TAM VCA
The VCA-155 (Vehículo de combate de Artillería, Artillery Combat Vehicle) is a self-propelled 155mm gun/howitzer, manufactured by TAMSE (Tanque Argentino Mediano Sociedad del Estado) which entered service in the late 1990s.[1]
| TAM VCA | |
|---|---|
 TAM VCA in Buenos Aires | |
| Type | Self-propelled artillery |
| Place of origin | Argentina |
| Production history | |
| No. built | 17 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 40 t |
| Length | 10.33 m (33 ft 11 in) |
| Width | 3.31 m (10 ft 10 in) |
| Height | 3.20 m (10 ft 6 in) |
| Crew | 5 |
| Caliber | 155 mm (6.1 in) |
Main armament | Oto Melara "Palmaria" L41 155 mm (6.1 in) howitzer |
Secondary armament | 1× 7.62 mm (0.3 in) machine gun 8× smoke dischargers |
| Engine | MTU-MB 833 Ka-500 6-cylinder 22.4 L (1,370 cu in) diesel 540 kW (720 hp) |
| Suspension | Torsion bar |
| Ground clearance | 0.45 m |
Operational range | 470 km (290 mi) |
| Maximum speed | 60 km/h (37 mph) |
Description
It uses a TAP chassis (Tanque Argentino Pesado, Argentine Heavy Tank), an abandoned project derived from the TAM (Tanque Argentino Mediano, Argentine Medium Tank). It weighs 40 tonnes, and has 7 rolling wheels.
It has a 155-mm howitzer "Palmaria" turret of Italian origin. It has a vehicular communications equipment SEM 180 and 193, which allows voice communication (within and outside the vehicle), but also operates in digital form.
In total, 17 units were built.
Use
In conjunction with the VCCDT (Vehiculo de Combate Centro de Direccion de Tiro - Combat Vehicle, Fire Control Centre) it makes up a modern system of artillery weapons. It also operates an integrated system for artillery fire campaign called "TRUENO", which enables it to direct artillery fire in an automated mode.
References
Further reading
- Cicalesi, Juan Carlos; Rivas, Santiago. TAM - The Argentine Tanque Argentino Mediano - History, Technology, Variants. International Specials (in English and German). 8006. Germany: Tankograd Publishing. Retrieved 8 Aug 2017.