The
G5 is a
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
n towed
howitzerA howitzer is a type of artillery piece that is characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small explosive charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
of 155 mm calibre manufactured by
DenelDenel Ltd is a South African government dominated military-industrial and technological conglomerate established in 1991. It was created when the manufacturing subsidiaries of Armscor were split from Armscor in order for Armscor to be solely the procurement arm of the South African Defence Force ,...
. Initial versions of it were based on the 45-calibre
GC-45 howitzerThe GC-45 is a 155 mm howitzer designed by Gerald Bull's Space Research Corporation in the 1970s. Versions were produced by a number of companies during the 1980s, notably in Austria and South Africa...
designed by
Gerald BullGerald Vincent Bull was a Canadian engineer who developed long range artillery. He moved from project to project in his quest to economically launch a satellite using a huge artillery piece. To this end he designed the Project Babylon "supergun" for the Iraqi government...
, though it has gone through many modifications and variations to reach its latest model: the 52-calibre
G5-2000.
It is mounted on a slightly-modified version of a towed chassis design by
NORICUMNoricum, in ancient geography, was a Celtic kingdom stretching over the area of today's Austria and a fraction of Slovenia. It became a province of the Roman Empire...
, which also includes a small
APUAn auxiliary power unit is a device on a vehicle whose purpose is to provide energy for functions other than propulsion. Different types of APU are found on aircraft, as well as on some large ground vehicles.-Functions of APU:...
to allow it to dig itself in and move short distances at up to 16 km/h.
The
G5 is a
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
n towed
howitzerA howitzer is a type of artillery piece that is characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small explosive charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
of 155 mm calibre manufactured by
DenelDenel Ltd is a South African government dominated military-industrial and technological conglomerate established in 1991. It was created when the manufacturing subsidiaries of Armscor were split from Armscor in order for Armscor to be solely the procurement arm of the South African Defence Force ,...
. Initial versions of it were based on the 45-calibre
GC-45 howitzerThe GC-45 is a 155 mm howitzer designed by Gerald Bull's Space Research Corporation in the 1970s. Versions were produced by a number of companies during the 1980s, notably in Austria and South Africa...
designed by
Gerald BullGerald Vincent Bull was a Canadian engineer who developed long range artillery. He moved from project to project in his quest to economically launch a satellite using a huge artillery piece. To this end he designed the Project Babylon "supergun" for the Iraqi government...
, though it has gone through many modifications and variations to reach its latest model: the 52-calibre
G5-2000.
It is mounted on a slightly-modified version of a towed chassis design by
NORICUMNoricum, in ancient geography, was a Celtic kingdom stretching over the area of today's Austria and a fraction of Slovenia. It became a province of the Roman Empire...
, which also includes a small
APUAn auxiliary power unit is a device on a vehicle whose purpose is to provide energy for functions other than propulsion. Different types of APU are found on aircraft, as well as on some large ground vehicles.-Functions of APU:...
to allow it to dig itself in and move short distances at up to 16 km/h. Using the normal Extended Range, Full Bore ammunition the normal range is 39 km, which can be extended to about 53 km with the use of
base bleedBase bleed is a system used on some artillery shells to increase their range, typically by about 30%.Most of the drag on an artillery shell comes from the nose of the shell, as it pushes the air out of its way at supersonic speeds. Shaping the shell properly can reduce this greatly. However,...
or rocket assisted rounds. It is regarded as one of the most potent artillery pieces on the modern battlefield.
The G5 gun has been placed on an OMC
6×6The Four Wheel Drive Auto Company, more often known as Four Wheel Drive or just FWD, was founded in 1909 in Clintonville, Wisconsin as the Badger Four-Wheel Drive Auto Company by Otto Zachow and William Besserdich....
chassis to produce the fully self-propelled
G6 howitzerThe G6 self-propelled howitzer is a South African artillery piece, developed around the ordnance of the G5 howitzer. It is one of the most powerful self-propelled guns on a wheeled chassis....
, and won major export sales in this form to the
United Arab EmiratesThe United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven emirates situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman and Saudi Arabia. The UAE consists of seven states, termed emirates, which are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras...
and
OmanOman , officially the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab country in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders the United Arab Emirates on the northwest, Saudi Arabia on the west and Yemen on the southwest....
. In response to a request from India it has also been tested on the back of a 4×4 wheeled truck, a combination known as the
T5-2000. It has also been fitted into a turret that can be placed on any suitable vehicle. The turret is marketed as the
T6 which has already been fitted on the
T-72The T-72 is a Soviet-designed main battle tank that entered production in 1971. It is a further development of the T-62 with some features of the T-64A and has been further developed as the T-90...
.
Production history
The
South African ArmyThe South African Army is the army of South Africa, first formed after the Union of South Africa was created in 1910.The South African military evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by popular militias and small irregular commando forces, reinforced by the Afrikaners' historical...
at the start of the
AngolaAngola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean. The exclave province of Cabinda has a border with the Republic of the...
n conflict was equipped with
WW2World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
-era
artilleryArtillery is a military combat Arm that employs weapons capable of discharging large projectiles in combat. They are generally capable of adding considerable fire power to the military capability of an armed force...
pieces, notable the G1 (25pdr) and the
G2 (5.5 inch or 140 mm)The BL 5.5 inch Gun was a British artillery gun introduced during the middle of the Second World War to equip medium batteries.-History:In January 1939 a specification was issued for a gun to replace the 6 inch 26 cwt howitzers in use with most medium batteries...
. With the help of the
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
scientist
Gerald BullGerald Vincent Bull was a Canadian engineer who developed long range artillery. He moved from project to project in his quest to economically launch a satellite using a huge artillery piece. To this end he designed the Project Babylon "supergun" for the Iraqi government...
and his company,
Space Research CorporationSpace Research Corporation was a corporation founded by Gerald Bull, after the budget for his research at Project HARP for the United States and Canadian federal governments was cut in 1967, in order to commercialize the technology of long-range artillery...
, they developed the GC-45 howitzer. As a stopgap the
G3 155 mm gunThe 155 mm Gun M1 and M2 , widely known as Long Tom, were 155 millimeter calibre field guns used by the United States armed forces during World War II. The Long Tom replaced the Canon de 155 mm GPF in United States service....
(American WWII vintage M-2 "Long Tom") and the
G4 155 mm gunThe M-68 is a 155 mm 33 calibre towed gun howitzer manufactured by Soltam, Israel. The barrel of the M-68 is 5.18 m long and comes with a simple muzzle brake at the mouth of the barrel, the recoil mechanism of the two pneumatic cylinder jacks is positioned on the back-end of the...
(
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
i SOLTAM M-68) was secretly operated. Deliveries of the G5 (developed from the GC-45) started in 1982.
In 2002, Denel unveiled a 52-calibre version known as the
G5-2000, which featured greatly enhanced range and accuracy over the 45-calibre version.
Operators
: Saddam Hussein'sSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the President of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
army operated about 100 G5's, but these have probably all been destroyed or abandoned since the
2003 invasion of IraqThe 2003 invasion of Iraq, was led by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia, Denmark, Poland and Spain. Four countries participated with troops during the initial invasion phase, which lasted from March 20 to May 1...
. The New Iraqi Army may be equipped with new G5's to provide itself with artillery capability.
: Use 56 MK III's
Combat history
- Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean. The exclave province of Cabinda has a border with the Republic of the...
: 1982–1987
- Israel
Israel officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
: Beqaa ValleyBeqaa is a fertile valley in east Lebanon. The Romans considered the Beqaa Valley to be a major agricultural source, and today it remains Lebanon’s most important farming region.-Geography:The Beqaa is a fertile valley in Lebanon, located about 30 km east of Beirut...
, 1986
- Iran–Iraq War: 1980–1988
External links