Designed to defeat manpower, weapons and materiel of the enemy to the army mission depth.

The gun howitzer is mounted on a two-trail carriage provided with a firing platform. It is loaded and laid manually.

To improve the performance of the D-20 gun howitzer, it is provided with a flick rammer which increases the rate of fire and decreases the crew workload.

It can be modified in organizational repair agencies.

The towed 152 mm gun-howitzer D-20 was developed shortly after the end of the Second World War by the F F Petrov Artillery Design Bureau at Artillery Plant No 9 located in the town of Yekaterinburg.

The 152 mm gun-howitzer D-20 was first seen in public during the May Day parade in Moscow in 1955. It is understood that this weapon is no longer in front-line service with the Russian Army.

According to United Nations sources, Russia did not expect any surplus 152 mm gun-howitzer D-20 weapons between 1992 and 2006. Bulgaria did however export four D-20s to Angola in 1999, while China exported 18 of its equivalent China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO) Type 66 to Bolivia in 1992.

The D-20 uses the same carriage and recoil system as the 122 mm field gun D-74 which was also shown for the first time in 1955. The D-20 can be distinguished from the D-74 by a much shorter and fatter stepped barrel and a larger double-baffle muzzle brake.

The shield has an irregular top with a sliding centre section. The top of the shield can be folded down to reduce the overall height of the weapon. A circular firing pedestal is fitted as standard on all D-20s and is inverted and secured just forward of the shield when travelling. In the firing position the firing pedestal is lowered to the ground under the carriage, allowing the weapon to be traversed quickly through a full 360°. On each of the split box section trails is a castor wheel (on top) and a spade (underneath).

Targets are engaged by the gunner seated on the left side of the weapon. The gunner's sights are the indirect sight PG1M and the telescope OP4M for direct fire.

The ordnance of the 152 mm self-propelled gun-howitzer 2S3 (covered in a separate entry) is a development of that used on the towed D-20. Production of the 152 mm 2S3 was completed some time ago and it is no longer marketed. Surplus quantities of 152 mm 2S3 weapons are available from a number of sources.

Yugoslavia (today Serbia) produced a long-barrelled version of the D-20 known as the 152 mm howitzer M84. As far as is known there has been no production of this weapon in recent years. Details are provided in a separate entry.