155 mm caliber
This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (February 2019) |
155 mm (6.1″) is a common, NATO-standard, artillery calibre.
Land warfare
Since the late 20th century, most NATO armies have adopted 155 mm weapons as an all-purpose standard. They are seen as striking a good compromise between range and destructive power, while using only a single calibre simplifies logistics. This has led to the obsolescence of larger calibre weapons such as 175 mm (6.9") and 203 mm (8"), although some militaries retain 105 mm weapons for their light weight and portability. Russian guns and those of former Soviet bloc countries tend to use 152mm weapons in similar roles.
Naval warfare
Since the end of WWII, 155 mm has not found any use among naval forces despite its ubiquity on land, with most NATO and aligned navies using 76mm (3"), 100mm (3.9"), 114mm (4.5"), or 127mm (5") guns on modern warships. At one point the British Ministry of Defence studied "up-gunning" the Royal Navy's 4.5 inch Mark 8 naval guns to give increased firepower and a common calibre between the Royal Navy and the British Army. However, despite superficially appearing to be superior due to a comparison of round diameters, when firing conventional ammunition the smaller, 4.5" naval gun is comparable to the standard 155mm gun-howitzer of the British Army. The standard shell from a 4.5" naval gun has the same, if not better, range and carries twice the HE payload of a standard 155mm round. Only by using rocket-assisted projectiles (RAP) can most 155mm guns have comparable range to the 4.5" naval gun and in doing so by sacrificing the payload. This is because naval guns can be built much more strongly than land-based self-propelled gun-howitzers, and have much longer barrels in relation to calibre (for example the Mark 8 has a barrel length of 55 calibres, while the standard AS-90 self-propelled gun has a barrel length of 39 calibres). This allows naval guns to fire heavier shells in comparison to shell diameter and to use larger propellant charges in relation to shell weight leading to greater projectile velocities. In addition, even without active cooling, the heavier naval gun barrels allow for a superior sustained rate of fire compared to field guns, and this is exploited with an autoloading system with a capacity of several hundred rounds. The 155mm is superior to the 4.5" naval gun in relation to cannon-launched guided projectiles (CLGP); because the 155mm round is fired at a lower velocity it is much easier for their internal electronic guidance systems to survive being fired.
The US Navy's Advanced Gun System also uses a 155mm calibre, although it is not compatible with NATO-standard 155mm ammunition. However, since 2016 no ammunition has been developed and therefore the Advanced Gun System is completely unusable.[1]
155 mm shells
![]() |
- Bofors 155 Bonus (
Sweden /
France) – submunition-carrying anti-tank shell
- Hypervelocity Projecile (HVP)
United States) - experimental hypervelocity projectile
- Long Range Land Attack Projectile (
United States) – cancelled naval round for the Advanced Gun System
- M107 (
United States) – general purpose
- M483 (
United States) – submunition-carrying shell for dual anti-armour/anti-personnel roles
- M549 (
United States) – rocket-assisted shell
- M692/M731 (
United States) – anti-personnel land mine scattering shell
- M712 Copperhead (
United States) – laser-guided anti-tank shell
- M687 (
United States) - chemical weapon shell
- M795 (
United States) – general purpose (replacing M107)
- M864 (
United States) – submunition-carrying shell
- M982 Excalibur (
Sweden /
United States) – GPS-guided shell
- SMArt 155 (
Germany) – submunition-carrying anti-tank shell
- W48 (
United States) – nuclear artillery shell with a yield of 72 tonnes TNT
155 mm guns
![]() |
- 155 GH 52 APU (
Finland)
- 2S19M1-155 (
Russia)
- AS90/AHS Krab (
United Kingdom)
- ATMOS 2000 (
Israel)
- CAESAR (
France)
- Canon de 155mm GPF (
France)
- Canon de 155 C modèle 1915 St. Chamond (
France)
- Canon de 155 C modèle 1917 Schneider (
France)
- Dhanush howitzer (
India)
- DRDO Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) (
India)
- FH70 (
United Kingdom/
Germany)
- FH77/Archer Artillery System (
Sweden)
- FH-88 (
Singapore)
- FH-2000 (
Singapore)
- G5/G6 (
South Africa)
- GC-45 (
Canada)
- GCT (
France)
- K9 Thunder (
South Korea)
- M1/M2 155mm "Long Tom" (
United States)
- M12 (
United States)
- M41 (
United States)
- M44 (
United States)
- M53 (
United States)
- M109 (
United States)
- M114 (
United States)
- M198 (
United States)
- M777 (
United Kingdom)
- Nora B-52 (
Serbia)
- Obusier de 155 mm Modèle 50 (
France)
- Palmaria (
Italy)
- Panter howitzer (
Turkey)
- PLZ-45 (
China)
- PLZ-05 (
China)
- PzH2000 (
Germany)
- Santa Bárbara Sistemas 155/52 APU-SIAC (
Spain)
- Soltam M-68 (
Israel)
- Soltam M-71 (
Israel)
- SSPH Primus (
Singapore)
- TRF1 (
France)
- Type 75 (
Japan)
- Type 99 (
Japan)
- T-155 Fırtına (
Turkey)
- XM1203 (
United States – never entered service)
- XM2001 (
United States – never entered service)
155 mm naval guns
![]() |
- Advanced Gun System (
United States - in service but with no ammunition available)
- Mark 8 gun (
United Kingdom – proposed but never produced)
- 15.5 cm/60 3rd Year Type naval gun (
Empire of Japan)
References
- ^ LaGrone, Sam (January 11, 2018). "No New Round Planned For Zumwalt Destroyer Gun System; Navy Monitoring Industry". USNI News. U.S. Naval Institute. Retrieved 2018-03-02.