L6 Wombat

L6 Wombat

A Wombat at Imperial War Museum Duxford
Type Recoilless antitank weapon
Place of origin United Kingdom
Service history
Used by Great Britain
Australia
Wars Vietnam War
Production history
Designed 1950s
Specifications
Weight 308 kg (680 lb)
Length 3.86 m (12 ft 8 in)
Barrel length 33.33 calibres
Height 1.09 m (3 ft 7 in)
Crew 3 (DC) Detachment Commander (No.1) Spotter+main armement Unloader+ mainained the spotting Rifle, (No.2) Driver main armament loader and rear security+back blast observer
Shell 12.8 kg (28 lb 4 oz) HESH
Calibre 120 mm (4.7 in)
Elevation -8 to +17°
Traverse 360°
Rate of fire 4 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity 463 m/s (1,520 ft/s)[1]
Effective range 1,000 m (1,100 yd)
Maximum range 1,610 m (1,760 yd)
Sights Optical with spotting rifle

The L6 Wombat, (Weapon Of Magnesium, Battalion, Anti-Tank) was a 120 mm calibre recoilless anti-tank rifle used by the British Army. They were used until anti-tank guided missiles such as Vigilant and MILAN took their place.

The Wombat replaced the earlier BAT and MoBAT weapons, themselves developments of the wartime designed "Ordnance, RCL, 3.45 in" recoilless rifle, and was in turn replaced by anti-tank guided missiles. The L6 Wombat itself comprised the L12A3 BAT gun, but mounted on a new lightweight carriage.[2] The vertically sliding breech of the BAT and MoBAT was replaced by a lighter horizontally hinged breech. The Wombat was mounted on a small two wheeled carriage which was removable in order to be moved over obstacles and then locked to the carriage again, the weapon was normally carried in the rear of a specially adapted Land Rover (Portee). The Wombat could also be mounted on the FV432/40 armoured personnel carrier.

The usual round for Wombat was a HESH which it could fire out to around 1,800 m. The HESH round could defeat 400 mm (16 in) of armour.[3] Other ammunition types include the canister and modified canister rounds. The latter releasing flechettes or small darts, in a "shotgun" effect. These rounds could be used against infantry in the open. The base of the BAT cartridge case was frangible, the reaction gases venting directly backwards through a single large venturi. This was in contrast to the US recoilless designs which used a frangible sidewall to the cartridge case and multiple venturis.

During the Cold War era, NATO and British Royal Marine forces used the Swedish made Snow Trac as a carrier for the L6 Wombat in the snow covered mountains of Norway.

Variants

The original towed gun complete with a heavy armoured shield and wheeled mount. Accepted for service in 1953.
A BAT with the shield removed to lighten it (even though it still weighed some 770 kg (0.76 long ton) and a spotting weapon (a Bren light machine gun) added. It could be towed by an Austin Champ or later the Land Rover.
A new build weapon with lightweight carriage which meant it was usable by all air Mobile (Infantry Battalions) plus mobile troops such as the Parachute Regiment or Royal Marine Commandos. It was also fitted to vehicles such as the FV432 or a 3/4 ton Portee Land Rover. Could engage targets out to 2,000 m (2,200 yd) with .5 M8c spotting rifle fitted which fired a Zirconium tipped spotter tracer round visible past 2000 yds. the strike was obseved by the No2 who also served the 12.7 spotting Rifle. The WOMBAT entered service in 1964 rapidly replacing earlier versions with the Regular Army but never fully replaced MOBAT and CONBAT with infantry units of the Territorial Army.
A conversion of the L4 MoBAT or L2 BAT utilizing a L40A1 12.7 mm as a Ranging Gun. (This weapon is often called the .50 cal spotting gun, M8C).

References

Notes
  1. ^ britains-smallwars.com
  2. ^ User Handbook for the Gun, Equipment, 120mm BAT, L6 (WOMBAT). Director of Infantry, Ministry of Defence. 1964. WO Code 14202. 
  3. ^ Norris, p. 108.
  4. ^ MOBAT
  5. ^ In Men against Tanks, author John Weeks states the name "Wombat" was a reference to the animal and had nothing to do with magnesium.
Bibliography

External links

External images
BAT guns
BAT gun
MoBAT gun
ConBAT gun