L118 Light Gun
Encyclopedia
The L118 Light Gun is a 105 mm towed howitzer
, originally produced for the British
Army in the 1970s and widely exported since, including to the United States, where a modified version is known as the M119A1
. The proper name for it is "Gun, 105mm, Field, L118" but it is almost always just called "the Light Gun".
used the 105 mm Pack Howitzer L5 with L10 ordnance (OTO Melara Mod 56
) as its light artillery weapon, variously replacing the 75mm Howitzer
, 4.2 inch mortar
and 25-pounder gun
in some eight regular artillery regiments. It fired the US M1 type ammunition (called 105 mm How in UK). This widely-used howitzer was originally designed in Italy for the Alpini
, and was light enough to be lifted by Westland Wessex
helicopters or towed by Land Rover
s. However, it lacked range (making it potentially vulnerable to counter-battery fire), was not notably robust, had poor sights and was not entirely popular although its light weight and compact size were redeeming features.
In 1965 a General Staff Requirement was approved for a new 105 mm weapon system because the pack howitzer "lacked range and lethality". Key characteristics included 6400 mil
traverse by one man, maximum weight of 3500 pounds (1,587.6 kg), dimension limits imposed by internal carriage in Chinook helicopters and Andover transport aircraft, and the ability to fire immediately after being under water for 30 minutes.
The ammunition to be used was the 105 mm Fd Mk 2 ammunition designed for the L13 ordnance of the "Gun Equipment 105 mm L109" (better known as Abbot self-propelled gun
). This ammunition uses electrical instead of percussion primers and is an entirely different design to the US M1 type ammunition as used in the L5 Pack Howitzer. The two types are not interchangeable. An early requirement was for the new weapon to use 105mm Fd Mk 1 ammunition, which uses the M1 shell, in training. However, in 1968 this was changed to allow a different version of the weapon to fire US 1935 pattern (i.e. M1) ammunition, which subsequently became the L119.
The new gun, soon designated 'Light Gun', was designed by the government Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment (RARDE), Fort Halstead
, Kent. Prototypes were tested in 1968. However, it soon emerged that some increase in weight was needed for a gun with the requisite robustness and several assemblies were substantially redesigned.
Original production, which was authorised in late 1975, was by Royal Ordnance Factory
, ROF Nottingham
, which has since been incorporated into BAE Systems Land and Armaments
. Deliveries started in 1976.
and Westland Sea King
, which could carry the new weapon, were also entering service at the same time.
A new vehicle, the Land Rover 101 Forward Control
(Land Rover, One Ton) was designed as the prime mover in the field for the Light Gun (and the Rapier air-defence missile
launcher). Since the end of the 1990s, the British Army has used Pinzgauer
ATV
s as their gun tractors. In Arctic service, and elsewhere, the gun is towed by the Hägglunds Bv 206 and is fitted with skis when over snow.
In 1982, the Light Gun saw intense use in the Falklands War
. Five batteries (30 guns) were deployed to the Falkland Islands. During the final phases of the battles around Port Stanley, these guns were firing up to 400 rounds per gun a day, mostly at "Charge Super" i.e. the most powerful propellant charge for which they were designed. They were a significant factor in the British victory. Since then, British forces have used the Light Gun in combat in the Balkans
, Sierra Leone
, Iraq
and Afghanistan
.
At present, the British Army deploys the Light Gun with 29 Commando Regiment RA
, 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
and 40 Field Regiment RA
. These units support Marine Commando
, Air Assault or Light formations. Other regular batteries are temporarily converted to the Light Gun from the AS-90
self-propelled gun as necessary for operations.
Three regiments of the Territorial Army (100 Regt. RA(V), 103 (Lancastrian Artillery Volunteers) Regt. RA(V) and 105 Regt. RA(V)
) are also equipped with the Light Gun. The Honourable Artillery Company
, 104 Regt. RA(V)
and other units use the Light Gun for ceremonial purposes.
Those University Officer Training Corps with "Gun Troops" train with the L118.
On 30 November 2001, an L118 Light Gun replaced a 25-pounder as the One O'Clock Gun in Edinburgh Castle. By tradition this fires every day at one o'clock, excepting Sunday, Good Friday and Christmas Day.
The Light Gun appears to owe a number of its features to the QF 25 pounder, unsurprisingly since RARDE was the successor to the Design Department, Woolwich Arsenal
. Among these features are its vertically-sliding block breech, and a box trail instead of a split trail; a traversing platform is normally used with it. Its comparatively light weight is also attributed to the nature of the steel used in the carriage and ordnance, and other weight-reducing features including its narrow wheelbase.
The narrow wheelbase prevents the ordnance rotating the 3200 mil required to 'unfold' the gun. Because of this, the gun features a knock-off hub on one side allowing the ordnance to be rotated by removing one wheel. With a well trained gun crew, this contributes approximately 30 seconds to the time required to deploy the gun.
When being towed in the unfolded position, the A-Frame is fitted to the front transom in order to support the elevating mass. A recent modification makes it possible to keep the gun in this position indefinitely at speeds up to 40 mile per hour. For long distance transport or traversing rough terrain, the barrel is reversed and clamped to the end of the trail. For storage, the gun is in the unfolded position with the barrel elevated to an angle that balances the elevated mass on the yoke and therefore relieves pressure on the elevating gears.
When first introduced in the British Royal Artillery, the L7 or L7A1 dial sight and its carrier, incorporating an integral elevation scale and internal lighting powered by Trilux nuclear light sources, was used to aim the gun for indirect fire. Since Light Gun entered service after the introduction of Field Artillery Computer Equipment (FACE) it never, unlike Abbot, had gun rules. Therefore it has a single Quadrant Elevation scale. These optical indirect fire sights are now only used in recruit training. The L7 sight is a modified version of a German Leitz instrument.
The guns also have a direct fire telescope and were originally issued with a night telescope using image intensification.
Both Charge 5 and Charge Super project beyond the end of the metal cartridge case. Unlike the M1 ammunition, which is 'semi fixed' and loaded as a complete round, 105 mm Fd is 'separate'; the shell is loaded and rammed by hand, then the cartridge is loaded. By the time L118 entered service, sub-zones A and B originally used with Abbot had been replaced by a spoiler to reduce the minimum range at high angle fire when this was required.
The 105 mm Fd Mk 2 projectiles were the same as used with Abbot when the L118 was first introduced. The ammunition types originally or subsequently in UK service include:
WP (white phosphorus) smoke shell has never been adopted by UK for L118. A base bleed
insensitive HE shell, with a maximum range of 20.6 km, has been developed.
In 2002 the British Army's L118 guns completed replacement of their optical sights with the LINAPS Artillery Pointing System (APS). This is a self-contained system that uses three ring laser gyros to determine azimuth, elevation angle and trunnion tilt angle. It also includes facilities for navigation and self-survey using Global Positioning System, inertial direction measurement and distance measurement. All this can be used anywhere in the world to lay the gun without external references. An upgraded APS may also perform some ballistic calculation functions including muzzle velocity prediction using Kalman filters or a neural network
.
A capability enhancement program that started delivering improvements to UK guns in 2007 aims at reducing weight and improving some components. Weight reduction measures include replacing some steel
components with titanium
. The MVMD is also more tightly coupled with the layer's display unit of the APS, reducing electrical power requirements.
The Indian 105 mm light gun appears to share many features with the UK equipment. In the late 1960s India introduced the Value Engineered Abbot variant with the 105 mm Fd ammunition.
In the 1990s the gun was manufactured under licence in Australia for the Australian and New Zealand armies using mostly Australian produced components. Intentions to produce 105 mm Field ammunition did not eventuate. In Australian service it is called the Hamel gun.
105mm Saluting Gun:The British Army is unique in that it has a number of dedicated saluting guns for ceremonial purposes. Based on the standard L118 these saluting guns are modified to exclusively fire blank cartridges, are not fitted with the APS system and are easily distinguished from the field gun variant by their distinctive bronze green paintwork, chromed muzzle brake and breech.
(112) (12) (4) (Army
and Marines
) (36 and 18 respectively) (6) (24) (40) (12) (20) (60) (24) (39) (21) (56) (Unknown number, captured from Morocco in the Western Sahara War
) (6) (31) (82) (126 + 20 saluting) (548) (12)
Production facilities were established in Australia (for Australian and New Zealand), where it is called the 'Hamel Gun', and the US as M119A1.
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
, originally produced for the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Army in the 1970s and widely exported since, including to the United States, where a modified version is known as the M119A1
M119 howitzer
The M119 Howitzer is a lightweight 105-mm howitzer used by the United States Army. It can be easily airlifted, even by helicopter, or dropped by parachute. It does not need a recoil pit.-Development:...
. The proper name for it is "Gun, 105mm, Field, L118" but it is almost always just called "the Light Gun".
Development
From 1961 until the mid-1970s, the British ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
used the 105 mm Pack Howitzer L5 with L10 ordnance (OTO Melara Mod 56
OTO Melara Mod 56
The OTO-Melara Mod 56 is an Italian-made 105 mm pack howitzer built and developed by OTO-Melara. It fires the standard US type M1 ammunition.-History:...
) as its light artillery weapon, variously replacing the 75mm Howitzer
M116 howitzer
The 75mm Pack Howitzer M1 was designed in the United States in 1920s to meet a need for an artillery piece that could be moved across difficult terrain. The gun and carriage was designed so that it could be broken down into several pieces to be carried by pack animals...
, 4.2 inch mortar
Ordnance ML 4.2 inch Mortar
The Ordnance ML 4.2 inch Mortar was a heavy mortar used by the British and other armies.-History:The SB 4.2 inch mortar British entered service in 1942 to equip chemical warfare companies of the Royal Engineers. The Mark 3 became the standard model. The mortar was a Smooth Bore design...
and 25-pounder gun
Ordnance QF 25 pounder
The Ordnance QF 25 pounder, or more simply, 25-pounder or 25-pdr, was introduced into service just before World War II, during which it served as the major British field gun/howitzer. It was considered by many to be the best field artillery piece of the war, combining high rates of fire with a...
in some eight regular artillery regiments. It fired the US M1 type ammunition (called 105 mm How in UK). This widely-used howitzer was originally designed in Italy for the Alpini
Alpini
The Alpini, , are the elite mountain warfare soldiers of the Italian Army. They are currently organized in two operational brigades, which are subordinated to the Alpini Corps Command. The singular is Alpino ....
, and was light enough to be lifted by Westland Wessex
Westland Wessex
The Westland Wessex is a British turbine-powered version of the Sikorsky S-58 "Choctaw", developed under license by Westland Aircraft , initially for the Royal Navy, and later for the Royal Air Force...
helicopters or towed by Land Rover
Land Rover
Land Rover is a British car manufacturer with its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom which specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles. It is owned by the Indian company Tata Motors, forming part of their Jaguar Land Rover group...
s. However, it lacked range (making it potentially vulnerable to counter-battery fire), was not notably robust, had poor sights and was not entirely popular although its light weight and compact size were redeeming features.
In 1965 a General Staff Requirement was approved for a new 105 mm weapon system because the pack howitzer "lacked range and lethality". Key characteristics included 6400 mil
Angular mil
An angular mil, also mil, is a unit of angle. All versions of the angular mil are approximately the same size as a trigonometric milliradian.-History:The milliradian was first identified in the mid nineteenth Century...
traverse by one man, maximum weight of 3500 pounds (1,587.6 kg), dimension limits imposed by internal carriage in Chinook helicopters and Andover transport aircraft, and the ability to fire immediately after being under water for 30 minutes.
The ammunition to be used was the 105 mm Fd Mk 2 ammunition designed for the L13 ordnance of the "Gun Equipment 105 mm L109" (better known as Abbot self-propelled gun
FV433 Abbot SPG
FV433 Field Artillery, Self-Propelled "Abbot" is the self-propelled artillery variant of the British Army FV430 series of armoured fighting vehicles, using much of the chassis of the FV430 but with a fully rotating turret at the rear housing the 105 mm gun and given the vehicle designation of...
). This ammunition uses electrical instead of percussion primers and is an entirely different design to the US M1 type ammunition as used in the L5 Pack Howitzer. The two types are not interchangeable. An early requirement was for the new weapon to use 105mm Fd Mk 1 ammunition, which uses the M1 shell, in training. However, in 1968 this was changed to allow a different version of the weapon to fire US 1935 pattern (i.e. M1) ammunition, which subsequently became the L119.
The new gun, soon designated 'Light Gun', was designed by the government Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment (RARDE), Fort Halstead
Fort Halstead
Fort Halstead is a research site of Dstl, an Executive Agency of the UK Ministry of Defence. It is situated on the crest of the Kentish North Downs, overlooking the town of Sevenoaks...
, Kent. Prototypes were tested in 1968. However, it soon emerged that some increase in weight was needed for a gun with the requisite robustness and several assemblies were substantially redesigned.
Original production, which was authorised in late 1975, was by Royal Ordnance Factory
Royal Ordnance Factory
Royal Ordnance Factories was the collective name of the UK government's munitions factories in and after World War II. Until privatisation in 1987 they were the responsibility of the Ministry of Supply and later the Ministry of Defence....
, ROF Nottingham
ROF Nottingham
Royal Ordnance Factory Nottingham, first opened in 1916 and first opened as an ROF January 1936 was one of a number of Royal Ordnance Factories created at the start of World War II.-Background:R.O.F...
, which has since been incorporated into BAE Systems Land and Armaments
BAE Systems Land and Armaments
BAE Systems Land & Armaments is a subsidiary of BAE Systems Inc. and is responsible for the design, development and production of combat vehicles, ammunition, artillery systems, naval guns and missile launchers. It is the largest such company in the world...
. Deliveries started in 1976.
In British Service
Light Gun first entered service with the British Army in 1976. The new weapon was heavier than its predecessor, but new, more capable helicopters such as the PumaAérospatiale Puma
The Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport/utility helicopter. The Puma was originally manufactured by Sud Aviation of France.-Development:...
and Westland Sea King
Westland Sea King
The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engines , British made anti-submarine warfare systems and a...
, which could carry the new weapon, were also entering service at the same time.
A new vehicle, the Land Rover 101 Forward Control
Land Rover 101 Forward Control
thumb|right|300px|Side View.The 101 Forward Control was a vehicle produced by Land Rover for the British Army.-History:The vehicle was primarily produced to meet the Army's requirement for a gun tractor, and was designed to tow a field gun with a ton of ammunition and other equipment in the rear...
(Land Rover, One Ton) was designed as the prime mover in the field for the Light Gun (and the Rapier air-defence missile
Rapier missile
Rapier is a British surface-to-air missile developed for the British Army and Royal Air Force. Entering service in 1971, it eventually replaced all other anti-aircraft weapons in Army service; guns for low-altitude targets, and the English Electric Thunderbird, used against longer-range and...
launcher). Since the end of the 1990s, the British Army has used Pinzgauer
Pinzgauer High Mobility All-Terrain Vehicle
The Pinzgauer is a family of high-mobility all-terrain 4WD and 6WD military utility vehicles. They were manufactured in Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom, by BAE Systems Land & Armaments. The vehicle was originally developed in the late 1960s by Steyr-Daimler-Puch of Graz, Austria, and was named...
ATV
All-terrain vehicle
An all-terrain vehicle , also known as a quad, quad bike, three wheeler, or four wheeler, is defined by the American National Standards Institute as a vehicle that travels on low pressure tires, with a seat that is straddled by the operator, along with handlebars for steering control...
s as their gun tractors. In Arctic service, and elsewhere, the gun is towed by the Hägglunds Bv 206 and is fitted with skis when over snow.
In 1982, the Light Gun saw intense use in the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
. Five batteries (30 guns) were deployed to the Falkland Islands. During the final phases of the battles around Port Stanley, these guns were firing up to 400 rounds per gun a day, mostly at "Charge Super" i.e. the most powerful propellant charge for which they were designed. They were a significant factor in the British victory. Since then, British forces have used the Light Gun in combat in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
At present, the British Army deploys the Light Gun with 29 Commando Regiment RA
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
, 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery is a regiment of the Royal Artillery in the British Army. It serves in the field artillery role with 16 Air Assault Brigade, and is equipped with the L118 Light Gun.- History :...
and 40 Field Regiment RA
40th Regiment Royal Artillery
40th Regiment Royal Artillery – The Lowland Gunners – is a regiment of the Royal Artillery in the British Army. It currently supports 19 Light Brigade in the field artillery role. It is structured into Fire Support Teams equipped with MSTAR, and the regiment's three gun batteries are equipped with...
. These units support Marine Commando
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
, Air Assault or Light formations. Other regular batteries are temporarily converted to the Light Gun from the AS-90
AS-90
The AS-90 is a lightly armoured self-propelled artillery piece used by the British Army. It was first delivered in 1993...
self-propelled gun as necessary for operations.
105th Regiment Royal Artillery (Volunteers)
105th Regiment Royal Artillery The Scottish & Ulster Gunners is a British Territorial Army Regiment of the Royal Artillery. The regiment is part of 51st Brigade...
) are also equipped with the Light Gun. The Honourable Artillery Company
Honourable Artillery Company
The Honourable Artillery Company was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII. Today it is a Registered Charity whose purpose is to attend to the “better defence of the realm"...
, 104 Regt. RA(V)
104th Regiment Royal Artillery (Volunteers)
104th Regiment Royal Artillery is a regiment of the British Territorial Army formed on 1 April 1967. It is a Tactical Unmanned Air Vehicle Support Regiment....
and other units use the Light Gun for ceremonial purposes.
Those University Officer Training Corps with "Gun Troops" train with the L118.
On 30 November 2001, an L118 Light Gun replaced a 25-pounder as the One O'Clock Gun in Edinburgh Castle. By tradition this fires every day at one o'clock, excepting Sunday, Good Friday and Christmas Day.
Design
The L118 uses the L19 ordnance on the L17 carriage. The L19 ordnance is slightly shorter than the L13 used by Abbot and hence has slightly shorter maximum range.The Light Gun appears to owe a number of its features to the QF 25 pounder, unsurprisingly since RARDE was the successor to the Design Department, Woolwich Arsenal
Royal Arsenal
The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, originally known as the Woolwich Warren, carried out armaments manufacture, ammunition proofing and explosives research for the British armed forces. It was sited on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England.-Early history:The Warren...
. Among these features are its vertically-sliding block breech, and a box trail instead of a split trail; a traversing platform is normally used with it. Its comparatively light weight is also attributed to the nature of the steel used in the carriage and ordnance, and other weight-reducing features including its narrow wheelbase.
The narrow wheelbase prevents the ordnance rotating the 3200 mil required to 'unfold' the gun. Because of this, the gun features a knock-off hub on one side allowing the ordnance to be rotated by removing one wheel. With a well trained gun crew, this contributes approximately 30 seconds to the time required to deploy the gun.
When being towed in the unfolded position, the A-Frame is fitted to the front transom in order to support the elevating mass. A recent modification makes it possible to keep the gun in this position indefinitely at speeds up to 40 mile per hour. For long distance transport or traversing rough terrain, the barrel is reversed and clamped to the end of the trail. For storage, the gun is in the unfolded position with the barrel elevated to an angle that balances the elevated mass on the yoke and therefore relieves pressure on the elevating gears.
When first introduced in the British Royal Artillery, the L7 or L7A1 dial sight and its carrier, incorporating an integral elevation scale and internal lighting powered by Trilux nuclear light sources, was used to aim the gun for indirect fire. Since Light Gun entered service after the introduction of Field Artillery Computer Equipment (FACE) it never, unlike Abbot, had gun rules. Therefore it has a single Quadrant Elevation scale. These optical indirect fire sights are now only used in recruit training. The L7 sight is a modified version of a German Leitz instrument.
The guns also have a direct fire telescope and were originally issued with a night telescope using image intensification.
Ammunition
The 105 mm Fd Mk 2 ammunition has two propelling cartridges and a blank cartridge (for saluting purposes). The normal cartridge has 6 propellant charges (Charges 1, 2, 3 and 4) plus 4½ and 5 increments. Charge 4½ is only used for high angle fire. It is peculiar to Light Gun and was not used with Abbot. A separate "Charge Super" cartridge is used for firing to maximum range.Both Charge 5 and Charge Super project beyond the end of the metal cartridge case. Unlike the M1 ammunition, which is 'semi fixed' and loaded as a complete round, 105 mm Fd is 'separate'; the shell is loaded and rammed by hand, then the cartridge is loaded. By the time L118 entered service, sub-zones A and B originally used with Abbot had been replaced by a spoiler to reduce the minimum range at high angle fire when this was required.
The 105 mm Fd Mk 2 projectiles were the same as used with Abbot when the L118 was first introduced. The ammunition types originally or subsequently in UK service include:
- L31 High Explosive (HE) filled with 2.5 kg of RDX/TNT. Conventional impact L32, L85 and L106, L27 CVT and L33 mechanical time fuzes were originally used and some are still available, the L116 multi-role (electronic) fuze is available for operations but is due to be replaced by a new multi-function fuze L166.
- L45 Smoke Base Ejection. This contains three canisters filled with hexochlorethane, which are ejected from the base of the shell in flight by a mechanical (L92) or electronic time fuze (L132 being replaced by L163). On falling to the ground, they generate dense white smoke for 60 seconds.
- Target Marker. These generate dense orange (L38) or red (L37) cloud (produced by a mixture of PETN HE and coloured dye) bursting in the air or on impact, and are used to designate targets e.g. for air strikes.
- L43 Illuminating. Provides a parachute flare base ejected by time fuze (L81) at about 400 metres above the ground and burns for 30 seconds.
- L42 High Explosive Squash HeadHigh explosive squash headHigh explosive squash head is a type of explosive ammunition that is effective against buildings and is also used against tank armour. It was fielded chiefly by the British Army as the main explosive round of its main battle tanks during the Cold War...
. Used for direct fire against armoured targets or buildings, has a base fuze with tracer. - L41 PRAC. Inert practice shell used in training instead of HESH.
- L50 HE. This new HE shell is slightly longer than the older shells, uses 2.9 kg of ROWANEX insensitive plastic bonded explosive and provides significantly greater lethality, which the supplier claims is equivalent to 155 mm HE M107
- L52 contains four canisters filled with red phosphorus smoke.
- L83 Drill. An inert shell for non-firing training purposes.
WP (white phosphorus) smoke shell has never been adopted by UK for L118. A base bleed
Base bleed
Base bleed is a system used on some artillery shells to increase their range, typically by about 30%.Most of the drag on an artillery shell comes from the nose of the shell, as it pushes the air out of its way at supersonic speeds. Shaping the shell properly can reduce this greatly. However,...
insensitive HE shell, with a maximum range of 20.6 km, has been developed.
Subsequent enhancements
During the early 1990s all UK L118 were fitted with a Muzzle Velocity Measuring Device (MVMD), a radar, and its power supply.In 2002 the British Army's L118 guns completed replacement of their optical sights with the LINAPS Artillery Pointing System (APS). This is a self-contained system that uses three ring laser gyros to determine azimuth, elevation angle and trunnion tilt angle. It also includes facilities for navigation and self-survey using Global Positioning System, inertial direction measurement and distance measurement. All this can be used anywhere in the world to lay the gun without external references. An upgraded APS may also perform some ballistic calculation functions including muzzle velocity prediction using Kalman filters or a neural network
Neural network
The term neural network was traditionally used to refer to a network or circuit of biological neurons. The modern usage of the term often refers to artificial neural networks, which are composed of artificial neurons or nodes...
.
A capability enhancement program that started delivering improvements to UK guns in 2007 aims at reducing weight and improving some components. Weight reduction measures include replacing some steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
components with titanium
Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
. The MVMD is also more tightly coupled with the layer's display unit of the APS, reducing electrical power requirements.
L119
A version of the Light Gun, known as the L119, has a different barrel (the slightly shorter L20 ordnance with a percussion firing mechanism) for firing the widely used US M1 type ammunition (UK 105 mm How). In British service this was only used for training at the Royal School of Artillery while stocks of 105 mm How ammunition lasted. Britain disposed of its last L119s in 2005. However, it is popular with many export customers who still rely on M1 ammunition.M119A1
The L119 was further modified and produced under licence for adoption by the United States Army.Other Variants
During the 1970s a third variant, with the L21 ordnance, was developed and prototypes produced. This was for Switzerland and used Swiss pattern 105 mm ammunition. It did not enter service.The Indian 105 mm light gun appears to share many features with the UK equipment. In the late 1960s India introduced the Value Engineered Abbot variant with the 105 mm Fd ammunition.
In the 1990s the gun was manufactured under licence in Australia for the Australian and New Zealand armies using mostly Australian produced components. Intentions to produce 105 mm Field ammunition did not eventuate. In Australian service it is called the Hamel gun.
105mm Saluting Gun:The British Army is unique in that it has a number of dedicated saluting guns for ceremonial purposes. Based on the standard L118 these saluting guns are modified to exclusively fire blank cartridges, are not fitted with the APS system and are easily distinguished from the field gun variant by their distinctive bronze green paintwork, chromed muzzle brake and breech.
Users
The Light Gun, either L118, L119 or carriages with both ordnances, is used by:(112) (12) (4) (Army
Brazilian Army
The Brazilian Army is the land arm of the Brazilian Military. The Brazilian Army has fought in several international conflicts, mostly in South America and during the 19th century, such as the Brazilian War of Independence , Argentina-Brazil War , War of the Farrapos , Platine War , Uruguayan War ...
and Marines
Brazilian Marine Corps
The Brazilian Marine Corps is the land combat branch of the Brazilian Navy.- Mission :...
) (36 and 18 respectively) (6) (24) (40) (12) (20) (60) (24) (39) (21) (56) (Unknown number, captured from Morocco in the Western Sahara War
Western Sahara War
The Western Sahara War was an armed conflict primarily between the Polisario Front and Morocco, the conflict erupted after the withdrawal of Spain from the Spanish Sahara in accordance with the Madrid Accords by which it gave administrative control of the territory to Morocco and Mauritania...
) (6) (31) (82) (126 + 20 saluting) (548) (12)
Production facilities were established in Australia (for Australian and New Zealand), where it is called the 'Hamel Gun', and the US as M119A1.