The M-71 is a

155 mm The 155 mm calibre is widely used for artillery guns. Land warfare Historic calibres France - 1874 The caliber originated in France after the Franco-Prussian War, Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871). A French artillery committee met on 2 ...

39 caliber towed

howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

manufactured by Israeli company

Soltam Systems Soltam Systems () is an Israeli defense contractor and kitchen equipment manufacturer located in Yokneam, Israel. The company has been developing and manufacturing advanced artillery systems, mortars, ammunition, peripheral equipment and coo ...

Design

The weapon was based on the earlier

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 ...

and uses the same recoil system, breech and carriage but had a longer

gun barrel A gun barrel is a crucial part of gun-type weapons such as small arms, small firearms, artillery pieces, and air guns. It is the straight shooting tube, usually made of rigid high-strength metal, through which a contained rapid expansion of high ...

(39 calibre versus 33 calibre of M-68). It is fitted with a compressed air-driven rammer to permit rapid and easy loading at all angles of elevation as well as having a rechargeable battery mounted on the right trail for auxiliary power. It can fire a high-explosive shell up to a maximum range of at a muzzle velocity of . M-71-cannon-towed

Deployment

In addition to Israel, this weapon is in service with Chile, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, South Africa, Slovenia and Myanmar. A version of this weapon was developed to mount on a modified Centurion chassis (M-72), but this vehicle never reached production.

Operators

* *: 18 *: 60 howitzers used by the

Chilean Army The Chilean Army () is the land arm of the Chilean Armed Forces. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, an army aviation brigade and a special operations brigade. In recent years, and after sever ...

, 36 Soltam M-68s acquired in the 1970s later upgraded to Soltam M-71 standard and 24 Soltam M-71 howitzers acquired in the 1980s. 24 designated G-4 howitzers acquired by the

Chilean Marine Corps The Chilean Marine Corps () 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 of an independent Chile: the Corps was f ...

in South Africa in 1992. * *: 72 *: ** Philippine Army: 20 ** Philippine Marine Corps: 6 *: 13 or 38 - modified to the M-71S standard using less crew + addition of APU. *: 18; ''M839'' variant. *: 32; designated ''G-4''. *: 32

References

External links

Chilean Army Profile
155 mm artillery Artillery of Israel Military equipment introduced in the 1970s {{Israel-mil-stub

Design

Deployment

Operators

See also

References

External links