Gepard M1

History

The Cheetah M1 is a heavy duty rifle of Hungarian origin, designed to engage lightly armored vehicles or targets behind defensive walls. Its design focuses on the 12.7x107mm heavy Soviet machine gun cartridge - it acts like the American 12.7x99mm (.50 BMG) cartridge. The weapon entered service in 1990 at the end of communist rule in Hungary and became one of the most powerful Anti-Material Rifles (AMRs) in Europe. The original produced many similar guns, from the Cheetah M2 to the Cheetah M6 - the latter being the last in this fine line of rifles.

In terms of performance, the Cheetah line is comparable to the American Barrett M82 (detailed elsewhere on this site).

12.7x107mm (also written 12.7x108mm) corresponds to the US .50 BMG as it is a longer, thicker and heavier cartridge, although both have been shown to be resistant to light weights Armored and ranged fortifications and thus used as standard ammunition for anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons. The Gepard M1 (and several of its family members) can be converted to NATO standard firepower.

50 BMG cartridges too.

Externally, the Cheetah M1 presents a more functional appearance, with its cylindrical shape forming most of the weapon's design lines. Attached to the rear of the tubular receiver is a padded shoulder rest, and a large muzzle brake is located at the workshop end of the barrel. Iron sights are not installed, so must rely on optical matching. The pistol grip is placed under the receiver, starting with the trigger assembly - the grip doubles as the actual bolt handle of the weapon. The action is performed manually by the user, and since there is no built-in detachable magazine mount in the design, the gun fires only one round.

A foldable bipod was added in front of the receiver, and in the central rear there was a monopod for supporting the weapon.

Loading is achieved by rotating the pistol grip upwards, which in turn unlocks the breech. The cartridge is then manually loaded into the waiting chamber and the breech is closed/locked by reversing the opening action. The hammer is raised manually, making the Gepard M1 ready to fire, just pull the trigger.

The M1 is a simple yet effective tool capable of penetrating up to 15mm of armour at a distance enough to sever an engine block or disable particularly sensitive components on an armoured vehicle.

The M1A1 turned out to be the only variant of the M1, this weapon is more or less the same rifle now mounted on a metal stand (backpack frame) for stationary fire on loose ground or snow. The frame significantly increases the weight of the weapon, but operation in special environments provides improved performance.

The Gepard M1 series inevitably continued by introducing some related weapons based on the same basic approach. These include the semi-automatic M2 (with a 5-round magazine) and successor models the M3 (with a 14.5x114mm Soviet magazine), the M4 (semi-automatic five-round magazine) and the M5 (bolt-action). ) role model.

The M6 ??was the last in the family and is still in service with some of the world's leading militaries.

Specification

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Changes