The 155 mm self-propelled gun Mk F3, or the Canon de 155 mm Mle F3 Automoteur (Cn-155-F3-Am), was developed in the early 1950s by the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

to replace their American M41 Gorilla 155 mm self-propelled guns. The Mk F3 is the smallest and lightest 155 mm motorized gun carriage ever produced, and because of its size and low cost it has found considerable success on the export market. Constructed on a modified

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 ...

light tank chassis, the Mk F3 is novel in incorporating room inside for only two of the eight required crewmen (the others riding in support vehicles). This allows the 155 mm gun to be placed on a smaller chassis than that employed by other armies, but exposes the outside crew members to enemy fire and other hazards.

Design

History

It was used by Al Jahra Force during Kippur War on

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

n front.

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

used its Mk F3 during

Western Sahara War The Western Sahara War (, , ) was an armed conflict between the Sahrawi indigenous Polisario Front and Morocco from 1975 to 1991 (and Mauritania from 1975 to 1979), being the most significant phase of the Western Sahara conflict. The confl ...

. Iraq captured or destroyed 80 of these guns during the

invasion of Kuwait The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, codenamed Project 17, began on 2 August 1990 and marked the beginning of the Gulf War. After defeating the Kuwait, State of Kuwait on 4 August 1990, Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq went on to militarily occupy the country fo ...

Variants

*The Mk F3 has been offered by GIAT with Detroit Diesel 6V-53T and Baudouin 6F 11 SRY engines. *RDM Technology upgraded variant: in 1991, the Dutch company RDM Technology was contracted to upgrade 22 Mk F3s in service with

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

. They were fitted with a Detroit Diesel Model 6V-53T turbocharged diesel engine and a new transmission. * The CITER 155mm L33 gun reused many components of the Mk F3. *155 mm Mk F3 with 155 mm/39 calibre ordnance: proposed design with a longer gun.

Operators

Current operators

* - 12 * - 10 or 12, 5 in service * - 18, in reserve in 2002 * - 98, 90 in service * - 28, 22 upgraded from 1991 * - 18 * - 6 or 10

Former operators

* - 24 (until 2018) * - 20 (8 purchased from France in 1970s and 12 second-hand units purchased from Belgium in 1990s. All have been removed from service, replaced by 48 M-109) * * - captured from Kuwait. * - 12 * - 12 to 20, replaced by 2S19 Msta-S

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

History, Characteristics & Photo Gallery - Site ''Chars Francais.net'', retrieved 2009-03-08
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 155 mm artillery Tracked self-propelled howitzers Cold War artillery of France Military vehicles introduced in the 1960s