CN120-26
close-up view of the CN120-26 muzzle
Typesmoothbore tank gun
Place of originFrance
Service history
In service1992-present
Used byFrench Army, UAE Army and the Royal Jordanian Army
WarsYemeni Civil War
Production history
DesignerEFAB of Bourges
Designed1980s
ManufacturerGiat Industries
Produced1990-2007
No. built800+
Specifications
Mass2740 kg
Length6.931 m (22 ft 8.9 in)
Barrel length6.24 m (20 ft 6 in) or 52 calibers

Shell120×570mm NATO
Calibre120 mm (4.72 in)
Actionautomatic vertical sliding-wedge breech
Breechvertical sliding-wedge
Recoil400 mm
Elevation-8° to +17°
Traverse360°
Rate of fireup to 12 rounds per minute[1]
Muzzle velocity1790 m/s (APFSDS)
Feed systemautoloader
SightsHL 60 or HL 130

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 fumes.[2]

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.[3]

Additional specifications

  • Maximum service chamber pressure: 670 MPa (97,000 psi)[4]
  • Recoil effort at trunnions: 550 kN (APFSDS fired at +51 °C)
  • Overall weight: 2740 kg
  • Recoiling gun mass: 1995 kg

Operators

Map with CN120-26 operators in blue

Current operators

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

References

  1. Ferrard, Stéphane; Gerard, Turbe (1992). The Leclerc System. Bosquet. p. 109. ISBN 9781852601416.
  2. Chassillan, Marc (2005). Char Leclerc : De la guerre froide aux conflits de demain. Editions Techniques pour l'Automobile et l'Industrie. p. 191. ISBN 978-2726894385.
  3. Foss, Christopher (1993). Jane's Armoured Fighting Vehicle Retrofit Systems 1993-94. London: ane's Information Group. p. 33. ISBN 978-0710610799.
  4. "AUSA '86". International Defense Review. Interavia S.A. 19 (12): 1809. December 1986. ISSN 0020-6512.
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