BK90 (90 mm)

Description

The BK90 is a German modification of the American 90 mm gun M1/M2/M3 taken from old M47s. It has access to APCR, HEATFS and HESH which is the only new round.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• JPz 4-5
• Ru 251

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
M332 shot	APCR	291	286	264	240	217	197
M431 shell	HEATFS	320	320	320	320	320	320
M71 shell	HE	13	13	13	13	13	13
DM502	HESH	102	102	102	102	102	102

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%
M332 shot	APCR	1,165	5.7	N/A	N/A	N/A	66°	70°	72°
M431 shell	HEATFS	1,216	5.8	0	0.1	712.64	65°	72°	77°
M71 shell	HE	823	10.55	0	0.1	925	79°	80°	81°
DM502	HESH	853	10.6	0.05	0.1	3,050	73°	77°	80°

Comparison with analogues

• M36 (90 mm) - American variant of the cannon, which the BK90 was derived from. Though it does not have the BK90's HESH round, it has a large variety of AP rounds for use.

Usage in battles

The BK90 with HEAT-FS is a formidable opponent on the battlefield that can penetrate every 6.7 tank's frontal armour at any range. It is best used in hit-n-run types of attack due to the vehicles it is mounted on.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Access to HEATFS that can penetrate every tank that it typically has to face

Cons:

• Limited kinetic ammunition variety - the only kinetic ammunition is APCR
• Of the chemical rounds available, only the HEAT-FS round is of noteworthy use

History

The first prototypes of the Kanonenjagdpanzer were built in 1960 by Hanomag and Henschel for West Germany and by MOWAG for Switzerland. Between 1966 and 1967, 770 units were built for the Bundeswehr, 385 by Hanomag and 385 by Henschel. Eighty of them were delivered to Belgium from April 1975 onward.

When the Soviets began deploying their T-64 and T-72 main battle tanks, the 90 mm gun was not capable of engaging them in long-range combat and the Kanonenjagdpanzer became obsolete. Although the producers claimed it could be rearmed with a 105 mm gun, between 1983 and 1985, 163 of these tank destroyers were converted into Raketenjagdpanzer Jaguar 2 anti-tank guided missile carriers by removing the gun, adding a roof-mounted TOW missile launcher and fastening further spaced and perforated armour on the hull. Some others were refitted into artillery observation vehicles by removing the main gun, so called Beobachtungspanzer, which served most particularly in the mortar units.

Some Kanonenjagdpanzer remained in service with the Heimatschutztruppe until 1990.

Media

The BK90 cannon on a Hanomag-Henschel JPz 4-5

Ru 251 with BK90

See also

• M48 Patton

External links

• [Wikipedia] 90 mm gun M1/M2/M3