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The Lightest Self-Propelled 155mm Gun Ever
September 18, 2005: British firm BAE Systems is offering the lightest 155mm
self-propelled gun ever. BAE combined its very successful M777 lightweight (4
tons) 155mm howitzer, with its Supacat all-terrain wheeled vehicle. The "Portee
155mm Gun" weighs about 14 tons, and has lightweight armor added to the
passenger cab (protecting the crew from shell fragments). The Portee carries the
modified M777, 20 rounds of ammo, and some additional mechanical gear to enable
the howitzer to fire from the vehicle. A 155mm howitzer cannot effectively be
fired from a 14 ton vehicle (without doing a lot of damage to the suspension),
so the Portee partially unloads the howitzer before firing, so that the ground
absorbs the recoil, not the vehicle. When it's time to move again, the howitzer
is hauled back on to the vehicle, and off it goes. The U.S. Marine Corps and
U.S. Army are buying several hundred M777s, which will be towed by a truck. The
advantage of the Supacat is that it is more mobile, and go over ground that
would trap a truck.
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