100 mm anti-tank gun M1977

The A407 100mm anti-tank gun M1977 is a Romanian rifled 100-mm anti-tank gun which serves as the main towed anti-tank gun of the Romanian Land Forces from 1975 until present. Versions of the M1977 gun were installed on main battle tanks (TR-77 and TR-85) and ship turrets on river monitors.

A407 100mm anti-tank gun M1977
A407 gun of the 612th Anti-tank Battalion.
Type	Anti-tank gun
Place of origin	Socialist Republic of Romania
Service history
In service	1975–present
Wars	Gulf War
Production history
Manufacturer	Arsenal Reşiţa
Specifications
Mass	3,150 kg (6,940 lb)
Length	9.250 m
Barrel length	4.630 m
Width	2.250 m
Height	1.530 m
Crew	8
Shell	100 x 695 mmR
Caliber	100 millimetres (3.9 in)
Elevation	−5°/+37°
Traverse	27°30' left and right
Rate of fire	7 to 15 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity	900 m/s for HE 1400 m/s for APFSDS-T
Effective firing range	1.040 m for AP 1.728 m for APFSDS-T
Maximum firing range	20.600 m (HE) 4.000 m (AP) 3.000 m (HEAT)
Sights	mechanical sight, panoramic sight, optical sight, collimator

History

The A407 100mm anti-tank gun was the first artillery piece designed in Romania after World War II. The first variant of the gun, the M1975 (M stands for Model) had a semi-automatic horizontal sliding wedge type breech lock. The second variant, M1977, had a more practical vertical sliding wedge breech block.^[1]

The M1977 can be also used as a field gun at brigade level, as it has a maximum range of 20.6 kilometers. After 1992, the M1977 anti-tank guns were modernized with improved optical sights.^[2] The gun can be towed with the DAC 665T truck and has a maximum road speed of 60 km/h on road and 30 km/h off-road.

Variants

• M1975 - used the horizontal sliding wedge breech lock.
• M1977 - used the vertical sliding wedge breech lock.
• M2002 - modernized version of M1977 with a FCS TAT-100.^[3]

Adaptations:^[4]

• A 308 - tank gun used for TR-77 and TR-85 main battle tanks.
• A 430 - 100 mm gun used for ship turrets.

Operators

•  Iraq^[5]
•  Israel − One was delivered in 1993.^[6]
•  North Korea^[7]
•  Romania − 208 M1977 towed anti-tank guns in 2010.^[8]

See also

• T-12 antitank gun
• D-10 tank gun
• 100 mm field gun M1944 (BS-3)

References

Citations

1. Stroea A., page 146
2. Stroea. A, page 148
3. ROMARM description of M2002^{[permanent dead link‍]}
4. Stroea A., page 147
5. Marine Corps Intelligence Activity (1998). Iraq Country Handbook (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. p. A-52. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2005. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
6. UN Disarmament Archived 2008-12-14 at the Wayback Machine
7. "Military Forces of North Korea". Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
8. "IISS Military Balance 2010". Archived from the original on 2013-01-19. Retrieved 2011-02-26.

Bibliography

• Foss, Christopher F. (2005). Jane's Armour and Artillery 2005-2006. Jane's Information Group. ISBN 978-0-7106-2686-8.
• Stroea, Adrian; Băjenaru, Gheorghe (2010). Artileria română în date și imagini (Romanian artillery in data and images) (in Romanian). Editura Centrului Tehnic-Editorial al Armatei. ISBN 978-606-524-080-3.

External links

• Arsenal Reşiţa website^{[permanent dead link‍]}

Video

• Video of the M1977 firing on YouTube