZ-05.

Operators

; *

People's Liberation Army Ground Force The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF), also referred to as the PLA Army, is the army, land-based service branch of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), and also its largest and oldest branch. The PLAGF can trace its lineage from 192 ...

- 150 PLZ-82/83

References

Type 83 152MM SELF-PROPELLED GUN-HOWITZER, retrieved 29 set 09
{{DEFAULTSORT:Type 83 Sph 152 mm artillery Tracked self-propelled howitzers Self-propelled artillery of the People's Republic of China Military vehicles introduced in the 1980s