PLZ-45
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The PLZ-45 or Type 88 is a 155 mm self-propelled
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 ...
designed by Su Zhezi of 674 Factory, and developed by Norinco, 123 Factory (Heilongjiang Hua'an Industry Group Company), 127 Factory (Tsitsihar Heping Machine Shop), 674 Factory (Harbin First Machine Manufacture Limited Company) and the
Beijing Institute of Technology Beijing Institute of Technology (abbreviated BIT; Simplified Chinese characters, Simplified Chinese: 北京理工大学; Traditional Chinese characters, Traditional Chinese: 北京理工大學; pinyin: Běijīng Lǐgōng Dàxué), is a National u ...
in the early 1990s for the export market. It is based on Norinco's Type 89 (PLL-01) 155 mm/45-calibre towed gun-howitzer. The PLZ-45 self-propelled howitzer is used by the Chinese
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
, the
Algerian People's National Army french: Armée nationale populaire , image = ANP.png , alt = , caption = People's National Army emblem , image2 = , alt2 = , caption2 = , motto = ...
, the
Kuwait Army The Kuwait Army, established in 1949, is the oldest armed branch among the military of Kuwait. Its cavalry and infantry predecessors operated in desert and metropolitan areas in 1919, 1920 and 1928 to 1938, tracing their roots directly to the c ...
and the
Saudi Arabian Army Royal Saudi Land Forces ( ar, القُوَّاتُ البَرِّيَّةُ المَلَكِيَّة السُّعُودِيَّة, Al-Quwwat al-Bariyah al-Malakiyah as-Su'udiyah) is the land warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of Saudi Ara ...
.


History

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celts, Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were th ...
, the arms division of the Austrian steel company
Voestalpine Voestalpine AG – stylized as voestalpine – is an Austrian steel-based technology and capital goods group based in Linz, Austria. The company is active in steel, automotive, railway systems, profilform and tool steel industries. As of 201 ...
, purchased the design rights to the
GC-45 howitzer The GC-45 (''Gun, Canada, 45-calibre'') is a 155 mm howitzer designed by Gerald Bull's Space Research Corporation (SRC) in the 1970s. Versions were produced by a number of companies during the 1980s, notably in Austria and South Africa. The ...
after
Space Research Corporation Space Research Corporation was a corporation founded by Gerald Bull, after the budget for his research at Project HARP for the United States and Canadian federal governments was cut in 1967, in order to commercialize the technology of long-range ...
moved to Brussels. They made a number of detail changes to improve mass production, resulting in the GHN-45 (Gun, Howitzer, Noricum), which was offered in a variety of options like the
APU APU or Apu may refer to: Film and television * ''The Apu Trilogy'', a series of three Bengali films, directed by Satyajit Ray, with the fictional character Apu Roy, comprising: ** ''Pather Panchali'' (''Song of the Little Road'') (1955), the first ...
and fire-control systems. Once out of prison,
Gerald Bull Gerald Vincent Bull (March 9, 1928 – March 22, 1990) was a Canadian engineer who developed long-range artillery. He moved from project to project in his quest to economically launch a satellite using a huge artillery piece, to which end he des ...
was soon contacted by China. The PLA also used the Noricum version, producing it as the PLL-01/WA-021, which entered service in 1987. They also mounted it on a locally designed tracked chassis to produce the PLZ-45 (also known as the Type 88), along with an ammo-carrier based on the same chassis. The PLZ-45 did not enter service with the PLA primarily because their existing artillery was all based on Soviet-standard 152 mm ammunition. However, two major batches of PLZ-45s were sold to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.


Design


Armament

Operated by a crew of five (commander, gunner, two loaders and a driver), the PLZ-45 is armed with a 155 mm, 45-calibre main gun, with a semi-automatic loader and an electrically controlled and hydraulically operated ram that enables projectile loading to take place at any angle of elevation with the charge being loaded manually. The turret has an elevation of +72 to –3 degrees with 360 degree traverse. Secondary weapons include a roof-mounted W-85 heavy machine gun and two sets of four-barrel
smoke grenade Smoke grenades used at demonstrations in Paris, 2008 upBritish L83A1 Smoke Grenade manufactured in May 2008. This grenade has already been used. A smoke grenade is a canister-type grenade used as a signaling device, target or landing zone mark ...
launchers on the turret's side. Ammunition is stored at the rear of the turret. A total of 30 rounds for the gun-howitzer and 480 rounds for the machine gun are carried on board. 24 howitzer rounds are carried in the loader and 6 rounds on the right side below the loader. The fire-control system of the PLZ-45 includes an automatic laying system, optical sighting system, gun orientation and
navigation system A navigation system is a computing system that aids in navigation. Navigation systems may be entirely on board the vehicle or vessel that the system is controlling (for example, on the ship's bridge) or located elsewhere, making use of radio or othe ...
, and a
GPS receiver A satellite navigation device (satnav device) is a user equipment that uses one or more of several global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) to calculate the device's geographical position and provide navigational advice. Depending on the ...
.


Munitions

The PLZ-45 howitzer fires a range of Extended Range Full Bore (ERFB) ammunition, including High Explosive (ERFB/HE), Base Bleed High Explosive (ERFB-BB/HE), ERFB-BB/RA, ERFB/WP, ERFB/Illuminating, ERFB/Smoke, and ERFB-BB/Cargo. China obtained the Russian Krasnopol laser-guided projectile technology in the 1990s, and successfully developed its own 155 mm laser-guided ammunition. Designed to defeat armoured vehicles and weapon emplacements, the projectile has inertial mid-course guidance and semi-active laser homing. The projectile has a range of , and can hit a target by the first shot without registration.


Combat

A standard PLZ-45 battalion consists of 3 batteries, each with 6 PLZ-45 self-propelled howitzers (SPH) and 6 PCZ-45 ammunition support vehicles (ASV). Each battery has a battery command post and 3 battery reconnaissance vehicles (BRV), both of which are based on the Type 85 APC. These are supported by W653A
armoured recovery vehicle An armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) is typically a powerful tank or armoured personnel carrier (APC) chassis modified for use during combat for military vehicle recovery (towing) or repair of battle-damaged, stuck, and/or inoperable armoured f ...
s, 704-1 artillery locating and fire correction radar, 702-D meteorological radar, and fire support maintenance vehicles.


Propulsion

The PLZ-45 self-propelled howitzer is powered by a 525 hp Deutz turbocharged air-cooled diesel engine, giving a max road speed of .


Armour and protection

The armour of the PLZ-45 self-propelled howitzer protects against small arms fire and artillery
shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...
splinters. It is fitted with
NBC protection Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence (CBRN defence) are protective measures taken in situations in which chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear warfare (including terrorism) hazards may be present. CBRN defence consis ...
and
automatic fire suppression Automatic fire suppression systems control and extinguish fires without human intervention. Examples of automatic systems include fire sprinkler system, gaseous fire suppression, and condensed aerosol fire suppression. When fires are extinguishe ...
systems.


Operational history

In April 2015, the Saudi Arabian Army used the PLZ-45 for shelling
Houthi The Houthi movement (; ar, ٱلْحُوثِيُّون ''al-Ḥūthīyūn'' ), officially called Ansar Allah (' ''Partisans of God'' or ''Supporters of God'') and colloquially simply Houthis, is an Islamist political and armed movement that ...
rebels along the
Saudi Arabia–Yemen border The Saudi Arabia–Yemen border is 1,307 km (812 mi) in length and runs from the Red Sea coast in the west to the tripoint with Oman in the east. Description The border starts in the west on the Red Sea coast just north of Midi. An irregula ...
during the Saudi Arabian–led intervention in the
Yemeni Civil War Yemeni Civil War may refer to several historical events which have taken place in Yemen: *Alwaziri coup, February – March 1948 *Yemeni–Adenese clan violence, 1956–60 *North Yemen Civil War, 1962–70 *Aden Emergency, 1963–67 *South Yemen#Di ...
. This was the first time the PLZ-45 has been used in combat. In late 2015, Kuwait sent an artillery battalion to Saudi Arabia to assist its Saudi ally against the Houthis.


Operators


Current operators

*: 50 have been delivered. First appearance was in 2014. *: Used by the
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
. *: 18 delivered in 1999. *: (51) 27 PLZ-45s (to form a training platoon and the first battalion) ordered in 1998 and delivered in 2000–2001. 24 more howitzers (to form the second battalion) were ordered in 2001 and delivered in 2002–2003. *: (54) In 2007, it was reported that the
Saudi Arabian Army Royal Saudi Land Forces ( ar, القُوَّاتُ البَرِّيَّةُ المَلَكِيَّة السُّعُودِيَّة, Al-Quwwat al-Bariyah al-Malakiyah as-Su'udiyah) is the land warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of Saudi Ara ...
had decided to order two battalions (54 units) of the PLZ-45 artillery system. In August 2008, China signed a contract to provide Saudi Arabia with one battalion, i.e. 27 PLZ-45 155 mm self-propelled howitzers. Another contract to supply one more battalion (27 more PLZ-45 self-propelled guns) was signed later in the month. The howitzers were delivered between 2008 and 2009.


Potential operators

* *


See also

*
PLZ-05 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 ...
* 2S19 Msta *
Panzerhaubitze 2000 The Panzerhaubitze 2000 ("tank howitzer 2000"), () 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. It is capable of a very h ...
*
K9 Thunder The K9 Thunder is a South Korean 155 mm self-propelled howitzer designed and developed by the Agency for Defense Development and civil contractors including Dongmyeong Heavy Industries, Kia Heavy Industry, Poongsan Corporation, and Samsung Aer ...
*
T-155 Fırtına T-155 Fırtına ( Turkish for ''Storm'') is a Turkish variant of K9 Thunder 155 mm self-propelled howitzer co-developed with South Korea utilizing Turkish technology and design into existing K9 Thunder. It is manufactured and assembled by Turkish ...
*
Type 75 155 mm self-propelled howitzer The is an armored artillery vehicle in the exclusive use of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. Self-propelled howitzers are employed to provide mobile heavy fire support to army units in the field. The Type 75 shares a number of automotive co ...
*
GC-45 howitzer The GC-45 (''Gun, Canada, 45-calibre'') is a 155 mm howitzer designed by Gerald Bull's Space Research Corporation (SRC) in the 1970s. Versions were produced by a number of companies during the 1980s, notably in Austria and South Africa. The ...
*
M109A6 Paladin M1, M01 or M-1 may refer to: Arts, entertainment & media * WD-M01 Turn A Gundam, a mecha from the anime ''Turn A Gundam'' * M-1 (rapper), one half of hip hop duo Dead Prez * Korg M1, a keyboard synthesizer * Leica M1, a 1959 35 mm camera mo ...


References

{{PRCAFVs 155 mm artillery Military vehicles introduced in the 1990s Self-propelled artillery of the People's Republic of China Tracked self-propelled howitzers