85 mm antitank gun D-48

• Name — 85-mm antitank gun D-48 • Origin — Soviet Union • Type — Anti-tank gun • Is Artillery — yes • Wars — Lebanese Civil War First Chechen War Second Chechen War • Design Date — 1948 • Production Date — 1955–1957 • Variants — Type 60 • Weight — 2,350 kg (5,180.8 lbs) • Length — 8.72 m (28.6 ft) • Part Length — 74 calibers (6.29 m) • Width — 1.59 m (5.22 ft) • Height — 1.89 m (6.2 ft) • Crew — 6 • Cartridge — Fixed QF 85×708mm R[1] • Caliber — 85 mm • Rate — up to 15 rounds per minute (max) 8 rounds per minute (normal) • Velocity — 1040 m/s • Range — 1200 m • Max Range — 18.97 km (11.8 mi) • Sights — OP-2-77 OP-4-77 • Carriage — split trail • Elevation — -6° to 35° • Traverse — 54°

The gun was designed by the F. F. Petrov Design Bureau on the basis of the D-44 85-mm divisional gun and production of the D-48 began in 1953 at the No. 75 factory in Yurga. The D-48 used the breechblock from the BS-3 100-mm field gun in order to achieve a rate of fire of 15 rounds per minute at maximum cadence.[3] The gun can transition from march to combat order in about two minutes. The D-48N was a version with an APN 2-77 or 3-77 infrared imaging device fitted for night combat. A licensed version of the D-48 was produced in China as the Type 60. The gun fires a high velocity armor-piercing-capped-ballistic-cap tracer (APCBC-T) BR-372 Projectile at 1040 meters per second and can penetrate 185mm of armor at a range of 1000 meters at an angle of obliquity of 90 degrees. The 3BK-7 high explosive antitank (HEAT) projectile can penetrate 192mm of armor at an angle of obliquity of 60 degrees. The effective range of armor-piercing shells for the D-48 is 1,230 meters (HVAP-T) or 940 meters (HEAT). Additionally, the D-48 antitank gun is capable of firing a 9.66 kilogram OF-372 high explosive projectile to a direct fire range of 1,200 meters or an indirect fire range of 18.97 kilometers. The Ammunition for the D-48 was developed by necking down 100-mm ammunition in order to achieve higher muzzle velocities.[4] The gun is towed by a URAL-375D truck[5] or an AT-P tractor with a maximum towing speed over asphalt roadway of about 60 km/h. The tires on the D-48 are those of the ZIS-5 truck. Designs with auxiliary power units were also investigated but never developed beyond prototype stage. • Performance of D-48 and comparable weapons • Effectiveness against rolled homogeneous armor • Weapon — Muzzle Velocity, meters per second — Penetration in mm • 85 mm D-48 (firing BR-372 APCBC) — 1040 — 195 (at 90°, range 1000 meters) • 8.8 cm PaK 43 (firing PzGr 40/43 APCR) — 1200 — 228 (at 90°, range 1000 meters) • 90 mm M3 (firing M304 APCR) — 1021 — 173 (at 30°, range 914 meters) • These data are not directly comparable as various measurement methods are used. They are, however, illustrative of the relative performance of the weapons.

The D-48 has been exported to Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Congo, India, Iraq, North Korea, Mongolia, Mozambique, Romania, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Vietnam.