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 principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

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 only 78 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. It has been upgraded a number of times, most recently to the M109A7. The M109 family is the most common Western indirect-fi ...

, 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 A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

, 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 designed by Su Zhezi of 674 Factory, and developed by Norinco, 123 Factory (Heilongjiang Hua'an Industry Group Company), 127 Factory (Tsitsihar Heping Machine Shop), 674 Factory (H ...

(mainly for international market) and the real Type 83's replacement, the

PLZ-05 The PLZ-05 or the Type 05 is a 155 mm self-propelled howitzer developed by the People's Liberation Army of China to replace the Type 59-1 130 mm towed gun and Type 83 152 mm self-propelled gun. The PLZ-05 was officially unveiled at ...

Operators

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People's Liberation Army Ground Force The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF; ) is the land-based service branch of the People's Liberation Army and the largest and oldest branch of the entire Chinese armed forces. The PLAGF can trace its lineage from 1927 as the Chine ...

- 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