M40 recoilless rifle

M40 Recoilless Rifle
Greek infantry with an M40
Type	Recoilless rifle
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	Mid 1950s–present
Used by	See Users
Wars	Vietnam War Cambodian Civil War Portuguese Colonial War Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 Rhodesian Bush War Falklands War[citation needed] Libyan civil war Syrian civil war
Production history
Manufacturer	Watervliet Arsenal
Specifications
Mass	209.5 kg (462 lb)
Length	3.404 m (11 ft 2 in)
Height	1.12 m (3 ft 8 in)
Shell	106×607mmR (HEAT, HEP, HEAP, Canister)
Caliber	105 mm (4.1 in)
Recoil	Recoilless
Carriage	Tripod
Elevation	-17° to +65° (between mount legs) -17° to +27° (over mount leg)
Traverse	360°
Muzzle velocity	503 m/s (1,650 ft/s) (M344 HEAT)
Effective firing range	1,350 m (1,480 yd)
Maximum firing range	6,870 m (M346A1 HEP-T)

The M40 recoilless rifle is a lightweight, portable, crew-served 105 mm weapon intended primarily as an anti-tank weapon made in the United States. The weapon is commonly described as being 106 mm, but it is in fact 105 mm; the 106 mm designation was designed to prevent confusion with the incompatible 105 mm ammunition from the failed M27. It could also be employed in an antipersonnel role with the use of the antipersonnel-tracer flechette round. It can be fired primarily from a wheeled ground mount. The air-cooled, breech-loaded, single-shot rifle fired fixed ammunition. It was designed for direct firing only, and sighting equipment for this purpose was furnished with each weapon.

The M27 recoilless rifle was a 105-mm weapon developed in the early 1950s and fielded in the Korean War. Although a recoilless rifle of this caliber had been a concept since the Second World War, the weapon was hurriedly produced with the onset of the Korean War. The speed with which it was developed and fielded resulted in problems with reliability caused by trunnions that were mounted too far to the rear. The M27 was also considered too heavy by the U.S. Army and had a disappointing effective range due to the lack of a spotting rifle. Taking the M27 as a the basis for a new design, the Army developed an improved version of the M27 that was in 1955 type-designated the M40 106-mm recoilless rifle. Originally along with its type-designation it was also given the official name BAT for Battalion Anti-Tank gun, but that was soon dropped. Although unsuitable for military purposes, M27 recoilless rifles were used to trigger controlled avalanches at ski resorts and mountain passes in the United States.

The M40 primarily saw action during the Vietnam War and was later replaced by the BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missile system. The weapon was also used by anti-communist forces in Angola mounted on Land Rovers.

Description

The M40 is shaped like a long tube with an M8 0.50 cal spotting rifle above. The spotting rifle fires a round whose trajectory closely matches that of the 106 mm round and gives off a puff of smoke on impact with the target. On the left hand side, there is an elevating wheel, in the centre of which is the trigger wheel used to fine adjust the elevation and at the same time firing the spotting rifle when pulled, and the gun when pushed. The mounting is a tripod, but the front leg has a castoring wheel. On top of the mount is a traverse wheel. On the centre of the traverse wheel is a locking wheel, when the wheel is down, the rifle is locked in traverse, and can only be moved right and left with the traverse wheel. When the wheel is raised, the rifle can be traversed by hand. Austria produced a two-wheeled mount for the M40.

The whole mounting can be placed on an M151 Jeep for mobile use. It has also been mounted on Willys Jeep M 38A1 Land Rover Defenders, M113s, Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen, HMMWVs, Toyota Land Cruisers, AIL Storms and M274 Mechanical Mules. They were also used on US Navy minesweepers (MSO) during Operation Market Time in Vietnam.

A special vehicle called Ontos carried six M40s. A version specific to the T195E5 mount, the M40A1C, was used. It was used only by the U.S. Marine Corps. Japan produced a self-propelled gun called the Type 60 which carried two side by side. Some Pakistani M113s have a dual mounting.

The M40 was a very successful export item and continues to be used by South Korea (ROK), Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Greece, Honduras, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, the Philippines, Taiwan (Republic of China Marine Corps), Turkey, Colombia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Venezuela and many others, as well as anti-government forces in the Libyan civil war and Syrian civil war.

{1958 - 1990 the antitank companies of the Swiss Army Infantry Regiments were equipped with 12 M40 guns.}

It is manufactured in Iran by Defense Industries Organization as the ANTI-TANK GUN 106.

Ammunition

Ammunition for the 105 mm rifle was issued as one-piece fixed cartridges. The term "fixed" means that the projectile and the cartridge case are crimped together. This ensures correct alignment of the projectile and the cartridge case. It also permits faster loading because the projectile and the cartridge case are loaded as one unit. The rear end of the cartridge case is perforated, to allow the propellant gas to escape through the vented breech, thus neutralizing recoil. The projectiles used are pre-engraved, that is, the rotating bands are cut to engage the rifled bore.

Types of ammunition included HEAT, High Explosive Plastic-Tracer (HEP-T), canister, High Explosive Anti Personnel, and the M368 dummy round which could not be fired and was used for crew drill. The original U.S. HEAT round penetrated more than 400 mm of armor. Near the end of the M40's service life, both Austria and Sweden produced HEAT rounds for the weapon capable of penetrating more than 700 mm of armor.

Producer	Round name	Type	Proj Weight	Proj Filler	Filler weight	Armour penetration	Effective range
	M581	APERS	9.89 kg	flechettes	4.94 kg	N/A	300 m
	M-DN11	HEAP	3.6 kg	Hexogen	0.77 kg	N/A	1500 m
	NR 160	HEAT-T	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
	NR 483	APERS	N/A	flechettes	N/A	N/A	N/A
	NR 601	HESH-T	7.8 kg	Comp. A3	N/A	N/A	N/A
	PFF	HE	9.89 kg	Comp. B	N/A	N/A	N/A
	M346A1	HEP-T	7.96 kg	Comp. A3	3.5 kg	N/A	N/A
	M344A1	HEAT	7.96 kg	Comp. B	1.27 kg	over 400 mm	1350 m
	106 3A	HEAT-T	5.5 kg	Octol	1.0 kg	over 700 mm	2000 m
	RAT 700	HEAT	5.0 kg	N/A	1.1 kg	over 700 mm	N/A

The ammunition for the 0.50 cal spotting rifle is not .50 BMG. The round used is a special round designed to simulate the flight path of the 105 mm ammunition.

Users

• Australia
• Bangladesh
• Brazil
• Cambodia
• Canada
• Chile
• Colombia
• Cyprus
• Djibouti
• Egypt
• Ecuador
• El Salvador
• Estonia
• Greece
• Honduras
• India
• Iran
• Israel
• Italy
• Japan
• Jordan
• Lebanon
• Libya
• Luxembourg
• Malaysia
• Mexico
• Morocco
• Myanmar Used for bunker busting and anti-personnel/infantry support role in counter-insurgency campaigns.
• New Zealand
• Nicaragua
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Portugal
• Rhodesia
• South Africa: South African National Defence Force.
• South Korea
• Switzerland
• Syria: Videos show Syrian rebels (Free Syrian Army) operating and firing M40 Recoilless Rifles.
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• Tunisia
• Turkey
• Uruguay
• United States
• Venezuela
• Vietnam
• Dominican Republic

Gallery

Greek Mercedes 240G M40 carrier. Note the metal guard to protect the engine from the gun blast.

Firing the gun from a Mercedes 240G

An ex-Australian Army M40 recoilless rifle mounted on a Land Rover on display in the grounds of the Australian War Memorial

A little uncommon use of the M40 on a Greek fast patrol boat, around 1982

The same Greek fast patrol boat

AILStorm04.jpg

M40 on an AIL Storm

U.S. Marines manning an M40 during the Battle of Hue.

See also

• List of U.S. Army weapons by supply catalog designation (SNL C-93)

References

Bibliography

• (JAH) Terry Gander and Ian Hogg (ed.), Jane's Ammunition Handbook 1994, Coulsdon: Jane's Information Group Ltd., 1993.
• (JIW) Richard Jones and Leland Ness (ed.), Jane's Infantry Weapons 2007–2008, Coulsdon: Jane's Information Group Ltd., 2007.

External links

• globalsecurity.org
• M40 repair manual
• BRL report on M40 accuracy
• M40 in Canadian service
• YouTube video of M40 being fired