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IMI 120 mm gun
 
 
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The IMI 120 mm gun is a smoothbore
Smoothbore

A smoothbore weapon is one which has a gun barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortar s....
 tank gun
Tank gun

A tank gun is the main armament of a tank. Modern tank guns are large-caliber high-velocity guns, capable of firing kinetic energy penetrators, high explosive anti-tank rounds, and in some cases guided missiles....
 designed and produced by the Israeli Military Industries company, based on German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 Rheinmetall 120 mm gun. It is widely confused as a licensed production of the Rheinmetall L44 tank gun, however it was originally developed by Israeli Military Industries through 1983-1988, to meet the requirements of the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces

The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew Acronym and initialism Tzahal , are Israel's military forces, comprising the GOC Army Headquarters, Israeli Air Force and Israeli navy....
' Merkava Mark III
Merkava

The Merkava is the main battle tank of the Israel Defense Forces. Since the early 1980s, four main versions have been deployed. The "Merkava" name was derived from the IDF's development program name....
 main battle tank. First revealed in 1989 when it was shown to be the main armament of the Merkava Mark III
Merkava

The Merkava is the main battle tank of the Israel Defense Forces. Since the early 1980s, four main versions have been deployed. The "Merkava" name was derived from the IDF's development program name....
.






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Encyclopedia


The IMI 120 mm gun is a smoothbore
Smoothbore

A smoothbore weapon is one which has a gun barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortar s....
 tank gun
Tank gun

A tank gun is the main armament of a tank. Modern tank guns are large-caliber high-velocity guns, capable of firing kinetic energy penetrators, high explosive anti-tank rounds, and in some cases guided missiles....
 designed and produced by the Israeli Military Industries company, based on German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 Rheinmetall 120 mm gun. It is widely confused as a licensed production of the Rheinmetall L44 tank gun, however it was originally developed by Israeli Military Industries through 1983-1988, to meet the requirements of the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces

The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew Acronym and initialism Tzahal , are Israel's military forces, comprising the GOC Army Headquarters, Israeli Air Force and Israeli navy....
' Merkava Mark III
Merkava

The Merkava is the main battle tank of the Israel Defense Forces. Since the early 1980s, four main versions have been deployed. The "Merkava" name was derived from the IDF's development program name....
 main battle tank. First revealed in 1989 when it was shown to be the main armament of the Merkava Mark III
Merkava

The Merkava is the main battle tank of the Israel Defense Forces. Since the early 1980s, four main versions have been deployed. The "Merkava" name was derived from the IDF's development program name....
. In 1998 the Israel Defense Prize
Israel Defense Prize

The Israel Defense Prize, named after Eliyahu Golomb, is a prize awarded annually to people and organizations who made significant contributions to the defense of the State of Israel....
 awarded to Israeli Military Industries for this development, which allows Israel to produce tank guns independently.

Design


This tank gun is very similar to the Rheinmetall L44 versions installed on German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 Leopard 2
Leopard 2

The Leopard 2 is a Germany main battle tank developed by Krauss-Maffei in the early 1970s and first entering service in 1979. The Leopard 2 replaced the earlier Leopard MBT as the main battle tank of the German Army....
, United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
' M1 Abrams
M1 Abrams

The M1 Abrams is a Tank classification#Main battle tank produced in the United States. The M1 is named after General Creighton Abrams, former Army Chief of Staff of the United States Army and Commander of US military forces in Vietnam from 1968 to 1972....
, South Korean
South Korea

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea , ), often referred to as Korea and the "names of Korea#Revival of the names", is a Semi-presidential system republic in East Asia, located in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula....
 K1A1 and Japanese
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
 Type 90
Type 90

The Type 90 is the current main battle tank of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force . It is built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and was designed as a replacement for all deployed Type 61s and a portion of their Type 74 tanks, and entered service in 1990....
 main battle tanks. Though, it has a different recoil
Recoil

Recoil, in common everyday language, is considered the backward kick or force produced by a gun when it is fired. In more precise scientific terms, this force is equal to the time derivative of the backward momentum resulting when a gun is fired....
 system, consisting of an optimized concentric
Concentric

Concentric object s share the same center , Coordinate axis or Origin with one inside the other. Circles, tubes, cylindrical shafts, Disk s, and spheres may be concentric to one another....
 retarder
Retarder

Retarder can mean:* Acrylic retarder, a chemical agent added to fine art acrylic paint to slow its short drying time* Retarder , a chemical agent that slows down a chemical reaction...
 and pneumatic recuperator
Recuperator

A recuperator is a special purpose counter-flow heat exchanger used to recover waste heat from exhaust gases. In many types of processes, combustion is used to generate heat, and the recuperator serves to recuperate, or reclaim this heat, in order to reuse or recycle it....
, and more compact overall dimensions, not exceeding those of the existing 105 mm Royal Ordnance M68 105 mm
Royal Ordnance L7

The Royal Ordnance L7 is the basic model of United Kingdom most successful tank gun. The L7 was a 105 mm L/52 rifled design intended for use in armoured fighting vehicles....
 rifled gun of the Merkava Mark I and II
Merkava

The Merkava is the main battle tank of the Israel Defense Forces. Since the early 1980s, four main versions have been deployed. The "Merkava" name was derived from the IDF's development program name....
, and M60 Patton
M60 Patton

The M60 Series was an all-purpose main battle tank designed to have the firepower and armor of a heavy tank and the mobility of a medium tank....
.

Versions


There are two versions of IMI 120 mm gun: MG251 and MG253, the first of which fitted with a thermal sleeve
Thermal sleeve

A thermal sleeve is a device around the length of a gun barrel of a large caliber gun, typically found on modern tanks. It's primary purpose is to prevent the gun barrel from being thermally distorted due to environmental conditions, especially when the barrel is already hot due to frequent firing....
, developed by Vishay, provided with a fume extractor which can be removed for maintenance without disturbing the actual sleeve, while the second also features a new compressed gas recoil
Recoil

Recoil, in common everyday language, is considered the backward kick or force produced by a gun when it is fired. In more precise scientific terms, this force is equal to the time derivative of the backward momentum resulting when a gun is fired....
 system and a thermal sleeve
Thermal sleeve

A thermal sleeve is a device around the length of a gun barrel of a large caliber gun, typically found on modern tanks. It's primary purpose is to prevent the gun barrel from being thermally distorted due to environmental conditions, especially when the barrel is already hot due to frequent firing....
 developed by Vidco Industries. Both versions fire a family of ammunition developed by IMI
Israel Military Industries

Israel Weapons Industries , formerly the small arm "Magen" division of the Israel Military Industries Ltd. In 2005, the Small Arms Division of IMI was privatized as Israel Weapon Industries Ltd....
 but can also fire French, German or US proper 120 mm NATO
NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization , also called the Atlantic Alliance, is a military alliance established by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949....
 ammunition if required, may also fire LAHAT
LAHAT

The LAHAT is a semi-active laser homing low-weight anti-tank guided missile developed since 1992 and manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries....
 ATGM.

Operators


  • MG251:
    Merkava Mark III
    Merkava

    The Merkava is the main battle tank of the Israel Defense Forces. Since the early 1980s, four main versions have been deployed. The "Merkava" name was derived from the IDF's development program name....
  • MG253:
    Merkava Mark IV
    Merkava

    The Merkava is the main battle tank of the Israel Defense Forces. Since the early 1980s, four main versions have been deployed. The "Merkava" name was derived from the IDF's development program name....
    M60T Sabra
    Sabra (tank)

    The M60T, also known as the Sabra Mk.III, is a highly upgraded version of the M60 Patton which is designed for the main battle tank modernization program of the Turkish Army....


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