The
IMI 120 mm gun is a
smoothboreA smoothbore weapon is one which has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars.-History of firearms and rifling:...
tank gunA 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.-Overview:...
designed and produced by the Israeli Military Industries company, based on
GermanGermany , 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,...
Rheinmetall 120 mm gun. It is widely confused as a licensed production of the Rheinmetall L44 tank gun, however developed by Israeli Military Industries from 1983 to 1988, to meet the requirements of the
Israel Defense ForcesThe Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are Israel's military forces, comprising the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
'
Merkava Mark IIIThe 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.
The
IMI 120 mm gun is a
smoothboreA smoothbore weapon is one which has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars.-History of firearms and rifling:...
tank gunA 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.-Overview:...
designed and produced by the Israeli Military Industries company, based on
GermanGermany , 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,...
Rheinmetall 120 mm gun. It is widely confused as a licensed production of the Rheinmetall L44 tank gun, however developed by Israeli Military Industries from 1983 to 1988, to meet the requirements of the
Israel Defense ForcesThe Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are Israel's military forces, comprising the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
'
Merkava Mark IIIThe 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. In 1998 the
Israel Defense PrizeThe 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....
was awarded to Israeli Military Industries for this development, which gave Israel the means to produce tank guns independently.
Design
This tank gun is very similar to the Rheinmetall L44 versions installed on
GermanGermany , 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,...
Leopard 2The Leopard 2 is a German main battle tank developed by Krauss-Maffei in the early 1970s and first entering service in 1979. The Leopard 2 replaced the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the German Army. Various versions have served in the armed forces of Germany and twelve other European...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
'
M1 AbramsThe M1 Abrams is a main battle tank produced in the United States. The M1 is named after General Creighton Abrams, former Army Chief of Staff and Commander of US military forces in Vietnam from 1968 to 1972. It is a well armed, heavily armored, and highly mobile tank designed for modern armored...
,
South KoreaSouth Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often simply referred to as Korea, is a country in East Asia, located on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul, the second largest...
n K1A1 and
Japanis 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...
ese
Type 90The 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
recoilRecoil is the 'kick' given by a gun when it is fired. In technical terms, this kick is caused by the gun's backward momentum, which exactly balances the forward momentum of the projectile...
system, consisting of an optimized
concentricConcentric objects share the same center, axis or origin with one inside the other. Circles, tubes, cylindrical shafts, disks, and spheres may be concentric to one another...
retarderRetarder 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
recuperatorA 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 mmThe Royal Ordnance L7 is the basic model of Britain's 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 IIThe 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 PattonThe M60 Series was a main battle tank introduced in December 1960. It was widely used by the U.S. and its Cold War allies, especially those in NATO, and remains in service throughout the world today despite being superseded by the M1 Abrams...
.
Versions
There are two versions of IMI 120 mm gun:
MG251 and
MG253, the first of which fitted with a
thermal sleeveA thermal sleeve is a device around the length of a gun barrel of a large caliber gun, typically found on modern tanks. Its 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...
, 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
recoilRecoil is the 'kick' given by a gun when it is fired. In technical terms, this kick is caused by the gun's backward momentum, which exactly balances the forward momentum of the projectile...
system and a
thermal sleeveA thermal sleeve is a device around the length of a gun barrel of a large caliber gun, typically found on modern tanks. Its 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...
developed by Vidco Industries. Both versions fire a family of ammunition developed by
IMIIsrael Weapons Industries , formerly the small arm "Magen" division of the Israel Military Industries Ltd. Israel Weapons Industries (IWI), formerly the small arm "Magen" division of the Israel Military Industries Ltd. (IMI) Israel Weapons Industries (IWI), formerly the small arm "Magen" division...
but can also fire French, German or US proper 120 mm
NATOThe North Atlantic Treaty Organization ); ), also called "the Atlantic Alliance", is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on April 4, 1949...
ammunition if required, may also fire
LAHATThe 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
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
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
The M60T, also known as the Sabra Mk.III, is a highly upgraded version of the M60 Patton MBT which is designed for the main battle tank modernization program of the Turkish Army.-Overview:...
External links