105 mm Modèle F1


The 105 mm Modèle F1 is a French 105 mm tank gun used with the AMX-30. A shorter version of this gun was also used in the Israeli Super Sherman.

Design

The gun was a monoblock steel cannon protected from bending with a magnesium alloy thermal sleeve.< The F1 is fitted with a semi-automatic vertical sliding wedge breechblock, though fitted without a muzzle brake. Unlike the similar 105mm L7 tank gun, the F1 uses a compressed air scavenging system instead of a bore evacuator. The recoil mechanism uses two symmetrically opposed hydraulic brake cylinders with a single hydropneumatic recuperator cylinder.
One of the unique features of the gun was the Obus à Charge Creuse de 105 mm Modèle F1 HEAT projectile. HEAT warheads suffer when spin stabilized, a product of rifled barrels, causing the French to develop the Obus G,. This projectile was composed of two major parts, including the outer shell and a suspended inner shell, divided by ball bearings. This allowed the projectile to be spin-stabilized, and therefore more accurate than a normal fin-stabilized HEAT-round, while the inner shell did not move, allowing the warhead to work at maximum efficiency. The warhead, containing 780 gram hexolite, could penetrate up to of steel armour and was effective against tanks at up to. As it combined a good accuracy with a penetration that was independent of range, it has been considered an "ideal round" for its day The F1 was also designed to fire the OCC F1 Mle.60 high explosive projectile, the SCC F1 training warhead and the OFUM PH-105 F1 smoke round.

Specification