Abbot (artillery)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Abbot" artillery – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

FV433 105mm Field Artillery, Self-Propelled Abbot
An Abbot at the War and Peace Show, 2010
Type	Self-propelled artillery
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1965–2016[1]
Used by	British Army Indian Army
Production history
Manufacturer	Vickers
No. built	234
Specifications
Mass	16.56 t (16.30 long tons; 18.25 short tons) (loaded without crew)
Length	(gun forward) 5.8 m (20 ft)
Width	2.6 m (8 ft 6 in)
Height	2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)
Crew	Detachment of 6: No. 1: Commander No. 2: Ammunition loader & radio operator No. 3: Gun layer No. 4: Driver & ammunition handler No. 5: Ammunition handler No. 6: Second in command, and responsible for ammunition preparation. No. 1–4 were turret crew and No. 5–6 travelled in the accompanying ammunition vehicle.
Armour	10 and 12 mm (0.39 and 0.47 in) plate
Main armament	105 mm L13A1 gun, 40 rounds (including 6 rounds HESH) carried
Secondary armament	7.62 mm L4A4 machine gun with 1,200 rounds smoke dischargers
Engine	Rolls-Royce K60 Mk 4G multi-fuel opposed piston engine 240 bhp (180 kW) @ 3750 rpm
Power/weight	14.5bhp/tonne (10.8 kW/tonne)
Suspension	torsion bar: 5 units per side
Operational range	480 km (300 mi)
Maximum speed	47 km/h (29 mph)

FV433, 105mm, Field Artillery, Self-Propelled "Abbot" is the self-propelled artillery, or more specifically self-propelled gun (SPG), variant of the British Army FV430 series of armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs), using much of the chassis of the FV430 but with a fully rotating turret at the rear housing the 105 mm gun and given the vehicle designation of FV433.

Designed as a Sexton replacement, its correct designation was "Gun Equipment 105mm L109 (Abbot)". "L109" was little used, probably to avoid confusion with the 155 mm M109 howitzer that entered UK service at about the same time. The name "Abbot" continued the Second World War style of naming self-propelled artillery after ecclesiastical titles. The FV433 used a different configuration of power pack from other vehicles in the FV430 series.