The
Palmaria is a type of
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
self-propelledSelf-propelled artillery vehicles are a way of giving mobility to artillery. Within the term are covered self-propelled guns and rocket artillery...
155mm
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...
.
Developed by
OTO MelaraOto Melara is an Italian defence company with factories in Brescia and La Spezia. It was founded in 1905 as Vickers Terni. During World War I, Vickers Terni produced many weapons with calibre 40 mm and upwards. In 1929 the company was renamed Odero Terni Orlando with the abbreviation Oto. During...
for the export market, the development of the Palmaria began in 1977, with the first prototype appearing in 1981.
The Palmaria's chassis is based on the
OF-40The OF-40 tank was developed as a joint venture between OTO Melara and FIAT, and intended primarily for export sales. OTO Melara would develop and produce the hulls, and automotive components would be provided by FIAT...
main battle tank.
The primary armament is a 155mm howitzer, with a 7.62mm machine gun. One variant replaces the machine gun with twin 25mm guns for anti-aircraft use.
The
Palmaria is a type of
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
self-propelledSelf-propelled artillery vehicles are a way of giving mobility to artillery. Within the term are covered self-propelled guns and rocket artillery...
155mm
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...
.
History
Developed by
OTO MelaraOto Melara is an Italian defence company with factories in Brescia and La Spezia. It was founded in 1905 as Vickers Terni. During World War I, Vickers Terni produced many weapons with calibre 40 mm and upwards. In 1929 the company was renamed Odero Terni Orlando with the abbreviation Oto. During...
for the export market, the development of the Palmaria began in 1977, with the first prototype appearing in 1981.
Design
The Palmaria's chassis is based on the
OF-40The OF-40 tank was developed as a joint venture between OTO Melara and FIAT, and intended primarily for export sales. OTO Melara would develop and produce the hulls, and automotive components would be provided by FIAT...
main battle tank.
The primary armament is a 155mm howitzer, with a 7.62mm machine gun. One variant replaces the machine gun with twin 25mm guns for anti-aircraft use. The howitzer has an automatic loading system, providing a rate of fire of one round every 15 seconds or a burst-fire rate of three rounds every 25 seconds. The loader has 23 ready rounds, with seven more rounds stored in the hull. Including manual reloading of the charge, the overall firing rate is normally is one round per minute for one hour. Intense firing is four rounds in one minute. Sustained fire is one round every three minutes for an indefinite period. A wide variety of munitions includes specially developed
SimmelSimmel can refer to:*Georg Simmel, 19th century German sociologist*Johannes Mario Simmel, 20th century Austrian writerIt could also be a misspelling of "Simnel", for which see Lambert Simnel....
ammunition with a range of 24.7km and rocket-assisted projectiles with a range of 30km.
The turret is hydraulic with manual backup, and has 360 degree rotation with elevation limits of -4 to +170 degrees. It has its own auxiliary power supply which conserves fuel for the main engine.
Usage
As an export vehicle,
LibyaLibya , officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya , is a country located in North Africa...
was the first country to adopt the Palmaria, initially ordering 210 in 1982. Their army's artillery strength in 2004 included 160 Palmaria.
Other users include
NigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Capital Territory. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger...
, who took 25 Palmaria in 1982, and
ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
, taking the last 25 vehicles in 1986. Argentina mounted the Palmaria turrets onto
TAMThe Tanque Argentino Mediano , or TAM, is the main battle tank in service with the Argentine Army. Lacking the experience and resources to design a tank, the Argentine Ministry of Defense contracted German company Thyssen-Henschel...
chassis as one possible replacement for their
AMX-13The AMX-13 was a French light tank produced from 1953 to 1985. It served with the French Army and was exported to over twenty-five other nations. Named after its initial weight of 13 tonnes, and featuring a tough and reliable chassis, it was fitted with an unusual and troublesome tilting GIAT...
Mk. F-3 self-propelled guns. This vehicle became the
TAM VCA Palmaria.