The D-20 152mm Towed Howitzer M1955 is a manually loaded artillery piece that was manufactured in the Soviet Union during the 1950s, even though it was designed for use during the Great Patriotic War of 1939-1945. This howitzer has shown reliability and power in many wars since its inception, and has been deployed by many nations as well. The contract for this weapon was awarded to the Petrov Artillery in Yekaterinburg, a city in the central area of the Soviet Union, where many heavy factories were relocated to during the war.

This gun proved to be well designed and rugged during field trails due to the fact that it was placed on an existing carriage that was used by the D-74 at the time. The short split-trail carriage features caster wheels at the end of each trail, a prominent base plate connected to the bottom for forward cradle, and a winged, scalloped shield with central traveling portion. The D-20 has a two-cylinder recoil mechanism located above the tube, and both tubes are stepped with a semi-automatic, vertically sliding wedge breechblock. The D-20 was the first 152mm cannon system to incorporate this semiautomatic breechblock. An 8-man crew is needed to man the howitzer and an AT-S medium tractor or URAL-375 6×6 heavy truck is needed for towing.

The D-20 is capable of firing many different types of ammunition, including the FRAG-HE and OF-540 with RGM-2 Fuze Model at a rate of 5-6 rounds per minute and a maximum firing range of 10 miles. Other ammunition that may be fired from this howitzer include:

• DPICM

• DPICM-BB

• Incendiary

• Expendable Jammer

• Chemical

• Flechette

• Semi-active laser-guided “Krasnopol”

Many countries have created variants of the D-20 for their own armies. The Russian Federation designed the Khitin, an improved version with an automatic rammer for a firing rate of 7-8 rounds per minute. The People’s Republic of Chine designed the Type 66 and the Type 83, the self- propelled version. In Romania, the A411, A412, and A425 are variants that are used and exported. The former country of Yugoslavia employed the SPH 152mm M1974 and he Democratic People’s Republic of Korea designed the M84 NORA or NORA AND M96 NORA-B.