Palmaria (gun)
| OTO Melara Palmaria | |
|---|---|
Palmaria Tower on an Argentinian TAM |
|
| General properties | |
| crew | 5 (commander, driver, gunner, two loaders) |
| length | 11.47 m |
| width | 2.35 m |
| height | 2.87 m |
| Dimensions | 47 t |
| Armor and armament | |
| Main armament | 1 × 155mm L / 39 howitzer |
| Secondary armament | 1 × 7.62mm machine gun |
| agility | |
| drive | 8-cylinder diesel engine 559 kW (750 PS) |
| Top speed | 60 km / h |
| Power / weight | 11.9 kW / t |
| Range | 400 km |
Palmaria is a self-propelled howitzer developed by the Italian company OTO Melara between 1977 and 1981 .
OTO Melara developed the Palmaria howitzer from 1977 mainly for export and used many components of the OF-40 tank, which was also intended for export . The project emerged from the aborted international SP70 project. Production started in 1982 and ended in the early 1990s.
technical description
The Palmaria is a fully enclosed armored howitzer. The chassis and drive are based on the OF-40. The tower had to be completely redeveloped to accommodate the heavy howitzer. The Palmaria is designed in such a way that only minor changes had to be made to adapt the vehicle to more difficult terrain and climatic conditions. OTO Melara aimed primarily at the Middle East market, where the United Arab Emirates had already introduced the OF-40. This has the advantage for the buyer that many components can be easily replaced.
The Palmaria is an extremely agile and fast vehicle. In addition, there is a high degree of cross-country mobility, as the chassis was taken over from a fast battle tank. An unusual feature is the auxiliary engine for the tower. This allows the tower to turn faster and saves fuel for the actual drive motor. This howitzer used an automatic loading system that allowed a shot to be fired every 15 seconds.
The howitzer is capable of firing a wide range of different 155mm NATO standard shells:
- high explosive shells
- highly explosive / splinter
- Daughter ammunition
- "Rocket-assisted projectile" bullet (RAP bullet)
- Anti-tank mines
There is the option of installing two 25mm anti-aircraft guns.
export
In 1982 Libya ordered 210 Palmaria self-propelled howitzers and another 25 went to Nigeria . Some of the Libyan self-propelled howitzers were destroyed during the 2011 civil war. In Argentina , the Palmaria tower was installed on modified chassis of the Tanque Argentino Mediano in 1986 . The 17 self-propelled howitzers created in this way were given the designation VCA 155 ( Vehículo de Combate de Artillería de 155 mm ).
literature
- Philip Trewhitt: tanks. The most important combat vehicles in the world from World War I to the present day. Neuer Kaiserverlag, Klagenfurt 2005, ISBN 3-7043-3197-X , ( Worth knowing - Technology ).