The KH178 ("Korean Howitzer 1 (First) 78") is a South Korean

105 mm 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

caliber In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge (firearms) , bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the f ...

towed

howitzer A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...

. It was designed and developed by the

Agency for Defense Development The Agency for Defense Development (ADD) is the South Korean national agency for research and development in defense technology, funded by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). It was established in August 1970 under the banner ...

for the

Republic of Korea Armed Forces The Republic of Korea Armed Forces (), also known as the ROK Armed Forces, are the armed forces of South Korea. The ROK Armed Forces is one of the largest and most powerful standing armed forces in the world with a reported personnel strength of ...

and manufactured by Hyundai WIA.

History

In 1976, the plan for a domestic 105 mm howitzer design was scrapped, and the factories began preparing for mass production of KM101A1 with assistance from the United States. In June 1976 South Korea continued its development work by importing two newly introduced British 105mm

L118 light gun The L118 light gun is a 105 mm towed howitzer. It was originally designed and produced in England for the British Army in the 1970s. It has since been widely exported. The L119 and the United States Army's M119 are variants that use a different t ...

s (an air-portable towed howitzer) for evaluation. In 1977 the mass production of KM101 began and South Korea quickly boosted manufacturing capacity. In March 1978, South Korea obtained partial blueprints of the

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

105 mm lightweight howitzer and produced an operational sample, which contributed to the further development of KM101A1. After a series of technical breakthroughs South Korea launched the developed KH178 105 mm howitzer to replace the M101. Since KH178 is based on the technology of M101A1, South Korea requires US approval when exporting the howitzer. By the time KH178 began development,

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

members were fielding artillery such as the 155mm

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 ...

and

M198 howitzer The M198 is a medium-sized, towed 155 mm artillery piece, developed for service with the United States Army and Marine Corps. It was commissioned to be a replacement for the World War II-era M114 155 mm howitzer. It was designed and prototyped at ...

developed under a Joint Ballistics Memorandum of Understanding standard—increasing maximum firing range to 30 km. Due to changing battlefield environment and to support joint operations with the US, the Republic of Korea Armed Forces started development of the

KH179 155 mm towed howitzer The KH179 ("Korean Howitzer 1 (First) 79") is a South Korean 155 mm 39 caliber towed howitzer designed and developed by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) for the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, and is now manufactured by Hyundai WIA. D ...

in 1979. The decision led to continuation of mass production of KM101A1 rather than KH178 for cost efficiency. Since 1983, only 18 KH178 howitzers were delivered to the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and the

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

. All howitzers were retired in 2000.

Design

The overall characteristic is similar to the M101A1 howitzer. KH178 is designed as a division artillery for a counter-battery role with agile positioning benefited from its light weight. The howitzer has a longer 38 caliber progressive twist rifling barrel, which provides longer range—14.7 km with standard and 18 km with RAP ammunition—compared to 22 caliber with EFC of 7,500 rounds. The cannon is made up of a tube, breech mechanism, muzzle brake, and locking ring. The tube is made of high strength alloy steel, heat-treated and autofrettaged to provide maximum life. The firing mechanism is a continuous pull (self-cocking) type. The weapon is fired by pulling a lanyard. It returns to firing position when releasing a lanyard. The carriage is single axle and split trail. The trails spread at emplacement, but draw together and lock for travel. The carriage consists of an equilibrator, shield, elevating mechanism, cradle, traversing mechanism, top carriage, wheels and trails. The carriage traversal is a screw type. The recoil mechanism is a hydro-pneumatic system that absorbs the energy/recoils by forcing oil through orifices and returns the gun to ready by compressed gas. It is installed in the cradle of the carriage and attached to the cradle and the barrel. The gun maintains traverse of ±23° (±409 mils) for easier direct fire targeting during close combat, which frequently occurred during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Indirect fire instruments includes the panoramic telescope KM12A8 and telescope mount KM21A2. Direct fire instruments includes the elbow telescope KM16A2, and fire control range quadrant KM4A3. The howitzer has an elevation of -5° (-89 mils) to 65° (1,156 mils) to engage enemies from higher position, and can fire both anti-personnel and anti-tank ammunitions. It can fire maximum of 15 rds/min or 3 to 5 rds/min for sustain. KH178MK1 has GPS and inertial navigation for faster operation and improved accuracy.

Operators

Current operators

* : 16 howitzers in 1991, used by the

Chilean Marine Corps The Chilean Marine Corps ( es, Cuerpo de Infantería de Marina, CIM) is an entity of the Chilean Navy special forces which specializes in amphibious assaults. History The Marine Corps was born with the establishment of the first armed forces ...

. * : 54 howitzers in 2010.Upgraded KH178 artillery system offers more range - Indo14-Day3
- Janes.com, 7 November 2014 * : 18 howitzers in 1983, used by the

Republic of Korea Army The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...

and the

Republic of Korea Marine Corps The Republic of Korea Marine Corps (ROKMC; ko, 대한민국 해병대, Daehanminguk Haebyeongdae), also known as the ROK Marine Corps or ROK Marines, is the marine corps of South Korea. The ROKMC is a branch of the Republic of Korea Navy respon ...

. All retired in 2000.

References

External links