Royal Artillery firing 105 mm light guns on exercise in 2013
Type
Towed field gun
Place of origin
United Kingdom
Service history
In service
1974–present
Used by
See Operators
Wars
Western Sahara War
Falklands War
Yugoslav Wars
Sierra Leone Civil War
Iraq War
Afghanistan War
Russo-Ukrainian War
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Production history
Designer
Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment
Designed
1966–1973
Manufacturer
Royal Ordnance Factory (later BAE Systems Land and Armaments)
Produced
1974–2016
No. built
Over 1,100[note 1]
Variants
L119
M119
Specifications (L118)
Mass
1,982 kg (1.951 long tons; 2.185 short tons)
Length
7.01 m (23 ft) firing 4.876 m (16 ft) travelling
Barrel length
3.9 m (12 ft 10 in) L/37
Width
1.778 m (5 ft 10 in)
Height
1.371 m (4 ft 6 in) travelling
Crew
6 (minimum 3)
Shell
Separate loading cased charge 105 x 326 mm R [2]
Shell weight
L31 HE (16.1 kg (35 lb))
L50 HE‐IM ER (base bleed)
L42 HESH (10.49 kg (23 lb))
L43 Illuminating
L45 Smoke (15.89 kg (35 lb))
L37 Smoke, red
L38 Smoke, orange
Calibre
105 mm (4.1 in)
Barrels
L19 ordnance
Breech
Vertical sliding block
Recoil
Hydro-pneumatic
Carriage
L17 box trail carriage with circular firing platform
Elevation
+1244 mils (+70 °)
–98 mils (–5.5 °)
Traverse
200 mils (11.25 °) fine
6400 mils (360 °) on turntable
Rate of fire
12 rds/min rapid 3 rds/min sustained
Maximum firing range
17.2 km (10.7 mi)
20.6 km (12.8 mi) base bleed
Sights
Hall & Watts artillery sighting system
Selex ES LINAPS
Direct fire telescope
References
Janes[1][3] & BAE Systems[4]
The L118 light gun is a 105 mm towed howitzer. It was originally designed and produced in the United Kingdom for the British Army in the 1970s. It has since been widely exported. The L119 and the United States Army's M119 are variants that use a different type of ammunition.
The L118 uses separate-loading cased-charge ammunition – the projectile is loaded into the gun and rammed by hand, then the cartridge with propellant is loaded behind it. The L119 and M119 use "semi-fixed" ammunition – when it is prepared for firing, the projectile is fitted into the top of the cartridge case and the shell loaded into the gun as a complete round.
^ abJanes (25 August 2021), "L118 (105 mm)", Janes Land Warfare Platforms: Artillery & Air Defence, Coulsdon, Surrey: Jane's Group UK Limited., retrieved 14 March 2023
^Janes (29 July 2022), "105 mm L50A2 (L31A4) HE‐IM and L50 HE‐IM ER improved ammunition", Janes Weapons: Ammunition, Coulsdon, Surrey: Jane's Group UK Limited., retrieved 14 March 2023
^"105mm Light Gun" (PDF). BAE Systems. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).
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