From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anti-tank rifle cartridge
13.2 × 92 mm SR
|
---|
Comparison of British
.303
(left) and German 13.2 mm Tuf (right).
|
Type
| Anti-tank rifle
Heavy machine gun
|
---|
Place of origin
| German Empire
|
---|
|
In service
| 1918?1919
[
citation needed
]
|
---|
Wars
| World War I
|
---|
|
Designed
| 1917
|
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|
Bullet diameter
| 13.2 mm (0.525 in)
[1]
|
---|
Neck diameter
| 14.6 mm (0.57 in)
|
---|
Shoulder diameter
| 19.1 mm (0.75 in)
|
---|
Base diameter
| 20.9 mm (0.82 in)
|
---|
Rim diameter
| 23.1 mm (0.91 in)
|
---|
Case length
| 91.3 mm (3.59 in)
|
---|
Overall length
| 132.6 mm (5.22 in)
|
---|
|
|
|
Bullet mass/type
|
Velocity
|
Energy
|
51.5 g (795 gr) Solid
|
785 m/s (2,580 ft/s)
|
15,868 J (11,704 ft?lbf)
|
|
Test barrel length: 39"
|
The
13.2 × 92 mm SR
, also known as
Mauser 13.2 mm TuF
(
German
:
Tank und Flieger
; literally "tank and aircraft", historical military designation), is a
semi-rimmed
rifle
and
machine gun
cartridge
developed by the
German Empire
for
anti-tank
and
anti-aircraft
use which was introduced during
World War I
. The cartridge was a major step in the development of anti-tank cartridges, being the first one designed for the sole purpose of destroying
armored
targets.
History
[
edit
]
The cartridge was used in the
Mauser Tankgewehr M1918
anti-tank rifle. Its use was also planned in a new heavy machine gun scheduled for deployment in 1919, the
MG 18 TuF
.
The 13.2 mm Tuf was designed to counter
early British tanks
which made their appearance during late
World War I
. Since a tank's path was difficult to determine prior to its deployment near the front,
land mines
were difficult to employ as a deterrent to their forward passage. Light artillery pieces pressed into service as
anti-tank guns
were very effective, but cumbersome and difficult to bring into action quickly enough. Thus, another means of combating these early armored vehicles needed to be found. Since early plate armor was relatively thin due to the need to reduce vehicle weight for low-powered
drive trains
to propel the unit (and since tanks were mainly designed to protect from machine-gun fire), large-
bore
rifles could be used to harass and kill tank crews.
[2]
When word of the German anti-tank round spread, there was some debate amongst Allied militaries as to whether it should be copied and used as the basis for a new machine gun cartridge.
[
citation needed
]
However, after some analysis, an exact copy of the German ammunition was ruled out. Firstly, its performance was regarded as inadequate (compared, for example, to the later
.50 BMG
? which itself may be regarded as enlarged
.30-06 Springfield
round and has - therefore - a preceding German Mauser round).
[
citation needed
]
Secondly, the 13.2 mm round was a
semi-rimmed cartridge
, making it sub-optimal for automatic weapons. Nevertheless, when the US military learned of the German round, the .50 BMG was still on the design stage;
[
citation needed
]
the fact that the .50 BMG was started prior to discovery of the German round can in no way rule out the possibility that the German round played a significant part in formulating the .50 BMG parameters (even though) the latter emerged with significantly different performance characteristics.
[3]
Design
[
edit
]
The 13.2 Tuf utilized a 92 mm-long semi-rimmed case featuring a shallow bottle-neck. It was developed by the
Polte ammunition factory
in
Magdeburg
, Germany.
[4]
[2]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]