OTO Melara Mod 56

History

During the reconstruction period after World War II, the Italian Army needed a new light towed artillery system to meet the indirect firepower needs of mountain and airborne troops. Established in 1905, the historic OTO-Melara company returned in the mid-1950s with a new 105mm "Pack" howitzer. This type is light enough to be airborne and fire standardized high-explosive (HE) shells to nearly 10,000 yards.

The result of this work became "Mod 56".

The Mod 56 weighs 2,840 pounds and has a 4.9-inch barrel. The system has a total length of 12 feet, a width of 4.11 feet and a height of 6.2 feet. The typical operator was seven, and a small gun mantlet was added for limited protection. The barrel is mounted on a two-wheeled, rubber tire, split-slide carriage, and the barrel itself houses a multi-slot brake.

The breech was realized by a vertical slide and recoiled by a hydropneumatic device under the barrel. Elevation and pitch functions are built into the mounting structure, allowing elevation ranges from -7 to +65 degrees and 56 degrees, respectively, from the centerline.

The projectile has a muzzle velocity of 1,360 feet per second, and the gun can sustain a rate of 10 rounds per minute for short periods of time.

As a light artillery piece on the battlefield, the Mod 56 is a good friend of the infantry as it can even be deployed by aircrews over short distances (no transport vehicle required). Additionally, the weapon disassembles relatively quickly into its twelve key components, allowing it to be moved to a new location, reassembled, and fired (this access also aids in maintenance and cleaning).

In addition to being directly handled by soldiers, the weapon could easily be hung under the belly of a helicopter and carried at high speed.

However, the lightweight design of the system came at a price, the artillery would quickly break down during sustained heavy fire. As such, they lack the long-term durability seen in competing designs, such as the U.S. WWII-era M101 Pack howitzer system (described in detail elsewhere on this site).

In fact, in a very short period of time, the Italians themselves upgraded from the Mod 56 to the modern M2A1 (M101A1).

This is not to say that Italian weapons have little value for modern frontline combat forces - Mod 56 was adopted by many global operators including the UK (known as "L5"), Australia and Canada and proved throughout Europe during the Cold War become an inseparable part. The weapon is still used today by secondary military powers such as Argentina, Botswana, Nigeria and Zambia, although it has been abandoned by major defense powers such as France, Germany and India.

The howitzers were used by Australian forces during the "Malaysian Emergency" 1948-1960, which in turn was used by Malaysia during the "Second Malaysian Emergency" 1968-1989. The British Army used the system in the 1963-1967 Aden Emergency, while Argentina frantically used it in the 1982 Falklands War with Britain.

The Vietnam conflict saw the Mod 56 be used by Australian and New Zealand troops for some time. China made a local copy of Mod 56 for export sales.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

Depends on the ammunition carrier. High Explosive (HE) projectiles are the default projectile type.

Changes