New Sovietskiy 2S19U4 Self Propelled Artillery:

Originally developed at the end of the Twentieth century as a replacement for older artillery systems, it lasted far longer in service than any of the designers would have believed when it was first introduced. It was not until the later part of the Twenty-Sixties that the 2S19 Self Propelled Artillery was replaced in Soviet service. The artillery system was based off of components from the T-80 and T-72 Main Battle tanks. As a result, logistics were greatly simplified. It was an excellent design for its time but by the end of its career, they were badly in need of replacement.

When Communist took over the Government of Russia back over in 2027, the 2S19 formed the majority of mobile artillery in the Soviet military. As a result, the artillery systems were simply refitted with new armor and new ammunition when the revolution in new materials occurred in the beginning of the next decade. This was seen as a cost saving measure by Soviet government leaders and it was stated to be as effective as any new artillery systems coming from other nations. Many troops and junior officers strongly disagreed with this. Many of the vehicle were already getting old and there were severe maintenance problems with the old vehicle. There was a proposal to design a new mobile artillery system based on the T-212 tank but the designers could not get permission to begin the project. It was seen by Government leaders that there were enough mobile artillery systems and there was no chance of needing supplemental mobile artillery. There was discussion of diverting funds from other projects but all projects were considered vital as well. Because these artillery vehicles were needed, they could not be put into reserve units like the T-80 Tank and had much more wear and tear. The Soviet Army had no choice but to use the 2S19. By the time the 2S268 was introduced, few of the 2S19 were still operational and most of them had been cannibalized from multiple vehicles. A few were put into reserve or sold to other nations but most were simply scrapped. By the time the Rifts arrived, very few of the mobile artillery remained operational and even fewer exist today. A few warlords have operated the mobile artillery but have found them to be as much problem as they are worth. Even the New Sovietsky only have a few which they use as an emergency reserve to backup the 2S268 which they operate.

Unlike most Soviet Tanks in operation after the beginning of Soviet rebirth, the 2S19 used a diesel power plant. Most Soviet tanks used a Gas Turbine engine. The Self Propelled Artillery could reach about 60 kilometers per hour on roads and up to 25 kilometers per hour offroad. The normal range is around 500 kilometers. The vehicle does have complete NBC protection for the crew. The new armor replaces the old armor in some cases and in other cases is simply fitted externally. As a result, repairs can be very difficult to refitted vehicles and the old steel frames are often badly corroded and stressed.

The main armament of the 2S19 is a 152 mm cannon which is similar in capabilities to the American 155 mm artillery. It also formed the basis for the 152 mm cannon carried on many Naval vessels. The plans for designing a replacement vehicle based off the T-212 tank would most likely have mounted the same cannon. The cannon can fire both conventional rounds and special rocket propelled rounds for an extended range. Extended range rounds have a range up to around 40 kilometers. The cannon has a special autoloading system which allows up to eight rounds per minute to be fired until internal ammunition is exhausted. Rounds can be manually loaded through a special feed hopper in the rear of the vehicle. The original rocket propelled rounds developed for the cannon were too long to be loaded with the auto-loader system but later rocket propelled rounds were designed to fit the autoloading system. For defense against aircraft, originally a 12.7 mm machine-gun was fitted but this was later replaced by a 10 mm rail gun in most models.

Model Type: 2S19U4
Vehicle Type: Self Propelled Howitzer (Tracked)
Crew: Five (Driver, Gunner, 2 Loaders, and Commander).

M.D.C. by Location:
[1] Tractor Treads (2):50 each
152 mm Howitzer Turret:120
152 mm Howitzer Barrel:60
[2] 12.7 mm Turret Mounted Heavy Machine Gun (Early Models):20
[2] 10 mm Heavy Railgun (Replaces Heavy Machine-gun):50
Multi-Option Jammers (2):25 each
[3] Main Body:280

Notes:
[1] Depleting the M.D.C. of a tread will immobilize the tank until it is replaced. Replacing a tread will take 1D6x10 minutes by a trained crew (2 replacements are carried on board) or three times as long by the inexperienced. Changing the tread is only advisable when the vehicle is not under attack.
[2] These are small and difficult targets to strike, requiring the attacker to make a "called shot," but even then the attacker is -4 to strike.
[3] If all the M.D.C. of the main body is depleted, the vehicle is completely shut down and is unsalvageable.

Speed:
Ground: 37.3 mph (60 kph) maximum road speed; 15.5 mph (25 kph) maximum off-road speed. The vehicle is designed to traverse virtually all terrain and can climb at up to a 60% grade although at a much slower speed (About 10% of maximum road speed). It can also climb barriers and ford trenches. The vehicle can also handle side slopes of up to 30%.
Maximum Range: 310.7 miles (500 km)

Statistical Data:
Height: 9.78 feet (2.98 meters)
Width: 11.75 feet (3.58 meters)
Length: 39.04 feet (11.91 meters) with gun forward.
Weight: 46.3 tons (42 metric tons) combat loaded
Power Source: Diesel Engine.
Cargo Capacity: Minimal, enough for equipment with crew
Black Market Cost: 750,000 credits was the production price originally; Remaining artillery vehicles sell for double that. If fitted, any extra weapons systems will add to the cost of the tank; 2S19s are usually found very heavily modified, though they are quite common. Tank crews often personalize them with their pay in the armies of the assorted warlords to be considerably different from these Soviet-Era specifications. 2S19s still in the service of the New Sovietski, however, follow these specifications for the most part.

Weapon Systems

  1. 152 mm Howitzer: Very powerful and long range weapon that is capable of 360 degree rotation. Unlike the American M109, the 2S19 does not have to plant before firing its howitzer. It fires standard artillery and is normally fired indirectly on the target but can be fired as direct fire if necessary. The cannon is loaded by a gunner so the gun fire will slow down eventually. While the cannon is original, it uses modern Rifts artillery rounds and can use both non rocket assisted and rocket assisted rounds. The cannon has an automatic loader and can be loaded from the rear of the vehicle.
    Maximum Effective Range: 15.3 miles (13.2 nautical miles / 24.7 km) for standard projectiles, 24.9 miles (21.6 nautical miles / 40.0 km) for rocket propelled rounds.
    Mega-Damage: By artillery round type (Go to Battlefield Artillery for Rifts for more information for more information: Fragmentation 2D4x10, High Explosive 2D6x10, Armor Piercing 3D6x10, Plasma 4D6x10, and has a vast number of other type of rounds as well).
    Rate of Fire: 8 rounds per minute (2 per melee) until internal ammunition is exhausted. Sustained rate of fire is 2 rounds per minute (one every other melee)
    Payload: 50 rounds in autoloader. Can be loaded from outside vehicle.
  2. Top Weapon Mount (1): The vehicle has a spindle to mount a weapon on the top of the turret which is normally controlled by the commander of the tank. The weapon is designed for use against troops assaulting the vehicle and against aircraft. Originally the weapon carried was the 12.7 millimeter NSV Machine-gun but the weapon was replaced by a variety of different weapons.
    1. 12.7 millimeter NSV Machine-gun: While the Soviet military was able to replace the armor of the vehicle with stronger materials, initially there were no suitable weapons developed for the vehicle. The best that could be done was to develop new ammunition for the standard machine-gun. The weapon was soon found to be ineffective and was replaced by more powerful weapons.
      Maximum Effective Range: 3,000 feet (914.4 meters)
      Mega-Damage: Single shot does 1D4 and 40 round burst does 5D6.
      Rate of Fire: Equal to combined hand to hand attacks of gunner (commander).
      Payload: 400 rounds (10 bursts).
    2. 10 millimeter GSR-10 Heavy Railgun: The Soviet military was unable to make an effective liquid propellant weapon and instead developed, some say stole, a rail gun design for their existing vehicles. It replaced the 12.7 mm machine-gun in most vehicles although some with the grenade launcher retained that weapon instead. The mount was redesigned so that it can be controlled from within the turret.
      Maximum Effective Range: 4,920 feet (1,500 meters)
      Mega Damage: Single shot does 2D4 and 20 round burst does 1D6x10+10
      Rate of Fire: Equal to combined hand to hand attacks of gunner
      Payload: 800 rounds (40 bursts).
  3. Multi-Option "Shtora-8" Jammers (2): These are multi-purpose jamming devices designed to stop incoming missiles and confuse an enemy targeting the 2S19.
    Effect: Each firing launches two Chaff rockets, two Flare rockets, and the tank begins emitting a large cloud of smoke, both standard and Anti-Laser Prismatic aerosol ; The Chaff rockets detonate and spread Chaff over the area, the flare rockets floating down by parachute; Effects last for one minute (4 Melee rounds.) The Chaff rockets have a 20% chance of interfering with the course of enemy missiles each (40%, total) that are radar guided so that they miss the tank. The flares have the same percentages, except with IR-guided missiles. The Anti-Laser prismatic aerosol reduces damage by half for any laser beam striking the tank (With the exception of X-ray lasers but not variable frequency lasers; X-Ray lasers suffer no damage modifiers, and variable frequency lasers simply cannot compensate for the variables involved), and adds a +4 difficulty to targeting the tank with a laser guidance system or visually.
    Rate of Fire: Usually once every four melee rounds; Effects are not cumulative.
    Maximum Effective Range: Around tank only; Rough distance of 80 ft (24 m) around tank.
    Payload: Sufficient for ten firings; One of each type of jamming option from each side of the vehicle.

Sensors:

Special Notes:

[New Navy, New Sovietskiy, and TRIAX are trademarks owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc. ]
[ Rifts® is a registered trademark owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc.]

Initial Concepts by Marina O'Leary (LusankyaN@aol.com ).

By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

Copyright 2003, Kitsune. All rights reserved.

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