Dual Automatic Gun M2 (40 mm)

Description

The Bofors 40 mm is a heavy autocannon used mainly by the United States, occasionally finding use amongst the British and the German vehicles. Introduced around the Second World War, the Bofors 40 mm gave itself a good name due to its reliability as a cannon and general effectiveness.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• M19A1
• ▅M19A1
• M42
• ▅M42
• ␗M42

General info

The Bofors 40 mm has a medium rate of fire.

Available ammunition

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Comparison with analogues

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Usage in battles

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Pros and cons

Pros:

• Powerful 40 mm HEF-I shells (Mk.II) with high amounts of explosive filler that can shred planes to pieces with successful 1 hit
• The M81A1 AP rounds can easily deal with sides of medium tanks and can damage cannon barrel and tracks
• Acceptable muzzle velocity for the gun
• Acceptable rate of fire

Cons:

• The 40 mm shell penetrates up to 76 mm of armour, not enough to deal with some German SPAAs
• Muzzle velocity and rate of fire are not really good
• High leading angle is needed to hit the enemy aircraft
• Not suitable gun for higher tiers, especially against jets

History

The United States started production of the Swedish Bofors L/60 under very unusual circumstances. While an example was purchased by the Navy Bureau of Ordinance for testing arrived on United States Army USAT American Legion, that same month, the Bofors was demonstrated by the Dutch Navy which convinced the United States Navy to adopt the design. However, Sweden's request for airplane exports and manufacturing licenses in a quid-pro-quo stalled the agreement for the United States to license-build the design until June of 1941. It is alleged that prior to acquiring this license, the British sent schematics for their Bofors guns in imperial measurements. Regardless of how they acquired the design, the United States put Chrysler in charge of producing guns for the United States Navy, and by 1942, the Army having tested British Army Bofors guns, started adopting them too, replacing their locally designed 37mm M1A2 as the Army and Marine Corps anti-aircraft gun of choice.

The US Army designation of the Bofors L/60 is the 40 mm Automatic Gun M1. The development of a self-propelled anti-aircraft variant began with the T65 which was a Bofors L/60 mounted on the chassis of the M5 Stuart light tank, however, the M5 was being phased out of production in favor of the newer M24 Chaffee. To increase the firepower available, the new M24 based design was fitted with a dual-mount of air-cooled 40 mm Bofors L/60 guns designed the Dual Automatic Gun M2 by the US Army. The end result was the M19A1 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage.

While the priority for Chaffee tanks meant the design was too late to see service in Europe, the M19 would see action during the Korean War, most notably during the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir and the Battle of the Pusan Perimeter. In 1951, a handful of M19s were delivered to the Netherlands. In 1954, the newly formed Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force received the design. When the Army began the replacement of the M24 Chaffee during the Korean War with the newer M41 Walker Bulldog, they simply took the M19's turret and modified it to fit on the M41's larger turret ring to create the M42 Duster. However, during the 1950s, the US Army concluded the Bofors gun was obsolete in the new jet age and retired the design for the HAWK Surface-to-Air-Missile. However, the HAWK had a poor performance in Vietnam and so the M42 was brought out of retirement for low-altitude air defense and served in a ground support role too. The Bofors L/60 still sees service in the US on the AC-130 gunship, but the M2 dual automatic gun was retired with the M42 Duster in 1988.

Media

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See also

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• reference to the article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;
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External links

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• encyclopedia page on the weapon;
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Britain and USA anti-aircraft guns
7.92 mm	BESA
12.7 mm	M2HB
20 mm	GAI C01 · M168 · Oerlikon Mk.II · Polsten
25 mm	GAU-12U
30 mm	HSS 831L
35 mm	GA-35
37 mm	M1A2
40 mm	Bofors L/60 · Dual Automatic Gun M2 · M266
	Foreign:
23 mm	ZU-23 (USSR)
35 mm	Oerlikon KDA (Swiss)

Japan anti-aircraft guns
20 mm	Type 98 Anti-Air Gun
	Foreign:
12.7 mm	M2HB (USA)
20 mm	Rh202 (Germany)
35 mm	Oerlikon KDA (Swiss)
40 mm	M2 Dual Automatic Gun (USA)

China anti-aircraft guns
25 mm	PG87 · ZPT90
35 mm	PG99-35-2
37 mm	Type 65
57 mm	WA318
	Foreign:
12.7 mm	M2HB (USA)
20 mm	KwK30 (Germany)
40 mm	Dual Automatic Gun M2 (USA)