20×138mmB
Three 20x138B shells and 37 mm shell.JPG
Three 20×138B cartridges and a 37 mm shell
TypeAnti-armor/anti-air
Place of origin  Switzerland
Service history
Used bySwitzerland, Germany, Italy, Finland, Poland
WarsWorld War II
Production history
Designed1930
ManufacturerSwiss Solothurn
VariantsLong Solothurn
Specifications
Case typeBottleneck, belted
Bullet diameter20mm
Case length137.4 mm
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy
4.1 ounces (120 g) 2,950 feet per second (900 m/s) 34,655 ft⋅lbf (46,986 J)

The 20×138mmB cartridge or Long Solothurn is a type of ammunition used mainly for anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons during World War II. The designation means the caliber is 20 mm, the length of the cartridge case is 138 mm and B indicates it is a belted case. The loaded cartridge weighs 10.7 ounces (300 g).

History

The 20×138mmB cartridge was initially created by the Swiss Solothurn company in the early 1930s.

Users

The 20×138mmB cartridge is used in the following weapons:

Switzerland

  • Solothurn anti-tank rifles: S-18/1000 and S-18/1100

Germany

  • FlaK 30 and FlaK 38 single-barrel, and Flakvierling quadruple-barrel anti-aircraft guns
  • KwK 30 and KwK 38 vehicle-mounted weapons
  • MG C/30L aircraft gun

Italy

  • Cannone-Mitragliera da 20/65 modello 35 (Breda)
  • Cannone-Mitragliera da 20/77 (Scotti)

Finland

  • Lahti L-39 anti-tank rifle
  • Lahti L-40 anti-aircraft gun

Poland

  • Nkm wz.38 FK anti-tank vehicle-mounted gun

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article 20×138mmB, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.