Original Item: Only One Available. This is a fantastic inert drill round for the U.S. 106mm M40 Recoilless Rifle. This is primarily an anti-tank weapon, and was used extensively during the Vietnam war. As it was lightweight and did not require any recoil system, it could be mounted on any number of vehicles. The only risk of course is that recoilless rifles eliminated recoil with their very large back-blast, so being behind was was quite dangerous. It is completely inert, and cannot be converted to any type of explosive device. The shell weighs 24 lbs (5.4kg) and measures 40.5 inches in overall length. The case measures approximately 5 1/2 inches by 39 inches.

The shell is marked around the side with the following information:

The fin assembly on the bottom of the shell has these markings:

The fins still fold out, and the shell fits nicely into the perforated shell casing, made of the standard lacquered steel. The bottom of the shell unfortunately has had a bit of rust, so we cannot make out any of the markings clearly.

The included M314 Container is clearly marked twice on the outside with:

The top of the case is also marked HMC / 6 - 59, most likely the original manufacture date of the case itself, which was marked later. Case is in good condition, though the paper wrapping has degraded somewhat.

This is an excellent piece of Vietnam War Era memorabilia which will make a very impressive display!

The M40 recoilless rifle is a lightweight, portable, crew-served 105 mm recoilless rifle made in the United States. Intended primarily as an anti-tank weapon, it could also be employed in an antipersonnel role with the use of an antipersonnel-tracer flechette round. The bore was commonly described as being 106 mm caliber but is in fact 105 mm; the 106 mm designation was intended to prevent confusion with incompatible 105 mm ammunition from the failed M27. The air-cooled, breech-loaded, single-shot rifle fired fixed ammunition and was used primarily from a wheeled ground mount. It was designed for direct firing only, and sighting equipment for this purpose was furnished with each weapon, including an affixed spotting rifle.

Replacing the M27 recoilless rifle, the M40 primarily saw action during the Vietnam War and was widely used during various conflicts thereafter in Africa or in the Middle East. It was replaced by the BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missile system in the US armed forces.

The M40 is shaped like a long tube with an M8C .50 cal spotting rifle above. The spotting rifle fires a round whose trajectory closely matches that of the 105 mm round and gives off a puff of smoke on impact with the target. On the left side, there is an elevating wheel, in the center of which is the trigger wheel used to fine adjust the elevation and at the same time firing the spotting rifle when pulled, and the gun when pushed. The mounting is a tripod, but the front leg has a castering wheel. On top of the mount is a traverse wheel. On the center of the traverse wheel is a locking wheel, when the wheel is down, the rifle is locked in traverse, and can only be moved right and left with the traverse wheel. When the wheel is raised, the rifle can be traversed by hand. Austria produced a two-wheeled mount for the M40.

The whole mounting can be placed on an M151 Jeep for mobile use. It has also been mounted on M113s, UMM 4x4s, Mahindra jeeps, Fath Safirs, Land Rover Defenders,[ Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen, Hotchkiss M201 jeeps, Toyota Land Cruisers,, Jeep CJs, Willys M38s, HMMWVs, M274 Mechanical Mules, Tiuna 106mm weapons platforms, KADDB Al Jawad vehicles, RBY MK 1s, AIL Abirs and AIL Storms. They were also used on US Navy minesweepers (MSO) during Operation Market Time in Vietnam.