In 1963, NATO agreed a NATO Basic Military Requirement 39 for close support artillery, either towed or tracked. Subsequently, Germany and UK started discussions and design studies and in 1968 established agreed operational characteristics for a towed 155 mm close support gun. Italy became a party to the agreement in 1970.
Key requirements were:
A detachable auxiliary power unit (APU)
An unassisted range of 24 kilometres (15 mi); an assisted range of 30 kilometres (19 mi)
A burst capability of three rounds in 15–20 seconds, six rounds per minute for a short period and two rounds per minute sustained
The ablility to fire all 155 mm munitions in NATO service, plus a new range of ammunition.
The two national authorities had overall responsibility for R&D, and Vickers Ltd was the co-ordinating design authority. They were also the design authority for the carriage and Rheinmetall GmbH was the authority for the elevating mass, including the sights, and for the APU. There was a further breakdown at a more detailed level and production worksharing. The UK Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment (RARDE) was responsible for designing the HE projectile and the charge system. Germany was responsible for Smoke, Illuminating, Minelet and extended range HE, although the development of the last two was not completed in the programme.
a vertical sliding-block breech that provided obturation and held a primer magazine containing 12 primers (a similar breech was fitted to German M109G)
burst fire
an on-board 1700 cc Volkswagen engine to power the hydraulics and to assist bringing the gun into and out of action (with hand pump back-up) and to move the gun up to 20 kilometres (12 mi) at low speed without towing by an artillery tractor
electronic firing data display taking data from the otherwise conventional azimuth and elevation sights.
The barrel was 39 calibres long, giving 827 m/s standard maximum muzzle velocity. It had a muzzle brake giving 32% efficiency.
Other conventional features included a split trail and turntable sole plate. Initially, it had assisted loading but became an early user of flick-ramming. In accordance with long-standing UK practice, it used one-man laying. All this meant that the gun could be operated by a minimum detachment of only four men (commander, layer and two loaders). The burst fire rate was three rounds in 15 seconds. It was also fitted with a direct fire telescope.
There were a number of design flaws that became apparent in service. The equipment entered full operational service in the UK in 1980. It became clear that there were significant difficulties with the tube feed system in anything but ideal conditions. 1st Regiment RHA, a unit that had conducted the Troop trials, developed their own procedures to solve these problems, related to dust contamination, and this process became established in official manuals in due course. More significantly, the trails of the gun proved to be weak at the point where maximum stress was incurred when the equipment was towed; this resulted in modification work on the UK guns in 1987. There were continual problems with the drive train on the flat-4 VW APU, and the hydraulic system was always vulnerable to the obvious problems posed by external, non-armoured, housing in combat conditions. In addition, the complex dial sight carrier was vulnerable to damage.
The new projectiles conformed to the Quadrilateral Ballistics Agreement between the US, UK, Germany and Italy. In essence, this meant a shell with the same shape and dimensions as the US M549 rocket-assisted projectile. The standard HE shell (UK designation L15) is a thin wall design weighing 43.5 kilograms (96 lb) and containing 11.3 kilograms (25 lb) of HE. This remains the largest HE load for a standard 155mm shell.
The propellant system comprises three different bagged cartridges with triple-base propellant. Cartridge 1 gives charges 1 & 2, Cartridge 2 give charges 3–7 and Cartridge 3 is charge 8, which gives a maximum range under standard conditions of 24.7 kilometres (15.3 mi).
Each nation developed its own fuzes and ammunition packaging. In the UK's case, this led to the Unit Load Container carrying 17 complete rounds, including shells with fuzes fitted - a novelty for 155 mm.
Standard US pattern 155 mm ammunition can also be fired, although US primers proved problematic for the primer magazine and feed due to their variation in size.
Operators
Operators of the FH70 (current in blue - former in red)
^. Shephard. 16 May 2022. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
^"Саморухомі гаубиці FH70 вже у ЗСУ. Що про них відомо". BBC News Україна (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2022-05-27.
Sources
RB Pengelley, FH70 - Europe's first multi-national artillery program, International Defense Review Vol 6, No 2 April 1973.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to FH70.
Estonian Defence Forces
January 06, 2023
fh70, this, article, possibly, contains, original, research, please, improve, verifying, claims, made, adding, inline, citations, statements, consisting, only, original, research, should, removed, december, 2010, learn, when, remove, this, template, message, c. This article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed December 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message Not to be confused with Swedish towed howitzer FH77 of the same caliber The FH70 field howitzer for the 1970s is a towed howitzer in use with several nations FH70FH70 howitzer in North Cornwall Tank Museum Collection TypeHowitzerPlace of originUnited Kingdom Germany ItalyService historyIn service1978 presentUsed bysee Operators WarsLebanese Civil War Russo Ukrainian WarProduction historyDesigned1968 1976ManufacturerVSEL Rheinmetall OTO Melara Japan Steel Works licensed production SpecificationsMass7 800 9 600 kg 17 200 21 200 lb LengthTravel 9 8 m 32 ft 2 in Barrel length6 m 19 ft 8 in L 39WidthTravel 2 2 m 7 ft 3 in HeightTravel 2 5 m 8 ft 2 in Crew8Caliber155 mm 6 1 in CarriageSplit trail sole plate auxiliary power unit and hydraulicsElevation 5 to 70 100 to 1 250 mils Traverse56 500 mils left and right Rate of fireBurst 3 rounds in 15 secondsSustained 3 6 rpmMuzzle velocity827 m s 2 710 ft s Effective firing range24 30 km 15 18 mi depending on ammo 1 Contents 1 History 2 Design 3 Ammunition 4 Operators 4 1 Current operators 4 2 Former operators 5 See also 6 References 7 Sources 8 External linksHistory EditIn 1963 NATO agreed a NATO Basic Military Requirement 39 for close support artillery either towed or tracked Subsequently Germany and UK started discussions and design studies and in 1968 established agreed operational characteristics for a towed 155 mm close support gun Italy became a party to the agreement in 1970 Key requirements were A detachable auxiliary power unit APU An unassisted range of 24 kilometres 15 mi an assisted range of 30 kilometres 19 mi A burst capability of three rounds in 15 20 seconds six rounds per minute for a short period and two rounds per minute sustained The ablility to fire all 155 mm munitions in NATO service plus a new range of ammunition The two national authorities had overall responsibility for R amp D and Vickers Ltd was the co ordinating design authority They were also the design authority for the carriage and Rheinmetall GmbH was the authority for the elevating mass including the sights and for the APU There was a further breakdown at a more detailed level and production worksharing The UK Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment RARDE was responsible for designing the HE projectile and the charge system Germany was responsible for Smoke Illuminating Minelet and extended range HE although the development of the last two was not completed in the programme The intention was for FH70 to replace the M114 155 mm howitzer and equip general support battalions in German divisional artillery regiments and to equip three British general support medium regiments replacing the 5 5 inch gun In the event it actually equipped UK regular regiments in direct support of infantry brigades until after the end of the Cold War and only replaced the L118 light gun in two TA regiments 100th Yeomanry Regiment Royal Artillery and 101st Northumbrian Regiment Royal Artillery from 1992 to 1999 Design EditFH70 features included a vertical sliding block breech that provided obturation and held a primer magazine containing 12 primers a similar breech was fitted to German M109G burst fire an on board 1700 cc Volkswagen engine to power the hydraulics and to assist bringing the gun into and out of action with hand pump back up and to move the gun up to 20 kilometres 12 mi at low speed without towing by an artillery tractor electronic firing data display taking data from the otherwise conventional azimuth and elevation sights The barrel was 39 calibres long giving 827 m s standard maximum muzzle velocity It had a muzzle brake giving 32 efficiency Other conventional features included a split trail and turntable sole plate Initially it had assisted loading but became an early user of flick ramming In accordance with long standing UK practice it used one man laying All this meant that the gun could be operated by a minimum detachment of only four men commander layer and two loaders The burst fire rate was three rounds in 15 seconds It was also fitted with a direct fire telescope There were a number of design flaws that became apparent in service The equipment entered full operational service in the UK in 1980 It became clear that there were significant difficulties with the tube feed system in anything but ideal conditions 1st Regiment RHA a unit that had conducted the Troop trials developed their own procedures to solve these problems related to dust contamination and this process became established in official manuals in due course More significantly the trails of the gun proved to be weak at the point where maximum stress was incurred when the equipment was towed this resulted in modification work on the UK guns in 1987 There were continual problems with the drive train on the flat 4 VW APU and the hydraulic system was always vulnerable to the obvious problems posed by external non armoured housing in combat conditions In addition the complex dial sight carrier was vulnerable to damage Ammunition Edit Italian Army 1st Field Artillery Regiment Mountain troops loading an FH70 howitzer 2019 The new projectiles conformed to the Quadrilateral Ballistics Agreement between the US UK Germany and Italy In essence this meant a shell with the same shape and dimensions as the US M549 rocket assisted projectile The standard HE shell UK designation L15 is a thin wall design weighing 43 5 kilograms 96 lb and containing 11 3 kilograms 25 lb of HE This remains the largest HE load for a standard 155mm shell The propellant system comprises three different bagged cartridges with triple base propellant Cartridge 1 gives charges 1 amp 2 Cartridge 2 give charges 3 7 and Cartridge 3 is charge 8 which gives a maximum range under standard conditions of 24 7 kilometres 15 3 mi Each nation developed its own fuzes and ammunition packaging In the UK s case this led to the Unit Load Container carrying 17 complete rounds including shells with fuzes fitted a novelty for 155 mm Standard US pattern 155 mm ammunition can also be fired although US primers proved problematic for the primer magazine and feed due to their variation in size Operators Edit Operators of the FH70 current in blue former in red Current operators Edit Estonia 24 Italy 90 in service of 162 ordered Japan 480 Built under license with the ordnance by Japan Steel Works Lebanon Unknown number in service Morocco 30 Oman 12 Saudi Arabia 72 Ukraine undisclosed number supplied by Italy and Estonia 2 3 Former operators Edit Germany 150 as FH155 1 Field Howitzer 155mm Mk1 Last unit 225th Mountain Artillery Battalion converted to tracked artillery in 2002 Malaysia 15 units Netherlands 15 in wartime reserve United Kingdom 67 as Howitzer 155mm L121 with Ordnance 155mm L22 on Carriage 155mm L13 in Territorial Army service until 1999 See also EditList of weapons of the Lebanese Civil WarReferences Edit The Encyclopedia of World Military Weapons 1988 ISBN 0 517 65341 9 Italy may donate 155mm howitzers to Ukraine Shephard 16 May 2022 Archived from the original on 16 May 2022 Retrieved 25 May 2022 Samoruhomi gaubici FH70 vzhe u ZSU Sho pro nih vidomo BBC News Ukrayina in Ukrainian Retrieved 2022 05 27 Sources EditRB Pengelley FH70 Europe s first multi national artillery program International Defense Review Vol 6 No 2 April 1973 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to FH70 Italian Army Site Estonian Defence Forces Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title FH70 amp oldid 1121311772, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
