.jpg/2000px-FH_70_155mm_gun_(6065127314).jpg)
Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
FH70
The FH70 (field howitzer for the 1970s) is a towed 155 mm howitzer used by several nations.
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:
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.
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.
Following the intervention in the Ukraine civil war by Russia in 2022, a number of European countries made donations of FH70 units to Ukraine. Italy donated an unspecified number from their inventory of approximately 190 units. These were in service in Ukraine by May 2022. In January 2023 Estonia announced that it would donate its entire stock of FH70 artillery to Ukraine.
FH70 features included:
The barrel was 39 calibres long, giving 827 m/s standard maximum muzzle velocity. It had a muzzle brake giving 32% efficiency.
Hub AI
FH70 AI simulator
(@FH70_simulator)
FH70
The FH70 (field howitzer for the 1970s) is a towed 155 mm howitzer used by several nations.
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:
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.
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.
Following the intervention in the Ukraine civil war by Russia in 2022, a number of European countries made donations of FH70 units to Ukraine. Italy donated an unspecified number from their inventory of approximately 190 units. These were in service in Ukraine by May 2022. In January 2023 Estonia announced that it would donate its entire stock of FH70 artillery to Ukraine.
FH70 features included:
The barrel was 39 calibres long, giving 827 m/s standard maximum muzzle velocity. It had a muzzle brake giving 32% efficiency.