Direct proof of use
The 152 mm D-1 gun-howitzer appears in the Syrian Civil War record through a visually documented Syrian government loss. Oryx's open-source loss list for the February 2020 Idlib and Aleppo fighting identifies one Syrian government 152 mm D-1 gun-howitzer destroyed by a Turkish TB2.
Oryx framed the list as equipment hit by Turkish air and ground strikes that began late on February 27, 2020, against Syrian Arab Army and allied positions in Idlib and Aleppo. Its entry for the D-1 is therefore direct evidence that a Syrian government-side D-1 was fielded in the conflict and destroyed during that fighting.
Sources: Oryx Idlib Turkey Shoot
Timeline
The dated public record is narrow. The documented D-1 loss belongs to the Turkish strike phase that followed the February 27, 2020 Balyun airstrike on Turkish troops and the subsequent escalation around Idlib and Aleppo.
Campaign reporting from early March 2020 describes Turkish drones and artillery destroying Syrian government armor, artillery positions, and other military assets. Those reports corroborate the broader strike environment, while Oryx provides the specific D-1 identification.
Sources: Oryx Idlib Turkey Shoot, Guardian Turkey Idlib Offensive, Al Jazeera Idlib Drone War
Battlefield role
The source-backed role for the D-1 in this record is a documented government-side towed artillery piece rather than a complete firing history. The D-1 is a legacy 152 mm gun-howitzer, and the Syrian record here rests on visual loss evidence from a battle in which Turkish drones and artillery targeted Syrian government forces and equipment.
The available sources do not support a reliable public count of Syrian D-1 holdings, a specific firing incident by this weapon, or a verified location more precise than the Idlib and Aleppo fighting covered by the loss list. They do support the narrower claim that at least one Syrian government D-1 was fielded and destroyed during the February 2020 phase of the 2011 Syrian Civil War.
Sources: Oryx Idlib Turkey Shoot, Guardian Turkey Idlib Offensive, Al Jazeera Idlib Drone War
Campaign context
The D-1 loss occurred during Turkey's direct intervention against Syrian government forces in northwest Syria. The Guardian reported on March 1, 2020 that Turkey had intensified attacks around Idlib after the killing of at least 33 Turkish troops, while Al Jazeera described the campaign as relying heavily on Turkish unmanned aircraft against Syrian government armor and other assets.
Those accounts explain why the D-1 appears as a loss rather than as a documented artillery firing event: the strongest source ties the weapon to Turkish strike damage, not to a named Syrian artillery mission. For this page, possession, fielding, and destruction are therefore separated from unverified claims about operational firing.
Sources: Guardian Turkey Idlib Offensive, Al Jazeera Idlib Drone War, Oryx Idlib Turkey Shoot
