All about FH70, the howitzers sent from Italy to Ukraine
Among the arms supplies sent by the Italian government to Kiev, there are also the 155/39 mm FH-70 howitzers already in action in the Donbass. They strike over 25km away
The Ukrainian military is working with the new FH70 howitzers in the Donbass to resist the Russian advance.
This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Kiev.
Most likely, the howitzers were transferred to Ukraine from Italy.
In fact, local media had previously reported that Ukraine would receive the FH70 howitzers from Italy. The howitzers would be part of the new – third – package of military aid from Rome. The conditional is a must since the list of military aid sent by Italy remains classified.
"The analysts of Ukraine Weapons Tracker, who trace the weapons in circulation in the country, write:" The Italian Howitzers are already in use, an undefined amount has recently been donated by Italy ", wrote Repubblica today.
The 155 mm FH70 howitzers, weighing 7.8 t, are capable of firing three rounds per minute at a range that can exceed 25 kilometers.
“For Italy it is a very“ heavy ”donation. Our Army, in fact, has only about seventy of these guns in all, which have already been in service for some time ”, explains Il Messaggero .
The powerful voice of M777 in Ukraine is now joined by a new partner – 155-mm howitzers FH70. This duo is annihilating the russian occupiers. To reach a crescendo in this "musical repertoire" we need the famous soloist of our time – MLRS. pic.twitter.com/niCfFdnOmH
– Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 26, 2022
THE FEATURES OF THE FH70 OBICE
The FH70 is a towed howitzer developed by the UK and Germany in the 1970s. Subsequently, Italy joined the program. The project was intended to replace the 155 mm American M114 howitzer. In 1976 the howitzer was adopted into service.
According to Repubblica , "the FH70 is not a latest generation cannon, it has a concept from the Seventies but it is still very valid and is of a higher level than the even older Soviet-type ones supplied to Ukrainian troops".
IN SERVICE WITH THE ITALIAN ARMY
As stated on the Italian Army website , “The 155/39 FH-70 mechanical towed artillery howitzer is suitable for providing direct fire support to large elementary units. Supplied to the mountain artillery regiments of the Alpine Brigades (1st and 3rd Regiment), the "HORSE" regiment as well as the 21 "TRIESTE" regiment and the 24 "PELORITANI" regiment, replacing the self-propelled M109L, in 18 pieces per unit. The howitzer is equipped with a Volkswagen engine, called Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) used for the autonomous movement of the piece (change of deployment, logistic movements), which is being replaced with a new-concept diesel ".
ALSO SENT FROM OTHER COUNTRIES
"As far as European countries are concerned, this piece of artillery was in service with the Armed Forces of Germany and the United Kingdom, from which however it has been decommissioned for years", highlights Rid .
The Italian defense bought 160 howitzers, half of which in reserve. It is from that stock that the Draghi government would have drawn for the package of military aid to be sent to Kiev. “The same type of howitzer was supplied by the United States, Great Britain, Canada, the Netherlands and Portugal. France also sent the Caesar self-propelled guns, again in 155 mm caliber, ”explains Repubblica .
The latter are state-of-the-art howitzers, capable of reaching targets even over 40 kilometers away. In addition, both the M777s and the French Caesars can parry GPS-guided precision bullets that miss the target by a few meters. According to the New York Times , "the American M777 is likely to have the greatest effect for the amount of weapons supplied, ensuring accurate long-range fire when enough crews are trained to use them."
WHY THE UKRAINIAN ARMY LIKES IT
Finally, the Ukrainian army is enthusiastic about the Italian howitzers. Thanks to the semi-automatic magazine, the trained crew can make up to six rounds per minute, almost one every ten seconds. The bullets contain ten kilos of explosives.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/tutto-su-fh70-gli-obici-inviati-dallitalia-in-ucraina/ on Fri, 27 May 2022 13:39:05 +0000.