New guns for Army fired

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 5, Issue 21, 28 October 1987, Page 3

New guns for Army fired

T h e h i 1 1 s surrounding Waiouru reverberated with the sound of gunfire last week, during the official firing of the Army's newest acquisition - the 105mm LII9 Light Gun.

Army officials including Brigadier Dudman, Brigadier Birch and ATG's commanding officer Col. Bret Bestic were present at the inaugural firing of the first round, made by Major General John Mace, Chief of General Staff. The 105mm light gun is a towed vehicle gun, with a

relatively light weight for the weapon's range. The British designed guns built under licence in Australia. It replaces the 105mm Pack Howitzer in New Zealand service and will be invaluable in training Army personnel, according to officials. They require six men to

operate them, commanded by a Sergeant. A special feature of the gun is its unique swap-over barrels. The L20 barrel has a range of 11,400 metres while the larger L19 can fire up to 17,200 metres. The barrels may be changed within two hours. The guns take MI series ammunition, used primarily in training and Abbott Mark II ammunition for the larger barrel, valued at $1000 a round. The 'Light Gun' weighs 1,846kg and costs around $1 million. New Zealand Armed Forces currently have eight guns in use, at the Papakura-based Battery and at the School of Artillery in Waiouru. Another 16 will be delivered within the next two years.