L118 Light Gun
Encyclopedia : L : L1 : L11 : L118 Light Gun
The L118 Light Gun is a 105 mm towed howitzer, originally produced for the British Army in the 1970's and widely exported since, including to the United States, where a modified version is known as the M119A1.
History
Prior to the mid-1970's, the British Army used the 105 mm OTO-Melara Mod 56 as its light artillery weapon. This was originally designed for Italian Alpini, and was light enough to be lifted by Wessex helicopters or towed by Land Rovers. However, it lacked range (making it vulnerable to counter-battery fire) and was not entirely popular.Its replacement was designed during the early 1970's, based on the ordnance of the Abbot self-propelled gun. It was heavier than its predecessor, but new, more capable helicopters such as the Puma, were entering service, and these could carry the new weapon. However, a new vehicle, the 101 Forward Control (Land Rover, One Ton) was designed as its prime mover in the field.
Since the end of the 1990's, the British Army have been using Pinzgauer ATVs as their gun tractors.
It first entered service with the British Army in 1975. In 1982, it saw intense use in the Falklands War. Five batteries (30 guns) were deployed to the Falkland Islands. During the final phases of the battles around Port Stanley, these guns were firing up to 400 rounds per gun per day, mostly at "Charge Super" i.e. the most powerful propellant charge for which they were designed. They were a major factor in the British victory.
At present, the British Army deploys the Light Gun with 29 (Commando) Regiment RA, 7 (Para) Regt. RHA and 40 (Field) Regt. RA. These support Marine Commando, Air Assault or Light formations.
Three regiments of the Territorial Army, 100 Regt RA(V), 103 Regt RA(V) and [105 Regt RA(V)], are also equipped with the Light Gun. [104 Regt RA(V)] are also equipped with the Light Gun for ceremonial purposes.
Those Officer Training Corps with "Gun Troops" train with the L118.
Design
The Light Gun appears to owe a number of its features to the QF 25 pounder. Among these are its vertical sliding wedge breech, and its use of a turntable (or "firing platform") rather than a split trail.When being towed in the unfolded position, the A-Frame is fitted to the front transom in order to support the elevated mass. Due to a recent modification it is possible to keep the gun in this position indefinitely at speeds up to 40 mph. For long distance transport, cleaning and storage, the barrel is reversed and clamped to the end of the trail.
Its specifications are:
- Weight: 1858 kg
- Length: 8.8 m
- Width: 1.78 m
- Height: 2.13 m
- Ammunition (105 mm): HE, HESH (Now obsolete in British service), WP, Smoke, Illuminating, Target Marking
- Elevation: Between -100 to 1250 mils (Using the elevation hand wheel)
- Traverse: 6400 mils on its platform (By rotating the tracks) and 100 mils left or right (Using the traversing hand wheel)
- Maximum Range (HE): 17.2 km
- Anti Tank Range: 800 m
- Muzzle Velocity (max): 709 m/s
- Shell Weight (HE): 15.1 kg
- Rate of Fire: 6 rounds per minute
The aiming procedures are executed with the L7 or L7A1 dial sight of NANOQUEST.
Variants
L119
There is a version of the Light Gun, known as the L119, which has a different barrel and a percussion firing mechanism for firing standard NATO ammunition. In the British and Australian Armies, this is used for training purposes.M119A1
The L119 was further modified and adopted by the United States Army. For details of the U.S. variants, see the main article M119 howitzer.Exports
The Light Gun has been exported to:
- Australia (59)
- Botswana (6)
- Brunei (6)
- Ireland (12)
- Kenya (40)
- Malawi (12)
- Malaysia (20)
- Morocco (36)
- New Zealand (34)
- Oman (39)
- Switzerland (6)
- United Arab Emirates (50)
- United States (548)
- Zimbabwe (12)
External links
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.