The Model 1968 recoilless gun is a 105-mm antitank weapon developed and employed by Argentina. The weapon has been in active service since 1968 and 150 were still operational with Argentine forces as of 2000. A similar weapon is the Argentine 105-mm Model 1974 FMK-1 recoilless gun.

Description

The Model 1968 is mounted on a towing carriage with wheels for transport and can be fired either with its wheels on or dismounted onto a tripod. Aiming is primarily done with the optical sight, but the weapon also includes a FAP (''fusil automatico pesado'', heavy automatic rifle)

spotting rifle A spotting rifle or ranging gun is a small-calibre rifle used as a ranging device for artillery. The ballistics of the spotting rifle are matched to those of the artillery piece, so that if a shot from the spotting rifle lands on the target, it m ...

. Ammunition for the Model 1968 includes both an 11-kilogram high-explosive and a 15-kilogram

high-explosive anti-tank High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) is the effect of a shaped charge explosive that uses the Munroe effect to penetrate heavy armor. The warhead functions by having an explosive charge collapse a metal liner inside the warhead into a high-velocity ...

(HEAT) round. The Model 1974 fires a 16.6-kilogram HE round with a muzzle velocity of 400 meters/second and a 14.7-kilogram HEAT round at 514 meters/second. The maximum range of the piece is 9,200 meters. Direct fire is limited to 1,800 meters using the optical sight with stadiametric

rangefinder A rangefinder (also rangefinding telemeter, depending on the context) is a device used to Length measurement, measure distances to remote objects. Originally optical devices used in surveying, they soon found applications in other fields, suc ...

or 1,200 meters using the spotting rifle. The Model 1974's range characteristics are the same. The Model 1968 is credited with a 200 mm penetration of armor with its HEAT round. The HEAT round for the Model 1974 can penetrate 400 mm of armor. Like many recoilless weapons, there is a significant back-blast from the Model 1968 with a 40-meter danger zone to the rear of the weapon.

Combat history

In the late 1960s or early 1970s, the Argentine military attempted to use it as a self-propelled gun or tank destroyer. At least two prototypes (one being either an

IHC IHC may refer to: Medicine * Immunohistochemistry * Intrahepatic cholestasis Science and technology * Cathode#Hot_cathode , Indirectly Heated Cathode, a type of hot cathode used in vacuum electronics tubes * Intelligent Home Control, home autom ...

M5 or M9 half-track and the other a Bren carrier) were fitted with a six-cannon mount each, similar to that of the US-made

M50 Ontos Ontos, officially the Rifle, Multiple 106 mm, Self-propelled, M50, was an American light armored tracked anti-tank vehicle developed in the 1950s. It mounted six 106 mm manually loaded M40 recoilless rifles as its main armament, which c ...

. Between 1977 and 1978, on the eve of

Operation Soberanía Operación Soberanía (Operation Sovereignty) was a planned Argentine military invasion of territory disputed with Chile, and ultimately possibly of Chile itself, due to the Beagle conflict. The invasion was initiated on 22 December 1978 but was h ...

, many carriers and half-tracks were converted to self-propelled guns by having a single Model 1968 mounted on them. The Model 1968 was fielded by the

Argentine Army The Argentine Army () is the Army, land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander-in-chief of the Armed For ...

during the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

. The Model 1974 is in service with Argentina and Guatemala.

Operators

Current

* *: 64 M-1974 guns acquired in 1982 or 1983.

Former

*: 72 M-1974 guns acquired in 1981. *: 156 Model 1968 guns acquired in 1971. *: 1 Model 1968 donated by Argentina to the

National Navy of Uruguay The National Navy of Uruguay () is a branch of the Armed Forces of Uruguay under the direction of the Ministry of National Defense and the commander in chief of the Navy (''Comandante en Jefe de la Armada'' or COMAR). History Independence Unde ...

in 1983.

References

Bibliography

* (JIW) Hogg, Ian. ''Jane's Infantry Weapons 1984-85'', London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1984. * (JIW 2008) Jones, Richard, and Ness, Leland. ''Jane's Infantry Weapons 2007-2008'', Coulsdon: Jane's Information Group Ltd., 2007. * (JWA) Keymer, Eleanor. ''Jane's World Armies Issue Twenty-three'', Coulsdon: Jane's Information Group Ltd., 2000. * (ATW) Norris, John. ''Anti-tank Weapons'', London: Brassey's, 1996.

External links

{{Commons category
Photo of the Model 1968 in the Falklands
Artillery of Argentina Recoilless rifles Anti-tank weapons Fabricaciones Militares