Ordnance QF 20 pounder
| Ordnance QF 20 pounder Mark I | |
|---|---|
Charioteer tank destroyer equipped with the 20 pounder. This gun is a later model which is fitted with a bore evacuator
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| Type | tank gun |
| Place of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1948-1970s |
| Used by | United Kingdom Australia Austria Canada Finland Israel Jordan Lebanon South Africa |
| Wars | Korean War Vietnam War Six Day War South African Border War |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 226.4 in (5.75 m) |
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| Calibre | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). |
| Elevation | +18 to -10 in Centurion Mk 5 |
The Ordnance QF 20 pounder (simply known as 20 pounder or 20-pr) was a British 84 mm (3.307 inch)[1] tank gun introduced in 1948 and used in the Centurion tank, Caernarvon, and the Charioteer tank destroyer. It was the improved successor to the effective Ordnance QF 17 pounder and the predecessor of the 105 mm L7 gun.
Design and development
The 20 pounder's APCBC projectile had a muzzle velocity of 1,020 metres per second and could penetrate 21 cm (8.3 in) of rolled homogeneous armour (RHA) however these conventional rounds were rarely used. The armour-piercing discarding sabot projectile had a muzzle velocity of 1,465 m/s (4,810 ft/s) and could penetrate 30 cm (12 in) of RHA.[2][3] The 20-pounder could also fire high-explosive and canister shot.
The L7 105 mm tank gun was developed from the 20 pounder. In 1954, the original version of the 105 mm was made by re-boring the tube of a 20 pounder barrel.[4]
The gun was fitted to the Swiss pre-production Panzer 58.[5]
Ammunition
| Round | Muzzle velocity[6] |
|---|---|
| APDS | 4,700 ft/s |
| HE | 1,975 ft/s |
| Canister | 3,000 ft/s |
| Smoke | 825 ft/s |
Notes
- ↑ Pugh, p.34; the gun is specified as 83.4 mm (3.283 in) here, while Ogorkiewiecz states the weapon was 83.8 mm. Norman gives it as "3.3 inch (84 mm)"
- ↑ British Anti-Tank Gunnery Data at www.figuras.miniatures.de
- ↑ Dunstan, p. 10, notes the 20 pounder's APDS round had twice the penetration capability of an 8.8 cm AP round.
- ↑ Ogorkiewicz, p. 70.
- ↑ *Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Norman p12
References
- Dunstan, Simon. Centurion Universal Tank 1943-2003, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-84176-387-X.
- Ogorkiewicz, Richard. Technology of Tanks, London: Jane's Information Group, Ltd., 1991. ISBN 0-7106-0595-1.
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See also
- Pounds as a measure of cannon bore
- British standard ordnance weights and measurements
- Ordnance QF 32-pounder
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to QF 20 pounder. |
