Madsen 20 mm cannon

Madsen 20 mm cannon
Madsen 20 mm cannon
Type
Place of origin	Denmark
Service history
Used by	See users section
Wars	World War II Winter War Continuation War Chinese Civil War
Specifications
Weight	55 kilograms (121 lb)
Length	2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)
Barrel length	1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) L/60
Cartridge	20 x 120 mm
Cartridge weight	.29 kg (10 oz) AP .32 kg (11 oz) HE
Caliber	20 mm
Barrels	air-cooled
Action	recoil-operated
Rate of fire	400 rpm (cyclic) 250 rpm (practical)
Muzzle velocity	900 m/s (2,953 ft/s)
Effective firing range	500 m (1,640 ft)
Maximum firing range	2,123 m (6,965 ft)
Feed system	10, 15 or 60 round magazine

The 20 mm AA Machine Cannon M/38 was produced by the Danish company Dansk Industri Syndikat (Danish Industry Syndicate) - DISA - in Herlev near Copenhagen and was used by the military of Denmark in different types of mounting. This cannon was originally constructed by Colonel V. H. O. Madsen and was therefore widely known as the 20 mm Madsen Cannon. A version with a necked-out 23 mm round was also produced, generally known as the 23 mm Madsen.

The mountings were also produced by DISA in the following types:

There were also a number of locally designed mounts.

This type of machine cannon was a very well functioning weapon, which was exported by DISA to several countries.

The 20 mm machine cannons of the Danish Army were responsible for knocking out eleven armoured cars and two Panzer I's during the German invasion before the order to surrender came through.