25 mm caliber is a range of autocannon ammunition. It includes the NATO standardized Swiss 25×137mm, the Swiss 25×184mm, the Soviet 25x218mmSR, and the Chinese 25×183mmB.
Usage The 25 mm round can be used for anti-materiel or anti-personnel purposes. In the anti-personnel role, a 25 mm HE round can kill large numbers of opposing troops either in the open or in light fortifications. In the anti-materiel role, a 25 mm weapon armed with armor-piercing rounds can disable many types of aircraft and ground vehicles, including some main battle tanks.
The US military uses 25 mm weapons in their AV-8B Harrier, AC-130 gunship, M2 Bradley, LAV-25, F-35 Lightning II and as a standard ship-based munition in the Mk 38 autocannon.
Types of 25 mm ammunition
Several sub-types of the NATO 25 mm ammunition are available—the most common being armor-piercing, high-explosive, sabot, tracer, and practice rounds. Cartridges are usually composed of a combination of the aforementioned categories. For example, the M791 is an armor-piercing discarding sabot with tracer (APDS-T) round. It is used against lightly armored vehicles, self-propelled artillery, and aerial targets such as helicopters and slow-moving fixed-wing aircraft.
25 mm weapons
Current weapons
Weapon Country of origin Designer Cartridge Type Oerlikon KBA Rheinmetall AG 25×137mm Autocannon M242 Bushmaster Hughes Helicopters 25×137mm Chain gun GAU-12/22 Equalizer General Electric 25×137mm Rotary cannon GIAT M811 GIAT Industries 25×137mm Autocannon SENTINEL 20 Escribano 25×137mm RWS Oerlikon KBB Rheinmetall AG 25×184mm Autocannon Oerlikon KBD Rheinmetall AG 25×184mm Autocannon Type 61 25×218mmSR Anti-aircraft autocannon Type 95 SPAAA 25×183mmB Anti-aircraft autocannon ZPT-90 25×183mmB Autocannon
Historical weapons
Weapon Country of origin Designer Cartridge Type 25 mm Hotchkiss anti-aircraft gunType 96 25 mm AT/AA gun Hotchkiss et Cie 25×163mm anti-aircraft gun 25 mm Hotchkiss anti-tank gun Hotchkiss et Cie 25×193.5mmR anti-tank gun 25 mm automatic air defense gun M1940 (72-K) Bofors-redevelopment (Mikhail Loginov and Lev Loktev) 25×218mmSR anti-aircraft gun Bofors 25 mm automatic gun L/64 Bofors 25×205mmR m/32 (initial) or 25×187mmR m/38 (later) anti-aircraft gun
See also 14.5×114mm 20 mm caliber 23 mm caliber 25 mm grenade 30 mm caliber List of cartridges (weaponry), pistol and rifle
Further reading U.S. Army Field Manual 3-22.1
References
External links Federation of American Scientists: 25mm Ammunition UXO Safety Information