Name: Rheinmetall DeTec 120 mm APFSDS-T DM 33A1
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<h2>Armament</h2><p>Rheinmetall Detec120 mm Smoothbore Guns used on the Leopard 2 and Leopard L1A1A1 (prototype); Japanese Type 90; South Korean K1A1 . M256 Cannon used on M1A1 and M1A2 Abrams MBTs. This round can also be fired from the Otobreda 120 mm Smoothbore Gun, the Swiss 120 mm Compact Gun, the Giat Industries 120 mm Smoothbore Guns G1 and F1, and the Israel Military Industries ( IMI ) MG251 120 mm Smoothbore Gun.</p><h2>Development</h2><p>Development of what was to become the Rheinmetall DeTec 120 mm L/44 and L/55 Smoothbore Guns began in 1964, although it was not until 1974 that the first hardware trials took place. Series production began in 1979 for the Leopard 2 MBT . In 1978, the L/44 gun was adopted by the US Army as the M256 Cannon for the M1A1 Abrams MBT and the later M1A2 . The 120 mm APFSDS-T DM 33 was developed specifically for use with the Rheinmetall Detec Smoothbore Gun and it became the standard German kinetic energy round used with the Leopard 2 . The DM 13 and DM 23 were earlier versions which are no longer produced. The later DM 33A1 is in service with Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Japan and Switzerland, as well as the USA where it was the basis for the M829 APFSDS-T . A more recent model is the Franco-German DM 43A1, the equivalent of the Giat Industries 120 OFL F1 (qv). This was type classified by the German government in January 1996. Variants of this round, modified to suit US safety certification requirements, are produced in the USA by General Dynamics, Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS) as the KE-W(E) and KEW-A1 (see separate entry) . Development of the `fourth-generation' 120 mm APFSDS-T DM 53 was completed by Rheinmetall DeTec and Giat Industries of France by the end of 1992 (see following entry).</p><h2>Description</h2><p>The 120 mm DM 33A1 APFSDS-T round is fixed with the projectile assembly secured to the Combustible Cartridge Case (CCC) by a case adaptor ring. The CCC has a steel stub cartridge case base with a silicone rubber sealing ring around the top. A DM 72 or DM 92 electrical primer is secured to the cartridge case base and extends two-thirds of the way up the centre of the CCC. The CCC was developed in collaboration with WNC Nitrochemie GmbH, a Rheinmetall DeTec company (now part of Nitrochemie AG). The projectile assembly consists of a three-part aluminium sabot and a two-piece tungsten penetrator with a tracer element in the steel fin assembly. Sabot obturation is achieved by using a nylon band. The CCC contains 7.6 kg of granular multiperforated propellant in a containment bag which prevents spillage in the event of a rupture of the combustible case walls. Although described as combustible, case ignition does leave the steel base stub intact for ejection from the gun after firing. The DM 43A1 differs from earlier rounds in that the round weight is 19.5 kg, 4 kg of which is the penetrator. Muzzle velocity is 1,740 m/s and chamber pressure 5,500 bar. Modifications have been introduced to the penetrator, sabot and propellant, which is seven-perforation L1/M2400. Penetration performance has been reported as 560 mm of RHA at 2,000 m. The training equivalent for this round is the Rheinmetall DeTec APFSDS-T-TP (LKL) DM 38 or DM 48 - see separate entry for details. Rheinmetall DeTec has also proposed that early production examples of 120 mm APFSDS-T rounds, or rounds that have exceeded their shelf life, could be converted to relatively low-cost FSDS-TP-T training rounds by substituting the tungsten penetrator with an LKL component and replacing the propellant charge after reprocessing. The tungsten penetrator rods involved could be recycled by Rheinmetall. DeTec</p><h2>Authorised fuzes</h2><p>None involved Equivalent rounds UNITED STATES OF AMERICA</p><p>UNITED STATES OF AMERICA</p><h2>Manufacturer</h2><p>General Dynamics, Ordnance and Land Systems (GD-OTS)</p><p>Type: 120 mm KE-W(E)</p><p>Description: Combustible case containing JA-2 propellant manufactured by Armtec</p>

The 120 mm DM 33A1 APFSDS-T round is fixed with the projectile assembly secured to the Combustible Cartridge Case (CCC) by a case adaptor ring. The CCC has a steel stub cartridge case base with a silicone rubber sealing ring around the top. A DM 72 or DM 92 electrical primer is secured to the cartridge case base and extends two-thirds of the way up the centre of the CCC. The CCC was developed in collaboration with WNC Nitrochemie GmbH, a Rheinmetall DeTec company (now part of Nitrochemie AG). The projectile assembly consists of a three-part aluminium sabot and a two-piece tungsten penetrator with a tracer element in the steel fin assembly. Sabot obturation is achieved by using a nylon band. The CCC contains 7.6 kg of granular multiperforated propellant in a containment bag which prevents spillage in the event of a rupture of the combustible case walls.

Although described as combustible, case ignition does leave the steel base stub intact for ejection from the gun after firing. The DM 43A1 differs from earlier rounds in that the round weight is 19.5 kg, 4 kg of which is the penetrator. Muzzle velocity is 1,740 m/s and chamber pressure 5,500 bar. Modifications have been introduced to the penetrator, sabot and propellant, which is seven-perforation L1/M2400. Penetration performance has been reported as 560 mm of RHA at 2,000 m. The training equivalent for this round is the Rheinmetall DeTec APFSDS-T-TP (LKL) DM 38 or DM 48 - see separate entry for details. Rheinmetall DeTec has also proposed that early production examples of 120 mm APFSDS-T rounds, or rounds that have exceeded their shelf life, could be converted to relatively low-cost FSDS-TP-T training rounds by substituting the tungsten penetrator with an LKL component and replacing the propellant charge after reprocessing. The tungsten penetrator rods involved could be recycled by Rheinmetall. Of what was to become the Rheinmetall DeTec 120 mm L/44 and L/55 Smoothbore Guns began in 1964, although it was not until 1974 that the first hardware trials took place. Series production began in 1979 for the Leopard 2 MBT. In 1978, the L/44 gun was adopted by the US Army as the M256 Cannon for the M1A1 Abrams MBT and the later M1A2.

Rheinmetall DeTec 120 mm APFSDS-T DM 33A1

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