The Tampella 155 K 83 is a Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 towed 155 mm field gun, manufactured in the 1980s by Tampella

Tampella

Oy Tampella Ab was a Finnish heavy industry manufacturer, a maker of paper machines, locomotives, military weaponry, as well as wood-based products such as packaging. The company was based mainly in the city of Tampere....

.

History

The development process for the 155 K 83 began in 1960 when Tampella presented their concept of a new 122 mm gun for the Finnish Army. It was a sound concept, but quite a heavy gun. It was only ordered in small numbers. In order to take advantage of the design, a decision was made to further develop this into a 155 mm gun. Through a number of development stages the 155 K 83 was born.

The drawings were also used to develop the Israeli Soltam M-68

Soltam M-68

The M-68 was a 155 mm 33 calibre towed gun howitzer manufactured by Soltam Systems of Israel. The barrel of the M-68 is 5.18 m long and comes with a simple muzzle brake at the mouth of the barrel, the recoil mechanism of the two pneumatic cylinder jacks is positioned on the back-end of the...

, which, after improvements, became the Soltam M-71

Soltam M-71

The M-71 is a 155 mm 39 calibre towed howitzer manufactured by Soltam, Israel.-Design:The weapon was based on the earlier Soltam M-68 and uses the same recoil system, breech and carriage but had a longer gun barrel...

 (designated the G4 in Singapore, Thailand and South Africa).

The gun design was further modified in the late 1990s. The gun, called 155 GH 52 APU

155 GH 52 APU

155 GH 52 APU is a Finnish gun developed in 1998. It is an enhanced and upgraded version of the 155 K 83. The acronym APU stands for auxiliary power unit, which means that in can be moved on the field for short distances with its own auxiliary diesel engine...

 (or 155 K 98 in Finnish Army service), was given a longer, 52 calibre barrel and an auxiliary power unit

Auxiliary power unit

An auxiliary power unit is a device on a vehicle that provides energy for functions other than propulsion. They are commonly found on large aircraft, as well as some large land vehicles.-Function:...

, enabling it to move by its own power.