The 152 mm D-1 gun-howitzer is a Soviet towed heavy howitzer that put a short 152.4 mm ordnance on a lighter split-trail carriage. Its modern record is mostly residual-use evidence: Russia drew D-1 guns from stocks during the full-scale phase of the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War, while open loss records tie the same World War II-era system to Armenian/Artsakh equipment in 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh and Syrian government artillery losses in the 2011 Syrian Civil War.
Open reporting documents Russian or Russian-aligned D-1 use in Ukraine, including Donbas footage, Wagner artillery requests for 152 mm D-1 ammunition around Bakhmut, and later reporting that Russian forces were using D-1 howitzers at the front.
Role detailsAzerbaijan's defense ministry reported destroying one Armenian D-1 howitzer-gun on October 25, 2020, and Oryx separately lists 18 Armenian 152 mm D-1 gun-howitzer losses in the 2020 war, including destroyed and captured examples.
Oryx lists one Syrian government 152 mm D-1 gun-howitzer destroyed by a Turkish TB2 during the February 2020 Idlib and Aleppo fighting, in a list limited to equipment with photo or video evidence.
Role detailsThe D-1's catalog significance comes from a wartime compromise that remained useful long after Soviet corps-artillery service: a heavy 152 mm shell in a lighter towed package, with a short range compared with later 152 mm guns.
WeaponSystems.net describes the D-1 as a lighter 152 mm howitzer combining a two-wheel split-trail carriage with short 152 mm ordnance and a double-baffle muzzle brake.
The standard OF-530 shell range is about 12.4 km, below later Soviet 152 mm guns but still useful for close and rear-area fire support.
Recent conflict records are residual-stock evidence rather than new production: The Insider, Newsweek, RBC-Ukraine, and Texty link D-1s to Russian or Russian-aligned artillery use in Ukraine, while Oryx documents D-1 losses in Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh.
Sources: 152mm D-1; The Insider Stalin-era equipment report; Newsweek Wagner ammunition appeal; RBC-Ukraine Russian ammo interview; A year of war; The Idlib Turkey Shoot; Oryx Nagorno-Karabakh Losses.
The D-1 designation covers the Soviet towed production howitzer; Type 54 is identified in reference sources as the Chinese production model, while D-15 and SU-D15 were unfielded vehicle-mount projects tied to the same gun family.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| Type 54 | Chinese production model | WeaponSystems.net identifies Type 54 as the Chinese production model of the 152 mm D-1. Sources: 152mm D-1 |
| D-15 | Tank-mounted gun project | The D-15 designation is associated with a D-1-derived tank gun concept intended for a KV-1S-related heavy tank installation; only one example is described in open reference coverage. Sources: 152 mm howitzer M1943 (D-1) |
| SU-D15 | T-34 chassis assault-gun project | The SU-D15 project paired the D-15 gun concept with a T-34 chassis as a proposed SU-122 replacement, but the project did not enter production. Sources: 152 mm howitzer M1943 (D-1) |
The D-1 ammunition table includes BP-540 as a HEAT projectile, OF-530 as a HE-fragmentation shell, several older 152 mm high-explosive shell types, and HS-530 as a chemical shell.
| Ammunition | Ammunition type | Firing evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | 152 mm HEAT projectile | The D-1 ammunition table lists BP-540 as a HEAT projectile and notes a special charge used with it. Sources: 152 mm howitzer M1943 (D-1) |
 | 152 mm HE-fragmentation shell | The D-1 ammunition table lists OF-530 as a 152 mm HE-fragmentation shell with a 40.0 kg projectile weight and 5.47-6.86 kg explosive fill. Sources: 152 mm howitzer M1943 (D-1) |
 | 152 mm high-explosive shell | The D-1 ammunition table lists F-534F as a 152 mm high-explosive shell with a steely-iron, old French description. Sources: 152 mm howitzer M1943 (D-1) |
 | 152 mm high-explosive shell | The D-1 ammunition table lists F-531 as a British high-explosive shell for the Vickers 152 mm howitzer. Sources: 152 mm howitzer M1943 (D-1) |
| 152 mm high-explosive shell | The D-1 ammunition table lists F-521 as a high-explosive shell for the 152 mm mortar model 1931. Sources: 152 mm howitzer M1943 (D-1) |
 | Old high-explosive shell | Wikipedia's D-1 ammunition table lists F-533K as an old high-explosive shell with a 40.68 kg projectile mass and 7.3 kg filler weight. Sources: 152 mm howitzer M1943 (D-1) |
| 152 mm old high-explosive shell | The D-1 ammunition table lists F-533 as an old HE shell and records it at 40.41 kg with an 8.0 kg fill. Sources: 152 mm howitzer M1943 (D-1) |
| 152 mm old high-explosive shell | The D-1 ammunition table lists F-533N as an old high-explosive shell for Soviet howitzers. Sources: 152 mm howitzer M1943 (D-1) |
| 152 mm old high-explosive shell | The D-1 ammunition table lists F-533U as an old high-explosive shell and records it at 40.8 kg with an 8.8 kg filler weight. Sources: 152 mm howitzer M1943 (D-1) |
| 152 mm chemical shell | The D-1 ammunition table lists HS-530 as a chemical shell and records it at 38.8 kg. Sources: 152 mm howitzer M1943 (D-1) |
| 152 mm chemical shell | The D-1 ammunition table lists HN-530 as a chemical shell and records it at 39.1 kg. Sources: 152 mm howitzer M1943 (D-1) |
Soviet production of the D-1 began during World War II at No. 9 Uralmashzavod, with the weapon entering the heavy towed-howitzer lineage documented by reference sources.
Reference sources place the Soviet D-1 production run from 1943 to 1949, with about 2,827 guns built.
Oryx documented one Syrian government 152 mm D-1 gun-howitzer destroyed by a Turkish TB2 during the February 2020 Idlib and Aleppo fighting.
Azerbaijan's defense ministry reported one Armenian D-1 howitzer-gun destroyed among equipment struck on October 25, 2020.
The Insider reported that D-1 howitzers began arriving to Russian-aligned troops in August 2022, with Donbas footage emerging in October and later combat footage apparently dating to summer 2022.
Newsweek reported a Wagner artillery-unit appeal for 152 mm D-1 howitzer ammunition during the Bakhmut fighting.
