M256 (120 mm)

Description

Write an introduction to the article in 2-3 small paragraphs. Briefly tell us about the history of the development and combat using the weaponry and also about its features. Compile a list of air, ground, or naval vehicles that feature this weapon system in the game.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• M60 AMBT
• M1A1
• M1A2 Abrams

General info

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

Available ammunition

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Comparison with analogues

Give a comparative description of cannons/machine guns that have firepower equal to this weapon.

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

Summarise and briefly evaluate the weaponry in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark pros and cons as a list.

Pros:

• M829 and M829A1 (on the M1A2) are amongst the most powerful shells in the game, with M829A1 having the third highest penetration after the German DM53 and the Italian CL3143
• The M256 on the M1A2 has access to the high velocity, proximity fuzed M830A1 HEAT-MP (High Explosive Anti-Tank - Multi-Purpose) shell, enabling the M1A2 to engage helicopters and low flying aircraft with devastating (and often hilarious) results. A direct hit isn't needed either due to the large amount of explosive filler and wide blast radius
• Reload is comparable to other NATO MBT's - 7.8 seconds stock and 6 seconds with an aced crew
• Relatively wide selection of shells - 2 APFSDS shells (M829 and M829A1), 1 HEAT-FS shell (M830) and 1 HEAT-FS shell doubling as a HEAT-MP shell (M830A1)
• M830A1 is the fastest HEAT based shell in the game with a muzzle velocity of 1400 m/s
• Extremely high muzzle velocity on M829 and M829A1 makes longe range sniping a satisfying experience
• Great gun handling characteristics - the gun elevates towards +20 and depresses towards -10 very quickly
• Very effective stabiliser - does not stop working at high speed

Cons:

• Poor stock grind - enemy tanks are very capable of withstanding M830 HEAT-FS
• M830A1 is not effective against enemy MBT's - it only has 350mm of penetration
• The M256 on the M1A1 Abrams does not get access to the M829A1 APFSDS shell and the M830A1 HEAT-MP shell
• M830A1 needs to travel a certain distance to arm the fuze - unable to engage helicopters at close range, except for a direct hit
• The reload isn't very impressive compared to contemporary tanks like the Leopard 2A5/6, the Strv 122, the Ariete and the Leclerc. The Type 90 and Challenger 2 beats it by a full second
• M830A1 self-destructs at 4.5 kilometres - helicopters can engage the M1A2 way beyond that range

History

Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />.

Media

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

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• 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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• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the weapon;
• other literature.