Original Item: Only One Available. This is a lovely, inert example of a 37mm M80 armor-piercing round as used with the Browning M4 Autocannon. The round is totally inert and is unable to be rendered live again. The round is in compliance per the current BATF standards governing ordnance.

Not Available For Export.

Officially termed the "Armor-piercing shot, 37 mm, M80 standard", the round was developed because the overall length of the 37mm M-74 AP-T (Armor-Piercing shot with Tracer) and M-51 APCBC-T (Armor-Piercing Composite Ballistic-Capped shot with Tracer) armor-piercing projectiles used in the M3A1, M5A1, and M6 tank and antitank guns (37×223mmR), was too great to permit their use in the M4 gun. The 37 mm M80 AP-T shot was developed and standardized.

The M80 Armor-Piercing Tracer shot was a monoblock projectile with a tracer element of three seconds burning time. It did not need a fuze or bursting charge. The weight of the complete round was 2.31 lb (1.05 kg), the weight of the AP shot was 1.66 lb (750 g). The propelling charge was 0.15 lb (68 g) of M2 powder of a Hercules NG formula with a single-perforated grain and 0.03 in (0.76 mm) web.

The round measures 12 1/2” tall and the cardboard storage tube measures approximately 15” tall. Both the tube and the round itself feature legible markings, though it should be noted that they are for the M3A1, M5A1, and M6 tank and antitank guns, not the M4 Autocannon. They still look great though, and all are WWII marked and dated.

A lovely example ready for display!

The 37 mm Automatic Gun, M4, known as the T9 during development, was a 37 mm (1.46 in) recoil-operated autocannon designed by Browning Arms Company. The weapon, which was built by Colt, entered service in 1942. It was primarily mounted in the Bell P-39 Airacobra and P-63 Kingcobra, with the U.S. Navy also utilizing it on many PT boats.

Designed primarily as an anti-aircraft weapon, the gun had a muzzle velocity of 2,000 ft/s (610 m/s) and a cyclic rate of 150 rounds per minute. It was normally loaded with high-explosive shells, but could also be loaded with the M80 armor-piercing shell, which could penetrate 1 inch (25 mm) of armor plate at 500 yd (460 m). It was magazine-fed and could be fired manually or by remote control through a solenoid mounted on the rear of the gun.

Recoil and counter-recoil were controlled hydraulically by means of a piston and spring combination connected to the recoiling mechanism and operating in an oil-filled recuperator cylinder mounted to the stationary trunnion block assembly. The recoiling mechanism of the gun included the tube and tube extension, recuperator piston and piston rod, lock frame assembly, driving spring assemblies, and the breechblock assembly. The non recoiling parts included the trunnion block group, the feed box and feeding mechanism, the recuperator cylinder and bushing, the back plate group, and the manual charger assembly.