2S5 Giatsint-S Russian 152mm Self-Propelled Gun (SPG)

The 2S5 Giatsint (Hyacinth) is a 152 mm self-propelled howitzer designed and manufactured in the Soviet Union by the Special Design Bureau of the Sverdlovsk (now Ekaterinburg) Machinery Construction Factory. It was used to provide Russian forces with indirect large-caliber fire support and is still in operational use despite the design and the fact that it is over 40 years old. Development of the 2S5 Giatsint, 152mm self-propelled gun began in 1968 alongside the 2A36 Giatsint-B towed gun of the same caliber. Both guns have similar ballistics and use the same ammunition. The 2S5 entered service with the Soviet Army in 1976. Production commenced the same year and ceased in the early 1990s. Currently, it is in service with Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. The 2S5 Giatsint was only exported to Finland, locally designated as the 152 TELAK 91. The 2S5 Giatsint is fitted with a turretless 152 mm/L54 gun. This gun is completed with a load assisting system. The maximum rate of fire is 5 - 6 rounds per minute. The Giatsint fires ordinary and rocket-assisted HE-FRAG projectiles, HEAT, cluster, and smoke projectiles. The maximum range of fire with an ordinary HE-FRAG projectile is 28.4 km, and up to 33 km with a rocket-assisted projectile. Some sources claim that the 2S5 is capable of firing 0.1-2 kT nuclear projectiles. The full ammunition load consists of 60 rounds, however, only 30 of them are carried by the Giatsint. Other rounds are carried by the re-supply vehicle. It takes 2 minutes to prepare this artillery system for firing.