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The IMI 120 mm gun is an L44
smoothbore
A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars.
History
Early firearms had smoothly bored barrels that fired projectiles without signi ...
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 a ...
designed and produced by Israeli Military Industries
, former_name = Israel Military Industries
, type = State-owned enterprise
, industry = Arms industry
, fate = Acquired by Elbit Systems
, successor = Elbit Systems Land
, founded =
, founder =
, defunct =
, hq_location_city = Ramat H ...
(IMI). It is widely confused as a licensed production of the Rheinmetall L44 tank gun, however it was developed by IMI from 1983 to 1988, to meet the requirements of the Israel Defense Forces' Merkava Mark III main battle tank
A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...
, i.e. a narrower mount like in the M60, both tanks designed around a 105 mm gun.
It was first revealed in 1989 when it was shown to be the main armament of the Merkava Mark III. In 1990 the Israel Defense Prize
The Israel Defense Prize (Hebrew: פרס בטחון ישראל), also known as the Israel Defense Award is an award presented annually by the President of Israel to people and organizations who made significant contributions to the defense of the ...
was awarded to Israeli Military Industries for this development, which gave Israel the means to produce tank guns independently.
Design
This tank gun is very similar to the Rheinmetall L44 versions installed on theGerman
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
Leopard 2, American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
M1 Abrams, South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
n K1A1
The K1 is a South Korean main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (later General Dynamics Land Systems) and Hyundai Precision Industry (later Hyundai Rotem) for the Republic of Korea Armed Forces. The vehicle's design was based on Chrys ...
, and Japanese Type 90 main battle tank
A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...
s. However, it has a different recoil
Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, as according to Newton's third law the force r ...
system, consisting of an optimized concentric retarder and pneumatic recuperator
A recuperator is a special purpose counter-flow energy recovery heat exchanger positioned within the supply and exhaust air streams of an air handling system, or in the exhaust gases of an industrial process, in order to recover the waste heat. ...
, and more compact overall dimensions, not exceeding those of the existing 105 mm M68 rifled gun
In firearms, rifling is machining helical grooves into the internal (bore) surface of a gun's barrel for the purpose of exerting torque and thus imparting a spin to a projectile around its longitudinal axis during shooting to stabilize the ...
of the Merkava Marks I, II, and the M60 Patton
The M60 is an American second-generation main battle tank (MBT). It was officially standardized as the Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60 in March 1959. Although developed from the M48 Patton, the M60 tank series was never officially ...
.
Versions
There are three versions of the IMI 120 mm gun: the MG251, fitted with athermal sleeve
A thermal sleeve, or blanket, is a device around the length of a gun barrel of a large caliber gun, typically found on modern tanks. Its primary purpose is to provide a more consistent temperature to the gun barrel preventing distortions due to th ...
developed by Vishay Intertechnology
Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. is an American manufacturer of discrete semiconductors and passive electronic components founded by Polish-born businessman Felix Zandman. Vishay has manufacturing plants in Israel, Asia, Europe, and the Americas whe ...
and provided with a fume extractor which can be removed for maintenance without disturbing the actual sleeve, its improved version MG251-LR and the MG253, with a thermal sleeve developed by VIDCO Industries and a new compressed gas recoil
Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, as according to Newton's third law the force r ...
system.
They fire a family of ammunition developed by IMI, can fire French, German or US 120 mm NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
ammunition if required, and also fire the LAHAT
The LAHAT (''Laser Homing Attack'' or ''Laser Homing Anti-Tank'', also a Hebrew word for incandescence) is a third generation semi-active laser homing guided low-weight anti-tank guided missile developed since 1991 and manufactured by Israel A ...
anti-tank guided missile
An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...
.
Operators
Current operators
* MG251: ** Merkava Mark III * MG251-LR: ** Merkava Mark IV * MG253: ** M60T SabraSee also
Weapons of comparable role, performance and era * L11A5 120 mm rifled gun: British rifled equivalent, developed by Royal Armament Research and Development Established (RARDE) in 1957. *2A46 125 mm gun
The 2A46 (also called D-81TM) is a 125 mm/L48 smoothbore cannon of Soviet origin used in several main battle tanks. It was designed by OKB-9 (Artillery Plant No. 9) in Yekaterinburg.
Description
It was developed by the Spetstekhnika Desig ...
: Russian 125-mm equivalent, developed by Spetstekhnika Design Bureau in 1960s.
* Rheinmetall 120 mm gun
The Rheinmetall Rh-120 is a 120 mm smoothbore tank gun designed and produced in former West Germany by the Rheinmetal-DeTec AG company, it was developed in response to Soviet advances in armour technology and development of new armoured thre ...
: German equivalent, developed by Rheinmetall in 1974.
* CN120-25 120 mm gun: French equivalent, developed by Établissement d'Études et de Fabrication d'Armements de Bourges (EFAB) in 1979.
* EXP-28M1 120 mm rifled tank gun: Experimental British weapon of the late 1970s/early 1980s. Was to have equipped the MBT-80.
* CN120-26 120 mm gun: French equivalent, developed by EFAB in 1980s.
* OTO Breda 120 mm gun: Italian equivalent, developed by OTO Melara in 1988.
* L30A1 120 mm rifled gun: British rifled equivalent, developed by ROF Nottingham
Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) Nottingham opened in 1936 in The Meadows, Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was one of a number of Royal Ordnance Factories created in the build up to World War II. During the war the site employed up to four thousand ...
in 1989.
* JSW 120 mm gun: Japanese equivalent, developed by 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 wo ...
in 2008.
* CN08 120 mm gun
The CN08 is a 120 mm 55-caliber smoothbore gun produced by Hyundai WIA. It is incorrectly known as the licensed production of the Rheinmetall Rh-120 L/55, but it was indigenously developed by the Agency for Defense Development and WIA (now ...
: South Korean equivalent, developed by Agency for Defense Development
The Agency for Defense Development (ADD) is the South Korean national agency for research and development in defense technology, funded by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). It was established in August 1970 under the banner ...
(ADD) and WIA in 2008.
* 2A82-1M 125 mm gun: New Russian 125-mm equivalent, developed by Uralvagonzavod
UralVagonZavod (russian: ОАО «Научно-производственная корпорация «УралВагонЗавод», , Open Joint Stock Company "Research and Production Corporation Uralvagonzavod") is a Russian machine-buildin ...
in 2014.
* MKE 120 mm tank gun
The MKE 120 mm tank gun is a Turkish 120 mm 55 caliber smoothbore gun based on CN08 120 mm gun produced by the Turkish company Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation, used on the Turkish Altay tank. The gun has a length of . The gun can f ...
: Turkish equivalent, developed by Otokar
Otokar Otomotiv ve Savunma Sanayi A.Ş., also known simply as Otokar, is a Turkish bus and military vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Sakarya, Turkey. Otokar is a subsidiary of Koç Holding.
History
Otokar was founded in 1963 as Turkey's ...
and Hyundai WIA in 2016.
References
{{reflist 120 mm artillery Tank guns of Israel Tank guns