20pdr OQF Mk.I (84 mm)

The 20pdr OQF Mk.I (84 mm) on the Centurion Mk.5/1 gun mantlet.

Description

The 20pdr OQF Mk.I is a 84 mm British tank cannon, developed after the end of WWII to combat the Soviet IS-3. It fires a variety of conventional shells, but introduces a new subcalibre APDS round paired with a two-plane stabilizer on all but one of its implementations.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• Caernarvon
• Centurion Action X
• Centurion Mk 3
• Centurion Mk.5/1
• Charioteer Mk VII
• ▄Charioteer Mk VII
• FV4202
• Sho't

General info

The 20pdr is first seen on the Charioteer without a stabilizer, but it isn't until it is mounted on the many Centurion variants that it truly shines. Its APCBC round has penetration comparable to the Tiger II's , but as usual for British tanks it lacks explosive filler. The unlockable APDS Mk.3 round, however, can reliably penetrate most tanks frontally with 285 mm of penetration at point blank, with a very high velocity that can allow one to land shots at long range with a punctual consistency. Unfortunately, the great penetration and good ballistics comes at a cost as the APDS round has very poor post-penetration damage, with a narrow cone of damage and no explosive filler. One must have a very extensive knowledge of enemy crew placement or ammo rack locations to reliably eliminate enemy tanks with one shot. For a player less familiar with enemy vehicles at the battle rating, it is advised to try to incapacitate the gunner or knock out the cannon to ensure the tank will not fire back.

Available ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Shot Mk.1	APCBC	232	229	216	201	187	173
Shot Mk.3	APDS	384	380	363	343	324	306
Shell Mk.1	HE	15	15	15	15	15	15

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Shot Mk.1	APCBC	1,000	9.1	-	-	-	48°	63°	71°
Shot Mk.3	APDS	1,430	3.22	-	-	-	75°	78°	80°
Shell Mk.1	HE	600	7.5	0.2	0.1	1.13	79°	80°	81°

Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Screen radius (m)	Screen deploy time (s)	Screen hold time (s)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
20pdr Shell SS Mk.1	250	9.3	9	5	20	50

Comparison with analogues

With the APDS rounds, the 20pdr has a penetration level similar to that of 3BM4 found on the T-62. The APCBC round's closest analogue is the PzGr. 39/43 found on the late-war German tanks such as the Tiger II and Ferdinand.

Usage in battles

Describe the cannon/machine gun in the game - its distinctive features, tactics of usage against notable opponents. Please don't write a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Impressive penetration, negates most armour
• High velocity and low drop, easy to hit moving and distant targets
• Usually stabilized on both axis

Cons:

• Poor post-penetration damage with all rounds

History

Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />.

Media

Videos

The Shooting Range #311 - Round Study section at 08:12 compares the rounds of the British 20-pdr cannon.

See also

• Kan Strv 81 (84 mm) - Swedish variant

External links

• [Wikipedia] Ordnance QF 20-pounder

Britain tank cannons
30 mm	L21A1
40 mm	QF 2-pounder
47 mm	Ordnance QF 3-pounder
57 mm	6pdr OQF Mk.III · 6pdr OQF Mk.V
75 mm	OQF Mk.V
76 mm	OQF 3-inch Howitzer Mk I · OQF 3in 20cwt · QF 17-pounder
77 mm	OQF Mk.II
84 mm	20pdr OQF Mk.I
94 mm	28pdr OQF · 32pdr OQF · OQF Mk.II
95 mm	Howitzer, Tank No.1, Mk.I
105 mm	LRF · Royal Ordnance L7A1
120 mm	Ordnance QF Tk. L1A2 · Ordnance BL Tk. L11 · L11A5 · L30A1
165 mm	ORD BL 6.5in L9A1
183 mm	QF L4A1
	Foreign:
25 mm	M242 (USA)
37 mm	M5 (USA) · M6 (USA)
75 mm	M2 (USA) · M3 (USA)
84 mm	kan Strv 81 (Sweden)
105 mm	Sharir (Israel)
120 mm	Rh120 L/55 A1 (Germany)
125 mm	2A46M-5 (Russia)
155 mm	M185 (USA)
	South Africa
20 mm	GI-2
76 mm	GT-4
90 mm	GT-2
105 mm	GT-3 · GT-7 · GT-8
155 mm	G6 L/45

Sweden tank cannons
20 mm	Akan m/47D · Pvlvkan m/40
37 mm	kan m/38
40 mm	akan m/70B
57 mm	Pvkan m/43
75 mm	kan m/02 · kan m/41 · kan Strv 74 · lvkan m/37 A · pvkan m/43
84 mm	kan Strv 81
90 mm	kan Ikv 91
105 mm	kan Bofors · kan Ikv · kan m/44 · kan Strv 101 · L74
120 mm	automatkanon · CTG · kan Strv 121 · kan Strv 122
150 mm	fsthaub m/02
155 mm	kan m/60
	Foreign:
35 mm	Bushmaster 3 (USA)
73 mm	2A28 (USSR)
75 mm	M3 (USA)
88 mm	KwK43 (Germany)
105 mm	L/50 (Belgium) · L7A3 (Germany)
125 mm	2A46M-1 (USSR)
155 mm	CN98 (South Korea)
	Finland
37 mm	Psv.K/36
114 mm	Psv.H/18
	Foreign:
30 mm	Bushmaster 2 Mk.44 (USA)
45 mm	20-K (USSR)
75 mm	KwK40 L48 (Germany)
76 mm	D-56TS (USSR) · F-34 (USSR) · L-10 (USSR)
77 mm	OQF Mk.II (Britain)
84 mm	20pdr OQF Mk.I (Britain)
85 mm	ZIS-S-53 (USSR)
100 mm	D-10T (USSR) · D-10T2S (USSR)
105 mm	L/50 (Belgium)
120 mm	Rh120 L/44 (Germany) · Rh120 L/55 (Germany)
125 mm	2A46 (USSR)

Israel tank cannons
30 mm	Bushmaster 2 Mk.44 (USA)
75 mm	SA50 L/57 (France)
84 mm	20pdr OQF Mk.I (UK)
90 mm	DEFA F1 (France) · M41 (USA)
100 mm	D-10T (USSR)
105 mm	M-51 (France) · M68 (USA) · Sharir
120 mm	IMI MG251
155 mm	M126 (USA) · M185 (USA) · Soltam M845