CN120-26


The CN120-26, also simply referred to as Modèle F1 is a French smoothbore 120mm tank gun of 52 calibers designed by the EFAB of Bourges and produced by Giat Industries.

Description

The 120 mm smoothbore gun F1 has been designed for installation in the Leclerc main battle tank.
The smooth-bore gun is chrome-plated, fitted with a thermal sleeve and has a vertical sliding breech mechanism. It is also fitted with a muzzle reference system and the tropicalized variant of the Leclerc is fitted with a compressed air system for removing propellant
fumes.
In the Leclerc application, the gun is fed by a 22-rounds bustle-mounted automatic loader designed by Creusot-Loire Industries.
The 120 mm F1 gun fires the same 120×570mm ammunition as the German Rh-120 and American M256 smoothbore guns.
The French 120 mm F1 gun is, however, 1 m longer than the L/44 version of the Rh-120, which increases muzzle velocity and armour penetration of APFSDS projectiles; it also gives a longer effective range.

Additional specifications

  • Maximum service chamber pressure:
  • Recoil effort at trunnions: 550 kN
  • Overall weight: 2740 kg
  • Recoiling gun mass: 1995 kg

Operators

Weapons of comparable role, performance and era