Tankopedia
Late Cold WarTank DestroyerSP ArtillerySoviet Union

2S3 Akatsiya

In service 1971 - Still in service with several operators

The Soviet army-level 152 mm self-propelled howitzer, the answer to the American M109.

Built byUraltransmash, Sverdlovsk

2S3 Akatsiya
2S3 Akatsiya — Zimin.V.G., via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Development history

Akatsiya, meaning acacia, was developed after Soviet observers saw the M109 and realised towed 152 mm guns could not survive counter-battery fire on a nuclear battlefield. Built on the chassis family shared with the SA-4 launcher, it carried a 152 mm howitzer in a fully enclosed turret with a semi-automatic loading system and around 46 rounds. About four thousand were built and they served throughout the Warsaw Pact and beyond. It is a self-propelled howitzer rather than a tank and is recorded as such here.

Variants

One canonical record, 2 recorded variants.

  1. 2S3

    1971

    Initial version with two rear ammunition hatches.

  2. 2S3M

    1975

    Revised loading system and a single large rear hatch, 46 rounds carried.

Notable actions

  • Soviet-Afghan War
  • Post-Soviet conflicts