Model 1968 recoilless gun

Last updated
Modelo 1968
Czekalski canon sin retroceso.JPG
Type Recoilless rifle
Place of originArgentina
Service history
Used byArgentina
Wars Falklands War
Production history
Designed1960s
ManufacturerRio Tercero Military Factory
Produced1968
Specifications
Mass397 kg (875 lb)
Length4.20 m (13.8 ft)
Barrel  length3.00 m (9.84 ft)
Height1.07 m (3.5 ft) (Model 1974)
Crew4
Shell HEAT, HE
Elevation -7 to +40° [1]
Traverse 360°
Rate of fire 3-5 rpm
Muzzle velocity 400 m/s
Maximum firing range9,200 m (5.7 mi)
Sights4x optical
stadiametric rangefinder

The Model 1968 recoilless rifle is a 105mm anti-tank gun [2] developed and employed by Argentina. The weapon has been in active service since 1968 and 150 [3] were still operational with Argentine forces as of 2000. [4]

Contents

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 customarily done using the optical sight, but the weapon also includes a FAP (Fusil Automatico Pesado) or (Heavy Automatic Rifle) spotting rifle. [5] Ammunition for the Model 1968 includes both an 11.1-kilogram (24.47 lb) high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) shell with 400 m/s muzzle velocity [6] and a 15.6 kg (34.39 lb) HE shell being able to penetrate approximately 200mm (7.87 inches) of armor. [7]

The maximum range of the Model 1968 is 9,200 meters with an effective range of between 1,200 and 1,800 meters [8] using the optical sight with stadiametric rangefinder. [9] Like many recoilless rifles, there is a significant Backblast area from the Model 1968 with a 40-meter danger zone to the rear of the weapon.

Combat history

The Model 1968 was deployed during the Falklands (Malvinas) campaign to retake Port Stanley [10] and the weapon was used during Mount Longdon. The Argentine Army units which being the 7th Infantry Regiment and Argentine Marine platoons in the outer hills defending those positions used the Model 1968 as a direct-fire and indirect-fire anti-tank piece against advancing British formations. One contemporary account states these rifles were used to bombard advancing 3 PARA units and even hit a British MILAN anti-tank position during the Battle of Mount Longdon. The Argentine military attempted to use it as self-propelled artillery or as a tank destroyer. At least two prototypes (one being either an IHC 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.

Operators

Current

Former

References

  1. ↑ ATW, p. 13
  2. ↑ "105mm M1974". Weaponsystems.net. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  3. ↑ "El proyectil encontrado en Viedma sería igual a los utilizados en Malvinas". NoticiasNet - Informacion de Rio Negro, Patagones y la costa (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  4. ↑ JWA, p. 25
  5. ↑ JIW, p. 689.
  6. ↑ "El cañón que recuerda los 40 años de la gesta de Malvinas llega el lunes a Villegas". Diario Actualidad (in Spanish). 2022-05-14. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  7. ↑ "Infantry Support and Anti-tank Weapons in Latin America: 90mm and 105mm Recoilless Rifles – Small Arms Defense Journal" . Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  8. ↑ Raies, Alejandra; Avila, Sebastian (2023-12-24). "El cañón sin retroceso Czekalski: un aporte metodológico para el estudio arqueológico de la guerra de Malvinas (1982)". Anuario de Arqueología (in Spanish). 15 (15): 147–162. doi:10.35305/aa.v15i15.116. ISSN   2684-0138.
  9. ↑ "Small Arms Defense Journal" (PDF). sadefensejournal.com. May–June 2021.
  10. ↑ "Infantry Support and Anti-tank Weapons in Latin America: 90mm and 105mm Recoilless Rifles – Small Arms Defense Journal" . Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  11. ↑ "Armamento argentino olvidado por la historia en Centro América". Desarrollo y Defensa (in Spanish). 30 June 2015.
  12. ↑ Decreto S 478/1981 (in Spanish). Boletín Oficial de la República Argentina. 19 June 1981. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  13. ↑ Decreto S 1742/1971 (in Spanish). Boletín Oficial de la República Argentina. 9 June 1971.
  14. ↑ Ley N. 22.680 (in Spanish). Boletín Oficial de la República Argentina. 26 July 1983.

Bibliography

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