Is there any use of light guns on tanks/armored vehicles?

[johnpjones1775]

Is there any use of a 37 or 40mm gun in a light tank?

As the guns of armored vehicles, particularly of tanks have gotten larger, is there really any point of a vehicle with a 37 or 40mm gun?

 

[Prophet141]

There are plenty of IFVs these days armed with autocannons in that calibre range. Weapons such as the CTA 40 (40mm), Bofors L/70 (40mm), and the Bushmaster III (35mm) see fairly common usage. As for single-shot, breech loaded weapons, I can't off the top of my head remember any designs below 60mm that have seen any success in recent decades. There are quite a lot of low pressure 75 - 105mm designs that can fit in a lighter turret due to their lower recoil and reduced recoil stroke, and these can be thought of as the successor to the 37mm/40mm guns of the 1930s and 1940s. as they're often mounted on modern light tanks. High explosive capacity is the goal of these weapons, and when anti armour capabilities are needed, they're well suited for HEAT rounds (or you can strap an AT missile on top to give it top-of-the-line AT performance).

 

[paralay]

A promising weapon of Russian armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles with a trajectory-guided projectile
57-mm
It will be possible to make a guided projectile of a smaller caliber, then smaller guns will appear

 

[Dilandu]

Is there any use of a 37 or 40mm gun in a light tank?

As the guns of armored vehicles, particularly of tanks have gotten larger, is there really any point of a vehicle with a 37 or 40mm gun?

Automatic cannon in remote controlled mount over turret, and provided with proximity/programmable fuzes - yes, it may be quite efficient defense against light drones.

 

[Avimimus]

A promising weapon of Russian armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles with a trajectory-guided projectile
57-mm. It will be possible to make a guided projectile of a smaller caliber, then smaller guns will appear

There is a Russian report somewhere that speculates one could get about 300mm of penetration from an 57×347mm using modern technologies.

 

[paralay]

The length of the "arrow" is 330 mm. estimated penetration - 183 mm

And why use penetration? Isn't it more rational to use performance?With the same parameters (only hardness - 300) under 60 - 275.8 mm in size.At right angles it will be about 236.2 mm

 

[johnpjones1775]

There are plenty of IFVs these days armed with autocannons in that calibre range. Weapons such as the CTA 40 (40mm), Bofors L/70 (40mm), and the Bushmaster III (35mm) see fairly common usage. As for single-shot, breech loaded weapons, I can't off the top of my head remember any designs below 60mm that have seen any success in recent decades. There are quite a lot of low pressure 75 - 105mm designs that can fit in a lighter turret due to their lower recoil and reduced recoil stroke, and these can be thought of as the successor to the 37mm/40mm guns of the 1930s and 1940s. as they're often mounted on modern light tanks. High explosive capacity is the goal of these weapons, and when anti armour capabilities are needed, they're well suited for HEAT rounds (or you can strap an AT missile on top to give it top-of-the-line AT performance).

An APC/IFV isn’t a tank

 

[DWG]

An APC/IFV isn’t a tank

But there's a pretty continuous overlap from APC to IFV to Recce Vehicle to Light Tank

 

[johnpjones1775]

But there's a pretty continuous overlap from APC to IFV to Recce Vehicle to Light Tank

Not really.
A recce vehicle can be literally anything from a dirtbike up to a Bradly.

A light tank and an IFV are not the same things.

 

[Scott Kenny]

Is there any use of a 37 or 40mm gun in a light tank?

As the guns of armored vehicles, particularly of tanks have gotten larger, is there really any point of a vehicle with a 37 or 40mm gun?

What job do you have in mind for this "light tank"?

And also, do you mean single shot or autocannon?

If you mean single shot cannon for anything under 50mm? No. Not enough boom. Autocannon? Yes. The rate of fire can partly make up for the lack of boom per shot. Witness the method for a Bradley making a mousehole for infantry in a concrete building: blasting a spiral into the wall in a single 20-35rd burst.

Bluntly, look at what the MPF is armed with. Also the Stryker MGS. 105mm.

A big HE thrower.

I wouldn't expect a "light tank" to really have anything smaller than about a 90mm for HE, or a low-recoil 105mm.

An ICV (like a Stryker or M113) really needs a gun big enough to throw enough HE to deal with obstacles, not just a .50cal or Mk19. An IFV, we can argue between a smaller autocannon with ATGMs or a larger HE thrower like a 100 or 105 (I'm not sure which one would be preferable, to be honest)

 

[DWG]

Not really.
A recce vehicle can be literally anything from a dirtbike up to a Bradly.

A light tank and an IFV are not the same things.

APC - ASCOD without a turret
IFV - ASCOD with a turret
Recce - Ajax
Light Tank - Sabrah (ASCOD 105)

Continuous spectrum from APC to light tank within one family of vehicles, and I could equally have picked other vehicle families.

 

[johnpjones1775]

APC - ASCOD without a turret
IFV - ASCOD with a turret
Recce - Ajax
Light Tank - Sabrah (ASCOD 105)

Continuous spectrum from APC to light tank within one family of vehicles, and I could equally have picked other vehicle families.

Ajax is an IFV…

 

[TomS]

Ajax is an IFV…

Not in UK service. It's derived from the ASCOD IFV, but the Ajax version is primarily a scout/recon vehicle.

 

[kqcke for you]

Ajax is an IFV…

Ajax is an Recce and ifv as that is it mission and what it was designed for but first and foremost an recce

 

[johnpjones1775]

Not in UK service. It's derived from the ASCOD IFV, but the Ajax version is primarily a scout/recon vehicle.

What makes it a scout/recon vehicle exactly?

 

[johnpjones1775]

Not in UK service. It's derived from the ASCOD IFV, but the Ajax version is primarily a scout/recon vehicle.

What makes it a scout/recon vehicle exactly?

Ajax is an Recce and ifv as that is it mission and what it was designed for but first and foremost an recceView attachment 749558

it’s an IFV for Cav-scouts…

 

[TomS]

What makes it a scout/recon vehicle exactly?

Well, the provision of an advanced surveillance sensor package and the total absence of room for infantry dismounts, for starters.

 

[kqcke for you]

What makes it a scout/recon vehicle exactly?

it’s an IFV for Cav-scouts…

The fact that its equiped with Recce Equipment, its designed as sutch (i mean the name it had before says it all with Scout SV = Specialist Vehicle. It has an special electronic suite with 6 TB of storage for sensors.

 

[kqcke for you]

The fact that its equiped with Recce Equipment, its designed as sutch (i mean the name it had before says it all with Scout SV = Specialist Vehicle. It has an special electronic suite with 6 TB of storage for sensors.

Im not saying that it doesn't have IFV features / it can't be used like that but AJAX as it is is coming as Recce where they replace CVR(T) not Warrior

 

[DWG]

Ajax is an IFV…

First there was Future Cavalry Scout Vehicle and TRACER as the linked US/UK replacements for M3 Bradley and the Scorpion family respectively, then that went away and the UK rebooted TRACER as part of the Future Rapid Effects System, within which was the Scout Specialist Vehicle, for which Ajax was the winning competitor.

TLDR: Ajax is a scout vehicle, not an IFV.

(Boxer is our future dismount carrier)