120×570mm NATO


120×570mm NATO tank ammunition, also known as 120×570mmR, is a common, NATO-standard, tank gun semi-combustible cartridge used by 120mm smoothbore guns, superseding the earlier 105×617mmR cartridge used in NATO-standard rifled tank guns.

History

The 120×570R cartridge was originally intended for the German Rh-120 smoothbore gun but an interoperability agreement signed between West Germany and France in April1979, followed in September1981 by a project to install the M256 120 mm smoothbore gun on future M1A1 Abrams tanks made it a NATO standard.

Characteristics

The 120×570mm are one-piece ammunition with semi-combustible cartridge cases. These incorporate a short, metallic stub case with an elastomeric sealing ring which allows the use of a normal sliding wedge type of breech and at the same time significantly reduces the weight of the rounds. Thus, a round of 120 mm Rheinmetall APFSDS ammunition has a mass of 19.8 kg, which is little more than the 18 kg mass of a typical 105 mm APFSDS round with the traditional metallic cartridge case.

Ammunition

Armour-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot (APFSDS)


DesignationOriginDesigner & producerYearCartridge length Sub-projectile length Penetrator dimension L/D ratio Penetrator material & weight Sub-projectile weight with sabot / without sabot Weight, complete round Propellant type & weightChamber pressure Muzzle velocity Velocity drop Perforation at normal and oblique incidencesNotes
DM13Germany

High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT)


DesignationOriginDesigner & producerYearCartridge length Weight, complete round Projectile weight Explosive filling FuzingPropellant type & weightMuzzle velocity Perforation at normal and oblique incidencesNotes
DM12 MZGermany

High Explosive (HE)

DesignationOriginDesigner & producerYearCartridge length Weight, complete round Projectile weight Propellant type & weightMuzzle velocityExplosive filling FuzingEffectsNotes
Slsgr 95Sweden

High Explosive Plastic (HEP)


DesignationOriginDesigner & producerYearCartridge length Weight, complete round Projectile weight Explosive filling FuzingPropellant type & weightMuzzle velocity Perforation at normal and oblique incidencesNotes
M1084Belgium

Canister (CAN)


DesignationTypeOriginDesigner & producerYearCartridge length Weight, complete round Projectile weight Propellant type & weightMuzzle velocityFillingFuzingEffectsNotes
M1028canisterUnited States

Guided munition


DesignationTypeGuidanceOriginDesigner & producerYearWeight, complete round Weight WarheadMuzzle velocityCruise speedMaximum rangeEffectsNotes
LAHATGLATGMsemi-active laser-guidedIsrael

Target Practice Tracer (TP-T)

Notes on notation:
  • Table includes information on ballistically-matched combat ammunition for each practice round if possible.
  • TP-T stands for target practice, tracer. Some nations add a parenthetical to indicate the class of ammunition being emulated, e.g. TP-T.
  • TPCSDS-T stands for target practice, cone stabilized, discarding sabot, with tracer. It is commonly used to match the ballistics of an APFSDS round.

DesignationTypeOriginDesigner & producerYearWeight, complete round Length, complete round Propellant type & weightMuzzle velocityFiller type & weightFuzingNotes
M831TP-TUnited States

Weapon platforms