The Tampella 155 K 83 is a Finnish towed 155 mm
field gun (Finnish designation; technically it is a
gun-howitzer
Gun-howitzer (also referred to as gun howitzer) is a type of artillery weapon that is intended to fulfill both the role of ordinary cannon or field gun, and that of a howitzer. It is thus able to convey both direct and indirect fire. Modern gun-ho ...
), manufactured in the 1980s by
Tampella
Oy Tampella Ab was a Finnish heavy industry manufacturer, a maker of paper machines, locomotives, military weaponry, as well as wood-based products such as packaging. The company was based mainly in the Naistenlahti district of the city of ...
.
History
The development process for the 155 K 83 began in 1960 when Tampella presented their concept of a new 122 mm gun for the Finnish Army. It was a sound concept, but quite a heavy gun. It was only ordered in small numbers. In order to take advantage of the design, a decision was made to further develop this into a 155 mm gun. Through a number of development stages the 155 K 83 was born.
The drawings were also used to develop the Israeli
Soltam M-68
The M-68 was a 155 mm L33 caliber towed gun howitzer manufactured by Soltam Systems of Israel, and used by the Israeli Defense Force.
Design
The M-68 is based on the Finnish designed 122 K 60 and 155 K 68 cannon series, first developed i ...
, which, after improvements, became the
Soltam M-71
The M-71 is a 155 mm 39 caliber towed howitzer manufactured by Israeli company Soltam Systems.
Design
The weapon was based on the earlier Soltam M-68 and uses the same recoil system, breech and carriage but had a longer gun barrel (39 cali ...
(designated the G4 in South Africa).
Some guns have been modernized to 155 K 83-97 standard.
The gun design was further modified in the late 1990s. The gun, called
155 GH 52 APU
The 155 GH 52 APU (which stands for ''155 mm gun-howitzer, 52 Caliber (artillery), calibers, auxiliary power unit''), Finnish designation 155 K 98 (''155 mm kenttäkanuuna 1998'' or "155 mm field gun 1998"; Finnish Defence Forces, FDF terminology ...
(or
155 K 98
The 155 GH 52 APU (which stands for ''155 mm gun-howitzer, 52 calibers, auxiliary power unit''), Finnish designation 155 K 98 (''155 mm kenttäkanuuna 1998'' or "155 mm field gun 1998"; FDF terminology doesn't recognise gun-howitzers), is a Fin ...
in Finnish Army service), was given a longer, 52 calibre barrel and an
auxiliary power unit
An auxiliary power unit (APU) is a device on a vehicle that provides energy for functions other than propulsion. They are commonly found on large aircraft and naval ships as well as some large land vehicles. Aircraft APUs generally produce 115& ...
, enabling it to move by its own power. The chamber was also changed to support modern NATO-standard charge bags.
Operators
* - 113 units
[
]
See also
*155 K 98
The 155 GH 52 APU (which stands for ''155 mm gun-howitzer, 52 calibers, auxiliary power unit''), Finnish designation 155 K 98 (''155 mm kenttäkanuuna 1998'' or "155 mm field gun 1998"; FDF terminology doesn't recognise gun-howitzers), is a Fin ...
References
{{reflist
Tampella
Field artillery
155 mm artillery
Tampella 155 K 83
Military equipment introduced in the 1980s