20 mm caliber

20 mm caliber

The 20 mm caliber is a specific size of cannon or autocannon ammunition, commonly the smallest caliber which is unambiguously a cannon (or more commonly today, autocannon) and not a heavy machine gun.

There are relatively few weapons which have been built which fire projectiles between .50 caliber (0.50 inch/12.7 mm, roughly 12 mm caliber) and 20 mm caliber, though the 14.5 mm caliber was used by some Soviet machineguns such as the KPV and antitank rifles such as PTRS and PTRD.

A very small number of anti-tank rifles have been produced in 20 mm and up calibers.

20 mm caliber cartridges have an outside shell diameter and inside barrel diameter of 0.8 inch (20 millimeters). Projectiles or shells are typically 75-100 mm (3-4 inches) long. Cartridges are typically 75-125 mm (3-5 inches) long. Many but not all 20 mm shells have an explosive filling and detonating fuze.

As an example, the 20x102 has a 100 gram bullet fired at a muzzle velocity of 1,035 m/s (3395 ft/s). For a simple slug round this is a muzzle energy of 53,600 joules (or 39,500 ft·lbf).

Usage

Like most cannon ammunition, 20 mm caliber weapons are typically used against large targets such as vehicles, buildings, or aircraft. Though effective against individual soldiers, 20 mm ammunition is so large and heavy that its effects are nearly wasted on relatively small targets.

Types of ammunition

* High Explosive
* Armour Piercing
* Armour Piercing Incendiary
* Discarding Sabot Armour Piercing

20 mm weapons

Each weapon is listed with its cartridge type appended.

Current weapons

* RT-20 bolt-action rifle: 20x110
* M61 Vulcan: 20x102
* M197 Gatling gun 20x102
* Oerlikon KAA: 20x128
* Rheinmetall MK 20 Rh202: 20x139
* Denel NTW-20: 20x83.5 and 20x110 [http://www.denellandsystems.co.za/ntw_20_infantry_products.html]

Historical weapons

* Hispano-Suiza HS.404: 20x110
* Hispano-Suiza HS.804: 20x110
* Lahti L-39: 20x138 Solothurn Long
* Mauser MG 213: 20x135
* M39: 20x102
* Oerlikon FF: 20x72RB
* Mauser MG 151/20: 20x82
* Oerlikon F, FFL: 20x100RB
* ShVAK: 20x99R

Cartridge type indicates the diameter of projectile and the length of the cartridge that holds it, for example 20x102 is a 20 mm projectile in a 102 mm long case. Only rarely do two designers use the same case length, so this designation is usually definitive. Some cartridge types have additional letters or information about them listed.

ee also

* caliber
* .50 BMG
* 14.5 x 114 mm
* 25 mm caliber
* 30 mm caliber
* autocannon
* cannon

External links

* [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/20mm.htm FAS: 20 mm Cannon Ammunition]
* [http://www.atk.com/customer_solutions_internationalproducts/cs_ip_ma_m-c.asp ATK produced 20, 25 & 30 mm caliber ammunition]
* [http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/ammotable2.htm Rapid Fire: 20 mm Cartridge Data Table]
* [http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/ATR2.jpgRapid Fire: 20 mm Antitank Rifle Cartridges image]
* [http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/20mm1.jpgRapid Fire: 20 mm Autocannon Cartridges WWII image 1]
* [http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/20mm2.jpgRapid Fire: 20 mm Autocannon Cartridges WWII image 2]
* [http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/20mm3.jpgRapid Fire: 20 mm Autocannon Cartridges Post-WWII image]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Caliber — Cal i*ber, Calibre Cal ibre, n. [F. calibre, perh. fr. L. qualibra of what pound, of what weight; hence, of what size, applied first to a ball or bullet; cf. also Ar. q[=a]lib model, mold. Cf. {Calipers}, {Calivere}.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Gunnery)… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Caliber compasses — Caliber Cal i*ber, Calibre Cal ibre, n. [F. calibre, perh. fr. L. qualibra of what pound, of what weight; hence, of what size, applied first to a ball or bullet; cf. also Ar. q[=a]lib model, mold. Cf. {Calipers}, {Calivere}.] [1913 Webster] 1.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Caliber rule — Caliber Cal i*ber, Calibre Cal ibre, n. [F. calibre, perh. fr. L. qualibra of what pound, of what weight; hence, of what size, applied first to a ball or bullet; cf. also Ar. q[=a]lib model, mold. Cf. {Calipers}, {Calivere}.] [1913 Webster] 1.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Caliber — Beschreibung Fachzeitschrift für Schußwaffen und Waffentechnik Sprache deutsch Verlag VS Medien Erstausgabe …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • caliber — [n1] capacity; character ability, appetency, capability, competence, constitution, dignity, distinction, endowment, essence, faculty, force, gifts, habilitation, merit, nature, parts, power, quality, scope, stature, strength, talent, value,… …   New thesaurus

  • caliber — I (measurement) noun amount, amplitude, area, breadth, broad gauge, broadness, compass, cross dimension, cross measurement, degree, diameter, diameter of a cylindrical body, dimensions, expanse, extent, full size, gauge, girth, grade, magnitude,… …   Law dictionary

  • caliber — 1560s, degree of merit or importance, from M.Fr. calibre (late 15c.), apparently ultimately from Arabic qalib a mold for casting. Arabic also used the word in the sense mold for casting bullets, which is the original literal meaning in English,… …   Etymology dictionary

  • caliber — *quality, stature Analogous words: capability, capacity, *ability: force, *power …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • caliber — [kal′ə bər] n. [Fr & Sp, ult. < Ar qālib, a mold, last, < Aram < Gr kalopodion, shoemaker s last, lit., little wooden foot < kalon, wood + pous (gen. podos), FOOT] 1. the size of a bullet or shell as measured by its diameter 2. the… …   English World dictionary

  • Caliber Comics — Infobox Company name = Caliber Comics type = Comic publisher genre = foundation = 1989 founder = Gary Reed location city = location country = location = Wayne County, Michigan locations = area served = key people = Gary Reed, Jim Pruett industry …   Wikipedia

  • Caliber — The term caliber or calibre designates the interior diameter of a tube or the exterior diameter of a wire or rod. It comes from the French calibre , itself from qālib (قالب), Arabic word for mold , itself from kalamoys , Greek word for wooden… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”