M77 155 howitzer

[sapper740]

Originally posted by John McGillivray




Isn’t base bleed now used for the extended range ammunition? The Canadian 105mm C3 has a range of 11.5km with the standard NATO ammunition, but has a range of 18km with the extended range ammunition.

John, not being an arty type I'm not sure if the Canadian extended range ammo uses base bleed or not. (for those of you reading this post and aren't sure what base bleed is, here goes: a small pyrotechnic charge is placed in the base of the shell which produces sufficient gas to relieve the low pressure zone directly behind the shell thereby decreasing drag and increasing range up to 30%) I know Gerald Bull used base bleed back along with an extended (from 39 cal. to 45 cal.), re-rifled M109 barrel in the seventies to get his great increase in range.
The story of Gerald Bull is indeed fascinating and a good read, especially for you conspiracy types.
I do know that the new howitzer will utilize the GPS/IN Excalibur round which can hit an 8 digit grid reference at 40km!!!!and reports from the U.S. Army state that a rate of 5 rds. per minute can be achieved with a trained 10 man crew. Look out Al Qaeda!



CHIMO!