MK 103 (30 mm)

Description

The MK 103 (30 mm) was manufactured by German weapon manufacturer Rheinmetall-Borsig. During World War II, this German 30 mm autocannon was mounted in several German combat aircraft and was designed for two purposes, anti-tank and air-to-air combat. The 103 was developed from the older MK 101, however the MK 103 was faster firing, had a faster muzzle velocity and was belt-fed, allowing for potentially larger ammunition loads than drum-fed weapons.

In comparison to the MK 101, while the MK 103 could fire faster, however, it was made from lesser grades of steel and lighter components. The current HE ammunition was too powerful for the new cannon in this state, so a new 30 mm HE round was created which had a reduced propellent load, causing the new round to have a loss of about 100 m/s compared to the standard 30 mm round. Later in the war, the 30 mm cannon was mounted to the Kugelblitz and used as a flak autocannon.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

Vehicles equipped with this weapon
Fighters	Ta 152 C-3
Jet fighters	Ho 229 V3
Strike aircraft
Do 335	Do 335 A-0 · Do 335 A-1 · Do 335 B-2
Fw 190	Fw 190 F-8 (Suspended)
He 219	He 219 A-7
Hs 129	Hs 129 B-2 (Suspended) · Hs 129 B-2 (Romania) (Suspended) · Hs 129 B-2 (Romania) (Suspended)
Me 262	Me 262 A-1a/U1
Me 410	Me 410 B-6/R3

General info

Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the cannon or machine gun.

Available ammunition

• Default: HEI-T · IT · AP-I
• Armored targets: HVAP-T
• Armored targets (Ho 229): HVAP-T · IT · HVAP-T · AP-I
• Air targets: HEI-T · HEI · HEI · IT
• Stealth: AP-I

Penetration statistics
Belt	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Default	58	55	44	33	25	19
Armored targets	77	74	61	47	37	29
Air targets	4	4	4	4	4	4
Stealth	58	55	44	33	25	19

Comparison with analogues

The Ho 229's MK103 has a different anti-tank belt composition and reduced accuracy compared to the anti-tank belts on other planes Note: Gunpods containing MK 103 (30 mm) have reduced accuracy compared to those mounted conventionally

Usage in battles

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Pros and cons

Pros:

• High muzzle velocity and good accuracy
• HVAP-T shells can destroy medium tanks with ease and even heavy tanks with precise aiming
• Minengeschoss shells are devastating against aircraft
• Surprisingly light recoil impulse for its power

Cons:

• Sluggish rate of fire
• Stealth belt consistent solely of API is utterly useless compared to Armored/Air targets
• Limited ammo in most installations
• Limited to 1 or 2 cannons in most aircraft
• Too large and heavy to be fitted as a Motorkanone in smaller aircraft such as Bf 109
• Heavy - adversely affects weight and drag on aircraft

History

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Media

Videos

Top 7 Autocannons discusses the MK 103 (30 mm) at 04:20 - War Thunder Official Channel

See also

• MK103/38 (30 mm)

External links

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• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.