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The 20 mm AA Machine Cannon M/38 was a 20 mm rapid fire
autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bull ...
produced by the Danish company Dansk Industri Syndikat (DISA). The gun, which could be adapted to several tactical uses, was a primary weapon of the
military of Denmark Danish Defence ( da, Forsvaret, fo, Danska verjan, kl, Illersuisut) is the unified armed forces of the Kingdom of Denmark charged with the defence of Denmark and its constituent, self-governing nations Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Defe ...
. It was also exported to numerous countries around the world because of its versatility. The cannon was built at the DISA works in
Herlev Herlev is a suburb about 9 km northwest of Copenhagen city centre. It is the site of the municipal council of Herlev Municipality, Denmark. Sports Herlev is the hometown of former Vancouver Canuck Jannik Hansen. Herlev is known for its ...
near
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
. The company supplied several different types of
mount Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...
ings with the weapon which allowed it to be employed in a variety roles such as aerial defences,
anti-tank warfare Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first devel ...
or on naval ships.


Design

The 20 mm Madsen Cannon was originally built by Colonel V. H. O. Madsen of the
Royal Danish Army The Royal Danish Army ( da, Hæren, fo, Herurin, kl, Sakkutuut) is the land-based branch of the Danish Defence, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures ...
. A version with a necked-out 23 mm round was also produced for the cannon known as the 23 mm Madsen.


Combat

Several 20 mm machine cannons of the
Danish Army The Royal Danish Army ( da, Hæren, fo, Herurin, kl, Sakkutuut) is the land-based branch of the Danish Defence, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures ...
were responsible for knocking out eleven armoured cars and two Panzer I's during the
German invasion German invasion may refer to: Pre-1900s * German invasion of Hungary (1063) World War I * German invasion of Belgium (1914) * German invasion of Luxembourg (1914) World War II * Invasion of Poland * German invasion of Belgium (1940) * G ...
on April 9, 1940. A special variant, the Madsen F5 was designed as an
anti-tank gun An anti-tank gun is a form of artillery designed to destroy tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, normally from a static defensive position. The development of specialized anti-tank munitions and anti-tank guns was prompted by the appearance ...
. It proved very effective against the Japanese tanks until the end of the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
. It was a fully automatic weapon, with two small wheels and a 15-round magazine. At 100 m, it was able to pierce 42 mm of armor, and 32 mm at 500 m. This model was reversed engineered by the Chinese 21st arsenal of
Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
but only five were produced in 1944.


Mounts


Types

The four standard mountings produced by DISA, although they also used a number of locally designed mounts, were: * Light Field Mount - Primary
anti tank Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first deve ...
mount, could be folded up and stowed on a motorcycle sidecar * Universal Mount - Dual purpose mount, fitted with wheels it could be towed by its crew. * Mobile Anti-Aircraft Mount - Dedicated AA mount. * Tri-axial Mount - Light weight mount intended for fortifications and naval use.


Self-propelled

*
Landsverk L-60 The Landsverk L-60 was a Swedish tank developed in 1934. It was developed by AB Landsverk as a light tank which included several advanced design features such as torsion bar suspension, periscopes rather than view slits and all-welded constructi ...
- Light tanks made in Sweden by
AB Landsverk Landsverk (AB Landsverk) was a Swedish heavy industry company, manufacturing military equipment such as tanks, tank destroyers, SPAAGs, armored cars, tracked and wheeled off-road vehicles among others and civilian equipment such as railroad cars ...
and employed by: ** - 2 * Landsverk Lynx - Armored cars made in Sweden by
AB Landsverk Landsverk (AB Landsverk) was a Swedish heavy industry company, manufacturing military equipment such as tanks, tank destroyers, SPAAGs, armored cars, tracked and wheeled off-road vehicles among others and civilian equipment such as railroad cars ...
and employed by: ** - 3 * Landsverk L-180 - Armored Cars made in Sweden by
AB Landsverk Landsverk (AB Landsverk) was a Swedish heavy industry company, manufacturing military equipment such as tanks, tank destroyers, SPAAGs, armored cars, tracked and wheeled off-road vehicles among others and civilian equipment such as railroad cars ...
and employed by: ** - 2 (Madsen 20mm M 1933) ** - 8


Users

* * * * * * * * * * * * (evaluation only) * * * * * * * * (evaluation only) * * * *


References


External links


Kurze Beschreibung der Munition Fur Die 20mm Madsen Kanone Gegen Luftziele und Tanks (The title, in English, is "Short Description of the Ammunition for the 20mm Madsen Cannon Against Airborne Targets and Tanks.")
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madsen 20 Mm Anti-Aircraft Cannon Weapons of Denmark World War II anti-aircraft guns 20 mm artillery Military equipment introduced in the 1930s