RO2001 Self-Propelled Howitzer - Britain’s Forgotten 122mm Contender

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RO2001

Introduction

The RO2001 Self-Propelled Howitzer emerged from the United Kingdom’s 1980s RO2000 light vehicle program, itself part of a broader evaluation into a Future Family of Light Armoured Vehicles (FFLAV). Although FFLAV was accelerated after the Gulf War to address shortcomings in aging platforms such as the FV430 and CVR(T) families, the RO2001’s conceptual roots lay in Royal Ordnance’s earlier SP122 design for a self-propelled howitzer intended for the Egyptian Army. It is believed that this SP122 project evolved into the RO2001, taking the opportunity provided by the RO2000 universal modular chassis. Two birds with one stone - demonstrate the flexibility of the RO2000 modular platform, and market a vehicle to a potential foreign customer.

The RO2000 base and RO2001 specifically were designed for simplicity and ease of manufacture, particularly important given that the main potential customer was Egypt, where industrial capacity was less developed, while also forming part of a proposed wider vehicle family intended to consolidate multiple British Army roles onto a common chassis.

As built, the RO2001 was armed with the 122 mm D30 howitzer, a ubiquitous Soviet design capable of firing various HE and HEAT projectiles, and fitted with a computerized gunsight for direct and indirect fire. The RO2001 mounted the D30 in a fixed rear superstructure, with 30 degrees of traverse from the centreline, +70 degrees elevation, and –5 degrees depression. It carried 84 rounds and was supported by a .50cal machine gun and L8 smoke launchers. Powered by a 320hp Perkins TV8-640 turbocharged diesel engine and a 6-speed epicyclic automatic gearbox, the 20-ton vehicle had a respectable top speed of 55kph, and a hp/t of 16.0. The RO2001 was designed primarily for export but could have been adapted for UK service, with proposals including mounting the L13A1 105 mm gun (as used on the FV433 Abbot) or the Royal Ordnance L118 light 105 mm gun.

In trials, the RO2001 prototype fired over 300 rounds and completed at least 10,000 km of testing under harsh conditions. In the summer of 1986, it was displayed at the British Army equipment exhibition arms fair alongside the RO2003 120 mm mortar variant. Only one RO2001 was constructed, and although it was demonstrated successfully, no further interest was found. The broader RO2000/FFLAV effort was overtaken by alternative British procurement programs, and the RO2001 remained a single prototype.

In-game, despite being a relatively modern vehicle, the RO2001s capabilities would place it at a relatively low BR. In essence, it is similar to vehicles like the M44, with a notably worse HE round but also having access to HEAT.

Specifications

Spoiler

RO2001 Specifications
RO2001 Specifications1094×1065 126 KB

Images

Spoiler

Cheers to @ForeverAloneRage for a few of the below pics

RO2001 2

RO2001

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RO2001 4

RO2001 5

RO2001 6

RO2001 2
RO2001 21313×985 429 KB

Sources

Spoiler

RO2000 Marketing Material

RO2003 Brochure

RO2000 Platform - Tank Encyclopedia

RO2001 Self-Propelled Gun - Tank Encyclopedia

D-30 2A18

ODIN - OE Data Integration Network

10 Likes
2

What on earth is this lump of trash +1 for another stupid SPH

1 Like
3

A +1 from me, might make for a good Event or BP reward!

1 Like
4

+1 Suspicious amount of UK made spgs/sphs being posted after the AS 90 got revealed

1 Like
5

+1

6

Dang! I was gonna suggest this under the Egyptian flag. Glad someone did though! +1

1 Like
7

WW2 is knocking Britain it wants is SPH back.
+1

8

+1 For Egypt, so in WT, a Russian event vehicle under the Egyptian flag would be most appropriate.

9

…

What?

  • This was never adopted by Egypt
  • Egypt is not a USSR subtree
  • what ?!?!?!
1 Like
10

+1 for the CVRT at home

11

You mean the vehicle designed for the export market with Egypt as the first customer of the initial prototype, gun was specifically chosen for Egyptian trials, gun itself plus the sights were domestically produced in Egyptian workshops and then implemented onto the prototype, over ten thousand km driven and over 300 shells fired by Egyptian crews on Egyptian land?

All four vehicles are designed and intended ONLY for service by country X, let’s see forum opinions on them:

-Domestic service vehicle ✅
-Domestic prototype vehicle ✅
-Foreign service vehicle ✅
-Foreign prototype vehicle ❌

Why is that?

The only two Egyptian vehicles in the game are located in the Russian tree. Yes, I would prefer an African tree or something instead but I’m thinking about current implementation here.

12

That’s not how subtrees work. Those two vehicles are soviet exports, ergo belong in the RU tree. This is a British export attempt, ergo belongs in the British tree.

An in-game example would be Austria;

  • SK105, with a turret based on French technology, therefore is in the French TT.
  • SAAB 105OE, Swedish export, therefore is in Swedish TT.

It is a subtree of neither nation.

A nation only becomes a subtree when Gaijin explicitly states it, and there has been no such announcement from Gaijin or their community managers.

1 Like
13

This was never adopted by Egypt

It was intended for the Egyptian Army as part of a program for a casemate SPG with the 122mm D-30 however it was rejected in favour of the SP-122 BMY the casemate SPG built on a Paladin chassis.

The UK in contrast has no interest in the vehicle since they don’t use the D-30 and they already operate the Abbot which functions the same role as the RO2001 any ways

Egypt is not a USSR subtree

Egypt is not confirmed to be a subtree of any nation as of writing this so it’s factually correct. And their logic doesn’t add up considering that the Class-3P & R-400 are intended for the South African army as one of the proposals for the Rooikat but both are in the German TT, not the UK TT. Same goes for the Israeli vehicles prior to the addition to the Israeli TT.

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14

That doesn’t really matter much, the Vickers Mk.1, Mk.3, Mk.7, Mk.11, & VFM.5 where all export orientated designs, yet are in the British TT, even with some of them getting export success. Another example of this is the Stingray in the US tree.

Yes and no. Royal Ordnance did intend to offer a version with a 105 to the British government during one of the many attempts to replace the wide array of light British armour (The CVRTs, Abbott, and such) with a single common chassis. The idea was to pitch an “Anglicised” variant alongside the rest of the R02000 family (An APC, Mortar carrier, & Light tank where also proposed) but that procurement programme got canned before anything really left proposals.

1 Like
15

+1 another carboard box with a big gun.

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16

Can we address this? Why is it that we support domestic prototype vehicles but foreign ones intended for service through export are suddenly an issue. If the RO2001 was in mass service with Egypt, you would support it for the Egyptians then, even though it’s still British built.

Yes it’s just a prototype, but you have to understand that the first prototype was tuned entirely to Egyptian specifications and even had Egyptian help to build the weapon system, so it was never going to be NATO compatible for general export.

I am looking to put it in the best possible place for Egyptian vehicles, because I don’t support it for the British. Unless you want every Egyptian vehicle to be added as a British subtree that is.

I do not agree with Gaijin method of implementation l, so I will use my ability of free speech to propose it for Russia, even if that’s not under current subtree logic. The

17

Then…create your own suggestion for the Egyptian one then?

1 Like
18

Seems redundant, there is only one prototype of this vehicle, and so I think it’s fine to discuss it’s fate in this thread.

19

A counter example:
T14 Heavy tank was design for, ordered by, and tested by the British. It did not meet requirements and British orders were cancelled. Can you guess what tree the T14 Heavy Tank was added to?

The US one.

Also FYI, it’s not hard to change the gun to a 105, it is a literally more compact gun system than the 122. And the only non-NATO/British standard part was the gun, which isn’t really a problem given British 105mm howitzers aren’t to NATO standards anyway lmao

Egyptian vehicles like the M60, M901, M1A1, Rafale, & F-16? Truly right at home in the RU TT! An absolute genius take.

It’s not under any logic.

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20

Which was a poor choice in my opinion, since history would tell that the T14 was of little interest to the Americans anyways, and it was only planned to be ordered in production quantities by the British.

Just because Gaijin has a way of doing something doesn’t necessarily mean I agree with that way.

Well yeah, but my point is that the very first prototype of such a vehicle did NOT have a 105mm, and instead a 122mm which was built by and intended for Egyptian trials and eventual service.

If the RO2001 was such a promising SPH for export, then maybe RO should’ve built a separate prototype with the 105 or modified the tried and tested initial one. However fact stands that the only prototype built was done so for Egyptian trials, otherwise it would have had a 105.

And which of those vehicles have domestically Egyptian variants? Probably only the M60, which by my own opinion about copy paste, is the only one I will actually support being added to the game in any form.

And again, I would much prefer to hold off on Egyptian stuff until a more appropriate tree or subtree location is found, because to my knowledge current Egyptian and Russian relations do not really support a combination of the two in WT.

1 Like