Profile
- Origin
- Soviet Union
- Built by
- Soviet ordnance industry
- Type
- 152 mm old high-explosive shell
- Service note
- Soviet-era 152 mm artillery ammunition
- Produced
- Soviet-era production
Munitions
F-533K high-explosive shell
Also known as
- F-533K
- F533K
- F-533K HE shell
- HE, old F-533K
- 152 mm F-533K
- 53-F-533K
- 53-VF-534K
- VF-534K
- 53-Ф-533К
- 53-ВФ-534К
- Ф-533К
- ВФ-534К
F-533K is a Soviet 152 mm old-type high-explosive shell in the VF-534 separate-loading ammunition family. Open ammunition tables identify the projectile as 53-F-533K / 53-Ф-533К, pair it with the 53-VF-534K complete round and 54-Zh-534 charge, and record a 40.68 kg projectile with a 7.3 kg explosive fill.
Profile / Specs
Specifications
- Caliber
- 152 mm
- Projectile class
- Old high-explosive shell
- Projectile index
- 53-F-533K / 53-Ф-533К
- Complete round index
- 53-VF-534K / 53-ВФ-534К
- Projectile weight
- 40.68 kg
- Explosive fill
- 7.3 kg
- Fuze references
- RGM, RGM-2, or RG-6 in open ammunition tables; UGT-series compatibility appears in VF-534 family references
- Propellant charge
- 54-Zh-534 / 54-Ж-534
- Loading
- Separate-loading cased artillery round
- Platform fit
- D-1 gun-howitzer ammunition table; VF-534 family source lists M1909/30 firing and emergency M1938/M1943 use
Variants
F-533K belongs to the old Soviet 152 mm F-533 high-explosive shell family; suffixes mark adjacent projectile and complete-round entries in D-1 and broader howitzer ammunition tables.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
 | Old 152 mm high-explosive shell | Battlefield.ru and the D-1 table list F-533 beside F-533K, with the unsuffixed projectile recorded at 40.41 kg and 8.0 kg of explosive fill. Sources: Semi-Fixed Ammunition, 152-mm howitzer model 1943 D-1 Ruwiki |
| Old 152 mm high-explosive shell | The same tables list F-533N / 53-F-533N as another suffix entry using the 54-Zh-534 charge, with a 41 kg projectile and 7.3 kg fill. Sources: Semi-Fixed Ammunition, 152-mm howitzer model 1943 D-1 Ruwiki |
 | Old 152 mm high-explosive shell | F-533U / 53-F-533U appears in the same family tables as a related 40.8 kg projectile with an 8.8 kg explosive fill. Sources: Semi-Fixed Ammunition, 152-mm howitzer model 1943 D-1 Ruwiki |
Fired By
The D-1 ammunition table lists F-533K as a 152 mm old high-explosive shell, while VF-534 family references add a caution that the older cased HE round was primarily associated with the M1909/30 and only emergency-fired from M1938/M1943 howitzers.
| Firing weapon | Weapon type | Firing evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Towed 152 mm howitzer | D-1 ammunition tables list 53-VF-534K / 53-F-533K in the howitzer ammunition family with a 40.68 kg projectile and 7.3 kg explosive fill. Sources: 152-mm howitzer model 1943 D-1 Ruwiki, 152 mm howitzer M1943 (D-1) |
Designation And Firing Context
The sources describe F-533K as the projectile in a larger separate-loading round family rather than as a self-contained cartridge. This page remains relationship-only because the sources document ammunition-table compatibility and round construction, not direct use of this exact projectile in a named conflict.
Projectile and round
Open tables identify 53-F-533K / 53-Ф-533К as the projectile and 53-VF-534K / 53-ВФ-534К as the complete round using the 54-Zh-534 / 54-Ж-534 charge.
K suffix
The historical-technical article distinguishes F-533K from F-533 by describing it as the steel Russian-pattern shell of 3.75 calibers length.
Firing caution
The VF-534 family source associates the older round with the M1909/30 howitzer and describes M1938/M1943 firing as emergency use with difficult extraction.
Sources: Semi-Fixed Ammunition; Soviet Explosive Ordnance 152mm and 203mm Projectiles; 152-mm howitzer model 1943 D-1 Ruwiki; 152-mm howitzer M1909/30 Historical-Technical Sketch.
Related Weapon Systems
Sources
152 mm howitzer M1943 (D-1)Publisher: Wikipedia | Note: Supports the D-1 ammunition-table context for F-533K and the shell's old high-explosive classification within the Soviet 152 mm howitzer family. | Accessed: 2026-07-02Semi-Fixed AmmunitionPublisher: Battlefield.ru | Note: Supports the F-533K designation, 152 mm high-explosive shell classification, 40.68 kg projectile weight, 7.3 kg explosive fill, RGM/RGM-2/RG-6 fuze listing, and howitzer ammunition-table context. | Accessed: 2026-07-02152-mm howitzer model 1943 D-1 RuwikiPublisher: Ruwiki | Note: Supports the D-1 ammunition-table row identifying 53-VF-534K, 53-F-533K, the 54-Zh-534 charge, 40.68 kg projectile weight, and 7.3 kg explosive fill. | Accessed: 2026-07-02Soviet Explosive Ordnance 152mm and 203mm ProjectilesPublisher: WW2 Equipment Data | Note: Supports the VF-534 complete-round family context, including VF-534K as the complete round using an F-533K projectile, fuze context, cartridge-case notes, and the M1909/30 with emergency M1938/M1943 firing caution. | Accessed: 2026-07-02152-mm howitzer M1909/30 Historical-Technical SketchPublisher: Military Wikireading | Note: Supports the historical-technical explanation that F-533K designated a steel Russian-pattern shell of 3.75 calibers length and lists 53-VF-534K / 53-F-533K with the Zh-534 charge and RGM/RGM-2/RG-6 fuzes. | Accessed: 2026-07-02Commons 152 mm shell RUK-museo ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and reuse context for the primary 152 mm shell photograph used on this record. | Accessed: 2026-07-02