The G5 is a South African 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 ...
of
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 after ...
calibre developed in South Africa by
Denel Land Systems. The G5 design was based on the Canadian
GC-45 155mm gun which was highly modified to suit southern African conditions.
Production history
During the
Angolan Bush War
The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and Angol ...
, the
South African Defence Force found itself at a disadvantage when facing opponents equipped with long-range Soviet
Katyusha rocket launchers, which outranged South Africa's World War II-era
5.5-inch (140 mm) howitzers by a considerable margin. This led to the issue of a staff requirement for a new artillery system as well as ammunition systems, gun tractor, fire control equipment and a fire control computer system.
From 1963, South Africa had been placed under a United Nations sponsored anti-
apartheid arms embargo that led to the creation of the indigenous
Armscor military-industrial company to circumvent the arms embargo and to produce weapons systems uniquely tailored to South Africa's needs. Armscor responded to the staff requirement and commenced development in 1976. A number of existing designs were evaluated and examples procured in contravention of the arms embargo. As an interim weapon system to act as a stop-gap during the indigenous production process, a number of
Soltam 155mm M-71 gun-howitzers were procured from Israel and entered service as the G4 howitzer.
The Canadian
GC-45 was selected as the baseline howitzer from which to commence indigenous development.
Armscor procured barrels, 30,000 rounds and design specifications for the GC-45 from
Gerald Bull. One of the GC-45 test pieces was mounted on a US
155mm M59 carriage – and a further six GC-45s had changes made to internal ballistics, barrel construction and carriage and cradle fixtures, to become the prototype models eventually leading to the G5. These GC-45s had been developed by SRC International of Belgium, a joint venture between Gerald Bull's
Space Research Corporation of Canada and
PRB
The retinoblastoma protein (protein name abbreviated pRb; gene name abbreviated ''Rb'', ''RB'' or ''RB1'') is a proto-oncogenic tumor suppressor protein that is dysfunctional in several major cancers. One function of pRb is to prevent excessive ...
of Belgium. Further changes included the addition of a small
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 ...
to allow the gun to dig itself in and move short distances at up to , as well as the addition of an advanced muzzle brake. The G5 became operational in 1983.
Using the normal
Extended Range, Full Bore (ERFB) ammunition the normal range is , which can be extended to about using
base bleed shells, or using rocket assisted V-LAP rounds. In 2002 Denel produced the G5-2000 version, with much greater range and accuracy than the earlier 45-calibre version.
The G5 gun has been placed on an
OMC 6×6
Six-wheel drive (6WD or 6×6) is an all-wheel drive drivetrain configuration of three axles with at least two wheels on each axle capable of being driven simultaneously by the vehicle's engine. Unlike four-wheel drive drivetrains, the configurat ...
chassis to produce the fully self-propelled
G6 howitzer, and won major export sales in this form from the
United Arab Emirates and
Oman. In response to a request from India it has also been tested on the back of a TATRA 8×8 wheeled truck, a combination known as the T5-2000. It has also been fitted into a turret, named the T6, that can be placed on any suitable vehicle; it has been fitted on the
T-72 tank.
Operational history
The G5 howitzer saw action in
Angola and
Namibia in the
South African Border War between 1986 and 1989, where it was in service with the
South African Defence Force. The G5 was used operationally for the first time during
Operation Alpha Centauri
Operation Alpha Centauri was a South African military operation during the Angolan Civil War and South African Border War to halt an offensive launched by the People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) towards Angola's Cuando Cubango ...
in 1986. The G5 also saw action in the
Iran–Iraq War between 1980 and 1988, where it was used by both
Iraq and
Iran.
Variants
* G5 Mk I
* G5 Mk II
* G5 Mk III
* G5 Mk IIIA
* G5-2000: 52-calibre gun
Operators
Current operators
*
: 30
*
: 6 (probably donated by the
United Arab Emirates to the
Libyan National Army)
*
: 28
* : 72 in service.
Former operators

*
: 100 G5s were operated, but these have probably all been destroyed or abandoned since the
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
.
*
: 12
*
: 6 (donated to Libya)
See also
*
GC-45 howitzer
*
G4 howitzer
*
G6 howitzer
References
External links
Denel G5 brochure
{{DEFAULTSORT:G5 Howitzer
155 mm artillery
Field artillery
Military equipment introduced in the 1980s
Field artillery of the Cold War
Cold War artillery of South Africa
Denel