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Panzerhaubitze 2000
The PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzer is designed for fire support of ground troops, to engage enemy artillery, to destroy permanent structures, enemy field defenses, and point or area targets.
The roots of this weapon go back to the 1980s, when the Federal Ministry of Defence specified the requirements for a new 155 mm calibre artillery system to replace the M109A3 GE self-propelled howitzers that formed the backbone of the Bundeswehr's artillery formations at the time. The new self-propelled howitzer was to combine long range, high accuracy of fire, bulky ammunition, high mobility, short reaction time from march to combat position and adequate survivability in the battlespace.
However, since the 1970s, an international project PzH 70 (also referred to as SP-70) was underway, which did not produce any results that would see serial implementation, and was cancelled in 1986. Based on Bundeswehr requirements, test machines were developed by two companies between 1988 and 1990. The Wegmann (now Krauss-Maffei Wegmann) project was selected by the German Army for further development.
Production of four prototypes began in 1991. They were ready for intensive testing in August 1993. Testing took place in 1994 and 1995 and included, for example, the vehicles' ability to operate in extremely cold or hot areas. These tests were conducted at the Shilo (Canada) and Yuma (USA) training facilities. During the tests, the prototypes covered 30 000 km and fired 17 000 artillery shells. The contract for the purchase of the PzH 2000 was concluded between the Federal Office for Military Technology and Purchasing (BWB) and the manufacturer Krauss-Maffei Wegmann in March 1996.
In the summer of 1998, the Bundeswehr took delivery of the first production example, and deliveries continued until the end of 2002, when the German Army received the last, 185th example.
The chassis of the howitzer is essentially a flipped tank chassis Leopard 2. The drive train on each side consists of seven running wheels, a drive wheel in front, a tension wheel in the rear and four guide pulleys. At the front is a "powerpack" consisting of an MT 881 power unit and a RENK Automatic HSWL 284C four-speed automatic transmission. The driver's workplace is located in the right front part of the hull. The turret is followed by a turret housing the L 52 155 mm cannon developed by Rheinmetall DeTec. The aiming range is -2.5° to +65° and the sighting range is 360°. The range with standard NATO ammunition (L 15 A1, M 483 A1) is 30 km, with special ammunition (RH 40 BB from Rheinmetall or M2000BB Assegai from Naschem/Denel) up to 41 km. The carried ammunition supply is 60 rounds and a maximum of 67 powder charges. Of the total ammunition carried, 30 (some sources say 32) are carried in a magazine in the middle of the vehicle, from which they are moved to a sub-feeder that lifts and inserts them into the barrel. A second automatic mechanism feeds the powder charges, located separately from the crew compartment at the left rear of the turret. It takes two loaders up to 12 minutes to reload. The rounds are loaded at the rear of the self-propelled howitzer into a conveyor in the floor of the fighting compartment and moved to a magazine in the left center section of the vehicle. The multiple back-up fire control system is controlled by EADS' MICMOS computer. For direct fire, the PzH 2000 is equipped with a Leica PERI-RTNL 80 commander's observation device with day/night vision and laser rangefinder. A Leica PzF TN 80 day/night sight serves the gunner.
The tower houses the workstation of the other four crew members. The gunner and the commander are seated behind each other on the right in the direction of travel; on the left are two charger stations. The loaders load/unload the cannon (automatic or manual mode available), load the magazines (automatic, semi-automatic or manual mode available) and load the howitzer from the external ammunition car (only manual mode available here).
There are a total of three hatches on the top side, which can be used by the commander, the gunner and the first loader, who operates the machine gun if necessary MG 3.
The PzH 2000 can transition from march to combat position very quickly, and can open fire within 30 seconds of stopping. Armour can protect the vehicle's crew from direct fire from weapons up to 14.5 mm calibre. Passive protection is provided by sixteen smoke grenade launchers.
The PzH 2000 is currently (2005) in service with the following units of the German Army: - Panzerartillerielehr-bataillon 325 (Schwanewede) - Panzerartillerie-bataillon 425 (Lehnitz) - Panzerartillerie-bataillon 2 (Lichtenau) - Panzerartillerie-bataillon 115 (Neunburg vorm Wald) - Panzerartillerielehr-bataillon 345 (Kusel) - Panzerartillerie-bataillon 295 (Immendingen) - Panzerartillerie-bataillon 405 (Dabel)
PzH 2000 attracted attention abroad. The first export user was the Greek Army, which acquired 24 systems between July 2003 and June 2004. In December 2002, a contract was concluded for the delivery of 70 PzH 2000 to the Italian Army, with deliveries to take place between 2004 and 2008. The new howitzers will replace the US type M109 in the Italian army. Other users of the PzH 2000 include the Netherlands.
The PzH 2000 is currently one of the most powerful combat systems in its category.
Users: Germany, Italy, Greece, Netherlands
Technical and tactical data Combat weight: 55 000 kg
Crew: 3+2 (commander, driver, gunner, 2 loaders; however, the first three are sufficient for combat operations)
Dimensions: - Hull length: 7 920 mm - overall length: 11 669 mm - width: 3 580 mm - height: 3 060 mm - ground clearance: 440 mm
Power unit: - MTU MT 881, 8V, turbodiesel - Power: 736 kW - Specific power: 13,4 kW/t
Maximum speed: - 65 km/h on the road. - on paved roads: 45 km/h
Driving range: ~ 420 km
Climb: 50%
Wadeability: 1.5 m
Transgressiveness: 3 m
Output: 1 m
Armament: - 155 mm L 52 cannon with 52 calibre - Range: see text - Cadence: - 3 shots per 10 seconds - 8 shots in 60 seconds - 20 shots in 180 seconds
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Panzerhaubitze-2000-t12978#549615
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Činnosť ukrajinskej osádky vo vnútri nemeckéj 155 mm samohybnéj húfnice PzH 2000. Na údery sa používajú taliansko-nemecké neriadené strely Vulcano Ballistic Extended Range (BER).
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Panzerhaubitze-2000-t12978#734675
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Vidíme, ako sa presne navádzaná munícia vybíja zo samohybnej húfnice PzH2000, možno kvôli nejakému druhu údržby.
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Panzerhaubitze-2000-t12978#734905
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Činnosť ukrajinskej posádky vo vnútri nemeckej 155 mm samohybnej húfnice PzH 2000. Na streľbu sa používajú nemecké 155 mm delostrelecké dymové/zatemňovacie granáty DM125.
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Panzerhaubitze-2000-t12978#738847
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