1/35 French AUF1 155mm Self-Propelled Howitzer

This is a plastic model kit, which comes unassembled and unpainted. So glue, model paints and other basic modelling tools are additionally required.

Although the French Mk. 3 155mm would remain in production through the 1980s, by the early 1970s the French Army realised there was an urgent need for its replacement. The Mk. 3 155mm lacked an automatic loading system, but more importantly it lacked nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) protection for its crew, and could carry only two of the four crew members needed to operate it (the remaining two having to be transported in support vehicles). Development of the GCT 155mm began in the early 1970s, and the first production version, known as the AUF1, was introduced in 1977. About 400 have been produced, with 70 having been upgraded to the AUF2 variant.
The GCT 155mm AUF1 is based on the AMX-30 main battle tank (MBT) chassis and equipped with a 155mm 39-caliber gun with an auto-loading system, giving a rate of fire of 8 rounds per minute, and a sustained rate of fire of 6 rounds per minute. It is also equipped with a roof-mounted 12.7mm anti-aircraft gun. The AUF1 has an effective range of 23,500 meters firing conventional rounds and 28,000 meters using Rocket Assisted Projectiles (RAPs).
The first production AUF1s were delivered exclusively to the Saudi Arabian Army, while the French Army received their first deliveries in 1980, deploying the GTC 155mm AUF1 in regiments of 18 guns each. In addition, the Iraqi Army received a small number of GTC 155mm AUF1 variants in 1980, which they employed during the Iran?Iraq War.
A battery of 8 AUF1s from the French Army's 40em Regiment d'Artillerie was deployed in support of the Rapid Reaction Force on Mount Igman during the 1995 NATO bombing campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The battery provided rapid counter-battery fire against Serb artillery units during the siege of Sarajevo, the long range of its guns allowing it dominate the surrounding terrain.