The is an armored artillery vehicle in the exclusive use of the
Japan Ground Self-Defense ForceThe , or JGSDF, is the army of Japan. The largest of the three services of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, the Ground Self-Defense Force operates under the command of the chief of the ground staff, based in the city of Ichigaya, Tokyo. The present chief of ground staff is General Yoshifumi Hibako...
. Self-propelled howitzers are employed to provide mobile heavy fire support to army units in the field.
The Type 75 shares a number of automotive components with the
Type 74The is a main battle tank of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force . It was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as a replacement for the earlier Type 61. It was based on the best features of a number of contemporary designs, placing it in the same class as the US M60 or German Leopard 1. Like...
tank which was developed during the same time.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, or MHI, is a Japanese company. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi Group.-History:In 1870 Yataro Iwasaki, the founder of Mitsubishi took a lease of Government-owned Nagasaki Shipyard. He named it Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, and started the shipbuilding business on a full scale...
developed the chassis, while the howitzer and turret were designed by
Japan Steel Worksis a steel manufacturer founded in Muroran, HokkaidÅ, Japan in 1907.-History:Japan Steel Works was set up with investment from British firms Vickers and Armstrong Whitworth. During World War II, they manufactured what was then the world's largest gun barrel to be fitted on the battleship Yamato...
. Two prototypes were completed in 1971-2 and differed only in their loading systems. Trials were conducted 1973-4 and the howitzer was accepted for service in October 1975. It carries 28 rounds of ammunition onboard.
As of 2001 Japan reported to the
United Nations Office for Disarmament AffairsThe UN Office for Disarmament Affairs is a department of the United Nations Secretariat established in January 1998 as the Department for Disarmament Affairs as part of the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's plan to reform the UN as presented in his report to the General Assembly in...
that 201 Type 75s were in service. It is being gradually replaced by the
Type 99 155 mm Self-propelled howitzerThe is a self-propelled howitzer of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force, which was developed as successor of the Type 75 155 mm Self-propelled howitzer.-Overview:...
. As of December 2008 it still equips the 5th, 11th, 171st and 172nd Field Artillery Battalions.
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