{"product_id":"original-early-cold-war-u-s-106mm-m40-recoilless-rifle-inert-round-with-t75-casing-dated-1960","title":"Original Early Cold War U.S. 106mm M40 Recoilless Rifle Inert Round with T75 Casing - Dated 1960","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOriginal Item: Only One Available. This is a great inert round for the U.S. 106mm M40 Recoilless Rifle, made in 1960 just before the Vietnam War. It has been deactivated in accordance with guidelines provided by the ATF, and is NOT available for export.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt consists of the original deactivated M346 series projectile, inserted into a T75 perforated shell casing, both of which are in overall rough condition. The shell cannot currently be removed from the casing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is primarily an anti-tank weapon, and was used extensively during the Vietnam war. As it was lightweight and did not require any recoil system, it could be mounted on any number of vehicles. The only risk of course is that recoilless rifles eliminated recoil with their very large back-blast, so being behind was quite dangerous. It is completely inert, and cannot be converted to any type of explosive device. The round overall is rather light and measures approximately 5 inches by 37 1\/2 inches.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe shell has INERT stamped into the metal, and is void of any other markings. The bottom of the casing is extremely worn with faded markings, the end of which reads 1960, for the date.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA great Cold war ordnance piece, which would look great in any collection. Ready to display!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe M40 recoilless rifle is a lightweight, portable, crew-served 105 mm recoilless rifle made in the United States. Intended primarily as an anti-tank weapon, it could also be employed in an antipersonnel role with the use of an antipersonnel-tracer flechette round. The bore was commonly described as being 106 mm caliber but is in fact 105 mm; the 106 mm designation was intended to prevent confusion with incompatible 105 mm ammunition from the failed M27. The air-cooled, breech-loaded, single-shot rifle fired fixed ammunition and was used primarily from a wheeled ground mount. It was designed for direct firing only, and sighting equipment for this purpose was furnished with each weapon, including an affixed spotting rifle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReplacing the M27 recoilless rifle, the M40 primarily saw action during the Vietnam War and was widely used during various conflicts thereafter in Africa or in the Middle East. It was replaced by the BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missile system in the US armed forces.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe M40 is shaped like a long tube with an M8C .50 cal spotting rifle above. The spotting rifle fires a round whose trajectory closely matches that of the 105 mm round and gives off a puff of smoke on impact with the target. On the left side, there is an elevating wheel, in the center of which is the trigger wheel used to fine adjust the elevation and at the same time firing the spotting rifle when pulled, and the gun when pushed. The mounting is a tripod, but the front leg has a castering wheel. On top of the mount is a traverse wheel. On the center of the traverse wheel is a locking wheel, when the wheel is down, the rifle is locked in traverse, and can only be moved right and left with the traverse wheel. When the wheel is raised, the rifle can be traversed by hand. Austria produced a two-wheeled mount for the M40.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe whole mounting can be placed on an M151 Jeep for mobile use. It has also been mounted on M113s, UMM 4x4s, Mahindra jeeps, Fath Safirs, Land Rover Defenders,[ Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen, Hotchkiss M201 jeeps, Toyota Land Cruisers,, Jeep CJs, Willys M38s, HMMWVs, M274 Mechanical Mules, Tiuna 106mm weapons platforms, KADDB Al Jawad vehicles, RBY MK 1s, AIL Abirs and AIL Storms. They were also used on US Navy minesweepers (MSO) during Operation Market Time in Vietnam.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Original Items","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44964554801221,"sku":"ONSV25CDI047","price":395.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1524\/1342\/files\/ONSV25CDI047__01.jpg?v=1777915714","url":"https:\/\/www.ima-usa.com\/products\/original-early-cold-war-u-s-106mm-m40-recoilless-rifle-inert-round-with-t75-casing-dated-1960","provider":"International Military Antiques","version":"1.0","type":"link"}