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152mm - country of origin?

US-Subs

US-Subs

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My initial thought on these two rounds was Bulgarian, but I don't see the typical factory codes on the projectiles, fuzes or cases. The font does not look normal for Russian, and I don't normally see any Cyrillic markings on Czech ordnance. Can someone steer me straight?

DSC_0808.jpgDSC_0809.jpg
 
The red cross on the left photo also looked Czech to me. The cases came with the rounds packaged in the crates, also marked in Cyrillic.
 
US-Subs said:
My initial thought on these two rounds was Bulgarian, but I don't see the typical factory codes on the projectiles, fuzes or cases. The font does not look normal for Russian, and I don't normally see any Cyrillic markings on Czech ordnance. Can someone steer me straight?

View attachment 167041View attachment 167042
Click to expand...

Basically Russian (Warsaw Pack) style markings for Czechoslovakian made ammunition as far as I can tell. The markings a mix of Czech and Cyrillic (Russian). The latter may have been for an export customer of the Dana 152 mm self-propelled gun (SPG), or another 152 mm gun (see later text).

First projectile

152 = 152 mm calibre
OF Nh = OF = Oskolocho-Fygasnaya (Осколочно-фугасная), literally fragmentation-high explosive. The Nh is short for a word in Czech, I think it’s to do with training or inert, but can’t remember the word or expression?
KH-37 = Not my background, but I presume something like ‘Kanónová Koufnice vzor 37’, so ‘Gun-Howitzer model 37’ in English
N = projectile weight zone (váhový znak) = between 0% to +1/3%
+ = no idea, as there’s a weight zone marking already (the plus sign is used for weight zones too)?

Second projectile

ГТС = GTS = Powder filling and ammo-assembling plant ZVS, Dubnica nad Vahom (if this place is correct: http://www.russianammo.org/Russian_Ammunition_Page_Headstamp.html)
1-89 = Batch and year
152 = 152 mm calibre
Н = N = weight zone again

Propellant charge

УЧЕБНЫЙ = UChEBNYY = training
ПОЛНЫЙ = POLNYY = Full, as in full charge
ЖН-546 = ZhN-546 = short form version of 54-ZhN-546 = this is the propellant charge's GAU/GRAU designation
152-Д-20 = 152-D-20 = 152 mm D-20 gun
152-37 = 152 mm Model 1937 Gun-Howitzer
152-СПГ-77 = 152-SPG-77 = I presume this is the Dana SPG (Samohybná kanónová houfnice vz. 77 Dana)
НДТ-3 16/1 = NDT-3 16/1 = propellant type (nitroglycerine + DNT + dibutyl phthalate, calorific class 3) and its geometry (tubular [1], wall thickness 1.8 mm)
1/87 НМА = 1/87 NMA = Batch - Year - Manufacture (powder manufacturer Syntesia, Pardubice-Semtin) of the NDT-3 16/1 propellant
8/1 УГ = 8/1 UG = propellant geometry (tubular [1], wall thickness 1.0 mm) and type (nitrocellulose to which a flash suppressant has been added)
1/86 НМА = 1/86 NMA = Batch - Year - Manufacturer of the 8/1 UG propellant
1-87-ГТС = 1-87-GTS = Batch - Year - Manufacturer, so markings covering the assembling/filling of the cartridge case
 
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Nh could be : náhradní
Always this marking on inert projectiles for practice

Maybe Nabod could help
 
Eggburt pretty much nailed it! (imagine clapping hands here)
They really are of Czechoslovak origin (Czech and Slovak Republics split in 1993)
Nh is nahradní as Sebastian wrote, it means substitute in "civilian" and it is a training round of its combat counterpart. (OF Nh - training HE projectile, JPNhSv - unitary training AP with tracer round)
d in OFd means dálkový - long range. This is original Czechoslovak construction with base cavity.
152-SPG-77 is indeed the 152mm ShKH vz. 77 DANA

The Cyrillic markings were introduced as a military standard of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Russian: Сове́т Экономи́ческой Взаимопо́мощи). The ČSVN 22 085 from 1985.
Now You can find the nomenclature in Czech or in NATO marking system. (I have seen one side OF the other HE)
As was written in the Baedeker: Czechoslovakia is a beautiful country in the heart of Europe, occupied from time to time from East or West (they have most certainly forgotten north and south :).

Bob
 

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Nabob said:
Eggburt pretty much nailed it! (imagine clapping hands here)

d in OFd means dálkový - long range. This is original Czechoslovak construction with base cavity.
Click to expand...

No problem, most of the markings were in the Russian style, so not too hard for me to interpret.

Ah, should have looked at the projectile that the 'd' marking was on. Russian GRAU nomenclature and codenames often have a 'D' at the end to denote an extended or long-range variant, again being short for the word for distance. Though that's normally for rockets and missiles (guided rockets or projectiles), and not unguided projectiles. For the latter, the 'D' can be smoke if its after the division code (53-D-843A & 3D5 for example), but if its at the end, it can mean quite a few things.
 
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