The Palmaria is an Italian self-propelled howitzer using the

155 mm 155 mm (6.1 in) is a common, NATO-standard, artillery caliber. It is defined in AOP-29 part 1 with reference to STANAG 4425. It is commonly used in field guns, howitzers, and gun-howitzers. Land warfare The caliber originated in France aft ...

(6.1″)

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 ...

-standard artillery calibre.

History

Developed by OTO Melara for the export market, the development of the Palmaria began in 1977, with the first prototype appearing in 1981.

Design

The Palmaria's chassis is based on the

OF-40 The OF-40 is an Italian main battle tank developed as a joint venture between OTO Melara and Fiat, and intended primarily for export sales. OTO Melara would develop and produce the hulls, and automotive components would be provided by Fiat (th ...

main battle tank. The primary armament is a 155 mm howitzer, with a secondary 7.62 mm machine gun or 12.7 mm machine gun on anti-aircraft mount and four 76 mm forward-facing smoke grenade dischargers on either side of the turret. The howitzer has an automatic loading system, providing a rate of fire of one round every 15 seconds or a burst-fire rate of three rounds every 25 seconds. The loader has 23 ready rounds, with seven more rounds stored in the hull. Including manual reloading of the charge, the overall firing rate is normally one round per minute for one hour. Intense firing is four rounds in one minute. Sustained fire is one round every three minutes for an indefinite period. A wide variety of

munitions are available, including specially developed Simmel rounds with a range of 24.7 km and rocket-assisted ones with a range of 30 km. The turret is hydraulic with manual backup, and has 360 degree rotation with elevation limits of -4 to +70 degrees.www.armyrecognition.com
/ref> It has its own auxiliary power supply which conserves fuel for the main engine. The Palmaria is powered by a 750 hp MTU MB 837 Ea-500 (or 1,000 hp Ka-500) 4-stroke, turbocharged, 8-cylinder multifuel engine coupled to a Renk RK 304 transmission. The Palmaria has torsion bar suspension with seven roadwheels and five return rollers on either side. The drive sprocket is located at the rear while the adjustable idler sprocket is at the front.

Operational history

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

was the first country outside Italy to adopt the Palmaria, initially ordering 210 in 1982. Their army's artillery strength in 2004 included 160 Palmaria. Several were destroyed during the 2011 Libyan civil war as a result of multinational military intervention."Battle Of Libya"
''Al Jazeera'' video report, 22 March 2011, at 35 second mark Other users include

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, which took 25 Palmaria in 1982, and Argentina, taking the last 25 vehicles in 1986. Argentina mounted the Palmaria turrets onto TAM chassis as one possible replacement for their

AMX-13 The AMX-13 is a French light tank produced from 1952 to 1987. It served with the French Army, as the Char 13t-75 Modèle 51, and was exported to more than 26 other nations. Named after its initial weight of 13 tonnes, and featuring a tough and re ...

Mk. F-3 self-propelled guns. This vehicle became the

TAM VCA The VCA-155 (''Vehículo de combate de Artillería'', Artillery Combat Vehicle) is a self-propelled 155mm gun/howitzer, manufactured by TAMSE (''Tanque Argentino Mediano Sociedad del Estado'') which entered service in the late 1990s. Descrip ...

Palmaria.

Operators

Current operators

* - Bought 20 Palmaria turrets in 1986, and integrated them into 17/18 TAM VCA chassis. * - Initially ordered 210 vehicles in 1982, had a count of 160 vehicles in 2004, several were destroyed during the 2011 Libyan civil war. * - Bought 25 vehicles in 1982.

References

{{reflist Self-propelled artillery of Italy 155 mm artillery Tracked self-propelled howitzers Artillery of Italy Military vehicles introduced in the 1980s