Gepard anti-materiel rifle
Encyclopedia
The Gepárd anti-materiel rifles are a family of Hungarian
weapons designed to destroy unarmored and lightly armored targets. These long range, large caliber rifles have high accuracy as well as high muzzle velocity
. The Gepárds originate from World War I
anti-tank rifle
s developed by the Germans to damage armored vehicles. Since then, anti-materiel rifles fell into disuse. Heavier tanks meant thicker armor, which even the heaviest rifles could not pierce. However, in 1987 the Hungarian army sought to obtain a compact, mobile weapon that could damage lightly armored targets. The project, led by Ferenc Földi (Institute of Military Technology of the Hungarian People's Army), culminated in the creation of the Gepárds.
The M1 was essentially a sniper weapon, not primarily intended for military field application, but for anti-terrorist police and special forces' use, who operate on the "one shot, one hit" principle. The single shot action was designed to reduce the number of moving parts and allow for extreme precision, five hits out of five shots fit in a 25 centimeter radius circle at 1300 meters. Yet, the Hungarian army decided to purchase 25 rifles of the Gepárd M1 type for use as an in-the-field materiel destruction rifle, but did not purchase any of the later variants so far. Owing to the great weight of Gepárd M1, sharpshooters were instructed to abandon the entire weapon if forced to retreat quickly and only save the grip assembly for proof, rendering the gun useless.
A semi-automatic
version of the M1 was later produced. Dubbing it the M2, designers reduced its barrel length and weight. An even shorter paratrooper variant dubbed M2A2 made it more favorable to airborne forces
and special forces
, especially because it could be fired from the hip, thanks to the advanced recoil mechanism. A fiber optic technology scope and eyepiece imaging system was developed (or at least proposed) to allow use of a hip-fired M2A2 for VIP
protection purposes. Although the 12.7 mm cartridge was considered one of the most powerful, Fellegi decided it was not good enough. He then ordered the development of the M3, with a larger 14.5 mm caliber
. With this new destructive capability also came increased accuracy and range, making the M3 the most popular of the Gepárd rifles.
Nevertheless, three more models were to follow. The M4 and M5 sought to become improvements on the M2, with stronger materials and better reliability. The new versions have a more rectangular look and are usually of blackened steel finish, while M1 - M3 were usually painted olive-green colour. Gepárd M5 is a bolt action rifle for military sharpshooters and weighs only 13 kilograms, while the M4 is a semi-automatic anti-materiel rifle. The massive 10-round drum magazine, so characteristic of the M2 and M3, was replaced with a straight box magazine design with a capacity for five rounds. The later M4 and M5 can fire either Russian or NATO 12.7 mm ammunition as the gun barrel is field replaceable.
Finally, the Gepárd rifle family concluded with the M6. This rifle used the 14.5 mm round
, like the M3, but featured stronger parts and an improved scope. The M3 and M6 are strictly anti-materiel rifles, because while the 14.5mm round is extremely powerful, its accuracy degrades rapidly at ranges beyond 1000 meters. Its high destructive power is very efficient in taking out hovering helicopters, APCs or mobile radar stations, however.
The production history of the Gepárd was bumpy, since it was designed and prototyped at the very end of communist rule and first production runs happened during the early-1990s, as Hungarian industrial capability shrunk in the process of transformation to market economy
. Early examples were assembled at the Vízgépészeti Vállalat (Hydrotechnic State Company). Production and development of Gepárd currently happens at Báthory-Épszolg Kft., which also produces the new "Szép 7.62x51mm" bolt-action sniper rifle for Hungarian army and anti-terrorist police units. This smaller, standard caliber sniper rifle owes a lot of design elements to the Gepárd, since its designer, Ferenc Szép, also participated in development of the Gepárd guns.
round.
The M-3 and M-6 rifles use only the Soviet 14.5 x 114 mm
round.
{| class="wikitable"
| Rifle || Gepárd M-1 || Gepárd GM-6 Lynx || M82
|-
| Effective range
|| 2,500 m || 1M2 at 1,500 m || 1,800 m (Record range: 2,000m)
|-
| Magazine
capacity || 1 || 5 or 10 || 10
|-
| Caliber
|| 12.7 x 108 mm / .50 BMG
|| 12.7 x 108 mm / .50 BMG
|| .50 BMG
|-
| Muzzle velocity
|| 860 m/s || 1,114 m/s || 853 m/s
|-
| Barrel
length || 1,100 mm || 930mm || 737 mm
|-
| Total length || 1,570 mm || 1,126 mm at firing position and 928mm at transport position || 1,448 mm
|-
| Accuracy(MOA
) || 0.7 || 1.3 || 1.0
|-
| Empty weight || 17.5 kg || 11,5 kg || 13.9 kg
|}
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
weapons designed to destroy unarmored and lightly armored targets. These long range, large caliber rifles have high accuracy as well as high muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...
. The Gepárds originate from World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
anti-tank rifle
Anti-tank rifle
An anti-tank rifle is a rifle designed to penetrate the armour of vehicles, particularly tanks. The usefulness of rifles for this purpose ran from the introduction of tanks in World War I and until the Korean War...
s developed by the Germans to damage armored vehicles. Since then, anti-materiel rifles fell into disuse. Heavier tanks meant thicker armor, which even the heaviest rifles could not pierce. However, in 1987 the Hungarian army sought to obtain a compact, mobile weapon that could damage lightly armored targets. The project, led by Ferenc Földi (Institute of Military Technology of the Hungarian People's Army), culminated in the creation of the Gepárds.
Description
The M1 was the first Gepárd rifle to enter service. It featured a long barrel for increased accuracy, a skeleton stock to reduce weight, and used the heavy 12.7 x 108 mm Soviet cartridge. However, the rifle was complicated to reload. The M1 fired only one shot and would then have to be manually reloaded. To do this, the user had to rotate, pull back, remove the grip assembly (whose shape resembles a signal-flare handgun), and insert another cartridge. This tedious task took time to master and slowed the weapon's rate of fire. Other difficulties such as high recoil also plagued the M1. The recoil problem was solved with the addition of a barrel that recoiled back after each shot. The design was inspired by artillery cannons, which face the same impediment. Still, the Gepárd rifles need specially made, high-strength telescopic gunsights. Improvements, such as the addition of a carrier/lafette backpack and a longer barrel, led to the M1A1 variant, but at 21 kilograms its combat weight was deemed excessive.The M1 was essentially a sniper weapon, not primarily intended for military field application, but for anti-terrorist police and special forces' use, who operate on the "one shot, one hit" principle. The single shot action was designed to reduce the number of moving parts and allow for extreme precision, five hits out of five shots fit in a 25 centimeter radius circle at 1300 meters. Yet, the Hungarian army decided to purchase 25 rifles of the Gepárd M1 type for use as an in-the-field materiel destruction rifle, but did not purchase any of the later variants so far. Owing to the great weight of Gepárd M1, sharpshooters were instructed to abandon the entire weapon if forced to retreat quickly and only save the grip assembly for proof, rendering the gun useless.
A semi-automatic
Semi-automatic firearm
A semi-automatic, or self-loading firearm is a weapon which performs all steps necessary to prepare the weapon to fire again after firing—assuming cartridges remain in the weapon's feed device or magazine...
version of the M1 was later produced. Dubbing it the M2, designers reduced its barrel length and weight. An even shorter paratrooper variant dubbed M2A2 made it more favorable to airborne forces
Airborne forces
Airborne forces are military units, usually light infantry, set up to be moved by aircraft and 'dropped' into battle. Thus they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have an ability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning...
and special forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
, especially because it could be fired from the hip, thanks to the advanced recoil mechanism. A fiber optic technology scope and eyepiece imaging system was developed (or at least proposed) to allow use of a hip-fired M2A2 for VIP
Very Important Person
A Very Important Person, or VIP is a person who is accorded special privileges due to his or her status or importance.Examples include celebrities, heads of state/heads of government, major employers, high rollers, politicians, high-level corporate officers, wealthy individuals, or any other...
protection purposes. Although the 12.7 mm cartridge was considered one of the most powerful, Fellegi decided it was not good enough. He then ordered the development of the M3, with a larger 14.5 mm caliber
14.5 x 114 mm
The 14.5×114 mm is a heavy machine gun and anti-materiel rifle cartridge used by the Soviet Union, the former Warsaw Pact, modern Russia, and other countries....
. With this new destructive capability also came increased accuracy and range, making the M3 the most popular of the Gepárd rifles.
Nevertheless, three more models were to follow. The M4 and M5 sought to become improvements on the M2, with stronger materials and better reliability. The new versions have a more rectangular look and are usually of blackened steel finish, while M1 - M3 were usually painted olive-green colour. Gepárd M5 is a bolt action rifle for military sharpshooters and weighs only 13 kilograms, while the M4 is a semi-automatic anti-materiel rifle. The massive 10-round drum magazine, so characteristic of the M2 and M3, was replaced with a straight box magazine design with a capacity for five rounds. The later M4 and M5 can fire either Russian or NATO 12.7 mm ammunition as the gun barrel is field replaceable.
Finally, the Gepárd rifle family concluded with the M6. This rifle used the 14.5 mm round
14.5 x 114 mm
The 14.5×114 mm is a heavy machine gun and anti-materiel rifle cartridge used by the Soviet Union, the former Warsaw Pact, modern Russia, and other countries....
, like the M3, but featured stronger parts and an improved scope. The M3 and M6 are strictly anti-materiel rifles, because while the 14.5mm round is extremely powerful, its accuracy degrades rapidly at ranges beyond 1000 meters. Its high destructive power is very efficient in taking out hovering helicopters, APCs or mobile radar stations, however.
The production history of the Gepárd was bumpy, since it was designed and prototyped at the very end of communist rule and first production runs happened during the early-1990s, as Hungarian industrial capability shrunk in the process of transformation to market economy
Market economy
A market economy is an economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system. This is often contrasted with a state-directed or planned economy. Market economies can range from hypothetically pure laissez-faire variants to an assortment of real-world mixed...
. Early examples were assembled at the Vízgépészeti Vállalat (Hydrotechnic State Company). Production and development of Gepárd currently happens at Báthory-Épszolg Kft., which also produces the new "Szép 7.62x51mm" bolt-action sniper rifle for Hungarian army and anti-terrorist police units. This smaller, standard caliber sniper rifle owes a lot of design elements to the Gepárd, since its designer, Ferenc Szép, also participated in development of the Gepárd guns.
Ammunition
The M-1, M-1A1, M-2, M-4 and M-5 rifles all use the 12.7 x 108 mm Soviet cartridge as their primary calibre. They can be converted to fire the NATO .50 BMG.50 BMG
The .50 Browning Machine Gun or 12.7×99mm NATO is a cartridge developed for the Browning .50 caliber machine gun in the late 1910s. Entering service officially in 1921, the round is based on a greatly scaled-up .30-06 cartridge...
round.
The M-3 and M-6 rifles use only the Soviet 14.5 x 114 mm
14.5 x 114 mm
The 14.5×114 mm is a heavy machine gun and anti-materiel rifle cartridge used by the Soviet Union, the former Warsaw Pact, modern Russia, and other countries....
round.
Comparison with M82
The Gepárd M-1 is widely considered to be an effective weapon. For this reason, many have sought to compare it to its American equivalent, the M82. And for anti-materiel use accuracy is most often more important than weight.{| class="wikitable"
| Rifle || Gepárd M-1 || Gepárd GM-6 Lynx || M82
|-
| Effective range
Range of a projectile
right|thumb|250 px|The path of this projectile launched from a height y0 has a range d.In physics, assuming a flat Earth with a uniform gravity field, a projectile launched with specific initial conditions will have a predictable range. As in Trajectory of a projectile, we will use:The following...
|| 2,500 m || 1M2 at 1,500 m || 1,800 m (Record range: 2,000m)
|-
| Magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
capacity || 1 || 5 or 10 || 10
|-
| Caliber
Caliber
In guns including firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel in relation to the diameter of the projectile used in it....
|| 12.7 x 108 mm / .50 BMG
.50 BMG
The .50 Browning Machine Gun or 12.7×99mm NATO is a cartridge developed for the Browning .50 caliber machine gun in the late 1910s. Entering service officially in 1921, the round is based on a greatly scaled-up .30-06 cartridge...
|| 12.7 x 108 mm / .50 BMG
.50 BMG
The .50 Browning Machine Gun or 12.7×99mm NATO is a cartridge developed for the Browning .50 caliber machine gun in the late 1910s. Entering service officially in 1921, the round is based on a greatly scaled-up .30-06 cartridge...
|| .50 BMG
.50 BMG
The .50 Browning Machine Gun or 12.7×99mm NATO is a cartridge developed for the Browning .50 caliber machine gun in the late 1910s. Entering service officially in 1921, the round is based on a greatly scaled-up .30-06 cartridge...
|-
| Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...
|| 860 m/s || 1,114 m/s || 853 m/s
|-
| Barrel
Barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of vertical wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. Traditionally, the barrel was a standard size of measure referring to a set capacity or weight of a given commodity. A small barrel is called a keg.For example, a...
length || 1,100 mm || 930mm || 737 mm
|-
| Total length || 1,570 mm || 1,126 mm at firing position and 928mm at transport position || 1,448 mm
|-
| Accuracy(MOA
Minute of arc
A minute of arc, arcminute, or minute of angle , is a unit of angular measurement equal to one sixtieth of one degree. In turn, a second of arc or arcsecond is one sixtieth of one minute of arc....
) || 0.7 || 1.3 || 1.0
|-
| Empty weight || 17.5 kg || 11,5 kg || 13.9 kg
|}
Users
| Country | Organization Name | Model |
|---|---|---|
 India |
Special Forces | GM6 Lynx |
See also
- 12.7 x 108 mm
- 14.5 x 114 mm14.5 x 114 mmThe 14.5×114 mm is a heavy machine gun and anti-materiel rifle cartridge used by the Soviet Union, the former Warsaw Pact, modern Russia, and other countries....
- .50 BMG.50 BMGThe .50 Browning Machine Gun or 12.7×99mm NATO is a cartridge developed for the Browning .50 caliber machine gun in the late 1910s. Entering service officially in 1921, the round is based on a greatly scaled-up .30-06 cartridge...
- Anti-materiel rifleAnti-materiel rifleAn anti-materiel rifle is a rifle that is designed for use against military equipment rather than against other combatants ....
- Denel NTW-20Denel NTW-20The NTW-20 is a South African anti-materiel rifle or large-calibre sniper rifle, developed by Denel's Mechem division in the 1990s. The weapon was designed by Tony Neophytou and intended for deployment against a wide variety of targets, including parked aircraft, telecommunication masts, power...
Sources
- SERO manufacturers website
- Summary data-chart of the Gepard rifle family
- GEPARD Hungarian heavy sniper / anti-material rifle family (forum)
- http://militarypapers.htka.hu/story/gepard-nehez-mesterlovesz-es-rombolo-ontolto-puska (Hungarian)
- http://web.archive.org/web/20091027001041/http://geocities.com/landofsnipers/
- http://www.snipersparadise.com/equipment/rifles/gepard.htm