M20 Recoilless Gun
Country of Origin | United States |
Type | Recoilless Gun |
Caliber | 75.000 mm |
Length | 2.080 mm |
Weight | 75.070 kg |
Ammunition Weight | 6.53 kg |
Range | 6.360 km |
Muzzle Velocity | 302 m/s |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseThe M20 recoilless rifles were developed per the request of the Small Arms Division of the United States Army Ordnance Department as a response to the development of mobile infantry tactics in WW2. The resulting 75-millimeter weapons were ready for testing in 1944, and production of the now-designated M20 recoilless rifles began in Mar 1945. Compared to conventional weapons of this size, they were much lighter in weight due to the lack of recoil systems; this was achieved with a mechanism that vented propellant gases from the rear of the weapon. They were first used during WW2 by the US Army against both German and Japanese forces, firing HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank) shells, but the first war to see large numbers of them being employed was the Korean War. They were slowly phased out of service between the Korean War and the Vietnam War, but a number of them remain in service with the US National Park Service for avalanche control purposes.Source: Wikipedia. ww2dbase
Last Major Revision: Jul 2010
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