75/24 Pack Howitzer

The 75/24 Pack Howitzer (75/24 Indian Mountain Gun) is a towed howitzer developed in India and saw extensive use in the Indian Army.

75/24 Pack Howitzer
TypeHowitzer
Place of originIndia
Service history
Used byIndia
Production history
DesignerARDE
ManufacturerOrdnance Factory Board

Development

The circumstances leading to the defeat during the Sino-Indian War led to a lot of introspection. The difficulties faced in the deployment of artillery on the heights led to the army to develop a light mountain gun. This programme was led by Brigadier Gurdial Singh and it delivered quick results.[1][2]

By 1963, the first prototypes of the 75/24 mountain pack howitzer had been developed by the Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE) and other Ordnance Factories based on a Canadian design.[3][4] The Solid State Physics Laboratory, Delhi was involved in the development of the VT fuze of the howitzer.[5] This thus became the country’s first indigenously made artillery gun.[6] The Gun Carriage Factory Jabalpur started manufacture of the guns in 1968.[7]

Characteristics

The gun is light weight and can be dis-assembled into multiple units and transported by mules in mountains as well as carried by helicopters. It weighs 983 kg and could fire up to a maximum range of 11,104 metres.[6]

75/24 Pack Howitzer Mark-1 passes through the Rajpath, at the 73rd Republic Day Celebrations, in New Delhi on January 26, 2022.

Operators

The gun entered service in the Indian Army in the late 1960s and saw extensive use in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.[8] The last battle it saw action in was the Kargil War.[9]

See also

References
  1. "An Extensive Overview of Artillery Indigenization in India". 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  2. "Development Of Indian Defence Industry – A Macro Level Perspective" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  3. "75/24 pack howitzer". Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  4. "The pitfalls in evolution of Indian Army-II". 2011-01-27. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  5. Shenoy, Ramadas Panemangalore (2006). Defence Research & Development Organisation, 1958-1982. Defense Scientific Information & Documentation Centre. p. 176. ISBN 978-8186514153.
  6. "From Centurions, PT-76 tanks to 75/24 Pack howitzers: Weapons used by Indian Army during '65 and '71 wars roll down Rajpath at Republic Day parade". 2022-01-26. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  7. "History". Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  8. "Sainik Samachar, page 13" (PDF). 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  9. "How we pushed Pak out of the Batalik Sector". 2016-09-06. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
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