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120mm US HESH Round - ID Help Needed Please

M8owner

Well-Known Member
This item is available for sale in the US. I have not seen it in person yet. A friend sent me this photo. My best guess is a 120mm HESH, but I do not see a driving band. This could be a made up round?
The photo I have of the base is out of focus. It is reported to be 37.5 inches tall and 6 inches in diameter at the base.

Thank you for your help.

Steve
 

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You're an American. It's American. We don't have HESH, we call it HEP here. I don't remember a 120 HEP, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Are you certain it is a 120?
 
The only thing I am certain about is that I have a picture. I have no other information except those rough dimensions. I was a US tanker in the 80's, and all the HESH/HEP rounds were gone by that time - never saw one.
 
It looks like a 105mm HEP-T, but normally the top band of the two rotating bands rests on top of the case and the second band is inside the case. That looks like some type of drill round. The projectile looks U.S., but the bands and crimp are screwed up.

It might be a 120mm BAT round, but it doesn't look to be large enough in diameter or long enough. See if you can get a photo of the head of the case.
 
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It might be a 120mm BAT round, but it doesn't look to be large enough in diameter or long enough. See if you can get a photo of the head of the case.

Its not a 120mm BAT. The case profile is wrong and the construction of the case at the base is wrong too - BAT is multi piece construction with steel base. As for what it is.......I was thinking along the lines of 105 also.

Dave.
 
Definately not 120mm BAT.

The BAT case has an insulated ring around the case just above the rim that is one contact for the primer.
 
That is a US 105MM case made for the M68 Tank gun, most likely, a M148A1B1 case. There is also another case variant that I forgot its designation that is 1/4 inch longer also made for the M68 Gun. The M68 gun is mounted on the M1 Abrams Tank.

Jason
 
The M148A1B1 case is not used for HEP-T rounds. The M150B1 case is used for HEP-T, WP-T, and Flechette rounds. The M148 cases are used with HEAT and APFSDS-T projectiles and the M115 cases are used with APDS and TPDS projectiles.
 
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Yes, the M150B1 case is the one I mentioned that is about 1/4 inch longer then the M148A1B1 that I could not remember its designation. THANKS! Most of my collection is boxed up now so I could not go and look :)

Jason
 
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It sure is! Working on tearing my house down to rebuild, just getting started is taking forever. I moved everything but my inert 120MM specimens which will be moved next. I just finished writing an IAA article on them and needed to take pics. :)

Jason
 
I found this pic of what I was told is a US 105G HEP-T M393A2 round. It looks to have a different dual driving band.

Jason

105G HEP-T M393A2.jpg
 
The 105mm HEP is still being loaded, though in limited numbers at the Iowa AAP. All are for military sales to foreign countries that use the M 60 tank. There was a 90mm round of them last year that went to the Philippines. I only have a parcel list of who got the 105 HEPs, some were in S America, 1 in the mid east, and I can't remember if it was Turkey or Greece who bought some.
 
Jason, that round looks like the band has been turned down on it, and 1 band belongs in the case. Also, I don't think that's the right case. the M150 doesn't use stake marks.
 
105 loading round

I was searching old posts and found this with no definitive answer posted. It is the M457 dummy/ loading round. Heavy, 50 lbs, no rotating band shows, it has a steel weight attached to the base of the projectile to give the correct weight and CG. I posted a thread on the one I found a month ago or so. The base reads- M457 Dummy- For M68 Gun. I have been having fun with it, I give all my visitors a chance to lift it out of the crate.....

http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threads/97392-105mm-HEP-inert-round
 

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