IMI MG251 (120 mm)

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The 120 mm IMI MG251 on the Merkava Mk.3C gun mantlet.

Description

The 120 mm IMI MG251 is an Israeli tank cannon used on their domestic tank designs like the Merkava. Similar to the NATO 120 mm tank cannons, the IMI MG251 can deliver similar lethal firepower with its APFSDS and HEAT-FS round options.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

General info

The MG251 is an armament intended for the Merkava tanks. Although sharing the same calibre and able to fire the same ammunition, the weapon is not a license-production variant of the 120 mm Rheinmetall L/44 cannon and is independently designed and produced in Israel.

Available ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition Type of
warhead
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
10 m 100 m 500 m 1,000 m 1,500 m 2,000 m
M325 HEATFS 480 480 480 480 480 480
M339 HE-TF 65 65 60 58 53 50
M322 APFSDS 589 586 577 565 553 541
M338 APFSDS 611 608 597 585 573 560
Shell details
Ammunition Type of
warhead
Velocity
(m/s)
Projectile
mass (kg)
Fuse delay
(m)
Fuse sensitivity
(mm)
Explosive mass
(TNT equivalent) (kg)
Ricochet
0% 50% 100%
M325 HEATFS 1,078 15.81 0.05 0.1 2.36 65° 72° 77°
M339 HE-TF 900 17 1.5 3 3.66 79° 80° 81°
M322 APFSDS 1,705 5.6 - - - 78° 80° 81°
M338 APFSDS 1,680 5.06 - - - 78° 80° 81°

Comparison with analogues

The MG251 is similar in almost every aspect to the following cannons, except for the ammunition:

  • M256 (120 mm) - Equipped with the M829A2 APFSDS shell, it can pierce up to 629 mm RHA
  • Rh120 L/44 (120 mm) - Equipped with the DM53 APFSDS shell, it can pierce up to 623 mm RHA

Usage in battles

Describe the cannon/machine gun in the game - its distinctive features, tactics of usage against notable opponents. Please don't write a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • High-penetration APFSDS round

Cons:

  • M325 HEAT shell strength is mediocre at the fighting rank and is only useful against light-skinned ground and airborne targets
  • Reload time is akin to that of L/55 cannon, being much slower than 120 mm L/44 and 125 mm cannons

History

An Israeli Merkava Mk.3D from the 188th Armored Brigade fires off a shot from its 120 mm.

The 120 mm tank armament was developed by Israel Military Industries' (IMI) Slavin Land Systems Division.[1] It made its public reveal in 1989 as the main armament of the Merkava Mk.3.[2]

There are three known variants of the IMI's 120 mm cannon:[3]

  • MG251 - The first version mounted in Merkava Mk.3s
  • MG251-LR - An improved version that is mounted on Merkava Mk.4s
  • MG253 - A version with reduced recoil length, 40% less than the normal.[1] Used in the M60T "Sabra" in Turkish service.

The 120 mm guns are compliant with STANAG 4385, which means the cannons are compatible with other 120 mm NATO tank shells.[3]

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

External links

References

Citations
  1. 1.0 1.1 IMI Systems "L44 (MG251/3)"
  2. Janes "Israel Military Industries 120 mm"
  3. 3.0 3.1 Elbit Systems "Portfolio"
Bibliography
  • Elbit Systems. "Elbit Systems Land Tank Ammunition Portfolio." Elbit Systems, PDF document. (Archive)
  • IMI Systems. "L44 (MG251/3) - 120mm Smoothbore Tank Guns." IMI Systems, Web Archive (Retrieved from 31 Dec 2016).
  • Janes. "Israel Military Industries 120 mm smoothbore tank gun MG251 (Israel), Weapons of 20 mm and upward." Jane's Armour and Artillery Upgrades, 17 May 2010, Web Archive (Retrieved from 01 Nov 2010)


USA tank cannons
20 mm  M139
25 mm  LW25 · M242
37 mm  M3 · M5 · M6
57 mm  M1
75 mm  M2 · M2 Howitzer · M3 · M6 · M1897A4 · XM274
76 mm  M1 · M7 · M32 · T185E1
90 mm  M3 · M3A1 · M36 · M41 · M54 · T15E1 · T15E2 · T54 · T208E9
105 mm  M4 · M68 · M68A1 · M68A1E8 · T5E1 · T5E2 · T140E2 · T140E3 · XM35
106 mm  M40A1C
120 mm  M58 · M256 · T53
152 mm  M81 · M162 · XM150E5
155 mm  M185 · T7
165 mm  M135
  Foreign:
20 mm  Rh202 (Germany)
57 mm  6pdr OQF Mk.III (Britain) · ZIS-2 (USSR)
105 mm  Sharir (Israel)
120 mm  IMI MG251 (Israel)

Israel tank cannons
30 mm  Bushmaster 2 Mk.44 (USA)
75 mm  SA50 L/57 (France)
84 mm  20pdr OQF Mk.I (UK)
90 mm  DEFA F1 (France) · M41 (USA)
100 mm  D-10T (USSR)
105 mm  M-51 (France) · M68 (USA) · Sharir
120 mm  IMI MG251
155 mm  M126 (USA) · M185 (USA) · Soltam M839