The 20×138mmB or Long Solothurn cartridge is a type of ammunition used mainly for

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

and

anti-tank Anti-tank warfare refers to the military strategies, tactics, and weapon systems designed to counter and destroy enemy armored vehicles, particularly tanks. It originated during World War I following the first deployment of tanks in 1916, and ...

weapons during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The designation means the caliber is 20 mm, the length of the cartridge case is 138 mm and ''B'' indicates it is a belted case. The loaded cartridge weighs .

History

The 20×138mmB cartridge was developed by the Waffenfabrik Solothurn, a Swiss front company of

Rheinmetall Rheinmetall AG () is a German automotive and arms manufacturer, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was promoted to the DAX, Germany's leading stock market index, in March 2023. It is the largest German and fifth largest Europe ...

in the early 1930s from a less powerful cartridge 20×105mmB cartridge.

Weapon platforms

The 20×138mmB cartridge is used in the following weapons:

Switzerland

* Solothurn anti-tank rifles: S-18/1000 and S-18/1100 * Solothurn ST-5 20mm AA Gun

Germany

* FlaK 30 and FlaK 38 single-barrel, and ''Flakvierling'' quadruple-barrel anti-aircraft guns * KwK 30 and KwK 38 vehicle-mounted weapons * MG C/30L aircraft gun

Italy

Cannone-Mitragliera da 20/65 modello 35 (Breda) The Breda 20/65 mod.35 (''"Breda 20 mm L/65 model 1935"''), also simply known as 20 mm Breda or Breda Model 35, among other variations, was an Italian anti-aircraft gun produced by the Società Italiana Ernesto Breda of Brescia company ...

Cannone-Mitragliera da 20/77 (Scotti) The Scotti 20/77 mod. 38 (Cannone-Mitragliera da 20/77 modello 38) was a 20 mm anti-aircraft gun produced by the Scotti company in Italy, used in World War II, firing a 20x138mmB cartridge. History The Italian army had two standard 20& ...

Finland

Lahti L-39 The Lahti L-39 is a Finnish 20 mm anti-tank rifle used during the Second World War. It had excellent accuracy, penetration and range, but its size made transportation difficult. It was nicknamed "Norsupyssy" ("Elephant Gun"), and as tanks d ...

anti-tank rifle * Lahti L-40 anti-aircraft gun

Poland

* Nkm wz.38 FK anti-tank vehicle-mounted gun

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:20by138mmB Large-caliber cartridges 20 mm artillery Military equipment introduced in the 1930s