14.5 × 114 mm

The 14.5×114mm (.57 calibre) is a heavy machine gun and anti-materiel rifle cartridge used by the Soviet Union, the former Warsaw Pact, modern Russia, and other countries.

It was originally developed for the PTRS and PTRD anti-tank rifles, and was later used as the basis for the KPV heavy machine gun that formed the basis of the ZPU series anti-aircraft guns that is also the main armament of the BTR series of armoured personnel carriers from the BTR-60 to the BTR-80 and for heavy anti-materiel sniper rifles.

Cartridge dimensions

The 14.5 × 114 mm has 42.53 ml (655 grains H₂O) cartridge case capacity. The exterior shape of the case was designed to promote reliable case feeding and extraction in bolt-action rifles, semi-automatic rifles, and heavy machine guns alike, under extreme conditions.

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14.5 × 114 mm maximum cartridge dimensions. All dimensions in millimetres (mm).

Americans define the shoulder angle at alpha/2 = 22.5 degrees. The common rifling twist rate for this cartridge is 455 mm (1 in 17.91 in), 8 grooves, ⌀ lands = 14.50 mm, ⌀ grooves = 14.95 mm.

According to the official guidelines, the 14.5 × 114 mm case can handle up to 360 MPa (52,213 psi) piezo pressure. In C.I.P. regulated countries every rifle cartridge combo has to be proofed at 125% of this maximum C.I.P. pressure to be certified for sale to consumers.

Ammunition types

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B-32 API projectile on the left, hardened steel core aside. Tip is black with a thin red band below. On the right, BZT API-T projectile with dark red tip and a wide red band below; hardened steel core and tracer cup on its right. Both jackets and the tracer cup are made from copper-washed steel. Between the cores and the jackets there is a layer of lead.

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Dummy round

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14.5 × 114 round with a 1$ dollar bill for reference

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Seven rounds of 14.5 × 114 made in 1981, with a 1$ dollar bill for reference

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14.5 × 114 Soviet ammunition base, made in 1981

• BS: Armour-piercing incendiary original anti-tank round. The projectile weighs and is long with a core of tungsten carbide with of incendiary material in the tip. The overall round weighs approximately and is long. The projectile has a muzzle velocity of approximately and can penetrate of RHA steel at an incidence of 0 degrees at a range of , or at a range of .
• B-32: Armour-piercing incendiary full-metal-jacket round with a hardened steel core. Projectile weight is and muzzle velocity is . Armour penetration at is of RHA at 90 degrees.
• BZT: Armour-piercing incendiary tracer full-metal-jacket round with a steel core. Projectile weight is and muzzle velocity is . Tracer burns to at least .
• MDZ: High-explosive incendiary bullet of instant action. Projectile weight is .
• ZP: Incendiary tracer round

Cartridges use lacquered steel cases and percussion primers. Some countries also use brass cartridge cases. The propellant consists of smokeless powder with seven tubes, designated as "5/7NA powder". Two different versions of bullet series are known, the earlier has a conventional bullet jacket with a boat-tail. These have a long engraving portion that causes considerable barrel wear. The newer bullet types have a smaller engraving portion with a rounder boat-tail and were used from about 1957 onward.

The cartridge has been manufactured in Bulgaria, China, Egypt, Hungary, Iraq, North Korea, Poland, Romania, Russia, and the former Czechoslovakia. There are new Chinese armour-piercing types:

• DGJ02: APIDS-T cartridges use tungsten penetrators, wrapped in discarding sabots (similar to the US military SLAP cartridges) with dual colour tracers to aid ranging. The sabot splits and leaves the penetrator between and from the muzzle. It has a muzzle velocity of and is quoted as being able to penetrate of armour plate set at an angle of 60° at .
• DGE02: APHEI cartridges weigh between and . At it is quoted as having a 90 percent chance of being able to penetrate of armour plate set at 30°. At after penetrating a soft steel plate (representing an aircraft skin) it can further penetrate a thick steel plate producing 20 fragments. Upon explosion between 75 and 95 incendiary pieces are formed which have an 80% chance of igniting aviation fuel.

Chambered weapons

Anti-materiel rifles

• Anzio rifle
• Cadex CDX-X145
• Denel NTW-20
• Gepard M-3
• Istiglal IST-14.5
• Mambi-1 AMR
• PDSHP
• PTRS-41 (anti-tank rifle)
• PTRD-41 (anti-tank rifle)
• Shaher
• Snipex T-Rex
• Snipex Alligator
• Truvelo 14.5×114mm
• Vidhwansak
• Şer rifle (home made anti-materiel rifle)

Machine guns

• Slostin machine gun (heavy variant)
• KPV heavy machine gun
  • Chinese Type 56 (KPV) and Type 58 (KPVT) heavy machine guns
• Type 02/QJG-02 heavy machine gun

Other

• ZPU anti-aircraft guns
• 2Kh35 inserted unified self-loading gun

In addition to being chambered in multiple calibers, the Ukrainian Horizon's Lord rifle uses its own proprietary "12.7 × 114 HL" cartridge made by necking down a 14.5 × 114 mm cartridge case to accept a .50 BMG bullet. In essence, the 14.5x114mm cartridge is the parent case for the 12.7x114 HL.

See also

• 12.7 × 108 mm
• .50 BMG
• 20 mm caliber
• 23 mm caliber
• 25 mm caliber
• 30 mm caliber

External links

• 14,5x114 large-caliber cartridges