CN120-26
{{More citations needed|date=January 2022|bot=noref (GreenC bot)}}
{{short description|French tank gun}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name = CN120-26
| image = Leclerc p1040880.jpg
| image_size = 300
| caption = close-up view of the CN120-26 muzzle
| type = smoothbore tank gun
| origin = France
| is_ranged = yes
| is_artillery = yes
| is_UK = no
| service = 1992-present
| used_by = French Army, United Arab Emirates Army, and the Royal Jordanian Army
| wars = Yemeni Civil War
| designer = EFAB of Bourges
| design_date = 1980s
| manufacturer = Giat Industries
| production_date = 1990-2007
| number = 800+
| variants =
| weight = 2740 kg
| length = {{convert|6.931| m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| part_length = {{convert|6.24| m|ftin|abbr=on}} or 52 calibers
| diameter =
| cartridge = 120×570mm NATO
| caliber = 120 mm (4.72 in)
| action = automatic vertical sliding-wedge breech
| rate = up to 12 rounds per minute{{cite book|last1=Ferrard |first1=Stéphane|last2=Gerard|first2=Turbe|title=The Leclerc System|date=1992|publisher=Bosquet|isbn=9781852601416|page=109}}
| velocity = 1790 m/s (APFSDS)
| range =
| max_range =
| feed = autoloader
| sights = HL 60 or HL 130
| breech = vertical sliding-wedge
| recoil = 400 mm
| carriage =
| elevation = -8° to +17°
| traverse = 360°
}}
The CN120-26, also simply referred to as Modèle F1 (F1 model) 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 (MRS) and the tropicalized variant of the Leclerc is fitted with a compressed air system for removing propellant
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.{{cite book |last1=Foss|first1=Christopher |title= Jane's Armoured Fighting Vehicle Retrofit Systems 1993-94 |date=1993 |publisher=ane's Information Group |location=London |isbn=978-0710610799 |pages=33 }}
Additional specifications
- Maximum service chamber pressure: {{cvt|670|MPa}}{{cite journal |title=AUSA '86 |journal=International Defense Review |date=December 1986 |volume=19 |issue=12 |pages=1809 |publisher=Interavia S.A |language=English |issn=0020-6512}}
- Recoil effort at trunnions: 550 kN (APFSDS fired at +51 °C)
- Overall weight: 2740 kg
- Recoiling gun mass: 1995 kg
Operators
=Current operators=
- {{flag|France}}
- {{flag|United Arab Emirates}}
- {{flag|Jordan}}
File:Leclerc-IMG 1708.jpg|Base of the gun on a Leclerc
See also
- CN120-25 120 mm gun: French equivalent, developed by Établissement d'Études et de Fabrication d'Armements de Bourges (EFAB) in 1979.
=Weapons of comparable role, performance and era=
- L11A5 120 mm rifled gun: British rifled equivalent, developed by Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment (RARDE) in 1957.
- 2A46 125 mm gun: Russian 125-mm equivalent, developed by Spetstekhnika Design Bureau in 1960s.
- Rheinmetall 120 mm gun: German equivalent, developed by Rheinmetall in 1974.
- EXP-28M1 120 mm rifled tank gun: Experimental British weapon of the late 1970s/early 1980s. Was to have equipped the MBT-80.
- IMI 120 mm gun: Israeli equivalent, developed by Israeli Military Industries in 1988.
- OTO Breda 120 mm gun: Italian equivalent, developed by OTO Melara in 1988.
- L30A1 120 mm rifled gun: British rifled equivalent, developed by ROF Nottingham in 1989.
- JSW 120 mm gun: Japanese equivalent, developed by Japan Steel Works in 2008.
- CN08 120 mm gun: South Korean equivalent, developed by Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and WIA in 2008.
- 2A82-1M 125 mm gun: New Russian 125-mm equivalent, developed by Uralvagonzavod in 2014.
- MKE 120 mm tank gun: Turkish equivalent, developed by Otokar and Hyundai WIA in 2016.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|GIAT CN120-26/52}}
{{Post WWII French tank guns}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:GIAT CN120-26 52}}