20mm Rheinmetall S-20
Overview
20mm Rheinmetall S-20
S-20 naval gun mount with single feed 20mm Rh-202 autocannon seen on an Indonesian navy vessel in 2019.
Source: Indonesian navy (www.tnial.mil.id) -
© Public domain
Indonesia
Description
Introduction
The Rheinmetall S-20 naval gun mount is a Cold War era self-defense weapon of German origin. Sometimes it is referred to as the Rh-202 or the MK 20, which are named associated with the autocannon that is fitted. The S-20 is often confused with the Wegmann naval mount, which is heavier and uses a twin belt feed mechanism.
Description
The S-20 naval gun mount is a pedestal mount with a single 20mm Rh-202 autocannon. A single belt box is located on the right side. An adjustable shoulder mount helps the gunner to rotate and elevate the gun. A sight with lead indication helps in targeting aerial targets. A gun shield provides a degree of protection from small arms fire.
Firepower
The Rh-202 autocannon fires the 20x139mm NATO round at cyclic rate of fire of about 1.000 rpm. On this naval mount the single feed variant is used, which has 200 round belt ready to fire. Effective range is 2 km against surface targets and 1.5 km against aerial targets. The sea state, visibility, target size and movement have a strong influence on practical range and hit rate.
Users
The S-20 naval gun mount was developed as a commercial proposition and has been exported to various nations. The main users are Greece and Indonesia, both employing it on multiple classes of ships.
Details
Related articles
20mm Rheinmetall Rh-202
The S-20 naval mount is armed with a Rh-202 single feed type autocannon.
20mm Wegmann
The Wegmann naval mount is a heavier alternative to the S-20 and uses a double feed version of the Rh-202 autocannon and has a higher elevation. Since both pedestal mounts use the Rh-202 these are often mistaken for each other.
20mm Oerlikon GAM-BO1
The GAM-B01 is a 20mm naval self-defense gun mount of similar size and weight.