Trumpeter 00305 Chinese 152mm Type83 self-propelled gun-howitzer

The Type 83 is a modern Chinese self-propelled gun. The first prototypes of the vehicle were created in 1980, and serial production began in 1983, ending in 1990 with the production of only 78 examples of this weapon. The Type 83 is powered by a single motor WR4B-12V150LB 520 hp. It is armed with a single 152 mm howitzer and one 12.7 mm machine gun.

The Type 83 was most likely based on the Soviet 2S3 self-propelled howitzer, with its hull shape and general concept. Chinese engineers, in order to shorten the implementation time, used the Type 321 crawler chassis and the modernized version of the Type 66 howitzer in the Type 83. vehicles and probably reduced the mobility of the vehicle. The modified Type 66 cannon also has a range of 17-18 km, which is no longer compatible with modern artillery systems, even though the Type 83 can be used with laser guided ammunition. It is probably these shortcomings that made the Type 83 produced in such a small - by Chinese standards - number (78 pieces), and from the beginning of the 1990s a new model of self-propelled gun was developed, designated as PLZ-05 or Type 05.