Thunder 1 (original) (raw)

Raad 1

In May 1996, Iran announced it had successfully tested its first locally made self-propelled gun, the 122 mm Raad 1 (Thunder 1). Iran revealed it was mass producing the system in 2002. This vehicle combined a number of locally produced and modified pieces of equipment already in Iranian inventory.

The Raad 1 mounts a turret appearing to be identical to the Russian 2S1 122mm self propelled howitzer, but on the chassis of the Iranian Boragh APC, a variant of the Chinese WZ-501/503 series, themselves copies of the Russian BMP-1. The artillery piece used was either the standard Russian type 122mm howitzer, manufactured under the designation HM51L by the Armaments Industries Group of the Iranian Defense Industries Organization, or the improved HM51 howitzer.

As of 2008 Iran was the sole operator of the system, maintaining a mixed force of upgraded 2S1 and Raad 1 self-propelled howitzers.

Iran first announced the "Thunder"-1 type 122mm self-propelled howitzer developed by the Hadid Artillery Factory in early 2002. The chassis was under the responsibility of the Shahid Kladuz Industrial Complex (SKDIC) of the DIO. The combat system is partly handled by the Hadid Artillery Factory. The shape of the "Thunder"-1 self-propelled howitzer is very similar to that of the Soviet 2S1 "Dianzhu" 122mm self-propelled howitzer. Therefore, Iranian military personnel would refer to the 2S1 self-propelled howitzer when developing the gun.

The "Thunder"-1 self-propelled howitzer adopts the layout commonly used by similar self-propelled artillery, that is, the cockpit and power cabin are arranged at the front of the vehicle body, the rear is a combat cabin, and the turret is mounted above the combat cabin. The gun features an all-welded steel structure with a maximum armor thickness of 17 mm to withstand light weapons and shell fragments. The chassis of the "Thunder"-1 self-propelled howitzer was improved from the chassis of the Iranian "Bolager" infantry fighting vehicle. The main change was that the body at the rear of the cockpit was raised.

The "Thunder"-1 self-propelled howitzer is 6.65 meters long and 3.25 meters wide. It has 4 crew members and 17.5 tons of combat weight. The power unit is the air-cooled BF-8L513 four-stroke eight-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine from Germany Deutz. The maximum power is 231.5 kW. Manual transmission, 2 forward gears and 1 reverse gear, the suspension device is torsion bar type, there are 6 hanging rubber load wheels on each side of the vehicle, the driving wheel is in front, the induction wheel is behind, and there is a supporting pulley in the middle. The maximum speed is 65 km / h, the maximum off-road speed is 4 5 km / h, and the maximum stroke is 400 km.

The chassis of the "Thunder"-1 self-propelled howitzer was improved from the chassis of the Iranian "BORAQ" infantry fighting vehicle. The Soviet 2S1 "Dianzhu" 122mm self-propelled howitzer and the Iranian "Thunder"-1 self-propelled howitzer are very similar in appearance, the biggest difference is the use of different chassis.

The "Thunder"-1 self-propelled howitzer is equipped with a fully enclosed 3-person turret. The top of the turret is equipped with optical equipment for direct shooting and inter-shot shooting. The turret is equipped with a HM-51 type with a diameter of 122 mm and a diameter of 122 mm. Artillery (imitation of the Soviet 2A31 122mm howitzer), when the marching artillery is placed in the front of the truck body and locked by the fastener. The high-low range of the HM-51 gun is -3� to +72�, the muzzle velocity is 721 m/s, and the range is 15.2 km when the ZBK-13 propellant is used to launch the 122 mm high-explosive grenade.

The life of the gun can reach 3000 rounds. The gun is equipped with an automatic loading machine with a maximum firing rate of 4-5 rounds. The gun can also be loaded when shooting at a large elevation angle. The shell carries 35 rounds. The types of shells include grenades, flares, and smoke bombs. The auxiliary weapon of the Thunder "-1 type self-propelled howitzer is a 12.7 mm high-altitude machine gun.