The 20×82mm (sometimes 20×82mm Mauser) is a German

20 mm caliber 20 mm caliber is a specific size of popular autocannon ammunition. The dividing line between smaller-caliber weapons, commonly called "guns", from larger-caliber "cannons" (e.g. machine gun vs. autocannon), is conventionally taken to be the 20 m ...

cartridge developed 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 ...

for the

MG 151/20 The ''Maschinengewehr'' (MG) 151 is a belt-fed autocannon for aircraft use, developed in Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1940 and produced by Waffenfabrik Mauser during World War II. It was originally produced in 15.1 mm caliber from 1940, with a ...

cannon. It continues to see usage today with the South-African

Vektor GA-1 The Denel Vektor GA-1 is an automatic cannon based on the German WWII MG 151/20 automatic cannon. Compared to other rapid-fire 20 mm autocannons, it is lightweight and has low recoil due to its design and the use of the 20×82mm The 20×82mm (s ...

autocannon and

Denel NTW-20 The NTW-20 is a South African anti-materiel rifle, developed by Denel Mechem in the 1990s. It is intended for deployment against targets including parked aircraft, telecommunication masts, power lines, missile sites, radar installations, refine ...

anti-material rifle and some remaining users of the MG 151/20.

Usage

The cartridge was developed in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

during

as a necked-up 20 mm variant of the 15×96mm cartridge in use with the

MG 151/15 The ''Maschinengewehr'' (MG) 151 is a belt-fed autocannon for aircraft use, developed in Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1940 and produced by Waffenfabrik Mauser during World War II. It was originally produced in 15.1 mm caliber from 1940, with a ...

heavy aircraft machinegun. The 15 mm caliber proved to be insufficient for aircraft use and it was thus decided to redevelope the cartridge into 20 mm caliber, by shortening and necking-up the casing, and installing the 20 mm

mine shell A mine shell (from , "mine shot") or high-explosive, high-capacity (HEHC) in British military nomenclature, is a military explosive shell type characterized by thin (usually steel) shell walls which allow a much higher explosive content than stan ...

s of the MG FF/M. By necking up the existing cartridge, the MG 151/15 guns could easily be converted by a barrel switch, creating the

. Beyond the MG 151/20, the 20×82mm was also used in the MG 210 cannon, an attempt by Mauser to improve on the rate of fire of their MG 151 while making it lighter and simpler, as well as the French post-war MG 250 cannon by

Atelier Mécanique de Mulhouse Atelier Mécanique de Mulhouse (AME), formerly known as Centre d'Études et d'Armement de Mulhouse (CEAM), was a French small arms manufacturer which operated from 1946 to 1967. History After World War II, the Mauser firearms factory was captured ...

. The 20×82mm cartridge went on to be produced postwar for countries who continued to use the MG 151/20 gun, especially

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, who continued to use and sell the weapon into the 1960s as helicopter armament. One such venture, was the gunship model of the

Aérospatiale Alouette III The Aérospatiale Alouette III (, ''Lark''; company designations SA 316 and SA 319) is a single-engine, light utility helicopter developed by France, French aircraft company Sud Aviation. During its production life, it proved to be a popular ro ...

, which subsequently lead to its adoption by countries such as

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. South Africa then went on to both produce and further develope the MG 151 as the

, as well as the 20×82mm, later on adopting the cartridge for the

anti-material rifle in the 1990s. South Africa would later introduce a shorter belted variant in "

20×42mm The Neopup PAW-20 (Personal Assault Weapon, 20 mm) is a 20×42mm semi-automatic grenade launcher designed by Tony Neophytou and as of 2015, is produced and marketed by Denel. Overview The PAW-20 is a hand-held, semi-automatic direct f ...

" for the

Neopup PAW-20 The Neopup PAW-20 (Personal Assault Weapon, 20 mm) is a 20×42mm semi-automatic grenade launcher designed by Tony Neophytou and as of 2015, is produced and marketed by Denel. Overview The PAW-20 is a hand-held, semi-automatic direct f ...

grenade launcher.

Cartridges

Guns in 20×82mm

MG 151 cannon The ''Maschinengewehr'' (MG) 151 is a belt-fed autocannon for aircraft use, developed in Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1940 and produced by Waffenfabrik Mauser during World War II. It was originally produced in 15.1 mm caliber from 1940, with a ...

* MG 210 cannon * MG 250 cannon *

(anti-material rifle)

References

Notes

{{reflist Large-caliber cartridges Pistol and rifle cartridges Military cartridges Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1941