![5 Nora3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/5_Nora3.jpg)
Gun howitzer NORA ( sr, Топ — хаубица НОРА,
tr. ''Top — haubica NORA''; ''NORA''
acronym
An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
ic for sr, Ново оруђе артиљерије,
tr. ''Novo oruđe artiljerije'', "New Artillery Tool") is a Yugoslav and Serbian 152mm and 155mm gun-howitzer developed by the
Military Technical Institute
Military Technical Institute ( sr, Војнотехнички институт, Vojnotehnički institut; abbr. ) is a Serbian weapons and aircraft design institute, headquartered in Belgrade, and governed by the Serbian Ministry of Defence. It ...
(MTI) for the
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska a ...
,
Serbian Army
The Serbian Army ( sr-cyr, Копнена војска Србије, Kopnena vojska Srbije, lit=Serbian Land Army) is the land-based and the largest component of the Serbian Armed Forces.
History
Originally established in 1830 as the Army of Pr ...
, and export. Gun howitzer NORA has three basic versions (M-84, M-84B1, M-84B2), and is usually towed by a
FAP 2026 BS/AV truck.
Development
After producing domestic howitzer M65 155 mm based on the US
M114 155 mm howitzer
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 ...
, the Yugoslav People's Army was not satisfied with the maximum range of that gun, and the other existing artillery weapons at disposal. Decisions were made to start domestic production of new large caliber guns. The construction documentation of
152 mm towed gun-howitzer M1955 (D-20) as well as several D-20 guns were bought from the Soviet Union. Dissatisfied with the range of both the US 155mm and the Soviet 152mm gun, and considering the lack of desired features, a number of specifications were defined with characteristics that a new domestic gun-howitzer should have:
*range with unassisted projectile of 24 km (155mm howitzer M65 had range 14,9 km, and 152mm gun D-20 had range of 17,4 km)
*new
extended range ammunition (28 to 34.5 km)
*ability to fire all types of old ammunition for 152mm gun D-20
*wider elevation range (from -5° to +65°)
*rate of fire of minimum 4, achieved by development of new semi-automatic wedge-type breach mechanism (155mm howitzer М65 has rate of fire of only 1 to 2 rpm)
Three versions of NORA were designed:
*NORA-A 152mm gun howitzer with 39 caliber barrel
*NORA-B 152mm self-propelled gun with 45 caliber barrel based on FAP 2832 as carrier
*NORA-C 152mm
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&n ...
gun howitzer with 45 caliber barrel — parts of this project was planned to be used with a new 203mm gun named "KOLOS" with a maximum range of more than 50 km that was not realized due to a lack of funds
Work on the NORA project began in 1975, and in May 1980, the first prototype of NORA-A was sent to the
Technical Testing Center
Technical Testing Center ( sr, Технички опитни центар, Tehnički opitni centar) is acceptance testing facility that provides testing of new and existing military aircraft, military vehicles, military equipment, battle systems, ...
. In 1984, the development was completed and NORA-A, designated as ''M-84 NORA'', was accepted by the Yugoslav People's Army. In 1989, the M-84 powder chamber was redesigned, the mass of the gun was reduced, and the gun was renamed ''M-84B1''. The M-84B2 version is fitted with a pneumatic loader which is operational at all gun elevations, with a capacity of over 30 work cycles from one standard compressed air tank mounted on one of the trails.
Development of NORA-C was abandoned in 1991, and NORA-B suffered an almost similar fate. But after 2001, it was decided to continue the NORA-B project, and development was reactivated. In 2006, a new self-propelled gun with many new improvements and modifications was developed, known as ''
NORA B-52
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.
History
The first self-propelled Nora B (developed on the basis of Nora C) was designed ...
''. Today, the latest version,
NORA B-52
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.
History
The first self-propelled Nora B (developed on the basis of Nora C) was designed ...
, has little similarities with the original NORA-B project, as the new system is much more modern and automated.
On the basis of the NORA M-84 development, a conversion of Soviet
130 mm towed field gun M1954 (M-46) to a bigger caliber was set. In 1986, it was accepted by the Yugoslav People's Army under the designation ''M-46/86'' in 152mm caliber. Another version for export, M46/86, with 155mm gun caliber was developed.
Two more versions of NORA M-84 were developed after 2008:
*155 mm / 39 cal. NORA-A1 light gun-howitzer
*M08 152mm / 45 cal. towed gun
Ammunition
With the introduction of the gun, new munition was developed. In 1984, new ammunition with base-bleed was tested with a range of 34.5 km on NORA M84 152mm. In 1986, serial production of ammunition started under the designation ''M84/ГГ''.
It has a maximum muzzle velocity of 895 meters per second, and was ahead of Soviet ammunition for
152 mm howitzer 2A65
The 2A65 "Msta-B" is a Soviet towed 152.4 mm howitzer. The "B" in the designation is an abbreviation for ''Buksiruyemaya'', which means towed. This weapon has been fielded in Soviet and Russian forces since at least 1987 and as of 2022 is ...
at the time of introduction.
Variants
There are several variants of NORA artillery systems now in use or offered for sales or export:
NORA M-84
Basic variant that was accepted in the armament of the YPA in 1984. Small quantities are in use.
NORA M-84B1
Variant with 18 liters redesigned powder chamber and reduced mass to 6.88 tones. Most used variant. Range 34.5 km.
NORA M-84B2
Variant fitted with a pneumatic loader which is operational at all gun elevations, with the capacity to fire over 30 round.
M46/84
Converted M-46 130mm gun to NORA standard using 152mm or 155mm 45 caliber barrel and other parts developed through NORA program. In 155mm M46/84 variant range of 39 km is achieved with ERFB/BB ammunition's with 2078 square meters lethal zone compared to 27 km standard range and 630 square meters lethal area for the original M-46 130mm gun.
NORA A1
Lightweight variant with 155mm 39 caliber barrel and high rate of fire(8 rpm), new counter-recoil system and the possibility of use of semi-automatic loader.
M08
M08 represents a further development of M46/84 gun and it is 152mm gun with 45 caliber barrel having a range that is exceeding 40 km with new M05 155mm projectile.
Ammunition
152mm NORA is capable to fire M84/GG projectile
with a range of 34.5 km and all other ammunition developed for D-20 gun and NORA gun. NORA guns in the caliber of 155mm are capable to fire all domestic and foreign counterpart ammunition developed for 155mm guns within pressure allowed in chamber and barrel. The illumination round for NORA gun 152mm is designated M88.
Transportation and use
NORA gun-howitzer is transported by FAP-2026 or Kamaz 43118 6x6 cross-country trucks. From traveling into combat position and vice versa it takes about 3–5 minutes. A crew of 9 is needed to operate it successfully in combat within designed parameters.
Current operators
;
* The
Bosnian Army
The Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Oružane snage Bosne i Hercegovine, OSBiH, Оружане снаге Босне и Херцеговине, ОСБИХ) is the official military force of Bosnia and Herz ...
is equipped with 17 M-84 152mm NORA.
;
* The
Serbian Army
The Serbian Army ( sr-cyr, Копнена војска Србије, Kopnena vojska Srbije, lit=Serbian Land Army) is the land-based and the largest component of the Serbian Armed Forces.
History
Originally established in 1830 as the Army of Pr ...
is equipped with 52 M-84 152mm NORA; most of them are utilized by the
Mixed Artillery Brigade
The Mixed Artillery Brigade ( sr, Мешовита артиљеријска бригада, Mešovita artiljerijska brigada) is the artillery brigade of the Serbian Army with the task of providing artillery support to other Serbian Army units.
H ...
, with some in reserve.
Former operators
;
;
*
Croatian Army
The Croatian Army ( hr, Hrvatska kopnena vojska or HKoV) is the largest and most significant component of the Croatian Armed Forces (CAF).
Role and deployment
The fundamental role and purpose of the Croatian Army is to protect vital national i ...
attained 21 M-84 152mm NORA during the
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...
, but system is incompatible with NATO requirements and therefore not in service with the army.
Potential operators
Yugoimport
Yugoimport–SDPR ( sr, Југоимпорт–СДПР, Jugoimport–SDPR) is a Serbian state-owned weapons manufacturer as well as intermediary company for the import and export of defense-related equipment. It is headquartered in Belgrade, wi ...
has teamed up with
Punj Lloyd
Punj Lloyd Limited is an Indian Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company providing services for energy, infrastructure and defense sectors. The company's operations are spread across the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific, So ...
for 'Buy and Make Indian' program to offer 155mm Mounted Gun in tender for procurement of 814 guns.
See also
*
FH70
The FH70 (field howitzer for the 1970s) is a towed howitzer in use with several nations.
History
In 1963, NATO agreed a NATO Basic Military Requirement 39 for close support artillery, either towed or tracked. Subsequently, Germany and UK st ...
*
152 mm howitzer 2A65
The 2A65 "Msta-B" is a Soviet towed 152.4 mm howitzer. The "B" in the designation is an abbreviation for ''Buksiruyemaya'', which means towed. This weapon has been fielded in Soviet and Russian forces since at least 1987 and as of 2022 is ...
References
External links
NORA in combat action during the Kosovo War in 1999(video)
{{Military Technical Institute Belgrade
Artillery of Serbia
Military Technical Institute Belgrade
152 mm artillery
155 mm artillery
Howitzers
Military equipment introduced in the 1980s