Image source: topwar.ru
Ukrainian gunners have received British 105-mm towed howitzers L119, some of the guns have already been sent to the Donbass. This is reported by the Ukrainian press with reference to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
The UK has transferred 36 L119 guns to Ukraine as part of a new military aid package. Together with the APU guns, 72 thousand artillery shells of 105-mm caliber were received, i.e. 2 thousand per barrel. Judging by the videos and photos that appeared on Ukrainian Internet resources, howitzers have already entered service with artillery units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, some of the guns went to the zone of a special military operation of the Russian army in the Donbas.
The fact that Ukraine will receive light 105-mm L119 howitzers was reported at the end of May this year. At the same time, the UK announced the beginning of training of the Ukrainian military in the use of these guns. The New Zealand military were invited as instructors, the training took place on the territory of Britain. Previously, the training was supposed to take place until the end of July, after which the AFU would receive 230 trained Ukrainian military. Apparently, due to the current situation, it was decided to shorten the courses, and send howitzers along with calculations to Ukraine.
The L-119 light howitzer gun was developed in the UK to replace the outdated 105 mm M56 howitzers. It was adopted in 1974. It was produced with a conventional barrel and with a shortened one. The firing range of the howitzer with a conventional high-explosive shell is 17.2 km, active-reactive - 20.5 km. The weight of the howitzer is 2.3 tons, the calculation of 5-7 people. During the latest modernization, the gun received the laser inertial artillery aiming system LINAPS (Laser Inertial Navigation Artillery Pointing System).
Among the advantages of the British L-119 are its light weight, the ability to tow with the help of SUVs, the transfer of helicopters on an external suspension and the rate of fire of up to 8 rounds per minute.
