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- Future Latin American Tech Tree
The VCA Palmaria is a self-propelled artillery piece (in addition to being the big brother of the TAM with 40 t) that served the Argentine Army from 1982 to the present. The VCA Palmaria hosts a crew of five. These members include the driver, commander, gunner, radio operator, and loader.
The Argentine Army had several problems with its self-propelled artillery “AMX-13 F3”, those problems were that they had limited numbers and size, since that piece was small. The solution they found was to put a piece of heavy weaponry on a mobile platform, in the 80s, with the introduction of the TAM and VCTP it seemed that the platform would be available if it was adapted.
In 1983, the company Tanque Argentino Mediano Sociedad del Estado (TAMSE), the company created in March 1980 to coordinate the development and assembly of the TAM program, began to think about adapting a TAM to mount a heavy 155 mm cannon. A first prototype appeared in 1984, having begun to adapt the platform to accept a 155 mm howitzer. However, it was proposed to use the TAP (Heavy Argentine Tank) Program’s lengthened TAM chassis for the VCA, but delays meant that initial series production of 25 vehicles would not begin until 1990.
A VCA Palmaria prototype would participate in a military parade on Argentina’s independence day on July 9, 1989. The VCA, despite its long development time, has been quite successful for the Argentine Army, surpassing the capabilities of the AMX-13 F3 and giving them a contemporary version of the M109 in their neighboring countries and rivals in the region.
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The most distinguishable aspect of the VCA compared to the TAM is its large size. While the TAM chassis is 6.75 m long, the VCA was lengthened by 860 mm to accommodate the larger turret, gun and ammunition. Like the TAM on which it was based, and by extension, the Marder 1, the front plate has a steep 75º angle and the side and rear plates are set at 32º. At the front of the tank, on each side, there are headlights. Behind these, also on each side, are the rear-view mirrors.
The armor of the VCA Palmaria is made of electrically welded nickel-chromium-molybdenum steel. The front plate is 50 mm thick and the sides and rear are 35 mm thick.
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One of the biggest changes to the VCA was the much larger turret, which could hold a 155mm gun. The turret was of the Palmaria type developed by the Italian company OTO-Melara. OTO-Melara, a private, export-only company, began development of the turret in 1977 for mounting on the OF-40 platform. Argentina received the last of the 25 Palmaria turrets in 1986. The tower is made of duralumin of an unspecified thickness and weighs 12 tons. The turret drives are hydraulic with manual backup and are operated by a Siemens System 300S programmable logic controller (PLC). The weapon has a monobloc tube with a double-deflector muzzle brake and a smoke extractor. The gun depression is -5º and the elevation is +70º, while it can fire 360º horizontally in a fully rotating turret.
The ammunition capacity consists of 28 shells, 23 of which are in the rear of the turret and 5 in the hull according to Mazarresa, or 30 shells, 23 in the turret and 7 in the hull, and are of a variety of types. NATO standard
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Name: P-3
- Type: High Explosive
- Explosive charge: 11.7 kg
Name: P-3BB
- Type: High Explosive hollow-base
- Explosive charge: Over 11.7 kg
Name: P-3RAP
- Type: High Explosive Rocket Assisted Projectile
- Explosive charge: 8 kg
Four shots can be fired per minute, but the sustained rate of fire is only one per minute. However, Sigal Fogliani does mention an automatic loading system with three modes: one round every 15 seconds for 3 minutes; 1 round per minute for one hour; and 1 round every 3 minutes. He also scores one round every 30 seconds for when the process is done manually.
The 155mm howitzer is aimed using an Aeritalia P170 thermal sight with two settings (x1 and x8 magnification) or an Aeritalia P164 at night. To correctly establish the shooting angle, a single-adjustment Aeritalia P186 (x4) goniometer is used.
Secondary armament consists of a 7.62 mm FN MAG 60-40 machine gun placed in the commander’s cupola on top of the turret. Standard 7.62×51 NATO bullets fired by machine guns have a muzzle velocity of 840 m/s and a firing range of around 1,200 m.
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Engine: MTU MB 833 Ka 500 / Six-Cylinde
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Type: Diesel Engine
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Engine Power: 537 kilowatts (720 hp) at 2,200 - 2,400 RPM
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Gearbox: Renk HSWL 204 planetary
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Gears: 4 Gears fowards/backwards
The maximum road speed is 55 km/h forward and reverse. Off-road or cross-country speed is limited to 40 km/h. The maximum range is limited to 520 km, but can be extended by 350 km with additional 200-litre fuel tanks, although they are rarely used. The fuel capacity inside the tank is 873 liters, more than other vehicles in the TAM family, and fuel consumption is 1.7 liters per kilometer.
Among other performance indicators, the VCA can overcome slopes of 60%, lateral slopes of 30%.
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SOURCES
Bunker Argentino - VCA Palmaria Vehículos de Combate de Artillería VCA Palmaria del Ejercito Argentino - Bunker Argentino
The Online Tank Museum aka Tank Encyclopedia - https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/vehiculo-de-combate-artilleria-vca/