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Mk F3 155mm
Type	Self-propelled artillery
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1962–present
Used by	See Operators
Production history
Designed	1959
Manufacturer	GIAT
Produced	1962–1997
No. built	621
Specifications
Mass	17.41 tonnes
Length	6.22 m (20 ft 5 in)
Width	2.72 m (8 ft 11 in)
Height	2.085 m (6 ft 10 in)
Crew	2 + 2 in the vehicle 8-man crew to fire the gun
Shell	Separate loading bagged charge and 44 kg (97 lb) projectile
Caliber	155 mm L/33 caliber
Breech	Interrupted screw
Recoil	Hydro-pneumatic
Carriage	Tracked
Elevation	-6° to +75°
Traverse	360°
Muzzle velocity	725 m/s (2,380 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	20 km (12 mi)
Armor	20 mm (0.79 in)
Main armament	155mm 33-calibre howitzer
Engine	SOFAM Model 8Gxb 8-cylinder water-cooled 250 HP petrol engine
Power/weight	14.4 hp/tonne
Suspension	Torsion-bar with shock absorbers
Operational range	300 km (190 mi)
Maximum speed	60 km/h (37 mph) on road

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 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 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 Syrian front. Morocco used its Mk F3 during Western Sahara War.

Iraq captured or destroyed 80 of these guns during the invasion of Kuwait.

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. 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

•  Cyprus - 12
•  Ecuador - 10 or 12, 5 in service as of 2019
•  Kuwait - 18, in reserve in 2002
•  Morocco - 98, 90 in service as of 2019
•  Qatar - 28, 22 upgraded from 1991
•  United Arab Emirates - 18
•  Sudan - 6 or 10

Former operators

•  Argentina - 24 (until 2018)
•  Chile - 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)
•  France
•  Iraq - captured from Kuwait.
•  Peru - 12
•  Venezuela - 12 to 20, replaced by 2S19 Msta-S

References

Notes

1. "AMX 13 F3 AUTOMOUVANT 155". chars-francais.net (in French). 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
2. Rottman, Gordon L.; Volstad, Ronald (1993), Armies of the Gulf War, Osprey Publishing, p. 49, ISBN 978-1-85532-277-6, Kuwait had loaned a battery of French 155mm Mk F3 SP guns to Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War and a further 80 fell into Iraqi hands after the invasion.
3. ^ Foss, Christopher F. (12 February 2002). "Giat Industries 155 mm self-propelled gun Mk F3". Jane's Armour and Artillery 2002–2003.
4. Foss, Christopher F. (21 February 2002). "155 mm howitzer L33 X1415 CITEFA Models 77 and 81". Jane's Armour and Artillery 2002–2003.
5. The Military Balance 2019, p. 96.
6. The Military Balance 2019, p. 414.
7. The Military Balance 2019, p. 352.
8. The Military Balance 2019, p. 359.
9. The Military Balance 2019, p. 364.
10. The Military Balance 2019, p. 373.
11. The Military Balance 2019, p. 493.
12. "Día de la Artillería, el arma de apoyo de fuego". Argentina.gob.ar. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
13. The Military Balance 2019, p. 434.

Bibliography

• Trewhitt, Philip (1999). Armored Fighting Vehicles. New York, NY: Amber Books. p. 115. ISBN 0-7607-1260-3.
• The Military Balance 2019. International Institute for Strategic Studies. February 2019. ISBN 978-1857439885.
• Offord, Colonel E. F (1967). Armour in Profile No.12.
• Lau, Peter (2006). The AMX-13 Light Tank, Volume 1: Chassis.
• Lau, Peter (2006). The AMX-13 Light Tank, Volume 2: Turret.

External links

• History, Characteristics & Photo Gallery - Site Chars Francais.net, retrieved 2009-03-08 (in French)

• 155 mm artillery
• Tracked self-propelled howitzers
• Cold War artillery of France
• Military vehicles introduced in the 1960s