The Palmaria is an Italian self-propelled howitzer developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s by OTO Melara primarily for foreign operators on the basis of the OF-40 main battle tank.

Vehicle History

Development of the Palmaria began in the late 1970s with OTO Melara starting an independent venture to develop a mobile artillery unit on the basis of the OF-40. This was to capitalize on its design expertise and compete in the international artillery market at a time when many nations sought modern, mobile 155 mm systems compatible with NATO standards. Rather than being designed for large-scale adoption by the Italian Army, Palmaria was conceived as a commercially viable platform tailored to foreign customers seeking long-range fire support without the cost of more complex Western systems.

The vehicle mounted a 155 mm L41 howitzer in a fully rotating turret on a highly mobile chassis derived from the OF-40, providing good mobility and protection for its crew of five. It was capable of firing standard NATO 155 mm ammunition, including high-explosive and base-bleed rounds, with a maximum range of approximately 24–30 kilometers depending on ammunition type. An automated loading system and onboard ammunition storage improved sustained rate of fire compared to many contemporary systems. The first prototype of the Palmaria was built and tested in 1981.

Serial production started in the following year with the principal customer being Libya, placing an order for the system in the 1980s for over 200 units. Other operators include Nigeria, which placed an order for 25 vehicles as well as Argentina who only obtained the turret module, later fitting it to the TAM chassis to create a partially domestic alternative.

Introducing Palmaria!

In today’s devblog, we’ll take a close look at one of the hard punchers arriving to War Thunder with the next major update: the Italian Palmaria SPG! Comparable to other nation’s SPGs at this rank, Palmaria gives Italian players access to a modern artillery system with a standard 155 mm NATO howitzer, slinging HE rounds powerful enough to send even the most heavily protected opponent back to the hangar. Eager to find out more about it? Then let’s take a closer look!

Palmaria represents the Italian engineers’ pragmatic response to a growing demand for modern self-propelled guns on the international defense market. As such, designers adopted the design of the available NATO standard FH-70 howitzer, fitted it to a purpose-built fully rotatable turret and chose the proven OF-40 main battle tank as the chassis to carry the system into combat. As such, Palmaria’s calling card is the massive 155 mm howitzer, capable of striking opponents with lethal accuracy and damage potential thanks to its access to several HE shells. Solid heavy shells ensure that any hit to a less protected area of Palmaria’s opponents will likely result in an immediate incapacitation if not outright doom.

However, as with similar vehicles of this type, Palmaria represents a true glass cannon being unfit to be thrown head first into intense gun duels. Fitted with only thin armor plating, Palmaria cannot withstand blows from much more than machine gun or autocannon fire at longer distances. You can however use Palmaria’s excellent mobility inherited from the venerable OF-40 main battle tank to cover ground quickly on the battlefield and ensure to always be one position ahead of an enemy attack in order to avoid drawing too much attention to yourself!

That’s it for this one! Palmaria will become available for research to all tankers as part of the Italian ground forces tree with the release of the next major update. Until then, be sure to keep a close watch on the news to stay in the loop on what’s coming next to the game. Happy tanking and good hunting!

Please note that this vehicle’s characteristics may be changed before it is added to the game.