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44-565: In 1976, the plan for a domestic 105 mm howitzer design was scrapped, and the factories began preparing for mass production of KM101A1 with assistance from the United States. In June 1976 South Korea continued its development work by importing two newly introduced British 105mm L118 light guns (an air-portable towed howitzer) for evaluation. In 1977 the mass production of KM101 began and South Korea quickly boosted manufacturing capacity. In March 1978, South Korea obtained partial blueprints of

88-536: A number of dedicated saluting guns for ceremonial purposes. Based on the standard L118, these saluting guns are modified to exclusively fire blank cartridges, are not fitted with the APS system and are easily distinguished from the field gun variant by their distinctive bronze green paintwork, chromed muzzle brake, and chromed breech. OTO Melara Mod 56 The OTO-Melara Mod 56 is an Italian-made 105 mm pack howitzer built and developed by OTO Melara . It fires

132-447: A single quadrant elevation scale. These optical indirect fire sights are now only used in recruit training. The guns also have a direct-fire telescope and were originally issued with a night telescope using image intensification. The 105 mm Fd Mk 2 ammunition has two propelling cartridges and a blank cartridge (for saluting purposes). The normal cartridge has six propellant increments (charges 1, 2, 3, 4, 4½, and 5). Charge 4½, which

176-464: A slightly larger touchscreen was ordered. It may enable data transfer from FC-BISA and include the NATO armament ballistic kernel (NABK) for direct fire shooting. The L119 variant has a different barrel (a slightly shorter L30 ordnance with a percussion firing mechanism) for firing the ubiquitous US M1 type ammunition (UK 105 mm How), giving the gun a max range of 11,400 metres (12,500 yd). When

220-587: A version of the Model 56 pack howitzer and its associated ammunition. In Commonwealth service, the gun was known simply as the "L5 pack howitzer" with L10 ordnance. However, its lack of range and the indifferent lethality of its ammunition led the UK to start development of its replacement, the L118 light gun , only two years after the pack howitzer entered service. This provided them with an advantage in range when facing

264-400: A weapon of its caliber, including the ability for its crew to manhandle the gun (due to its light weight), and the capability of being used in the direct fire role. Being a pack howitzer , it is designed to be broken down into 12 parts, each of which can be transported easily. Its ability to be "knocked-down" allows the sections to be transported a number of ways, although the original design

308-661: A week. New Zealand also donated approximately 40 dial sights to Ukraine. The L119 was further modified and produced under licence for the United States Army. The most recent version is the M119A3 introduced in 2013 with a digital fire-control system and GPS-aided inertial navigation unit using software derived from the M777A2 . During the 1970s, a third variant with the L21 ordnance, was developed and prototypes produced. This

352-418: Is autofrettaged and hence lighter. The light gun appears to owe a number of its features to the 25-pounder gun , unsurprisingly since RARDE was the successor to the design department, Woolwich Arsenal . Among these features are its vertically sliding block breech, and a box trail instead of a split trail ; a traversing platform is normally used with it. Its comparatively light weight is also attributed to

396-546: Is a 105 mm towed howitzer . It was originally designed and produced in the United Kingdom for the British Army in the 1970s. It has since been widely exported. The L119 and the United States Army's M119 are variants that use a different type of ammunition. The L118 uses separate-loading cased-charge ammunition – the projectile is loaded into the gun and rammed by hand, then the cartridge with propellant

440-400: Is a screw type. The recoil mechanism is a hydro-pneumatic system that absorbs the energy/recoils by forcing oil through orifices and returns the gun to ready by compressed gas. It is installed in the cradle of the carriage and attached to the cradle and the barrel. The gun maintains traverse of ±23° (±409 mils) for easier direct fire targeting during close combat, which frequently occurred during

484-659: Is also fired by 14 (Training) Regiment Royal Artillery on Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day each year. As of July 2017, there were 126 L118 light guns in service with the British Army. The L118 uses the L19 ordnance on the L17 carriage. The L19 ordnance is slightly shorter than the L13 used by the Abbot and hence has a slightly shorter maximum range. Also, unlike the Abbot, the barrel

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528-411: Is charge 5 with the blue charge three bag removed, is peculiar to the light gun and is used only for high-angle fire . A separate "charge super" cartridge is used for firing to maximum range. Both charge five and charge super project beyond the end of the metal cartridge case. The 105 mm Fd is "separate, cased"; the shell is loaded and rammed by hand, then the cartridge with propellant is loaded. By

572-483: Is loaded behind it. The L119 and M119 use "semi-fixed" ammunition – when it is prepared for firing, the projectile is fitted into the top of the cartridge case and the shell loaded into the gun as a complete round. From 1961 to 1975, the British Army used the 105 mm pack howitzer L5 with L10 ordnance ( OTO Melara Mod 56 ) as its light artillery weapon, replacing the 75 mm howitzer , 4.2 inch mortar , and 25-pounder gun in eight regular artillery regiments. It fires

616-613: Is made up of a tube, breech mechanism, muzzle brake, and locking ring. The tube is made of high strength alloy steel, heat-treated and autofrettaged to provide maximum life. The firing mechanism is a continuous pull (self-cocking) type. The weapon is fired by pulling a lanyard. It returns to firing position when releasing a lanyard. The carriage is single axle and split trail. The trails spread at emplacement, but draw together and lock for travel. The carriage consists of an equilibrator, shield, elevating mechanism, cradle, traversing mechanism, top carriage, wheels and trails. The carriage traversal

660-778: Is similar to a Ordnance QF 25-pounder field gun. The 105 mm light field gun is much more like L118, although somewhat heavier. In 1984, the L119 entered service with the Australian Army named the "Hamel gun" to replace the M2A2 . The gun was manufactured under licence in Australia for the Australian and New Zealand armies using mostly Australian produced components. Plans to produce 105 mm field ammunition were postponed. The 105 mm saluting gun: The British Army has

704-689: The Army and the Marine Corps . All howitzers were retired in 2000. The overall characteristic is similar to the M101A1 howitzer. KH178 is designed as a division artillery for a counter-battery role with agile positioning benefited from its light weight. The howitzer has a longer 38 caliber progressive twist rifling barrel, which provides a longer range of 14.7 km (9.1 mi) with standard ammunition and 18 km (11 mi) with RAP ammunition—compared to 22 caliber with EFC of 7,500 rounds. The cannon

748-783: The Army Reserve , The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC), 103rd (Lancashire Artillery Volunteers) Regiment Royal Artillery , 104th Regiment Royal Artillery and 105th Regiment Royal Artillery ) are also equipped with the light gun. Those University Officer Training Corps with "gun troops" train with the L118. On 30 November 2001, an L118 light gun replaced a 25-pounder gun as the One O'Clock Gun in Edinburgh Castle . By tradition, this fires at one o'clock every afternoon, except on Sundays, Good Friday and Christmas Day. The light gun

792-641: The Korean War . Indirect fire instruments includes the panoramic telescope KM12A8 and telescope mount KM21A2. Direct fire instruments includes the elbow telescope KM16A2, and fire control range quadrant KM4A3. The howitzer has an elevation of -5° (-89 mils) to 65° (1,156 mils) to engage enemies from higher position, and can fire both anti-personnel and anti-tank ammunitions. It can fire maximum of 15 rds/min or 3 to 5 rds/min for sustain. KH178MK1 has GPS and inertial navigation for faster operation and improved accuracy. L118 light gun The L118 light gun

836-565: The Puma and Westland Sea King , were entering service at the same time. A new vehicle, the Land Rover 101 Forward Control ("Land Rover, one-ton"), was designed as its prime mover in the field (and also for the Rapier air-defence missile launcher). Since the end of the 1990s, the British Army has used Pinzgauer ATVs as their gun tractors. In Arctic service, and elsewhere, the gun is towed by

880-640: The Royal School of Artillery while stocks of 105 mm How lasted, and the last British L119s were retired in 2005. However, the L119 is popular with many export customers who still rely on M1 ammunition. In 2022, the New Zealand Army sent 30 soldiers to the United Kingdom to train Ukrainian soldiers on the L119 light gun, as military assistance to Ukraine. They were to be stationed in the United Kingdom from May to July, with each course to take

924-579: The West German 105 mm lightweight howitzer and produced an operational sample, which contributed to the further development of the new howitzer. After a series of technical breakthroughs South Korea launched the developed KH178 105 mm howitzer to replace the M101. Since KH178 is based on the technology of M101A1, South Korea requires US approval when exporting the howitzer. By the time KH178 began development, NATO members were fielding artillery such as

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968-418: The " semi-fixed " M1 ammunition is prepared for firing, any propellant charge bags that are not going to be used are removed from the cartridge case, then the projectile is fitted into the top of the case. The shell is then loaded into the gun as a complete round, unlike the L118 ammunition, where the projectile and cartridge case are loaded separately. In British service, the L119 was used only for training at

1012-647: The 155mm FH70 and M198 howitzer developed under a Joint Ballistics Memorandum of Understanding standard—increasing maximum firing range to 30 km. Due to changing battlefield environment and to support joint operations with the US, the Republic of Korea Armed Forces started development of the KH179 155 mm towed howitzer in 1979. The decision led to continuation of mass production of KM101A1 rather than KH178 for cost efficiency. Since 1983, only 18 KH178 howitzers were delivered to

1056-560: The British victory. At present, the British Army has four light gun regiments: 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery , 4th Regiment Royal Artillery , 7th (Parachute) Regiment Royal Horse Artillery , and 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery . Other regiments are temporarily equipped with it for service in Afghanistan. The 14 (Training) Regiment Royal Artillery uses it for training at the Royal School of Artillery . Four regiments of

1100-593: The Hägglunds Bv 206 and is fitted with skis when over snow. In 1982, five batteries (30 guns) were deployed to the Falkland Islands during the Falklands War . In the final phases of the battles around Port Stanley , these guns were firing up to 400 rounds per gun a day, mostly at "charge super", the most powerful propellant charge for which they were designed. They were a significant factor in

1144-475: The M1 shell, in training. However, in 1968, this was changed to allow a different version of the weapon, which subsequently became the L119, to fire US 1935 pattern (i.e. M1) ammunition. The new gun, soon designated "light gun", was designed by the government Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment (RARDE), Fort Halstead , Kent. Prototypes were tested in 1968. It soon emerged that some increase in weight

1188-457: The UK for L118. A base bleed insensitive HE shell, with a maximum range of 20.6 kilometres (12.8 mi) has been developed. During the early 1990s all UK L118 were fitted with a muzzle velocity measuring device (MVMD), a radar, and its power supply. In 2002, the British Army's L118 guns completed replacement of their optical sights with the LINAPS artillery pointing system (APS) mounted above

1232-582: The US M1 type ammunition (called "105 mm How" in the UK). The Mod 56 was originally designed in Italy for its mountain artillery units. It was light enough to be lifted by Westland Wessex helicopters or towed by Land Rovers . It could also be dismantled, with no piece heavier than 128 kg (282 lb) to be transported by mules or horses. It lacked range (making it potentially vulnerable to counter-battery fire),

1276-575: The barrel is reversed and clamped to the end of the trail. For storage, the gun is in the unfolded position with the barrel elevated to an angle that balances the elevated mass on the yoke and therefore relieves pressure on the elevating gears. When first introduced in the British Royal Artillery, the L7 or L7A1 dial sight and its carrier, incorporating an integral elevation scale and internal lighting powered by Trilux nuclear light sources,

1320-420: The barrel. This is a self-contained system that uses three ring laser gyros to determine azimuth, elevation angle and trunnion tilt angle. It also includes facilities for navigation and self-survey using a global positioning system, inertial direction measurement and distance measurement. All this can be used anywhere in the world to lay the gun without external references. The outputs and inputs for APS are through

1364-529: The drawback that it lacked the robustness necessary for sustained operations. Australian and New Zealand gunners in South Vietnam found the weapon unsuitable for continuous operations. The guns were replaced by the sturdy US-made M101A1 after some two years. The lack of durability also led to their being carried on trucks for longer distances outside the combat zone. The Mod 56 offered limited protection to its crew. The Chinese manufacturer NORINCO offers

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1408-470: The more specialized mountain and airborne troops. Overall, the Mod 56 has served in more than 30 countries worldwide, of which a partial listing of the major operators is below. As an added refinement to the gun's mass, the Mod 56 is built to be an artillery piece with a reputation of ease with which it can be assembled and then disassembled into twelve components within minutes. The gun's light weight did have

1452-427: The nature of the steel used in the carriage and ordnance, and other weight-reducing features, including its narrow wheelbase. The narrow wheelbase prevents the ordnance rotating the 3200 mil (180°) required to 'unfold' the gun. Because of this, the gun features a knock-off hub on one side, allowing the ordnance to be rotated by removing one wheel. With a well-trained gun crew, this contributes approximately 30 seconds to

1496-454: The replacement of some steel components by titanium , however, only some elements entered UK service. The MVMD is also more tightly coupled with the LCDU, reducing electrical power requirements. Around 2010, new direct fire sights for longer range use were introduced for service in Afghanistan. These comprise a sniper's telescopic sight and a new night sight. At the end of 2011, a new LCDU with

1540-488: The standard US type M1 ammunition. The OTO Melara 105 mm Mod 56 began life in the 1950s to meet the requirement for a modern light-weight howitzer that could be used by the Italian Army 's Alpini brigades mountain artillery regiments. That it remained in service with those units a full half century after its introduction is a testament to the gun's quality. The Mod 56 has a number of unique characteristics for

1584-470: The time required to deploy the gun. In British service, rotating the barrel for towing is optional. When being towed in the unfolded position, the A-frame is fitted to the front transom in order to support the elevating mass. A recent modification makes it possible to keep the gun in this position indefinitely at speeds up to 40 mph (64 km/h). For long-distance transport or traversing rough terrain,

1628-503: The time the L118 entered service, propellant sub-zones A and B originally used with the Abbot had been replaced by an aerodynamic spoiler (a ring slipped over the nose of shell to lodge on the ogive) to reduce the minimum range at high-angle fire when this was required. The 105 mm Fd Mk 2 rounds were the same as used with Abbot when the L118 was first introduced. The ammunition types originally or subsequently in UK service include: A white phosphorus smoke shell has never been adopted by

1672-496: The touchscreen layer's display and control unit (LCDU) that replaced the conventional dial sight and its mount. The LCDU enables the layer to lay the gun by moving the barrel until the LCDU displays no difference between the ordered firing data and where the barrel is pointing as determined by the LINAPS sensors. A capability enhancement program that started delivering improvements to UK guns in 2007 aimed at reducing weight and improving some components. Weight reduction measures include

1716-490: Was for Switzerland and used Swiss pattern 105 mm ammunition. It did not enter service. The Indian Field Gun appears to share many features with the UK equipment. In the late 1960s India introduced the Value Engineered Abbot variant with the 105 mm Fd ammunition; this led to the 105 mm field gun (India), which appears to have some light gun features in its elevating mass, although its platform

1760-422: Was for mule-pack using special pack saddles. More often it is towed by a light vehicle such as a jeep or Land Rover. With the shield removed it can be carried inside an M113 armored personnel carrier . Its particular attraction to Western armies in the 1960s was that its light weight meant it could be lifted in one piece by helicopter, which made the gun popular with light artillery units in many countries as well as

1804-449: Was needed for the requisite robustness, and several assemblies were substantially redesigned. Original production, which was authorised in late 1975, was by Royal Ordnance Factory , ROF Nottingham , which has since been incorporated into BAE Systems Land and Armaments . Deliveries started in 1976. The light gun entered service with the British Army in 1976. It was heavier than its predecessor, but helicopters that could carry it, such as

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1848-660: Was not notably robust, had poor sights and was not universally liked. Nor were its rate of fire and time to prepare for opening fire satisfactory. In 1965, a general staff requirement was approved for a new 105 mm weapon system because the L5 pack howitzer "lacked range and lethality". Key characteristics included 6400 mil (360°) traverse by one soldier, maximum weight of 3,500 pounds (1,600 kg), small enough size to be carried inside new Chinook helicopters and Andover transport aircraft , and ability to fire immediately after being under water for 30 minutes. The ammunition to be used

1892-443: Was the 105 mm Fd Mk 2 ammunition used in the L13 ordnance of the gun equipment 105 mm L109 (better known as the " Abbot self-propelled gun "). This ammunition uses electrical instead of percussion primers and is an entirely different design from the US M1 type ammunition as used in the L5 pack howitzer. The two types are not interchangeable. An early requirement was for the new weapon to use 105 mm Fd Mk 1 ammunition, which uses

1936-421: Was used to aim the gun for indirect fire. The L7 sight is a modified version of a German Leitz instrument. Since the light gun entered service after the introduction of field artillery computer equipment (FACE), it never, unlike the Abbot, had gun rules (large slide rule like instruments used at each gun to convert range in metres to tangent elevation in mils, taking account of muzzle velocity). Therefore, it has

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