Meet the M-52: Turkey's Old but Mighty "Big Gun"

Joseph Trevithick

Technology, Middle East

Could they be used in Syria?

Key point: These artillery pieces can still pack a deadly punch and are used in Ankara's war games.

In February 2017, Turkish troops brought out tanks, armored personnel carriers, self-propelled artillery and more for an annual winter war game called Kış Tatbikatı. Among the various weapons on display on the snowy training grounds were mobile howitzers that Turkey has had in service for over 50 years.

Between 1963 and 1966, Turkey received more than 350 M-52 guns from the United States, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. After World War II, the U.S. Army developed the tracked 105-millimeter weapons as part of a whole family of new vehicles to prepare for a major confrontation with the Soviet Union.

“In this era of a possible two-sided atomic war, where movement and dispersion are so vitally important, both in the offense and defense, vehicle mobility is more a matter of life or death than ever before,” a 1957 Army training aid declared, speaking about the M-52 and its cousins.

Five decades later, a significantly upgraded version is still ready for more conventional combat in and around Turkey — at least in theory.

The original M-52 was a squat-looking vehicle weighing just over 27 tons. Its primary armament was a single M-49 howitzer.

For limited defense against troops on the ground and low-flying aircraft, the vehicle had a .50 caliber machine gun on top. The five-man crew would also have their individual weapons.

The mobile howitzer had a maximum speed of only 35 miles per hour on flat, paved roads. The main advantage over a truck towing a similar gun was its off-road capabilities.

While the vehicle had armor on all sides and on top, it offered a defense against rifle bullets and shrapnel at best. And in exchange for this protection, the crew had to work in a relatively small space.