Anti-materiel rifle


An anti-materiel rifle is a rifle that is designed for use against military equipment, rather than against other combatants.

History

The origins of the anti-materiel rifle go back to the First World War, during which the first anti-tank rifles appeared. While modern tanks and most other armored vehicles are too well protected to be affected by anti-materiel rifles, the guns are still effective for attacking unarmored or lightly armored vehicles. They can also be used against stationary enemy aircraft, missile launchers, radar equipment, small watercraft, communications equipment, crew served weapons and similar targets. Their value is in being able to precisely target and disable enemy assets from long range for a relatively low cost.
Despite having been designed to be used against equipment, anti-materiel rifles have also been used for killing soldiers from distances that are beyond the effective range of rifle-caliber cartridges. Anti-materiel rifles can also penetrate most obstacles and building materials, making them viable for dispatching targets behind cover that is usually hard enough to stop rifle-caliber cartridges.
The offensive use of anti-materiel rifles or special application scoped rifles is termed hard target interdiction by the United States military.
Anti-materiel rifles can also be used in non-offensive rolesfor example, for safely destroying unexploded ordnance.

World War I

The history of anti-materiel rifles dates back to use during the First World War. The need for Anti-tank rifles was first encountered by the Germans when faced with the British Mark 1 tank. The Mark I could cross ditches up to wide, which made it a major threat to infantry in trench defenses. As a counter, the Germans first used “direct fire mortars” which were mortars aimed at low angles pointing towards enemy tanks. Later, the Germans developed the T-Gewehr anti-tank rifle, which can be credited with being the first anti-materiel rifle. The rifle was designed to penetrate the thick armor of the British tanks. The rifle weighed when loaded, fired a 13.2 mm round weighing, and had an effective range of about. This weapon had a two-man crew: one to load and the other to fire the weapon, although they often switched roles. The recoil of this weapon was so high that it was known to break collar bones and dislocate shoulders. The rifle fired a steel core armor-piercing round specifically designed for the purpose of being used with this rifle.

World War II

During World War II, anti-materiel guns were widely used. The British Boys 0.55 calibre anti-tank rifle was a significant increase on the usual 0.303 calibre ammunition used by its infantry. Another weapon used was the Lahti L-39 rifle, an anti-materiel rifle designed by the Finns. One version was designed to fire a 13.2 mm cartridge and another a 20 mm cartridge. There was debate over which was more effective at piercing armor. Some argued that the smaller cartridge travelled faster and could penetrate deeper into the armor, while some believed that the higher caliber rounds would cause greater damage. The weapon weighed an incredible and had an barrel, and it carried the nickname "the elephant gun".

Cold War

During the Cold War the Barrett M82 rifle was produced by the United States, and was chambered to fire a.50 Browning 12.7x99 mm round. This weapon was sold by the United States to Swedish forces during the Cold War.

Desert Storm

The M82 rifle first saw action in the 1990s during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The US Marine Corps initially purchased around 125 M82 rifles; orders from the Army and Air Force followed. These weapons were used with rounds such as armor piercing incendiary rounds which were effective against such targets as buildings, trucks, and parked aircraft. The purpose of this round was to penetrate non-armored vehicles and burst into flames on impact.

Modern day

Anti-materiel guns were used during World War I and World War II to penetrate the armor of tanks. In the modern era, the armor of tanks and other vehicles increased, making it difficult for.50 BMG bullets to penetrate. Modern day anti-materiel rifles are used to penetrate light armor vehicles or targets such as concrete barricades and buildings as well as being used to destroy unexploded ordnance. One of the most popular anti-materiel rifles today is the Barrett M107, not only for its military use but also as one of the most popular weapons available to civilians. This is due to the design of the weapon, being built with a suppressor-ready muzzle brake, a thermal cheek pad, and a hand grip mounted on the inside of the rail. This rifle fires a.50 BMG caliber bullet and weighs, with a barrel length of. Other popular anti-materiel rifles include the Zastava M93 Black arrow, McMillan Tac-50, Gepard GM6 Lynx, AMSD OM 50 Nemesis, Accuracy International AS50, Mechem NTW-20, Istiglal IST-14.5, WKW Wilk and the CheyTac Intervention M-200.

Description

Anti-materiel rifles are for use against military equipment rather than personnel. The type and size of ammunition defines a rifle as anti-materiel. When used with conventional ball or target ammunition the rifle does not have any anti-materiel capability above and beyond that of any other high velocity, large calibre rifle. The Saint Petersburg Declaration of 1868 deemed explosive rounds to be inhumane in use against personnel, but they can be employed against materiel. The size of the bullet also plays a factor in the definition. A standard rifle typically fires a 5.56mm or 7.62mm round, while anti-materiel rifles tend to fire a 12.7-mm round with the capacity for greater destruction and penetration.
In general, anti-materiel rifles are chambered for 12.7×99 mm NATO, 12.7×108 mm Russian, 14.5×114 mm Russian, and 20 mm cartridges. The large cartridges are required to be able to fire projectiles containing usable payloads, such as explosives, armor-piercing cores, incendiaries, or combinations of these, as found in the Raufoss Mk 211 projectile.
The recoil produced by the cartridges employed dictates that these rifles are designed to be fired from the prone position. Bipods and monopods and muzzle brakes are used as accessories to employ these rifles as comfortably and accurately as possible. Firing several 12.7×99 mm NATO, 12.7×108 mm Russian, or larger caliber shots from the standing position or in a kneeling position would be very uncomfortable for the operator and can result in them being knocked over or sustaining a shoulder injury.
Two- to three-man sniper teams are required when using an anti-materiel rifle, due to its size and weight, as well as its possible range. According to the U.S. army, the range of a standard sniper rifle firing a 7.62x51 mm NATO round is a distance of about while the Barrett's effective range is against personnel targets, and against materiel targets. The longest confirmed kill shot was made with a.50 BMG by a Canadian sniper in Iraq at.

List of anti-materiel rifles

The following table contains a sortable list of some anti-materiel rifles.
RifleCountry of originCaliber
Steyr IWS 2000Austria15.2mm proprietary SteyAr APFSDS
Steyr HS.50Austria.50 BMG
.460 Steyr
IstiglalAzerbaijan14.5×114mm
AMR-2China12.7×108mm
JQChina12.7×108mm
JS 12.7China12.7×108mm
LR2AChina12.7×108mm
Zijiang M99China12.7×108mm
.50 BMG
W03China12.7×108mm
RT-20Croatia20x110mm Hispano
Mambi AMRCuba14.5×114mm
CZW-127Czech Republic.50 BMG
12.7×108mm
FalconCzech Republic.50 BMG
12.7×108mm
PGM Hecate IIFrance.50 BMG
PDSHPGeorgia14.5×114mm
Satevari MSWPGeorgia.50 BMG
DSR-Precision GmbH DSR-50Germany.50 BMG
Mauser 1918 T-GewehrGermany13.2mm TuF
Gepárd anti-materiel riflesHungary.50 BMG,
12.7×108mm,
14.5×114mm Russian
VidhwansakIndia12.7×108mm
14.5×114mm
20×82mm
Pindad SPR-2 and SPR-3Indonesia.50 BMG on SPR-2, 7.62 NATO on SPR-3
ShaherIran14.5×114mm
TorPoland.50 BMG
KSVKRussia12.7×108mm
OSV-96Russia12.7×108mm
Zastava M93 Black ArrowSerbia.50 BMG or
12.7×108mm
Denel NTW-20South Africa14.5×114mm Russian
20×82mm
20×110mm Hispano
Truvelo SR-20South Africa14.5×114mm
20×82mm
20×110mm Hispano
SAN 511 Switzerland.50 BMG
Solothurn S-18/1000Switzerland20x138mmB
MKEK MAM-15Turkey.50 BMG
Accuracy International AS50United Kingdom.50 BMG
Accuracy International AW50United Kingdom.50 BMG
Accuracy International AW50FUnited Kingdom.50 BMG
Accuracy International AX50United Kingdom.50 BMG
Barrett M82A1/M107United States.50 BMG
Barrett M90United States.50 BMG
Barrett M95United States.50 BMG
Barrett M99United States.50 BMG
.416 Barrett
Barrett XM500United States.50 BMG
Barrett XM109United States25×59mm
Anzio 20mm rifleUnited States20x102mm Vulcan
Serbu Firearms BFG-50aUnited States.50 BMG
.510 DTC Europ
Windrunner M96United States.50 BMG
.510 DTC Europ
Leader 50 A1United States.50 BMG
Iver Johnson AMAC-1500United States.50 BMG
McMillan Tac-50United States.50 BMG
Desert Tech HTIUnited States.50 BMG