M20 Recoilless Rifle

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M20 Recoilless Rifle - 75x408mm R

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M20 Recoilless Rifle on jeep - 75x408mm R

The M20 recoilless rifle was an American 75mm recoilless rifle used during the last months of the Second World War and extensively during the Korean War. It could be fired from an M1917A1 .30 caliber machine gun tripod, or from a vehicle mount, typically a Jeep. Its shaped charge warhead, also known as the HEAT, was capable of penetrating 100 mm of armor. Although the weapon proved ineffective against the T-34 tank during the Korean War, it was used primarily as a close infantry support weapon to engage all types of targets including infantry and lightly armored vehicles. The M20 proved useful against pillboxes and other types of field fortifications.

Following the Army declaring them as surplus weapons in the early 1950s, M20s (along with larger M27s) were provided to the United States Forest Service and United States National Park Service, who used them to start controlled avalanches until stockpiles of ammunition were exhausted in the 1990s.

Specifications

• Length: 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
• Weight: 114.5 lb (52 kg)
• Rifling: uniform right hand twist, 1 turn in 25
• Range: (HEAT) 7000 yards (6.4 km)
• Muzzle velocity: (HEAT) 1000 ft/s (300 m/s)
• Cartridge: 75x408 mm R
• Caliber: 75 mm (2.95 inches)
• Round weight:
• HE: 21.86 lb (9.92 kg)
• HEAT: 20.54 lb (9.32 kg)
• Smoke: (T40, WP): 22.61 lb (10.26 kg)
• Armor penetration: 4 inches (100 mm)

The M20 Recoilless Rifle and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Fixed Bayonets!		American GIs operate		1951
Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War		South Korean soldier		2004
The Company		Cuban soldiers		2007

Video Games

Game Title	Appears as	Mods	Notation	Release Date
Rise of Nations	Recoilless Gun unit			2003