Info on the L7 105mm

[Shanesworld]

Apologies if people have already discussed this.

I'm wanting to know abit more about the L7 gun.

First off barrel life and what the procedures were like to service it. Was it time intensive? Maintenance heavy? Was it just the liner replaced (don't know how) or the entire barrel. Was it pinned in place or threaded in?

Average cost per HEAT MP type rounds if you might know would be handy.

Also is it still considered an effective tank killing weapon? Will it be for prospective threats or is it truly surpassed by 120mm and 120mm L55 systems?

Is there a time or laser fused nature for anti helicopter use?

Indirect fire. I heard somewhere that M60's and priors were equipped with basic equipment to deliver map predicted indirect fire (presumably with some sort of dozed ramp). Is this the case and was it effective? Is it an effective round to deliver ad-hoc indirect support in terms of lethality and payload?

Just curious. Fleshing out a pie in the sky concept and want to know some facts.

Cheers,

Shane

 

[Abraham Gubler]

First off barrel life and what the procedures were like to service it. Was it time intensive? Maintenance heavy? Was it just the liner replaced (don't know how) or the entire barrel. Was it pinned in place or threaded in?

I’m pretty sure the L7 was a monoblock gun so didn’t have a liner. But I have no firsthand experience with that gun so don’t know for sure.

But I’m not sure if you understand what a barrel liner is. It isn’t something you can pull out and replace anywhere short of a steel works. While some gun barrels can be re-lined (which is why you have a liner) it is a massive job. The barrel has to be removed from the ordnance first and sent off to the gun foundry. The old liner is bored out and the barrel jacket heated so the steel expands and a new liner can be inserted. The new liner then has to have rifling bored into it.

 

[Shanesworld]

I’m pretty sure the L7 was a monoblock gun so didn’t have a liner. But I have no firsthand experience with that gun so don’t know for sure.

But I’m not sure if you understand what a barrel liner is. It isn’t something you can pull out and replace anywhere short of a steel works. While some gun barrels can be re-lined (which is why you have a liner) it is a massive job. The barrel has to be removed from the ordnance first and sent off to the gun foundry. The old liner is bored out and the barrel jacket heated so the steel expands and a new liner can be inserted. The new liner then has to have rifling bored into it.

Hi there, cheers for your reply. I think I have scared alot of commentary away with this enquiry.

Well, I don't really know in the case of these bigger calibres anything to be honest.
I know what a barrel liner looks like for an LMG, and steyr but never seen a tank gun before. I'm a mechanical engineer (studying still) and have worked occasionally with pressing type operations before- stainless liners into composite bores so rough idea of the forces involved with that and they are alot. Like you say use of heat and cryo if you have it. But wondered if things might be different with these barrels, if there was some clever trick to them. But what you have said makes perfect sense.


But back to the gun system. Would that mean in a high intensity scenario a unit have to be supported by loggie's near the forward edge with a truck load of spare barrels and a sufficient hiab to remove them?


If anyone knows of the indirect fire application of a 105mm that would be really appreciated.

Cheers,

Shane

 

[Abraham Gubler]

But back to the gun system. Would that mean in a high intensity scenario a unit have to be supported by loggie's near the forward edge with a truck load of spare barrels and a sufficient hiab to remove them?

I think tank gun barrels are designed for quick change. But they have lives of several hundreds of rounds. And your typical tank in combat is going to be going back for a lot of maintenance and repair before they get to needing new barrels.

If anyone knows of the indirect fire application of a 105mm that would be really appreciated.

While it is feasible for a 105mm L7 or similar gun to be used for indirect there aren’t any applications where the gun has enough elevation to be used as such. That is most turrets I think max out at 10 degrees of elevation so you are not going to able to shoot at longer than five or so km. It would be possible to build elevated firing ramps to increase elevation by tilting back the entire tank and plot a firing table for the L7 and this kind of thing has been done in the past with older tanks but it is not something that has been done.

 

[Waylander]

Well after firing more than 200 APFSDS in a shooting war your tank probably is so roughed up that it needs some overhauling anyway.

As for the 105mm being an effective weapons these days. With modern ammunition one may get halfway reliably through the front of some older T-72 versions. Good luck with anything newer. Naturally it's good for any other vehicle, structure or soft target with a wide range of ammunition available.

Modern 120mm and 125mm guns beat it in any aspect except number of rounds stored and weight/dimensions. With new ammunitions available for 120mm smoothbores not even ammo diversity is a problem anymore. Rheinmetall's L/44 is somewhere around 300-500 rounds before it needs a barrell change.

 

[Raven22]

While it is feasible for a 105mm L7 or similar gun to be used for indirect there aren’t any applications where the gun has enough elevation to be used as such. That is most turrets I think max out at 10 degrees of elevation so you are not going to able to shoot at longer than five or so km. It would be possible to build elevated firing ramps to increase elevation by tilting back the entire tank and plot a firing table for the L7 and this kind of thing has been done in the past with older tanks but it is not something that has been done.

Leopard's used to be capable of semi-indirect fire out to about 7 kms from memory. The crews used to be trained in it, although it wasn't practiced much. It wasn't true indirect fire, but it was fire that relied on an outside spotter for corrections.