G6 howitzer

{{Short description|South African 155 mm self-propelled artillery}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}

{{Infobox weapon

|name= G6

|image= Image:Denel G6-45 Ysterplaat Airshow 2006.jpg

|caption= G6 howitzer parked at Air Force Base Ysterplaat in 2006

|origin= South Africa

|type= Self-propelled artillery

|is_vehicle=yes

|service=

|used_by= See Operators

|wars= South African Border War
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)

|designer= Lyttelton Engineering Works{{cite book | last = Christopher F. Foss| title = Jane's Armour and Artillery| year = 2001|edition= 2002|page= 698 | publisher = Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd| isbn= 978-0710623096}}

|design_date= 1981{{cite book|last1=Harmse|first1=Kyle|last2=Dunstan|first2=Simon|title=South African Armour of the Border War 1975–89|date=23 February 2017|pages=32–46|publisher=Osprey Publishing|location=Oxford|isbn=978-1472817433}}

|manufacturer= Denel Land Systems (turret)
Land Systems OMC (chassis){{cite book| last = Christopher F. Foss| title = Jane's Tanks and Combat Vehicles Recognition Guide| edition = 2000| pages = [https://archive.org/details/janestankcombatv00foss/page/440 440–441]| publisher = Harper Collins Publishers| isbn = 978-0-00-472452-2| url = https://archive.org/details/janestankcombatv00foss/page/440| date = 16 May 2000}}

|unit_cost= USD $3,272,000 (new){{cite web|title=G6 Renoster 155 mm Self-Propelled Howitzer|author=|url=https://www.forecastinternational.com/archive/disp_old_pdf.cfm?ARC_ID=1138|location=Newtown, Connecticut, United States

|publisher=Forecast International, Incorporated|date=2000|access-date=29 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329234035/https://www.forecastinternational.com/archive/disp_old_pdf.cfm?ARC_ID=1138|archive-date=29 March 2017}}

|production_date= 1988–1999

|number= 154

|variants= See Variants

|weight= {{convert|46|t|ST LT|lk=out}}{{cite book | last = Chant |first =Christopher | title = A Compendium of Armaments and Military Hardware | location = New York | publisher = Routledge & Kegan Paul | year = 1987 | isbn = 0-7102-0720-4 | oclc = 14965544 | pages = 76–77 }}

|length= {{convert|9.20|m|ftin|abbr=on}} (hull)

|width= {{convert|3.40|m|ftin|abbr=on}}

|height={{convert|3.20|m|ftin|abbr=on}}

|crew= 6

|armour=

|primary_armament= 155mm G5 howitzer (47 rounds)

|secondary_armament= 12.7mm M2 Browning machine gun (900 rounds)

|engine= Magirus Deutz Model FL 413 F/FR air-cooled diesel

|engine_power= 525 hp (391 kW)

|transmission=

|fuel_capacity= 700 litres

|pw_ratio= 11.17hp /tonne (8.7 kW/tonne)

|suspension= Torsion bar with hydraulic shock dampers

|clearance= {{convert|0.45|m|ftin|abbr=on}}

|vehicle_range= 700 km

|speed= 90 km/h (55 mph)

}}

The G6, sometimes denoted as the G6 Rhino,{{cite book|last=Chant|first=Christopher|title=An illustrated data guide to modern artillery|date=1997|page=[https://archive.org/details/illustrateddatag00chan_0/page/29 29]|publisher=Tiger Books International|location=London|isbn=978-1855018617|url=https://archive.org/details/illustrateddatag00chan_0/page/29}} is a South African self-propelled howitzer.{{cite web|url=http://www.army.mil.za/equipment/weaponsystems/artillery/GV6_115mm_MK1_Gun_Howitzer_Propelled.htm|title=Weapon systems: Artillery - GV6|publisher=South African Army|access-date=4 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601191345/http://www.army.mil.za/equipment/weaponsystems/artillery/GV6_115mm_MK1_Gun_Howitzer_Propelled.htm|archive-date=1 June 2010|url-status=live}} It was developed as a turreted, self-propelled variant of the G5 howitzer series, mating the gun to a six-wheeled mine-protected armoured chassis.{{Cite journal|last=Greeff|first=I.B.|date=June 1992|title=South Africa's Modern Long Tom|journal=Military History Journal|publisher=The South African Military History Society|volume=9|issue=1|issn=0026-4016|url=http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol091ig.html|access-date=1 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100131010753/http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol091ig.html|archive-date=31 January 2010|url-status=live}} Design work on the G6 began in the late 1970s to replace the obsolescent Sexton being retired from service with the artillery regiments of the South African Army.{{cite web|title=Obsolescence risk mitigation study for G6|author=|url=http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18732:obsolescence-risk-mitigation-study-for-g6&catid=50:Land&Itemid=105|location=Rivonia, Johannesburg|publisher=ITWeb|date=6 September 2011|access-date=30 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170330221848/http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18732%3Aobsolescence-risk-mitigation-study-for-g6&catid=50%3ALand&Itemid=105|archive-date=30 March 2017|url-status=dead}} Serial production commenced between 1988 and 1999.

At the time of its introduction, the G6 was considered one of the most mobile self-propelled howitzers in service.{{cite journal|author=|title=Jane's International Defense Review: IDR|date=2001|volume=34|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ti5AAAAIAAJ|journal=Jane's International Defence Review}} Its chassis was engineered to be mine-resistant and blastproof, allowing it to survive multiple TM-46 detonations during trials.{{cite book|last1=Camp|first1=Steve|last2=Helmoed-Römer|first2=Heitman|title=Surviving the Ride: A pictorial history of South African Manufactured Mine-Protected vehicles|date=November 2014|pages=224–225|publisher=30 Degrees South|location=Pinetown|isbn=978-1928211-17-4}} The G6 was conceived as a wheeled rather than a tracked vehicle for this purpose, as well as to allow it to deploy long distances by road without consuming excessive quantities of fuel or requiring a tank transporter.

G6s entered service during the last two years of the South African Border War, frequently shelling positions held by the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) during the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale.{{cite book|title=Angola: A Modern Military History|last=Weigert|first=Stephen|year=2011|location=Basingstoke|publisher=Palgrave-Macmillan|isbn=978-0230117778|pages=87–96}} Their ability to bombard a target and change positions rapidly in less than two minutes, with minimal preparation, greatly reduced the threat posed by retaliatory Angolan air raids and counter-battery fire.{{cite book|last=Malan|first=Magnus|title=My Life with the SA Defence Force|date=2006|pages=236–237|publisher=Protea Boekhuis|location=Pretoria|isbn=978-1869191146}} A number of G6s were subsequently manufactured for export and purchased by Abu Dhabi and Oman.{{cite web |url=http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/trade_register.php |title=Trade Registers |publisher=Armstrade.sipri.org |access-date=2013-06-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513073842/http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/trade_register.php |archive-date=13 May 2011 |url-status=live }} Export models included a specialist anti-aircraft variant with a GEC-Marconi Marksman turret and twin-barrelled 35mm autocannon.{{cite book|last=Cordesman|first=Anthony|title=Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and the UAE: Challenges of Security|date=1997|page=194|publisher=Westview Press|location=Boulder|isbn=978-0813332406}}

Chile briefly produced the G6 under licence as the CC-SP-45, although this arrangement was later terminated after the system was not adopted by that country's armed forces. Iraq also manufactured its own domestic variant of the G6{{cite book|last=Ṣāyigh|first=Yazīd|title=Arab Military Industry: Capability, Performance, and Impact|date=1992|page=[https://archive.org/details/arabmilitaryindu00sayi/page/110 110]|publisher=Brassey's Incorporated, Publishing House|location=London|isbn=978-0080417776|url=https://archive.org/details/arabmilitaryindu00sayi/page/110}} as the Al Majnoon with technical assistance from Canadian artillery engineer Gerald Bull, which later evolved into the much larger and more sophisticated Al Fao.{{cite book|last=Chauhan|first=Sharad|title=War on Iraq|date=2003|pages=258–259|publisher=APH Publishing Corporation|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-8176484787}}