Brief history of the Swiss Army self-propelled howitzers

The Swiss Army had been studying self-propelled guns since the early 1950s, and in the early 1960s 4 AMX 105mm Pz Hb were intensively tested but discarded because the caliber was too small. In further trials the American M-109 achieved the best results, so that in 1968, 1974, 1979 and 1988 a total of 581 M-109 were procured, which were used in 31 Pz Hb divisions. Switzerland thus possessed one of the largest M-109 fleets in the world. In addition, the procurements included the appropriate ammunition, command tanks, fire control vehicles, tracked transport vehicles, armored personnel carriers and a large number of wheeled vehicles. Today, 133 modernized and fully digitized vehicles are still in service.

The M-109 was used in many armies and is still in service in a heavily modified form.