262:, as well as the tanks of virtually every other NATO nation, used the 105 mm gun, mounting that gun on the XM1 promised to increase standardization within the alliance. Moreover, the continuing development of the new ammunition for the XM1 would in effect automatically upgrade every other gun in NATO. For all of these reasons, the XM1's development proceeded "on the assumption that the 105 mm gun would probably be the eventual main armament." The tripartite British–American–German gun trials of 1975 produced a general agreement in the U.S. Defense Department that at some future point, a 120 mm gun of some design would be added to the XM1. Anticipating this, Chrysler and GM had both made changes to their tanks during development to make them compatible with a variety of main guns. After head-to-head testing between the
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270:
announced in
January 1978, that the Rheinmetall 120 mm gun would be mounted on future production versions of the XM1. Although the L11/M256 120mm gun was chosen to be the main weapon of the Abrams in 1979, the improved ammunition for the gun still was not fully developed, thus delaying its
343:
To improve the lethality of the M1A2 main battle tank, the US Army funded the
Advanced Tank Armament System (ATAS) research project to integrate a longer gun tube. The long tube is based on the German Rh-120 L55 tube, made by Rheinmetall, and is 1.3 m longer than the conventional M256
668:
This is the testimony of
Brigadier General Philip L. Bolte, Deputy Commanding General of the U.S. Army's Testing and Evaluation Command, before the Investigations Subcommittee of the House Committee on Armed Services in April 1978;
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According to
American tank historian Jim Warford, in retrospect, American intelligence underrated the effectiveness of Soviet armor. 105 mm guns were a poor match for Soviet tanks.
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gun tube and combustible cartridges with an
American-designed mount, cradle and recoil mechanism. It is primarily used by the
369:
37:
Front view of a M256 gun on an
American M1A2 SEP main battle tank during a gunnery exercise at Red Cloud Range, 2013.
279:. From October 1980 to September 1981, Watervliet Arsenal fabricated eight XM256 cannons and fourteen spare tubes.
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896:"Collaborative Development of Main Battle Tanks: Lessons From the U.S.-German Experience, 1963–1978"
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A number of considerations had led the U.S. Army and its contractors to favor the Army's standard
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The M256 features a cylinder-shaped cradle adapted to the recoil spring and Abrams gun rotor.
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Army
Reprogramming Request No. 78-14 P/A, FRG Smooth Bore 120-MM Gun and XM-1 Tank
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fielding until 1984. A license was obtained for its manufacture at
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
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The M256 differs from the Rh-120 L44 in several aspects :
747:
Abrams: A History of the
American Main Battle Tank, Vol. 2
786:"Q & A with Jim Warford about Soviet/Russian Armor"
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327:
Licence-produced variant of the US M256 gun for the
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133:1,905 kg (4,200 lb) (recoiling gun mass)
774:(Annual Historical Review): 25. October 1, 1980.
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298:instead of a separate buffer and recuperator
8:
243:105 mm gun over Germany's 120 mm
189:semi-automatic vertical sliding-breechblock
1081:Military equipment introduced in the 1980s
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331:. Used on the South Korean variant of the
319:M256 designation when tested on the M1E1.
20:
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152:5,300 mm (208.66 in) (gun tube)
141:5,593 mm (220.20 in) (overall)
131:1,175 kg (2,590 lb) (gun tube)
658:
867:Information Spectrum (July 15, 1983).
7:
894:McNaugher, Thomas L. (August 1981).
722:. Picatinny Arsenal. Archived from
294:The M256 uses a concentric recoil
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648:(Soviet 125 mm counterpart)
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362:: used on M1A1 and M1A2 variants
356:: used on K1A1 and K1A2 variants
266:and the Rheinmetall Rh-120, the
31:
749:. Presidio Press. p. 221.
1076:Tank guns of the United States
869:Lessons Learned M1 Tank System
673:, 95th Cong., 2d Sess., p. 30.
199:304.8 mm (12.000 in)
1:
772:Office of the Program Manager
370:General Dynamics Land Systems
720:"Tank Munitions Development"
839:"M256 120mm Smoothbore Gun"
813:"M256 120mm Smoothbore Gun"
209:is an American 120 mm
179:120 mm (4.724 in)
1097:
618:(South Korean counterpart)
1025:
969:origin after World War II
707:Information Spectrum 1983
286:Technical characteristics
156:
53:Place of origin
30:
580:Ukrainian Ground Forces
512:Royal Saudi Land Forces
770:"Abrams Tank System".
546:Republic of China Army
495:Republic of Korea Army
378:: upgrade proposed by
368:: upgrade proposed by
344:120 mm gun tube.
329:Republic of Korea Army
222:Rheinmetall Rh-120 L44
642:(British counterpart)
636:(Turkish counterpart)
630:(Israeli counterpart)
268:Secretary of the Army
624:(French counterpart)
604:Romanian Land Forces
277:Watervliet, New York
264:Royal Ordnance L11A5
118:XM256, KM256, M256E1
529:Royal Moroccan Army
300:hydraulic cylinders
1035:American tank guns
563:United States Army
478:Polish Land Forces
273:Watervliet Arsenal
245:Rheinmetall Rh-120
102:Watervliet Arsenal
93:Watervliet Arsenal
80:Production history
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1052:
1046:List of tank guns
790:Tank and AFV News
392:Current operators
258:and the upgraded
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1066:120 mm artillery
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220:German-designed
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72:In service
67:Service history
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123:Specifications
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1040:Background:
1039:
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906:. Retrieved
902:
873:. Retrieved
861:Bibliography
846:. Retrieved
842:
832:
820:. Retrieved
816:
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794:. Retrieved
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771:
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746:
740:
728:. Retrieved
724:the original
714:
702:
690:
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670:
508:Saudi Arabia
461:Kuwaiti Army
342:
326:
318:
289:
281:
250:gun for the
238:
206:
204:
149: length
110:1985–present
99:Manufacturer
75:1985–present
15:
843:inetres.com
817:inetres.com
491:South Korea
89:Rheinmetall
1060:Categories
908:January 6,
875:January 6,
653:References
634:MKE 120 mm
628:IMI 120 mm
444:Iraqi Army
376:M60A3 SLEP
335:and K1A2.
252:XM1 Abrams
248:smoothbore
216:. It is a
211:smoothbore
1071:Tank guns
963:Tank guns
796:April 15,
406:Australia
387:Operators
360:M1 Abrams
226:M1 Abrams
168:120×570mm
1042:Tank gun
967:American
871:(Report)
730:June 18,
622:CN120-26
610:See also
380:Raytheon
366:M60-2000
310:Variants
214:tank gun
115:Variants
107:Produced
85:Designer
47:Tank gun
18:Tank gun
600:Romania
576:Ukraine
525:Morocco
235:Origins
175:Calibre
61:Germany
999:120 mm
976:105 mm
848:May 6,
822:May 6,
753:
597:
573:
556:
542:Taiwan
539:
522:
505:
488:
474:Poland
471:
457:Kuwait
454:
437:
420:
403:
339:M256E1
296:spring
195:Recoil
185:Breech
147:Barrel
138:Length
1017:XM360
1012:XM291
899:(PDF)
646:2A46M
640:L30A1
423:Egypt
348:Usage
323:KM256
315:XM256
163:Shell
25:M256
1007:M256
910:2024
877:2024
850:2023
824:2023
798:2024
751:ISBN
732:2020
616:CN08
440:Iraq
333:K1A1
207:M256
205:The
128:Mass
43:Type
989:M35
984:M68
965:of
275:at
260:M48
256:M60
241:M68
1062::
1044:,
901:.
841:.
815:.
788:.
661:^
602:–
578:–
561:–
544:–
527:–
510:–
493:–
476:–
459:–
442:–
425:–
408:–
354:K1
231:.
955:e
948:t
941:v
923:.
912:.
890:.
879:.
852:.
826:.
800:.
759:.
734:.
382:.
372:.
302:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
