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Unknown .50 cal, FA 48, 20mm case?

917601

Well-Known Member
If this was .60 cal. I could identify it. The projectile is .509” dia.- .50 cal. I assume. Any information appreciated. It is pictured with a few .50 cal I linked.
 

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This is a ".60/.50 XPL Vulcan TE 51" aka ".60/.50 XPL FA FAT 22".
 

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In the books "History of Modern U.S. Military Small Arms Ammunition" from Hackley, F., W.H. Woodin and E.L. Scranton, short HWS, the history of the cartridge is described.
Vol. 2. 1940-1945 pp. 238-239
Vol. 3. 1946-1977 p. 436
 
If you don't have access to HWS, the following might help:

In the early 1940s the .60 cal anti-tank rifle round was seen by the USAAF as an ideal replacement for the .50 BMG. Various guns were designed around it, including a much-modified Mauser MG 151, but none proved satisfactory. The final attempts happened postwar, in early prototypes of the M39 revolver cannon and the M61 rotary.

The USAAF was keen on very high velocity ammunition, as this minimised the time of flight and maximised the hit probability. So they tried to push these to the max with the .60/50. However, they eventually realised that an explosive shell was more valuable to have, so necked out the .60 case to create the 20 x 102 round in service today.
 
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