Trumpeter Soviet 2S3 152mm Self-Prop.Howitzer Earl

Designated M1973 by the US Army, the Akatsiya is armed with a 152.4 mm howitzer based on the Soviet 152.4 mm D-20 howitzer and is sometimes confused with the M109 self-propelled artillery. The artillery system was developed at the design bureau No. 9 of Kalinin Machine-Building Plant in Sverdlovsk. The factory designation of the howitzer is D-22 and the GRAU designation is 2A33. The chassis was developed by Uraltransmash.

The driver's and engine-transmission compartments are located in the front part of the hull, while the fighting compartment with a rotatory turret is situated in the middle and rear parts of the hull. The armor is made of welded rolled steel. The howitzer is equipped with an R-123 radio set, R-124 intercom, automatic NBC system with filtration unit, and fire-fighting equipment. The V-59 12-cylinder four-stroke water-cooled diesel engine connects with a mechanical twin gear transmission, and the gearbox is in one block with a planetary steering gear. The SO-152 has self-entrenching equipment that allows for trench preparation within 20-40 minutes.

The crew consists of 4-6 members: a driver, a gunner, a loader, a commander, and two ammunition bearers, who are positioned at the rear of the vehicle, feeding rounds through two hatches in the hull rear when in a masked firing position.

More features include a kit consisting of over 530 parts, refined detail, a multi-slide molded turret, upper hull, and lower hull, as well as 240 individual track links.