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RHINOCEROS FORUM FULL
The G6-45 can fire all standard NATO 155mm ammunition as well as the M1 series Extended Range Full Bore (ERFB) and Extended Range Full Bore-Base Bleed (ERF-BB) ammunition. All ammunition used by the G6-45 was developed in South Africa and supplied by Rheinmetall Denel Munitions. The 19 rounds carried inside the turret are for emergency use only, while the 8 rounds stored in the nose of the vehicle and the 12 rounds stored in the outside fighting compartment of the turret in special blast out magazines (for the charges) are used first when in a stationary firing position. The G6-45 carries a total of 39 rounds (155 mm), 50 charges, 60 primers and 39 fuses (plus 18 backup fuses) are carried (as standard) in racks located at the interior rear of the chassis.
The elevation is maxed at +75 and -5 degrees with a traverse of maximum 40 degrees either left or right horizontally from the center. The G6-45`s 155mm gun uses a single-baffle muzzle brake and an upgraded hydro-pneumatic recoil system and rammer which grants it three rounds a minute rate of fire. The G6-52 also features a 23-litre blast chamber. Much of the early long distance shooting success of the G6-45 was due to its blast chamber having a volume of 23 litres, as compared to the international 21 litres. The G6-45`s primary armament is a 155mm-L/45 main gun while the G6-52 uses a longer 155mm-L/52 main gun. It came as a nasty surprise to FAPLA, as it dominated the battle space by outshooting, outranging and outmaneuvering enemy artillery. Conversely the same is true for the G6-45. It is thought that it could defeat any composite armoured MBT of the time. The G5 was designed with a secondary self-defensive direct anti-tank role in mind. In skilled hands, during the South African Border War, the G6-45 proved itself more than capable of inflicting heavy losses and dictating enemy strategy. The G6-45 is characterized by its six massive 21.00 x 25 MPT wheels, fast setup time, bush breaking ability and versatility as a howitzer platform. The Rhino G6 is a three-axle, six-wheeled self-propelled howitzer vehicle which forms the backbone of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) artillery arm who can field 43 vehicles. The G6-45 sports a low-silhouetted hull fitted to a 6×6 wheeled romp designed and optimized for the distances and terrain it would operate in, which can be described as some of the most hostile in the world. The G6 was planned at the height of the Cold War by South Africa to replace its aging WW2 artillery pieces to counter Eastern Bloc supplied artillery used by Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and People`s Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA). As with many indigenous South African military vehicles, the G6 Rhino was designed and produced when South Africa was under strict international embargo because of its segregation policies, known as the “apartheid". Unlike its animal namesake, the G6 Rhino is agile for its bulk. Armed with a long protruding horn on its snout, a rhino can devastate any attacker. The G6 Rhino is named after the indigenous African Rhinoceros, an animal which is massive in size and extremely powerful stationary and even more so when charging a threat.