Gun mantlet

Gun mantlet, highlighted in red, mounted to a tank's main gun (American M1A1 Abrams)

A gun mantlet is an armour plate or shield attached to an armoured fighting vehicle's gun, protecting the opening through which the weapon's barrel projects from the hull or turret armour and, in many cases, ensuring the vulnerable warhead of a loaded shell does not protrude past the vehicle's armour. On many tanks during World War II, the gun mantlet covered both the main gun and any coaxial armament, and had the thickest armour on the vehicle.

Gallery

See also


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, June 21, 2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.