IMI MG251 (120 mm)
Contents
Description
The 120 mm IMI MG251 is an Israeli-produced tank armament intended for their 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.
Vehicles equipped with this weapon
General info
Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the cannon or machine gun.
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 |
| Shell details | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile Mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | |||||||
| M325 | HEATFS | 1,078 | 15.81 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 2,360 | 65° | 72° | 77° |
| M339 | HE-TF | 900 | 17 | 1.5 | 3 | 3,660 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
| M322 | APFSDS | 1,705 | 5.6 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 78° | 80° | 81° |
Comparison with analogues
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Usage in battles
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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
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
- 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) |
