L30A1 (120 mm)

Description

Write an introduction to the article in 2-3 small paragraphs. Briefly tell us about the history of the development and combat using the weaponry and also about its features. Compile a list of air, ground, or naval vehicles that feature this weapon system in the game.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• Challenger 2
• Challenger 2 (2F)

General info

Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the cannon or machine gun.

Available ammunition

Describe the shells that are available for the weapon and their features and purpose. If it concerns autocannons or machine guns, write about different ammo belts and what is inside (which types of shells).

The gun has access to three variants of kinetic rounds and a chemical shell. Additionally, the turret has one co-axial and an AA machine gun, both of which are 7.62mm calibre.

The three kinetic rounds it has access to are;

• Shot L23A1
• Shot L26
• Shot L27A1

These three rounds are all long-rod penetrators, which is characterised by low spalling creation on penetration but a much higher penetration value and is more consistent than its HEAT-FS counterpart, especially against ERA. The three rounds all act rather similarly, with one of the main benefits from upgrading being the higher penetration, and in regards to the L23A1, the other two rounds have a higher muzzle velocity. This higher penetration allows the already existing weak spots (turret mantlet, drivers port on Russian MBTs) wider and therefore easier to hit. One can reasonably expect to only bring kinetic rounds into the battle and have no problems.

The only chemical round the L30 has is the shell L31A7, a High Explosive Squash Head (HESH) round. This round excels at achieving penetration on highly sloped targets, such as the top of Russian MBTs turrets, Leopards upper frontal plates, etc. Using the round against ERA-equipped targets is inadvisable. Due to the hull break mechanic, these rounds are extremely effective, and help players avoid situations where the kinetic round does not penetrate through the engine from the front (on BMPs, Begleitpanzers, etc.) or shooting lighter vehicles in the side and failing to eliminate enough crew or ammo to destroy the target. The round has 6.5kg of explosive equivalent, and as such has a much reduced muzzle velocity, so use with a laser rangefinder at longer ranges is recommended.

Comparison with analogues

Give a comparative description of cannons/machine guns that have firepower equal to this weapon.

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

Summarise and briefly evaluate the weaponry in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark pros and cons as a list.

Pros:

Cons:

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

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;
• references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the weapon;
• other literature.

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