Misplaced Pages

#816183

26-609: The AW50 is a .50 BMG anti-materiel rifle designed by Accuracy International . It is a re-engineered version of the Accuracy International Arctic Warfare L96 sniper rifle (the standard issue sniper rifle in the British forces). The AW50 is intended to engage a variety of targets, including radar installations, light vehicles (including light armoured vehicles), field fortifications, boats and ammunition dumps. The Picatinny rail can hold

52-572: A counter- VBIED weapon system, due to their greater ability to penetrate uparmored VBIED threats that standard rifle calibers used by designated marksmen (typically 7.62×54mmR and 7.62×51mm) are not able to reliably stop. Despite having been designed to be used against equipment, anti-materiel rifles have also been used for killing soldiers from distances that are beyond the effective range of regular rifle-caliber cartridges. Anti-materiel rifles can also penetrate most obstacles and building materials, making them viable for engaging targets behind cover that

78-462: A fully adjustable bipod and buttstock heel rest. Four sling loops allow shoulder and hand carrying of the rifle. Weighing 15 kilograms (33 pounds), the AW50F rifle is approximately four times the weight of a typical assault rifle. The Raufoss Mk 211 ( NM140 MP) . 50 calibre ammunition is also heavy. The weight of the weapon, combined with a muzzle brake on the front end and a hydraulic buffer system in

104-412: A time when a normal rifle cost ¥77. Beginning in 1940, the barrels were chrome-plated to extend their service lives. The Type 97 was assigned to IJA infantry battalions , normally on the basis of a single anti-tank platoon allocated to each infantry company . Each platoon had two 11-man sections each with a single Type 97. In addition to the section leader, there were four men assigned to carry

130-591: A variety of equipment; the normal sight for the AW50 is the Schmidt & Bender 3-12x50 PM II with Al Mil Dot reticle, 0.2  mrad clicks and elevation to 1500 m and laser protection. Night vision device sights such as the Simrad KN series or Hensoldt NSV 80 can also be fitted. The AW50F is a folding stock variant of the AW50, which fires the multi-purpose Raufoss Mk 211 cartridge and other rounds. It has

156-515: Is termed hard target interdiction (HTI) by the United States military . The longest confirmed kill shot was made with a .50 BMG by a Canadian sniper in Iraq at 11,610 feet (3,540 m). Type 97 automatic cannon The Type 97 automatic cannon ( 九七式自動砲 , Kyū-nana-shiki-jidōhō ) is a 20-millimeter (0.79 in) Japanese anti-tank rifle that began development in the 1930s. It

182-651: Is usually hard enough to stop rifle-caliber cartridges. In general, anti-materiel rifles are chambered for 12.7×99 mm NATO (.50 BMG) , 12.7×108 mm Russian , 14.5×114 mm Russian , and 20 mm cartridges. According to the US Army , the range of a standard sniper rifle firing a 7.62×51mm NATO round is a distance of about 2,600 feet (800 m) while the Barrett's effective range is 3,300 feet (1,000 m) against personnel targets, and 6,600 feet (2,000 m) against materiel targets. The offensive use of anti-materiel rifles

208-757: The Wz. 35 anti-tank rifle , around 800 of which were captured by Germans and put into service as Panzerbüchse 35(p). The PTRD-41 and PTRS-41 anti-tank rifles were used by the Soviets on the Eastern Front . Germany used the Panzerbüchse 39 , while Japan used the Type 97 automatic cannon , though the latter became obsolete by 1942. Notably, the United States did not develop or field any anti-tank rifles during

234-622: The gun shield , and 68 kilograms (150 lb) including the shield and four carrying handles, exceeding its design weight of 40 kilograms (88 lb). It uses a seven- round removable box magazine mounted above the receiver. The gun can fire a dozen rounds per minute. It has an overall length of 2.09 metres (6 ft 10 in) and the removable barrel, including the muzzle brake , was 1.065 metres (3 ft 5.9 in) (53- calibers ) long. The Type 97 fired solid-steel armour-piercing - tracer (AP-T), high-explosive -tracer and high-explosive incendiary -tracer shells. The initial AP-T round

260-762: The Soviet Red Army along the Manchurian border, the IJA issued a requirement for an anti-tank rifle in 1935. The Nagoya Arsenal submitted a weapon derived from their copy of the 13.2-millimetre (0.52 in) Hotchkiss M1929 machine gun while the Kokura Arsenal submitted a new design using a 20×125 mm cartridge. The first round of testing in March 1936 was not satisfactory and both guns were returned to their designers to rectify problems encountered during

286-501: The Type 97 Automatic Cannon. The gun has a gas-operated delayed-blowback mechanism in which the barrel and receiver also recoiled to help steady the weapon. Despite reports that it can fire in full-automatic mode , the weapon is semi-automatic only as it lacks a selector to disable the semi-auto disconnector. The Type 97 was the heaviest anti-tank rifle of World War II and weighs 52 kilograms (115 lb) ready to fire, minus

SECTION 10

#1732765402817

312-523: The U.S. to Swedish forces. The M82 rifle first saw action in the early 1990s, during the Gulf War . The U.S. Marine Corps initially purchased around 125 M82 rifles; orders from the Army and Air Force followed. These weapons were used with rounds such as armor piercing incendiary rounds (API) which were effective against such targets as buildings, trucks, and parked aircraft. The purpose of this round

338-577: The ability to penetrate 9 mm (0.35 in) of armour at 2,000 metres (2,200 yd). Production of the Type 97 began in 1939 at the Kokura Arsenal with the first of 950 that were made through 1941. Production ceased that year, although a further 100 rifles were built by the Nihon Seikosho Company in the first half of 1943. Including prototypes, a total of 1,108 rifles were manufactured. The anti-tank rifle cost ¥ 6,400 at

364-519: The armor, while others believed that the higher caliber rounds would cause greater damage. The weapon was quite heavy at 109 lb (49 kg) and had an 88-inch (220 cm) barrel, and it carried the nickname "the elephant gun". During the Cold War , the Barrett M82 rifle was produced by the United States, and was chambered to fire a .50 BMG (12.7×99mm NATO) round. This weapon was sold by

390-538: The butt, gives the AW50F a relatively low recoil and enhances accuracy. Most of the rifles are made in the United Kingdom. The barrels are sourced from three different manufacturers: Lothar Walther, Border and Maddco. Anti-materiel rifle The anti-materiel rifle originated in the anti-tank rifles , which itself originated during World War I . While modern tanks and most other armored vehicles are too well protected to be affected by anti-materiel rifles,

416-428: The first anti-materiel rifle. The rifle was designed to penetrate the thick armor of the British tanks. The rifle weighed 41 lb (19 kg) when loaded, fired a 13.2 mm round weighing 55.5 g (1.96 oz), and had an effective range of about 1,600 ft (500 m). This weapon had a two-man crew: one to load and the other to fire the weapon, although they often switched roles. The recoil of this weapon

442-627: The following year, by which time they were mostly used as infantry support weapons. Reflecting this change, most of the ammunition produced in 1941–1942 was high-explosive, not armour-piercing. The rifle was not widely deployed in the Southwest Pacific during World War II, although it was used by the Teishin Shudan paratroopers of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force . The Type 97's 20 mm round

468-597: The gun, four ammunition bearers and two horse-holders for the nine horses nominally assigned to the section. Over long distances, the Type 97 was broken down into three parts to be carried by the horses. The weapon first saw combat during the Battles of Khalkhin Gol in 1939, where it reportedly disabled a number of the lightly armoured vehicles used by the Soviets at that time. The Type 97 was not extensively deployed in China until

494-504: The guns are still effective for attacking unarmored or lightly armored vehicles. They can also be used against stationary enemy aircraft, missile launchers, radar equipment, unexploded ordnance , small watercraft, communications equipment, crew-served weapons and similar targets. Their value lies in their ability to precisely target and disable enemy assets from long range at relatively low cost. The history of anti-materiel rifles dates back to World War I . The need for anti-tank rifles

520-582: The trials. The Kokura Arsenal built eight prototypes for the second round of trials held at the Army Infantry School in 1937, after which the IJA rejected the Nagoya weapon. It identified several problems that required fixing, and a batch of fifty guns was built for operational trials in 1938. After another round of trials in December at the infantry and cavalry schools, the weapon was accepted as

546-531: The war, choosing instead to use explosive anti-tank weaponry such as the M1 Bazooka . One anti-tank rifle used was the Lahti L-39 , a Finnish anti-materiel rifle. One version was designed to fire a 13.2 mm cartridge and another a 20 mm cartridge. There was debate over which was more effective at piercing armor. Some argued that the smaller cartridge travelled faster and could penetrate deeper into

SECTION 20

#1732765402817

572-602: Was first encountered by the Germans when faced with the British Mark 1 tank. The Mark I could cross ditches up to nine-foot (2.7 m) wide, which made it a major threat to infantry in trench defenses. As a counter, the Germans first used "direct fire mortars", which were mortars aimed at low angles pointing towards enemy tanks. Later, the Germans developed the T-Gewehr anti-tank rifle, which can be credited with being

598-505: Was so high that it was known to break collar bones and dislocate shoulders. The rifle fired a steel core armor-piercing round specifically designed to be used with this rifle. During World War II , anti-materiel guns were widely used. The British Boys anti-tank rifle was used to great effect against lightly armored tanks, but was soon replaced by the PIAT due to its ineffectiveness against more armored tanks. In September 1939 Polish army used

624-402: Was the Type 97 and it had a softer grade of steel than the later Type 100. The 162-gram (5.7 oz) AP-T projectiles had a muzzle velocity of 790 m/s (2,600 ft/s). Based on a captured Japanese ammunition table, the Type 97 round was credited with the ability to penetrate 30 mm (1.2 in) of armour at 90° at a range of 250 metres (270 yd). The same table credited it with

650-923: Was to penetrate non-armored vehicles and burst into flames on impact. Saboted light armor penetrator ammunition was also used in anti-materiel rifles during the conflict. In the modern era, the armor of tanks and other vehicles increased, making it difficult for .50 BMG bullets to penetrate. As such, modern day anti-materiel rifles are no longer used in an anti-tank capacity, and generally used to penetrate light armor vehicles or for its barrier-blind capabilities against targets behind concrete barricades and buildings; as well as being used to destroy unexploded ordnance. Additionally, modern anti-materiel rifles are frequently used as sniper rifles against personnel targets, due to their long range, relatively low cost of construction for craft-produced models, and robust penetrating capabilities. They have seen frequent use in Syria and Iraq as

676-827: Was used by the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during the Second Sino-Japanese War , the Soviet–Japanese border conflicts and the Pacific War . Improvements in armour thicknesses on tanks rendered the Type 97 obsolete by about 1942. This weapon was not related to the Type 97 heavy tank machine gun used in armored vehicles or the Type 97 aircraft machine gun used in Japanese Navy aircraft. Concerned by reports of Chinese purchases of Vickers six-ton tanks and rising tensions with

#816183