Truck-based Artillery

[dy031101]

Being from Taiwan and consequently believing that everything that has a gun should have it in an armoured (lightly or otherwise) turret, I originally didn't quite appreciate the idea of Caesar SPH when it first appeared......

As time went by, however, I increasingly see it as a good replacement for towed artilleries- when you are only going to move between prepared firing positions, armour protections can take a back seat whereas a properly-designed truck-based SPH can be more quickly-deployable than towed pieces (the same reason why I began to like the WWII M3 GMC, other than it being a halftrack......).  The use of truck-mounted carriage can potentially ease the logistical burden of having self-propelled artilleries by drawing commonality from existing trucks.

Of course, given the ROCA's infamously-stubborn resistance to innovations, however slight those innovations might be, I suspect that they'd be content with keeping those WWII-vintage nice and clean while being outranged by all potential adversaries imaginable......  

From top to bottom:

• CAESAR 155mm SPH from France
• SH-1 155mm SPH from PRC
• SH-2 122mm SPH from PRC
• Undesignated 155mm SPH from ROC

[Maverick]

Some nice pics Dy.

The only real disadvantage I could see of such systems would be their vulnerability to counter-battery fire, interdictors or even small arms fire.  Something like the Czech Diana brings the whole armoured thing into being, whilst remaining on a mobile, wheeled chassis.  That being said, a bigger gun on an unarmoured platform would work with its superior range and if you had air superiority over your rear areas or organic SPAA systems.

Regards,

Mav

[Fulcrum]

Good idea to put a 155mm M777 or G-5 on the back of a HEMTT 10ton truck.

Or...

take that HEMTT, move the engine to the rear & cover it with armour & put that 155mm DANA turrent on.

[dy031101]

Reposting an experimental HMMWV-mounted M101 105mm howitzer carried out in Taiwan.



Although to provide low-tier units some kind of artillery assets, I wonder if the twin 120mm mortar (picture enclosed below) would be better.

The only real disadvantage I could see of such systems would be their vulnerability to counter-battery fire, interdictors or even small arms fire.

What part are considered vital in such a SPH?  I don't think it has to be heavily armoured (as trucks already in service with the would-be operators would be my basis of choice, and it first has to bear the load of the artillery, ammo, and FCS), but is there some kind of anti-shrapnel lining available?

Good idea to put a 155mm M777 or G-5 on the back of a HEMTT 10ton truck.

If air-transportability is no issue, I'd suggest a longer barrel for M777's self-propelled application.

[Maverick]

Dy, I guess the logical progression of uparmouring a softskin would be akin to the development of the armoured Hummer.  Of course, such mods would detract from the payload that the vehicle could carry so it's a kind of double edged sword.  As for vital components, that would depend on whether you were talking about the actual vehicle or the type of other vehicles required. 

For vehicles, I would suggest at the bare minimum the actual arty piece along with a supply vehicle.  You could forego armour on the resupply vehicle as a weight or cost saving measure.

For components, the arty vehicle would obviously have the arty piece, ammo storage & crew accomodation at a bare minimum.  The Priest comes to mind as a minimalist type of vehicle (altho being tracked).

Regards,

Mav

[Weaver]

At the big end of the scale, there's the Bofors Archer, which has a seriously armoured cab and an autoloader:




I wonder what's the smallest truck you could mount the Royal Ordnance L118 105mm light gun on?