Greece secretly supplied Ukraine with 32 105 mm guns and 50,000 shells

The Mitsotakis government transferred a large number of 105 mm trailed guns to Ukraine to strengthen the strike capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

According to the publication ProNews According to sources from the General Staff of the Greek Armed Forces, 32 trailed guns were transferred along with 50 thousand 105 mm shells.

This is about OTO Melara Mod 56 – an Italian-made 105 mm mountain howitzer, built and developed in the 1950s by the company Oto Melara. It uses standard NATO ammunition (US type M1).

In NATO armies, the OTO Melara Mod 56 howitzer was used to replace QF howitzers under the designation L5 Pack Howitzer with L10 ammunition. The gun became standard in Europe (AMF ACE Mobile Force (Land)) and was widely used by the troops of Belgium, Germany, Italy and Great Britain until 1975.

It should be noted that these light towed guns have proven extremely useful in the Ukrainian conflict, as they can be towed from any platform without any technical problems or aimed at the target with the same ease as self-propelled guns.

The howitzer is designed in such a way that it can be divided into 12 parts, each of which can be easily transported. According to the original design, it was intended for transportation by mules using special pack saddles, and since the 2000s, transportation is mainly carried out on vehicles (jeeps) such as Jeep or Land Rover, or armored personnel carriers such as M113 (with the shield removed).

When transported in parts, the heaviest parts weigh 122 kg (shield), 113.7 kg (sled) and 109.5 kg (barrel), with number 12 consisting of an accessory box and four sets of shots.

• Weight, kg 1290
• Projectile speed 416 m/s
• Length, mm 3650
• Barrel length, mm 1470 /14 klb.
• Width, mm 1500
• Height, mm 1900
• Crew (crew), people. 7
• 105 mm HE M1 projectile
• Caliber, mm 105
• Anti-recoil device hydraulic recoil brake
• Carriage with sliding frames
• Elevation angle from -7° to +65°
• Rotation angle 56°
• Rate of fire, rounds/min 10 rounds/min
• Maximum range, m 10,600.

These are guns that have been withdrawn from service in NATO countries and would have been scrapped, but the Greek authorities decided that sending them to Ukraine was much more profitable.

As before wrote “Athens News”, at the moment the main request from Greece, from Ukraine, is MLRS RM-70 Czech-made, for which an end-user certificate from Russia is not required, since they were acquired from East German arsenals.

For reference: RM-70 is a multiple launch rocket system made in Czechoslovakia, essentially the Czechoslovak version of the Soviet BM-21 or Grad MLRS. According to NATO classification – M1972.

• Maximum firing range: 20500 m
• Years of production: since 1972
• Number of guides: 40
• Weight in combat position: 33700 kg
• BM calculation: 4 people
• Volley time: 20 s
• Height in stowed position: 2900 mm

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