And the age of recoilless weapons dawned.
What Is a Recoilless Rifle?
Smoothbore variants, fin-stabilized or not, are recoilless guns or more-commonly these days rocket launchers.
American soldiers fire a M-20 recoilless rifle during the Korean War. The M-20 was a 75mm weapon that replaced the 57mm M-18. Image: U.S. Army
For the gunner, the principle remains the same.
The key here is that they all work basically by software of Newtons third law of motion.
The gunner on the trigger or the mount system experiences little in the form of recoil.
Pfc. David Harris, right, and Pfc. Richard Voegtlin working with an M-67 90 mm recoilless rifle during Exercise EAGLE STRIKE III in December, 1982. Image: SPC Steve Lawrence
There is always some jolt, so no weapon is truly recoil-less, but more about that later.
He designed a gun that was built to fire projectiles in opposite directions based on Newtons pioneering principles.
So early pass on the recoilless principle for weapons of war.
Sgt. Maj. C. M. Burks directs M-40 recoilless rifle fire during a two-day battle about 17 miles southwest of Da Nang. Image: Sgt. J. A. Mullins/U.S. Marine Corps
It was back to muskets, blades, bayonets and simple cannons for a couple of centuries.
It was a variation on da Vincis concept with two tubes connected back-to-back.
Reports indicate not many RAF pilots volunteered to fly the thing, so the concept was shelved.
A member of Company A, 2nd Bn., 17th Infantry, aims an M-67 90mm recoilless rifle during the joint service combined arms live fire Exercise CALFEX III at Yukon Range. Image: Master Sgt. Ed Boyce/NARA
[Read all about this unique weapon in our articleDavis Gun Steampunk Airborne Artillery.]
The U.S. had seen the light at the end of the tube before America got involved in WWII combat.
[Catch theHistory of the Bazooka here.]
A Davis recoilless gun mounted on British aircraft during World War I, circa 1918. Image: U.S. Marine Corps
These two recoilless rifles remained in service right into the Korean War.
But technically, the bazooka was a rocket launcher and were talking about recoilless rifles here.
Naturally, they went big.
A Royal Navy officer stands in a Davis recoilless gun mount on a seaplane. The Davis gun was created by the United States and shared with Great Britain in World War I. Image: U.S. Marine Corps
[Learn more about this wild design in the articleM50 Ontos The Thing in Vietnam.]
Its rare when forces are completely in balance.
Remember this, he growled.
A U.S. Navy sailor examines the Davis recoilless gun. The gun was originally developed to attack submarines. The coax-mounted machine gun served as a targeting system. Image: U.S. Navy
Friendly fire isnt, and recoilless weapons aint.
The black eye I got from snuggling up too close to the sight proved the latter point.
North of Naha, Okinawa, First Marine Division Leathernecks inch their way up a hill, seeking out the enemy. Marines in the foreground are a bazooka team. Image: Staff Sgt. W.F. Kleine/U.S. Marine Corps
The M-18 57mm recoilless rifle was a shoulder fired weapon used in World War II and the Korean War. It could also be fired using a monopod and tripod.
U.S. troops use a 75mm M-20 recoilless rifle in the frigid chill of a Korean winter. Image: NARA
Marines of the 1st Marine Division, set up a security post with a M-20 Super Bazooka and a machine gun during the Korean War. Image: Sgt. Frank Kerr/U.S. Marine Corps
A Viet Cong base camp burns near My Tho, Vietnam. In the foreground is Pfc. Raymond Rumpa, 9th Infantry Division, with a 90mm M-67 recoilless rifle. Image: NARA
During Operation Bold Mariner, Leathernecks from the 26th Marines return enemy fire with a M-40 106mm recoilless rifle. Image: Staff Sgt. Bob Jordan/U.S. Marine Corps
Col. Wilkerson of the 3rd Marine Division examines captured weapons. On the left is a Chinese Type 36 57mm recoilless rifle, a copy of the US M-18. Image: Cpl. Wolford/U.S. Marine Corps
An M-50 Ontos crew on Chu Lai beach searches for a defensive position shortly after descending from a landing craft from the USSThomaston. Image: NARA
Sgt. Yang of the ROK 2nd Marine Division aims a M67 recoilless rifle during an amphibious exercise. Image: Republic of KoreaArmed Forces/CC BY-SA 2.0
