M-1978 Koksan

The M-1978 Koksan, or officially Chuch'ep'o (Chuch'e Cannon; ) is a 170 mm self-propelled gun of North Korean design and manufacture. Very little information is available due to the secretive nature of the North Korean government. The designations M-1978 and Koksan were given to the type by US military analysts, as they first became aware of it in that year in Koksan, North Korea.

What is known is that it is a 170 mm (6.69 in) self-propelled gun of the open turret type. It was first seen publicly during a military parade in 1985. At least one example has been acquired by the United States, likely taken from examples captured by Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War.

Development
According to Jane's, the Koksan is based on a Chinese Type 59 tank chassis. The 170 mm gun is in an open mount with no superstructure and is stabilized when firing by two large folding spades at the rear. The mount is not connected directly to the chassis; it is connected to four rails that allow the gun to slide back when recoiling. The gun has a range that would allow it to strike Seoul from the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

According to Foss, the 170 mm gun may be a Russian naval gun or coastal artillery system supplied to North Korea in the 1950s. After these were replaced in the coastal defence role by guided missiles, the retired guns could have been used to create the Koksan.

The M-1978 version doesn't have enough space for the gun crew and ammunition, requiring another vehicle to carry the remainder of the crew and some of the ammunition.

Foss states that the M-1978 is probably fitted with an NBC protection system and infrared night vision sights for the driver. Like the Type 59 tank, the M-1978 can lay its own smokescreen by injecting diesel fuel into the exhaust.

In 1989, a new version of the Koksan appeared, that was designated the M-1989. It uses the same gun and mount of the M-1978, but it's mounted on a modified ATS tracked artillery tractor chassis.

Unlike its predecessor, the M-1989 has occasionally been put on public display by the North Koreans during parades and news broadcasts. One example has also been seen on display at International Defence Exhibition and Conference 2005 in the United Arab Emirates.

Deployment
Little is publicly known about how North Korea organizes and deploys its artillery. It has been suggested that M-1978's and M-1989's equipped battalions consist of 12 guns, 20-30 trucks and 150-190 personnel, organized into a battalion headquarters and three batteries with four guns per battery. Battalions are organized into a brigade consisting of 3 to 6 battalions. The brigade has a brigade headquarters and supporting engineer, air-defense and target acquisition units.

In 1987, several M-1978s were supplied to Iran and used during the Iran–Iraq War. Some of them were damaged, destroyed, or captured by the Iraqi forces.

A number of the captured Iranian guns were placed on public display. At least one of these was recovered by US Marines in 2008 from the campus of the University of Anbar.

Al Anbar University
A Koksan artillery piece was towed to University of Anbar around the 29 May 2003. At this time, soldiers from the United States 2/5 Field Artillery Battalion had been occupying the grounds of the university. The self-propelled weapon was towed to the university grounds so that it may be returned with the unit as a trophy. The idea to bring the weapon back to the United States was eventually abandoned. It was at this time that soldiers from the 2/5 Battalion disabled the gun with a thermite device. Eventually, the 2/5 Battalion was reassigned to a new area of operations and the cannon was left at the university.

Operators


Current operators Former operators
 * 🇮🇷 Iran − M1978 variant
 * 🇰🇵 North Korea
 * 🇮🇶 Iraq − Captured from Iran