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FH70 155mm towed howitzer

The 155 mm FH70 towed / self-propelled howitzers are used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The FH70 is an older artillery system as compared to the M777 howitzers, that in the amount of one hundred units arrived in Ukraine from the United States, Canada, and Australia. At the same time, the automated 155mm FH-70 towed howitzer could be quite effective on the battlefield. The FH70 is a towed howitzer produced by the United Kingdom and Germany since 1969. Later, Italy joined the project. The idea was to replace the American 155-mm M114 howitzer. In 1976, the howitzer was adopted into service.The towed howitzer is in service of the armies of Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Japan, Estonia, Norway, the Netherlands, and a number of other countries.

The gunners of the Armed Forces of Ukraine had the opportunity to assess the effectiveness of FH70 155mm howitzers. The military shared that the howitzer gives a fairly accurate hit already with the second shot. With a limited amount of artillery ammunition, the Ukrainian military manages to compensate for this with calculation and gun accuracy. "Accuracy comes to the fact that the first projectile falls near the target about 50-60 meters away, and on the second shot, you can already hit the target," said one Ukrainian gunner.

The FH-70 uses most NATO-standard 155mm rounds, including guided and rocket-accelerated extended-range rounds. The 155mmFH70 is a mobile howitzer, which was being developed by the United Kingdom and Germany since 1969, and later, Italy joined the developers. The project was intended to replace the American M114 155mm howitzer. In 1976, the howitzer was adopted, though by 2022 of all the developing countries, only in Italy was it still in service. Despite the age of the gun, it still remains in service, apart from Italy - in Saudi Arabia, Japan, Estonia, in total, together with Ukraine, nine countries.

The howitzer consists of several parts: a barrel, a cradle with an anti-recoil device, and a shell loading mechanism. The semi-automatic loading system operates at any angle of the gun barrel lift and consists of a loading tray that supplies the projectile to the breech.

The FH70 is a 155 mm howitzer with a barrel length of 39 calibers and a wedge bolt. The firing range of this gun depends on these parameters, which is 24.7 km with a conventional projectile and up to 30 km with active-reactive ammunition. That is, it is identical to the American M777 in terms of maximum fire distances. But with a significant difference: if the American howitzer weighs 4.2 tons, the FH70 weighs up to 9.6 tons. But this weight is explained by the fact that the FH70 was developed back in the 1970s.

During the creation of this howitzer, one of the tasks was to increase the firing rate, for which the loading was somewhat automated by installing a loading tray that throws the projectile into the barrel independently.

This automation allows shooting the first three shots in 15 seconds, which is quite a high indicator. But this is achieved by the fact that one projectile is already loaded, the second is already in the tray, and the third is in the hands of the loader. In the future, the measured rate of fire is standard for most causal 155-mm artillery systems - up to 3 shots per minute.

FH70 towed howitzers entered service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine in May 2022. With these howitzers, the artillery brigades received German-made MAN Kat trucks. Ukrainian gunners assessed the effectiveness of 155mm FH70 towed howitzers. The Ukrainian Artillery Brigade named after Hetman Danylo Apostol was armed with 155mm FH70 towed howitzers.

The most striking feature of the FH70 is the only howitzer in the world that has an auxiliary engine. Therefore, it can be called both a towed and a self-propelled howitzer. FH70 belongs to the class of "self-propelled" artillery systems thanks to the 1.7 liter Volkswagen auxiliary power unit. The engine not only feeds the hydraulics of the gun when it is put into combat or rolled up, but also allows the howitzer to move independently. “The personnel almost do not strain, almost everything is hydraulic in the howitzer,” the military emphasizes its superiority. The FH70 howitzer reaches a speed of 16 kilometers per hour. Gunners said that this allows you to quickly hide the cannon in a forest landing.

The Ukrainian military had to compensate for the limited ammunition with accuracy, and FH70 gave them this ability. The military said that the howitzer is quite accurate with the second shot. “Accuracy is determined by first projectile proximity to the target at a distance around 50 to 60 meters, and from the second projectile you can already hit the target,” said a Ukrainian gunner.

“We have very little number of rounds going on targets, we have an advantage over them in that we work out very quickly. While the Russians move their artillery for shooting, we manage to operate on them and depart the area,” said the gunner.

In May 2022, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported on the transfer of FH70 towed howitzers to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Artillery systems arrived as part of the 3rd military assistance package for Ukraine.

The 44th Separate Artillery Brigade showcased their work with Italian FH70 howitzers. Their Italian origin can be assumed by the artillery tractors, namely the Iveco Astra SM 66.40 Prime Mover, that were supplied with howitzers. Soldiers of the 44th separate artillery brigade named after Hetman Danylo Apostol were ready to destroy the invaders in any weather. They need only two conditions - more enemy targets and ammunition.

The Italian government prepared a new third military aid package for Ukraine. It was announced on 19 May 2022. The artillery tractors, namely the Iveco Astra SM 66.40 Prime Mover, were supplied with howitzers. The Military Balance 2022 guide indicates that at the end of 2022, the Italian armed forces had 163 FH-70 howitzers, and this was all of their 155 mm towed artillery.

How many of their FH-70s the Italians transferred to the Armed Forces remained unknown. At the end of October 2022, the Italian publication La Republica reported that Rome handed over several dozen of its 155-mm self-propelled guns, possibly M190L, to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to data from open sources, there may be up to 300 such self-propelled artillery units in storage warehouses of the Italian army.

Estonia will transfer all its 155-mm howitzers to Ukraine. This was stated 23 January 2023 by the ambassador of the Baltic country in Ukraine, Kaimo Kuuska. The publication "Strana" explains that the FH-70 howitzers were put into service in 1976. The publication, citing open sources, informs that Estonia had only 24 such artillery pieces.

"We are giving all our 155 mm howitzers to Ukraine. And we want to create a precedent in this way so that other countries have no excuses why they cannot provide Ukraine with the necessary weapons to win the war," the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces quoted the diplomat as saying on Monday (APU) on his Facebook page.

The report notes that the Estonian government decided to send Ukraine a military aid package worth €113 million. In addition to "dozens of 155 mm FH-70 and 122 mm D-30 howitzers," it includes thousands of 155 mm artillery shells, hundreds of anti-tank grenade launchers Carl Gustaf M2 with ammunition, means of supporting artillery units. Thus, the total military assistance to Ukraine is more than 1% of Estonia's GDP, the General Staff emphasizes.

Estonia transferred all its 155-mm howitzers to Ukraine. They were part of the latest announced military aid package. "We are giving all our 155-mm howitzers to Ukraine, and we want to set a precedent in this way so that other countries will have no excuses why they cannot provide Ukraine with the necessary weapons to win the war," Ambassador Kaimo Kuusk noted.

The aid package included dozens of FH70 155-mm howitzers and D-30 122-mm caliber, as well as thousands of artillery shells and hundreds of Carl Gustav anti-tank grenade launchers.