GIAT CN120-26 F1 (120 mm)

Description

The GIAT CN120-26 F1 (also known as "Lisse") is a 120 mm anti-tank cannon, with a smoothbore barrel designed by EFAB de Bourges and manufactured by the French company GIAT. It was derived from the CN120-25 intended for the AMX-40 and it is only mounted on the Leclerc series of tanks.

It has a sliding vertical breechblock and it can also be distinguished by the absence of a fume extractor, instead, the gases are being evacuated by overpressure. However, the tropicalized Leclerc variant of the Emirati Army uses a system of blowing compressed air into the chamber via a cannula, instead of the overpressure system that the French counterpart uses.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• Leclerc
• Leclerc S2
• Leclerc SXXI
• Leclerc AZUR

General info

On the outer layer of the cannon, there is a thermal insulation jacket and the length of the cannon is 6,931 mm, with a mass of around 2,800 kg. The maximum rate of fire can be up to 12 RPM, but in practice, this is usually closer to 10 RPM. It has a maximum gun depression of 18° and minimum gun depression of -7°. The maximum effective range is 4,000 m for the APFSDS shell, and roughly 3,000 m for the HEAT shell, albeit in practice, it is lower than that.

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
OCC 120 G1	HEATFS	480	480	480	480	480	480
OFL 120 G1	APFSDS	425	423	417	410	404	396
OFL 120 F1	APFSDS	575	573	565	557	547	537

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%
OCC 120 G1	HEATFS	1,100	14.4	0.05	0.1	2.15	65°	72°	77°
OFL 120 G1	APFSDS	1,780	3.8	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°
OFL 120 F1	APFSDS	1,790	3.8	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°

Comparison with analogues

Comparable cannons to the GIAT CN120-26 F1
Name	Year of Production	RPM	Maximum Penetration (mm)
Rh120 L/55	1991	7	652
Ordnance QF Tk. L1A2	1957	3	362

Usage in battles

The Leclerc's OFL 120 F1 round with its fast velocity of 1,790 m/s and high penetration power makes it excellent at fulfilling the sniping role. One should avoid rural combat as the Leclerc series of tanks are easily destroyed in close quarters battles, as its weaknesses are very visible. Finding a vantage point where most of your tank is covered is the most effective way to use the GIAT CN120-26.

But since the user starts out with a HEATFS as their stock round, at first one will have to play more aggressively up until they unlock the OFL 120 F1 round, but should still generally avoid close quarters confrontations and brawls.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Very fast autoloader
• Effective kinetic energy round

Cons:

• HEATFS stock; a very weak APFSDS shell is locked as a Tier I modification, but a much stronger one is a Tier IV modification

History

The CN120-26 was designed by the EFAB de Bourges in the 1980s and it entered service in the year 1993. It was derived from the CN120-25 which was used in the AMX-40s. Over 800 of these cannons were produced and they are still in use to this day.

Media

Images

• 

  The CN120-26 F1 mounted on a Leclerc S2

See also

• Rh120 L/55 (120 mm) - German 120 mm cannon
• Ordnance QF Tk. L1A2 - British 120 mm cannon

External links

• [weaponsystems.net] 120 mm GIAT CN120-26
• [mainbattletanks.cz] Model F1 Lisse
• [Wikipedia] GIAT CN120-26 (in French)