Self-propelled artillery is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mortar, and self-propelled rocket artillery. They are high mobility vehicles, usually based on continuous tracks carrying either a large field gun, howitzer, mortar, or some form of rocket/missile launcher. They are usually used for long-range indirect bombardment support on the battlefield.
The M109 is an American 155 mm turreted self-propelled howitzer, first introduced in the early 1960s to replace the M44. It has been upgraded a number of times, most recently to the M109A7. The M109 family is the most common Western indirect-fire support weapon of maneuver brigades of armored and mechanized infantry divisions.
The Panzerhaubitze 2000, meaning "armoured howitzer 2000" and abbreviated PzH 2000, is a German 155 mm self-propelled howitzer developed by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall in the 1980s and 1990s for the German Army. The PzH 2000 has automatic support for up to five rounds of multiple round simultaneous impact. Replenishment of shells is automated. Two operators can load 60 shells and propelling charges in less than 12 minutes. The PzH 2000 equips the armies of Germany, Italy, Ukraine, Netherlands, Greece, Lithuania, Hungary, Qatar and Croatia, mostly replacing older systems such as the M109 howitzer. In November 2019, a PzH 2000 L52 gun fired a shell a distance of almost 67 km. As of 2020, a prototype L52 gun with a new charge is being tested for a range of at least 75 km.
The M42 40 mm Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun, or "Duster," is an American armored light air-defense gun built for the United States Army from 1952 until December 1960, in service until 1988. Production of this vehicle was performed by the tank division of the General Motors Corporation. It used components from the M41 light tank and was constructed of all-welded steel.
The M114 is a towed howitzer developed and used by the United States Army. It was first produced in 1942 as a medium artillery piece under the designation of 155 mm Howitzer M1. It saw service with the US Army during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, before being replaced by the M198 howitzer.
The M41 Walker Bulldog, officially 76-mm gun tank M41, was an American light tank developed for armed reconnaissance purposes. It was produced by Cadillac between 1951 and 1954 and marketed successfully to the United States Army as a replacement for its aging fleet of World War II-vintage M24 Chaffee tanks. Although engineered as a reconnaissance vehicle, the M41's weight and armament also made it effective in the close infantry support role and for rapid airborne deployments. Upon entering US service, all M41s received the designation Little Bulldog and subsequently, Walker Bulldog after the late General Walton Walker, who was killed in a Jeep accident in 1950. The M41 was the first postwar American light tank to see worldwide service, and was exported in considerable numbers by the United States, particularly to Asia.
The DANA (Dělo automobilní nabíjené automaticky is a wheeled self-propelled artillery piece. It is also known as the Samohybná Kanónová Húfnica vzor 77. It was designed by Konštrukta Trenčín and built by ZTS Dubnica nad Váhom in the former Czechoslovakia. Introduced in the 1970s, it was the first wheeled 152 mm self-propelled artillery gun to enter service. It is based on a modified eight-wheel drive Tatra 815 chassis with excellent cross-country mobility. Currently it is in service with the Czech Republic, Libya, Poland, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Slovakia, and Ukraine.
The Nora B-52 is a 155 mm self-propelled howitzer developed by Military Technical Institute and manufactured by Yugoimport SDPR in Velika Plana, Serbia.
The PLZ-05 or the Type 05 is a 155 mm self-propelled howitzer developed by the People's Liberation Army of China to replace the Type 59-1 130 mm towed gun and Type 83 152 mm self-propelled gun. The PLZ-05 was officially unveiled at the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution to mark the 80th anniversary of the PLA in July 2007, and first entered service with the PLA in 2008.
The AMX-30 AuF1 is a French self-propelled gun vehicle currently in use by the armies of France and Saudi Arabia. It replaced the former Mk F3 155mm in French Army service. The AuF1 primary advance is that it incorporates full armor and nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) protection for its crew of four, while the former Mk F3 155mm offered no protection and could carry only two of its four crew members. The AuF1 saw combat with the Iraqi Army in the Iran–Iraq War.
The 155 mm self-propelled gun Mk F3, or the Canon de 155 mm Mle F3 Automoteur (Cn-155-F3-Am), was developed in the early 1950s by the French Army to replace their American M41 Gorilla 155mm self-propelled guns. The Mk F3 is the smallest and lightest 155 mm motorized gun carriage ever produced, and because of its size and low cost it has found considerable success on the export market. Constructed on a modified AMX-13 light tank chassis, the Mk F3 is novel in incorporating room inside for only two of the eight required crewmen. This allows the 155 mm gun to be placed on a smaller chassis than that employed by other armies, but exposes the outside crew members to enemy fire and other hazards.
The M39 Armored Utility Vehicle (T41) is an American armored vehicle designed during the Second World War, which saw service in that conflict and in the Korean War. Like a number of vehicles of this type, it was built using an existing chassis, that of the M18 Hellcat.
After World War II the Italian Army had two units named "Centauro": from 1952 to 1986 the Armored Division "Centauro" and from 1986 to 2002 the Armored Brigade "Centauro". Both units were successor to the World War II era 131st Armored Division "Centauro". The units' name came from the mythological race of half human-half horse creatures named Centaurs.
The 132nd Armored Brigade "Ariete" is currently the only active armored brigade of the Italian Army. Its core units are tank and Bersaglieri regiments. The brigade's headquarters is in the city of Pordenone and most of its units are based in the North-East of Italy. The brigade's name comes from the battering ram. The brigade draws much of its historical traditions from the 132nd Armored Division "Ariete", which fought in the Western Desert Campaign of World War II. In 1948 the Ariete was reconstituted as division and remained active until 1986. Today the brigade is part of the Division "Vittorio Veneto".
The 155 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M41 was an American self-propelled artillery vehicle built on a lengthened M24 Chaffee tank chassis that was introduced at the end of the Second World War. Out of a planned run of 250, only 85 were produced before cancellation of the order at the end of 1945. The M41 went on to serve extensively in the Korean War, its success influencing the design of later U.S. self-propelled artillery. The type was retired after the conclusion of that conflict but went on to serve briefly in the French Army.
The SU-152G was a Soviet experimental 152-mm self-propelled howitzer, and was designed by OKB-3 of the heavy machine construction division of Uralmash. The main designer of the SU-152G was Lev Gorlitsky. The SU-152G was intended to suppress and destroy enemy firing positions, engage enemy armored vehicles, as well as conducting area denial and counter-battery tasks.
The Mk 61 105 mm Self-Propelled Howitzer was a French self-propelled artillery piece designed and built during the late 1950s for the French Army.
The 132nd Field Artillery Regiment "Ariete" is a field artillery regiment of the Italian Army, specializing in armored combat. Originally an armored artillery regiment of the Royal Italian Army, the regiment was assigned during World War II to the 132nd Armored Division "Ariete", with which it fought in the Western Desert campaign until the division and regiment were destroyed in the Second Battle of El Alamein.
The 131st Artillery Regiment "Centauro" is an inactive field artillery regiment of the Italian Army, which was based in Vercelli in Piedmont. Originally an armored artillery regiment of the Royal Italian Army, the regiment was assigned during World War II to the 131st Armored Division "Centauro", with which the regiment fought in the Tunisian campaign. During the Cold War the regiment was assigned to the Armored Division "Centauro" and from 1986 the Armored Brigade "Centauro". The regiment was disbanded in 2001. The regimental anniversary falls, as for all Italian Army artillery regiments, on June 15, the beginning of the Second Battle of the Piave River in 1918.
