GC-45 Howitzer - Design History

Design History

The GC-45's general design follows several decades of work by Bull with fin-stabilized artillery shells, starting at the Canadian Armament Research and Development Establishment (CARDE) and later at Project HARP. In these efforts accuracy was not a huge concern, the objective was muzzle velocity, and the test articles were finned darts representing missiles. Yet with the removal of the rifling and the soft-metal driving band on the shell itself, the shell could be designed purely for ballistics, as opposed to having the external constraint of the driving band. A system combining some sort of rifling for accuracy without a driving band would result in a much longer-range weapon.

After years of research at his Quebec firing range, Bull eventually settled on a solution. The resulting Extended Range, Full Bore (ERFB) ammunition was key to SRC's designs: a "pointy" looking shell with much lower drag at supersonic speeds. For longer range applications he added a base bleed system that could be screwed onto the standard shell, as well as an even longer-ranged system with a rocket booster.

The gun designed to fire it had a 1,400 cubic inches (23,000 cm3) chamber, a 45-calibre rifled barrel with 1/20 right hand twist fitted with a conventional muzzlebrake. Its breech was a conventional screw with interrupted thread.

Key performance data, from the Firing Table are:

• ERFB-BB shell, weight 105.9 pounds (48.0 kg), M11 Zone 10 muzzle velocity 897 m/s, QE 898 mils, time of flight 112 secs, range 39,600 metres (129,900 ft). Probable error in range 212 metres (696 ft), in line 36 metres (118 ft).
• ERFB shell, weight 100.4 pounds (45.5 kg), M11 Zone 10 muzzle velocity 897 m/s, QE 881 mils, time of flight 99 sec, range 29,900 metres (98,100 ft). Probable error in range 189 metres (620 ft), in line 42 metres (138 ft).
• HE M107 shell, weight 95 pounds (43 kg), M119 Zone 8 muzzle velocity 675 m/s, QE 764 mils, time of flight 65 secs, range 17,800 metres (58,400 ft). Probable error in range 59 metres (194 ft), in line 12 metres (39 ft).

The dispersion of the EFRB shell is more than three times that of the FH-70 field howitzer at its maximum range of only 5 km less, and is twice as great as FH-70's at 20 kilometres (12 mi). Its maximum range with the M107 projectile is the same as any 30 calibre 155-mm gun and its dispersion about the same. (The "dispersion" figure means that 50% of shells will fall up to the stated distance either side of the mean point of impact, but 100% will fall within 4 times the probable error either side.) Dispersion of this magnitude significantly reduces the tactical value of the equipment.

Bull's work put him in touch with (what is today) Denel in South Africa in 1977. Denel designed a new mobile mounting that was able to handle the increased recoil. It used a sole-plate to lift the carriage to take the four wheels off the ground. The chassis had the option of being powered by a small diesel engine acting as an APU, driving hydraulics that could set up the gun in two minutes, and move it short distances. Meanwhile Bull started production of $30 million worth of rounds, shipping them via Spain to avoid the international arms embargo against South Africa.

At first the U.S. chose to overlook Bull's actions, and according to him, the CIA actively mediated the deal between Space Research and the South Africans. However, when the Carter administration joined the international efforts to sanction South Africa's apartheid regime, Bull was arrested by US Customs agents in 1980. The investigation did not go far, and active work on the case was ended by direct intervention of the White House. Bull pled guilty and was sentenced to a year in prison, serving six months. Having expected some sort of "slap on the wrist", he was embittered and made statements to different newspapers that he would never set foot in North America again. He left Canada and moved to Brussels where he continued his work.