Polish Krab self-propelled howitzer supplied to the Ukrainian army has its barrel ripped off during combat, the cause is believed to be due to too high intensity combat.
The Polish Krab self-propelled gun supplied to Ukraine has shown that this is a weapon that shows good performance in combat, but the continuous high-intensity firing of the gun has led to the damage to the gun barrel.
Recently some images were published by the Russian Avia Site, showing that the Krab self-propelled howitzer has been “ripped off”, the result of high-intensity combat. Previously, the German-supplied Self-propelled Artillery Pzh2000 was also damaged in Ukraine due to heavy use.
According to Ukrainian Military, no one was injured in the incident. The Ukrainian Army had to use the maximum amount of weapons provided to deal with the superior Russian Army. That’s why many weapons has been damaged.
It is known that Poland has given Ukraine 18 units of self-propelled Krab Artillery Systems.
The Russian Avia Site, published the following information about the Krab Artillery System, “The Ukrainian army lost the first Polish howitzer AHS Krab.
During the next shelling with the use of the Polish howitzer AHS Krab, the barrel of the latter was torn off. This was not due to the detonation of ammunition inside the bore, but probably due to a defect or severe wear of the howitzer barrel, as indicated by the presence of damage characteristic of this. Given the lack of spare parts, the repair of the Polish howitzer may take sometime.
In the presented image, you can see that as a result of the shot, the barrel of the Polish howitzer AHS Krab literally broke into two parts. Moreover, part of the trunk was thrown a considerable distance, although there are no traces of a gap on it. In connection with what this happened is unknown, however, experts believe that we are talking about a factory defect.
According to the Ukrainian military, no one was injured as a result of the incident, however, now Ukraine has lost at least one Western self-propelled guns, which should weaken the Ukrainian army for at least the next week.
How many Polish self-propelled artillery mounts AHS Krab are in service with the Ukrainian army is unknown, since in addition to official deliveries, arms were also delivered without advertising it”.
Ukraine has signed a contract to buy 60 more Krab Self-propelled howitzers few months ago, currently 8 units has been delivered to Ukraine.
So, a total number of about 26 Krab guns are in use with the Ukrainian Army, there are some reports that the russian military has destroyed some of these guns.
Detailed information about the Krab self-propelled howitzer
The AHS Krab is a 155 mm NATO-compatible self-propelled tracked gun-howitzer designed in Poland by Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW), by combining the South Korean K9 Thunder chassis with a British BAE Systems AS-90M Braveheart turret with French Nexter Systems 52-calibre long gun and Polish WB Electronics’ “Topaz” artillery fire control system.
The 2011 version used a Nexter Systems barrel and UPG chassis. The 2016 production batch utilized the Hanwha Defense K9 chassis with KMW+Nexter Defense Systems long gun, Rheinmetall barrel and STX Engine-MTU Friedrichshafen engine. As of 2016 full-rate production of 120 Krabs for the Polish Army has started with deliveries to be completed by 2024. As of 2019, Huta Stalowa Wola started using barrels of their own manufacture in successive production batches
The Gun has the mass of 48 tonnes/48,000 kg, a length of 12.05 m (39 ft 6 in), width of 3.60 m (11 ft 10 in) and a height of 3.00 m (9 ft 10 in). The gun is operated by the crew of 5.
Krab self-propelled howitzers in the service of the Ukrainian Army
In late May 2022, the Polish government donated 18 Krabs to Ukraine to help the Ukrainian military defend the nation against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. It was subsequently revealed that the two governments had signed a contract under which Poland would sell Ukraine an additional 60 Krabs, in a deal worth US$700 million. With the deal, Ukraine became the first export customer for Polish Krabs. The agreement was the largest defence contract that Poland had made in the previous 20 years.
The Ukrainian Army reports that it has used the Krab during fighting near Sievierodonetsk.
Various pictures have emerged, which have shown the weapon being allegedly used during the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Kharkiv Oblast.