Ordnance QF Tk. L1A2 (120 mm)

Description

The L1A2, also known as the L1 or L11, is a 120 mm tank cannon mounted on the Conqueror and Conway in the UK tree. The gun was developed by the Royal Ordnance as a precursor to the L11A5 tank cannon most commonly seen on the Chieftain tanks and later, the Challenger 1 tanks. The large calibre of 120 mm was deemed necessary in NATO's desire to counter the U.S.S.R's newly unveiled IS-3 heavy tanks. The gun never saw combat, with the Conway project being scrapped after one prototype and the Conquerors were only put into service in Germany as part of the BAOR (British Army of the Rhine).

The cannon fires a traditional APDS (Armour-Piercing Discarding Sabot) round and, thanks to the gun's rifling, also fires HESH (High Explosive Squash Head). Penetrating up to 487 mm of armour-equivalent, the gun has an absurdly high level of potency. The trade-off for this is the gun's two-stage round system, which significantly increases reload times (approximately 19-20 seconds stock).

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• Conqueror
• Conway

General info

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Available ammunition

The gun has two shells, Shot L1G (Armor-Piercing Discarding Sabot) and L1TK (High Explosive Squash Head).

The sabot will be familiar to anyone who has previously used other variants, especially those other variants in the UK tree. The sabot has the classic trade-off of reduced shell spalling in exchange for superior penetration. This shell is the main multi-purpose shot for this gun.

HESH is the UK's preferred HE delivery method, which gives greatly increased penetration values on extreme angles, in exchange for lower overall penetration. This shell is for use against vehicles that are vulnerable to overpressure, such as BMPs and SPAAs, and tanks with more extreme angles, for example later Russian tanks such as T-54s and T-55s.

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
Shot L1G	APDS	502	496	474	447	422	398
Shell L1TK	HESH	152	152	152	152	152	152

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%
Shot L1G	APDS	1,493	6.37	-	-	-	75°	78°	80°
Shell L1TK	HESH	792	15.87	0.1	4	3.97	73°	77°	80°

Comparison with analogues

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Usage in battles

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Pros and cons

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Pros:

• Utterly absurd level of penetration with APDS
• Very high muzzle velocity
• Excellent spall production for an APDS shot
• Powerful HESH round

Cons:

• Long reload
• Lack of ammunition diversity
• Unimpressive performance against heavily angled armour

History

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Media

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See also

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• reference to the article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;
• references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.

External links

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Britain tank cannons
30 mm	L21A1
40 mm	QF 2-pounder
47 mm	Ordnance QF 3-pounder
57 mm	6pdr OQF Mk.III · 6pdr OQF Mk.V
75 mm	OQF Mk.V
76 mm	OQF 3-inch Howitzer Mk I · OQF 3in 20cwt · QF 17-pounder
77 mm	OQF Mk.II
84 mm	20pdr OQF Mk.I
94 mm	28pdr OQF · 32pdr OQF · OQF Mk.II
95 mm	Howitzer, Tank No.1, Mk.I
105 mm	LRF · Royal Ordnance L7A1
120 mm	Ordnance QF Tk. L1A2 · Ordnance BL Tk. L11 · L11A5 · L30A1
165 mm	ORD BL 6.5in L9A1
183 mm	QF L4A1
	Foreign:
25 mm	M242 (USA)
37 mm	M5 (USA) · M6 (USA)
75 mm	M2 (USA) · M3 (USA)
84 mm	kan Strv 81 (Sweden)
105 mm	Sharir (Israel)
120 mm	Rh120 L/55 A1 (Germany)
125 mm	2A46M-5 (Russia)
155 mm	M185 (USA)
	South Africa
20 mm	GI-2
76 mm	GT-4
90 mm	GT-2
105 mm	GT-3 · GT-7 · GT-8
155 mm	G6 L/45