The Royal Ordnance L7, officially designated Gun, 105 mm, Tank, L7, is the basic model of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

's most successful

tank gun A tank gun is the main armament of a tank. Modern tank guns are high-velocity, large-caliber artilleries capable of firing kinetic energy penetrators, high-explosive anti-tank, and cannon-launched guided projectiles. Anti-aircraft guns can also ...

. The L7 is a

105 mm 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

L/52 rifled design by the

Royal Ordnance Factories Royal Ordnance Factories (ROFs) was the collective name of the UK government's munitions factories during and after the Second World War. Until privatisation, in 1987, they were the responsibility of the Ministry of Supply, and later the Ministr ...

intended for use in

armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured car ...

s, replacing the earlier QF 20-pounder (84 mm) tank gun mounted on the

Centurion tank The Centurion was the primary British Army main battle tank of the post-World War II period. Introduced in 1945, it is widely considered to be one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing ...

. The successful L7 gun has been fitted on many armoured vehicles including the British Centurion (starting from the Mk. 5/2 variant), the German

Leopard 1 The Leopard 1 (also styled Leopard I, before the Leopard 2 simply known as Leopard) is a main battle tank designed and produced by Porsche in West Germany that first entered service in 1965. Developed in an era when HEAT warheads were thought ...

and several variants of the US MBTs

M48 Patton The M48 Patton is an American List of main battle tanks by generation#First generation, first-generation main battle tank (MBT) introduced in February 1952, being designated as the 90mm Gun Tank: M48. It was designed as a replacement for the M2 ...

and M60 in an altered design, the M68. The L7 is a popular weapon and continued in use even after it was superseded by the L11 series 120 mm rifled tank gun, for some Centurion tanks operating as Artillery Forward Observation and Armoured Vehicle, Royal Engineers (AVRE) vehicles. The L7, and adaptations of it, can be found as standard or retrofitted equipment on a wide variety of tanks developed during the Cold War.

History

Both the United Kingdom and the United States had been developing projects for large calibered guns during WWII in order to compete with increasingly heavily armored German tanks, and later for

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

Soviet tanks. The US developed several heavy tank designs during this period, notable were the US 105 mm Gun Motor Carriage T95 (also known as "Super Heavy Tank T28") as well as the QF 32-pounder mounted on the British A39

Tortoise heavy assault tank The Tortoise heavy assault tank (A39) was a British heavy assault gun design developed during the Second World War, but never put into mass production. It was developed for the task of clearing heavily fortified areas such as the Siegfried Li ...

. The US foresaw difficulties in engagements against the Soviet IS-3 and 4 with its M47 Patton. This led to the introduction of the M103, a

heavy tank Heavy tank is a term used to define a class of tanks produced from World War I through the end of the Cold War. These tanks generally sacrificed mobility and maneuverability for better armour protection and equal or greater firepower than tanks ...

designed to counter

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

heavy tanks. It mounted an extremely powerful 120 mm cannon but the ammunition was so large that it required two loaders, one for the shell and another for the separate propellant charge. Of the 300 M103s built, most went to the Marines. The UK came to the same conclusions and developed their own heavy tank, the Conqueror, which mounted the L1 120 mm gun.

United Kingdom

During the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

, a Soviet T-54A medium tank was driven onto the grounds of the

British embassy This is a list of diplomatic missions of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, excluding honorary consulates. The UK has one of the largest global networks of diplomatic missions. UK diplomatic missions to capitals of other Com ...

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

by the Hungarians in November. After a brief examination of this tank's armour and 100 mm gun, British officials decided that the 20-pounder was apparently incapable of defeating its frontal armour. This meant the most common British tanks were no longer able to effectively deal with Soviet medium tank designs, let alone their heavy tanks. These events spurred the United Kingdom to employ a new high-velocity tank gun in 1958, the Royal Ordnance L7 to keep existing Centurion tanks viable against this new Soviet tank design. While the United States began design development of the XM60 tank in 1957 and began user trials of the weapon in 1958. The L7 was specifically designed to fit into the turret mountings of the 20 pounder. This would enable the

Centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...

tanks to be up-gunned with minimum modifications; hence, the fleet could be upgraded in a shorter time and at a lower cost. The first production tank to integrate the L7 was a single up-armoured Centurion Mark 7 in 1958 which was to prove the future viability of up-armouring and up-gunning the Centurion. From 1959 onwards newly built Centurions incorporated the L7 at production.

United States

The main gun for the M60 tank series was chosen after a comparative firing test of six different guns carried out on the Aberdeen Proving Ground in 1958. The factors evaluated were accuracy, the lethality of a hit, rate of fire, and penetration performance. Based on these tests, the 105 mm T254E1 was selected, modified to the T254E2 and standardized as the Cannon, 105-MM Gun, M68. The T254E2/M68 used a vertical sliding breechblock instead of the T254E1's horizontal breechblock. Until American-made barrels could be obtained with comparable accuracy, British X15/L52 barrels mounting a concentric bore evacuator on the barrel were to be used. US built XM24/L52 barrels (length 218.5 inches) fitted with an eccentric bore evacuator were used for the M60-series starting in June 1959 but retained interchangeability with the British X15/L52 barrel. All of the US guns and XM24 barrels were produced at the

Watervliet Arsenal The Watervliet Arsenal is an arsenal of the United States Army located in Watervliet, New York, on the west bank of the Hudson River. It is the oldest continuously active arsenal in the United States, and today produces much of the artillery for ...

, NY and the gun mounts (M116 for the M60 and M140 for the M60A1/A3) manufactured at the

Rock Island Arsenal The Rock Island Arsenal comprises , located on Arsenal Island, originally known as Rock Island, on the Mississippi River between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. It lies within the state of Illinois. Rock Island ...

, IL. US M68 guns were fitted with an eccentric bore evacuator instead of a concentric model in order to provide more clearance over the rear deck of the tank.TM 9-2350-253-20-2 Organizational Maintenance Manual--Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60A3 (2350-00-148-6548) and (2350-01-061-2306) TTS Turret. Washington, D.C.: Dept. of the Army, 15 April 1980 The original variant of the M60 tank was equipped with the M68 gun using the M116 mount. Additionally, many M48A3s armed with a 90mm gun that were in NG-CONUS service with the

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States A ...

were retrofitted with the M68 gun and re-designated as the M48A5. This was done to maintain training levels of Guard units as well as using a commonality in ammunition amongst tanks. The M60A1 and A3 variants of the M60 series and earliest pre-production XM1 prototypes of the

M1 Abrams The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare and now one of the heaviest ta ...

tanks are armed with the M68E1 variant of the gun. The M68E1 gun shares the same firing characteristics as the M68. It featured several design improvements including an updated gun hydraulic configuration, a stabilization upgrade for the gun, a gun elevation kill switch for the loader, improved ballistic drive and other component refinements. They were fitted with thermal sleeves on the barrels starting in 1973. During the mid 1970s it was becoming clear that the latest generation of composite based armor was impervious to tungsten carbide penetrators. Work was performed at the

Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-rel ...

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is one of the United States Department of Energy national laboratories, managed by the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science. The main campus of the laboratory is in Richland, Washington. O ...

to engineer development of depleted uranium as a penetrator material for future ammunition while the Armament Research and Development Command (ARRADCOM) was improving the performance of the 105mm M774 cartridge. The improved M833 round starting in 1983, also using a depleted uranium penetrator to keep the M68E1 gun viable against this improved armor. In 1975 an updated version of the gun, the T254E3 was designed, focusing on the use of chrome plating to improve accuracy. It was used to evaluate improvements to the gun's performance using discarding sabot ammunition. Two guns were built and underwent firing trials at Aberdeen and technical evaluations at the Watervliet Arsenal. Based on the results of these tests the shortcomings of plated bores and gun tubes were found to outweigh any advantage they might offer and the program dropped by May 1976. In January 1978, a program was initiated to develop an enhanced version of the 105mm gun, the M68A1 as a possible alternate weapon for the M1 Abrams.CANNON, 105MM GUN: M68A1E2 MIL-C-45504A Rev. D Jan 1987 , Military and Government Specs & Standards (Naval Publications and Form Center) (NPFC) had a higher chamber pressure, reinforced breech allowing the use of high-energy propellants. Although the M256 120mm smoothbore gun was chosen to be the main weapon of the M1 Abrams in 1979, the ammunition for the gun was still not fully developed, thus delaying its fielding until 1984. The early production versions of the M1 Abrams (M1 & IPM1) were armed with the M68A1 for two reasons. First was due to the large number of M60 Patton tanks with the M68E1 gun still in widespread US service in the 1980s and a large on-hand stockpile of 105mm munitions. Fitting the M1 with the M68A1 gun was viewed as an economical and practical solution that allowed for commonality in ammunition among the two types of tanks. Secondly was the fact that the M68A1E2 could employ the newly developed M900A1 APFSDS depleted uranium round that had improved penetration performance in comparison to the M833. These early versions of the M1 Abrams were in active Army service until 1991 and with National Guard units until 1996. M1s built after 1984 were armed with the 120mm M256 and designated the M1A1. Many earlier M1 and IPM1 tanks were refitted with the M256 and their designations changed to the M1A1. The M1128 Stryker Mobile Gun System (MGS) carries the M68A1E4 105mm cannon. The principal function of the MGS is to provide rapid direct fire to support assaulting infantry. The cannon is mounted in a low-profile, fully stabilized turret integrated into the Stryker chassis. The M68A1E4 is based on the M68A1E2 105mm cannon's design. It has a sustained fire rate of six rounds per minute. The gun employs four types of cartridges. The M900A1 kinetic energy penetrator to destroy armored vehicles; the M456A2 high explosive anti-tank round to destroy thin-skinned vehicles and provide anti-personnel fragmentation; the M393A3 high explosive plastic round to destroy bunkers, machine gun and sniper positions, and breach openings in walls for infantry to access; and M1040 canister shot for use against dismounted infantry in the open. The M68A1E4 will be completely withdrawn from US service when the M1128 Mobile Gun System is retired by the end of 2022.

Other users

The gun was subsequently adopted for use on the German

(for which the L7A3 variant was developed). In addition, several countries have used the gun to improve the

firepower Firepower is the military capability to direct force at an enemy. (It is not to be confused with the concept of rate of fire, which describes the cycling of the firing mechanism in a weapon system.) Firepower involves the whole range of potent ...

of existing main battle tanks. Derivatives have even been mounted in Warsaw Pact-built T-54 and T-55 tanks in Israel, India, Egypt and Iraq, and Type 79 tanks in China.

Variants

UK models

* L7A1 :Standard UK production variant. * L7A2 :L7A1 fitted with a thermal sleeve. * L7A3 :Variant for the (West) German

MBT. The upper rear corner of the breech block reduced in size so gun can be depressed without hitting the turret roof. * L7 LRF Royal Thai Army Stingray tanks Cobra Gold 2019 live fire 2

Royal Thai Army Stingray tanks Cobra Gold 2019 live fire 2

:Low Recoil Force (LRF) version of the L7 used by the

Stingray light tank The Stingray, sometimes known as the Commando Stingray, is a light tank produced by Textron Marine & Land Systems division (formerly Cadillac Gage). It was specifically designed to use as many existing components of other American armored figh ...

. * Royal Ordnance 105mm IWS :A development by Royal Ordnance designated Improved Weapon System with an increased chamber pressure and a longer barrel length of L/63.4. * FM K.4 Modelo 1L :

Argentine Army The Argentine Army ( es, Ejército Argentino, EA) is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander- ...

's licence produced by

Fabricaciones Militares Fabricaciones Militares, the full name is Fabricaciones Militares Sociedad del Estado (Spanish for Military Industries State Corporation), is a state-owned Argentine arms manufacturer based in Buenos Aires. The company was a government agency und ...

in Argentina. Used on the TAM medium tank. Also designated as "105 mm FRT L51 Tank Gun".

Chinese models

*Type 79/81/81A/83 :Chinese produced L7. Licence procured from Austria. * ZPL-79 :Chinese licence-built designation for the L7A3 with replaceable indigenous thermal sleeve. Also known as Type 79. It was mounted on the Type 80 tank prototypes. * ZPL-81/A :Modified Type 79. ZPL-81A has improved thermal sleeve. First seen on the Type 59-II tank. * ZPL-83/A :Modified Type 81 with longer barrel and improved construct material. Also known as Type 83. It was fitted on the Type 59D1, Type 63HG, Type 79 tank and Type 88B tank. * ZPL-94 :Modified Type 83 with longer barrel at 62 caliber. Mounted on Type 59D tank and Type 88A tank. Type 88A main battle tank

* ZPL-98 :Modified Type 83A rifled gun with an indigenous low recoil

muzzle brake A muzzle brake or recoil compensator is a device connected to, or a feature integral to the construction of, the muzzle or barrel of a firearm or cannon that is intended to redirect a portion of propellant gases to counter recoil and unwanted ...

and lighter weight. It was mounted on the

Type 63A The Type 63A (; also known as the ZTS63A) is an amphibious light tank upgraded from the Type 63, designed for river-crossing operations at inland rivers and lakes. Its industrial designation is WZ213. The Type 63A is being replaced by the ZTD ...

amphibious tank. Also known as Type 98 rifled gun. *ZPL-98A :Modified Type 98 rifled gun, mounted on ZTD-05 and ZTL-11.

Other developments

*GT-3 :South African variant built by

Denel Denel SOC Ltd is a South African state-owned aerospace and military technology conglomerate established in 1992. It was created when the manufacturing subsidiaries of Armscor were split off in order for Armscor to become the procurement agency ...

for converting Centurion with 20-pounder gun into Olifant tanks. GT-3 retained the breach assemblies of 20-pounder paired with the modified copy of L7 barrel. *GT-7 :South African variant built by Denel for the Olifant Mk1A and Rooikat 105. Incorporates a heavily modified recoil assembly. *Rheinmetall Rh-105 family :Multiple variants of 105 mm tank gun developed from L7 by

Rheinmetall Rheinmetall AG is a German automotive and arms manufacturer, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. Its shares are traded on the Frankfurt stock exchange. History Rheinmetall was founded in 1889. Banker and investor Lorenz Zuckermandel L ...

of Germany for commercial market. The family consisted of Rh 105-60, Rh 105-40, Rh 105-30, Rh 105-20, and Rh 105-11. The last two numbers on the designation denotes the gun recoil force in metric ton. The Rh 105-20 and -11 models were fitted with muzzle brake and intended to be mounted on light tanks and wheeled armored vehicles. The variants has been fitted as modification on various armored vehicles, such as Rh 105-30 on Spanish M47E2, Rh 105-20 on Ikv 91 and

AMX-10 RC The AMX-10 RC is a French armoured fighting vehicle manufactured by GIAT for armoured reconnaissance purposes. Equipping French cavalry units since 1981, over 240 are still in service with the French Army as of 2021. In addition, 108 units were s ...

, and Rh 105-11 on

MOWAG Shark The MOWAG Shark is an armored personnel carrier produced by the MOWAG Motor Car Factory, Kreuzlingen, Switzerland. Development The Shark was developed by the MOWAG Company as a private venture specifically for the export market. It builds upon ...

. *L74 :Swedish model built by

Bofors AB Bofors ( , , ) is a former Swedish arms manufacturer which today is part of the British arms concern BAE Systems. The name has been associated with the iron industry and artillery manufacturing for more than 350 years. History Located in ...

for the

Strv 103 The Stridsvagn 103 (Strv 103), also known as the Alternative S and S-tank, is a Swedish post-World War II main battle tank, designed and manufactured in Sweden. "Strv" is the Swedish military abbreviation of ''stridsvagn'', Swedish for chariot a ...

using more sophisticated recoil assembly and a longer L/62 gun tube for increased muzzle-velocity and accuracy.

Usage

L7 variant

: L7A1 cannon on late Centurion models and derivatives such as Olifant *

Vickers MBT The Vickers MBT is a series of main battle tanks (MBTs) developed as a private venture by British company Vickers-Armstrongs for export. The design makes use of proven components, such as the L7 gun of the Centurion, the Leyland L60 multi-fuel e ...

: Mark 1,

Mark 3 Mark 3 is the third chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It relates a conflict over healing on the Sabbath, the commissioning of the Twelve Apostles, a conflict with scribes and a meeting of Jesus with h ...

, and

Mark 4 Mark 4 is the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It tells the parable of the Sower, with its explanation, and the parable of the Mustard Seed. Both of these parables are paralleled in Matthew ...

models **

Vijayanta The ''Vijayanta'' (en: "Victorious") was a main battle tank built in India based on a licensed design of the Vickers Mk.1. The Vijayanta was the first indigenous tank of the Indian Army. The prototype was completed in 1963 and the tank entered ...

: L7A3 cannon * Leopard 2AV: Some of the prototype fitted with L7A3 *

: in some upgraded variants **M48A2GA2: West German modification **Super M48: German modernization of M48A2 or M48A3 **M48A5E: Spanish modification **M48A5T2: Turkish modification *

: LRF cannon *

M41 Walker Bulldog The M41 Walker Bulldog, officially 76-mm Gun Tank, M41, was an American light tank developed for armed reconnaissance purposes. It was produced by Cadillac between 1951 and 1954 and marketed successfully to the United States Army as a replaceme ...

: LRF cannon on M41 105 variant *

LAV-600 The Cadillac Gage LAV-600, also known as the V-600,Army Weaponry and Equipment, Page 469. Army: The Magazine of Landpower. Volume 36, Issue No 10. October 1986. is an American light armored 6×6 wheeled vehicle, derived from the LAV-300. Developed ...

: LRF cannon *

T-54/55 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks ...

: in some upgraded variants ** Type 59-II: Chinese modification of T-54 ** Type 59 Royal Ordnance: British modernization of Type 59 ** Tiran-4Sh: Israeli modification of T-54, both L7 and M68 variants fitted ** Tiran-5Sh: Israeli modification of T-55, both L7 and M68 variants fitted ** T-55M3: Israeli modernization of T-54/55 ** T-55 "Gulmohar": Indian modernization of T-55 ** M-55S: Slovenian modernization of T-55 * Charioteer: A single prototype up-gunned with L7 cannon * FV4401 Contentious: The only prototype was later up-gunned with L7 cannon *

Panzer 58 The Mittlerer Panzer 1958 or Panzer 58 was a medium tank of Swiss design. Twelve tanks were produced and later converted to Panzer 61s. History and development After World War II, Switzerland was only equipped with outdated fighting vehicles of ...

: Production model *

Panzer 61 The Panzer 61 was a Swiss Cold War era medium tank later reclassified as a second-generation main battle tank. The tank had a weight of 36.5 tons and was powered by a 630 hp diesel engine, which gave it a top road speed of . The primary ar ...

Panzer 68 The Panzer 68 was a Swiss main battle tank developed by the Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette in Thun in the late 1960s, and was the main tank of the Swiss Army until the late 1990s. History The Panzer 68 was based on the Panzer 61, ...

* TAM medium tank * Rooikat 105 * TH-400 and TH-800

ZPL variant

: ZPL-83 in some upgraded kits sold by China * Type 59: in some upgraded variants **Type 59-II: ZPL-79, ZPL-81 **Type 59-IIA: ZPL-81A **Type 59D1: ZPL-83A **Type 59D: ZPL-94 * Type 69: in some upgraded variants ** Type 69-IIG: An upgraded Bangladeshi variant of

Type 69 tank The Type 69 () and Type 79 () are Chinese second generation main battle tanks. Both were developments of the Type 59 medium tank (a locally produced Soviet T-54A) with technologies derived from T-62. They were the first indigenously developed ...

** Type 79: ZPL-83 ** Type 79-II: ZPL-83A * Type 80: ZPL-79 **Type 85-I: ZPL-79 **Type 85-II: ZPL-94 **Type 88: ZPL-83A **Type 88A: ZPL-94 *

Type 62 The Norinco Type 62 () is a Chinese light tank developed in the early 1960s and is based on the Chinese Type 59 with a reduced main gun calibre, lighter armour and a smaller suite of electronics and other equipment to help reduce weight. T ...

G: ZPL-98 modification * Type 63: in some upgraded variants **Type 63HG: ZPL-83A modification **

: ZPL-98 * WMA301: Modified ZPL-94 *

ST-1 ST-1 is a communications satellite owned by Singapore Telecom and Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom Company, Ltd. It was placed launched on 25 August 1998, by an Ariane 4 rocket. The two companies jointly operate the spacecraft from control centres loc ...

: Modified ZPL-94 * ST-2: Modified ZPL-94 * ZTD-05: ZPL-98A * ZTL-11: ZPL-98A * ZTQ-15: Modified ZPL-94

Related designs with compatible ammunition

* MB-3 Tamoyo III *

EE-T1 Osório The Engesa EE-T1 ''Osório'' was a Brazilian main battle tank prototype developed by Engesa. The tank was intended to be sold first to Arab and other Third World countries, jump-starting production — and enabling the Brazilian Army to later pl ...

OF-40 The OF-40 is an Italian main battle tank developed as a joint venture between OTO Melara and Fiat, and intended primarily for export sales. OTO Melara would develop and produce the hulls, and automotive components would be provided by Fiat (th ...

* VT 1-1 *

M47 Patton The M47 Patton was an American main battle tank, a development of the M46 Patton mounting an updated turret, and was in turn further developed as the M48 Patton. It was the second American tank to be named after General George S. Patton, command ...

: in some upgraded variants **M47E2: Spanish modification armed with a Rheinmetall RH-105/30 gun **M47 OTO: Italian modification armed with an

OTO Melara OTO Melara was a subsidiary of the Italian company Finmeccanica, today Leonardo, active in the defence sector, with factories in Brescia and La Spezia. The Mod 56 pack howitzer, in service throughout the world, and the 76mm naval gun, ado ...

105mm/52 gun * Marder Medium Tank: Marder IFV armed with OTO Melara 105mm/52 gun *

B1 Centauro The Centauro is a family of Italian military vehicles originating from a wheeled tank destroyer for light to medium territorial defense and tactical reconnaissance. It was developed by a consortium of manufacturers, the Società Consortile Iveco ...

: Italian wheeled armored vehicle with OTO Melara 105mm/52 gun *

Type 16 Maneuver Combat Vehicle The is a wheeled armored fighting vehicle of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. Overview The ''Type 16'' maneuver combat vehicle (MCV) equips designated combat units. Due to its light weight and small size, it is designed for easy depl ...

: Japanese wheeled armored vehicle with

Japan Steel Works is a steel manufacturer founded in Muroran, Hokkaidō, Japan in 1907. History Japan Steel Works was set up with investment from British firms Vickers, Armstrong Whitworth and Mitsui. During World War II, they manufactured what was then the wor ...

105mm/52 gun

Specification (L7A1)

*Calibre: 105 mm (4.13 in) *Cartridge: 105×617mmR *Barrel length: 52 calibres, *Weight: *Length: *Rate of fire: 10 rounds per

minute The minute is a unit of time usually equal to (the first sexagesimal fraction) of an hour, or 60 seconds. In the UTC time standard, a minute on rare occasions has 61 seconds, a consequence of leap seconds (there is a provision to insert a nega ...

(maximum) *Range:

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * Starry, Donn A., General. "Mounted Combat In Vietnam." Vietnam Studies.

Department of the Army The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the U.S. The Department of the Army is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is org ...

. First printing 1978. * Zaloga, Steven J. and Hugh Johnson (2004). ''T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks 1944–2004''. Oxford: Osprey. {{ModernUSInfWeaponsNav Cold War artillery of the United Kingdom Tank guns of the United Kingdom 105 mm artillery Military equipment introduced in the 1950s