View source for Al-Fao

{{Short description|Iraqi self-propelled artillery}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name               = Al-Fao
| image              = AL Fao 210mm SP.jpg
| image_size         = 300px
| caption            = Al-Fao 210mm Self-Propelled Artillery
| type               = Self-propelled artillery
| origin             = Iraq
| is_ranged          = yes
| is_bladed          = no
| is_explosive       = no
| is_artillery       = yes
| is_vehicle         = yes
| is_missile         = no
| is_UK              = no
| service            = Unused (never fully realized)
| used_by            = Iraqi Army (planned use)
| wars               = None (project never materialized)
| designer           = Gerald Bull
| design_date        = 1988
| manufacturer       = Various (French, German, Spanish companies, Czechoslovak chassis)
| developed_from     = 
| developed_into     = 
| unit_cost          = 
| production_date    = Prototype stage
| number             = 2 prototypes (never mass-produced)
| variants           = Majnoon (similar design)
| spec_label         = General Specifications
| mass               = 44 tonnes
| caliber            = 210 mm
| barrels            = 1
| action             = Autoloader
| rate               = 4 rounds per minute
| range              = 57 km
| feed               = Autoloader
| breech             = 
| recoil             = 
| carriage           = Self-propelled (wheeled vehicle)
| elevation          = 
| traverse           = 
| primary_armament   = 210 mm gun
| engine             = 550 hp
| engine_power       = 550 hp
| drive              = Wheeled
| speed              = 90 km/h (on roads), 60-70 km/h (cross-country)
| ref                = {{harvnb|Altobchi|Cooper|Fontanellaz|2022|pages=46-47}}
}}
'''Al-Fao''' was a project for a [[self-propelled artillery]] system designed for the former [[Iraqi Army]] by the [[Canadians|Canadian]] weapons engineer [[Gerald Bull]]. It would have been one of the world's most powerful artillery pieces, with a 53-caliber, {{convert|210|mm|in|abbr=on}} gun firing 109-kilogram shells over a [[Range of a projectile|range]] of {{convert|57|km|mi|abbr=on}}. The Al-Fao system was to weigh 44 tonnes, and its 550 hp engine was to give it a top speed of {{convert|90|km/h|mph|abbr=on}} on roads, and {{convert|60-70|km/h|mph|abbr=on}} cross-country.<ref>{{harvnb|Altobchi|Cooper|Fontanellaz|2022|pages=46,II}}</ref> The Al-Fao's [[autoloader]] was to provide it with a rate of fire of four rounds a minute.<ref>{{harvnb|Altobchi|Cooper|Fontanellaz|2022|page=47}}</ref>

A self-propelled howitzer using the same 155&nbsp;mm gun as the South African [[G6 howitzer|G6]], similar to the Al-Fao and named '''Majnoon''', was also designed by Gerald Bull on an Iraqi order.<ref>{{harvnb|Altobchi|Cooper|Fontanellaz|2022|page=46}}</ref>

==History==
The design of the Majnoon and Al-Fao started around 1988. That year, South Africa had tried to sell the [[G6 howitzer]] to Iraq, but the Iraqis found it too expensive, and requested that Bull design two equivalents for them.<ref>{{harvnb|Altobchi|Cooper|Fontanellaz|2022|page=II}}</ref> Prototypes of each model had to be ready by May 1989, in time for the Baghdad International Arms Fair. Numerous French, German and Spanish companies were contracted to manufacture parts for the guns, while the design for the chassis was bought in Czechoslovakia and modified to South African specifications. The deadline was met, and the prototypes of both Majnoon and Al-Fao were presented at the Arms Fair, although these were far from complete. However, by early 1990, the Iraqis had imported all the know-how, equipment and machinery necessary to produce them, as well as ammunition. Subsequent events prevented the realisation of the Majnoon and Al-Fao projects.<ref>{{harvnb|Altobchi|Cooper|Fontanellaz|2022|pages=46-47}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of artillery]]

== References ==
===Notes===
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book |last1=Altobchi |first1=Ali |last2=Cooper |first2=Tom |last3=Fontanellaz |first3=Adrien |title=Al-Hussein: Iraqi indigenous conventional arms projects, 1980-2003 |date=2022 |publisher=Helion & Company Publishing |location=Warwick, UK |isbn=978-1-914377-18-1}}

[[Category:210 mm artillery]]
[[Category:155 mm artillery]]
[[Category:Wheeled self-propelled howitzers]]
[[Category:Artillery of Iraq]]
[[Category:Six-wheeled vehicles]]