"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (1 Viewer)

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British tanks used HESH rounds (squash head rounds) so rifling was ok.
Interestingly the British have chosen a variant of the smoothbore 120mm Rheinmetall Rh-120 for the Challenger 3. I believe this is the first British tank without a rifle main gun, and might be the first smoothbore breech-loading cannon used by the British since the SBBL 32-pounder from 1882 was retired in 1927.

Presumably, whatever MBT Ukraine fields postwar will be armed with a 120mm NATO equivalent main gun.
 
HESH rounds have become less effective due to ERA and NERA protection over the years. A rifled barrel
isn't what you want with the other ammo types so it is a logical step to go smoothbore.
 
Interesting that ATGM use came into Soviet tanks due to everything being made lighter to keep weight down. This included the
barrel so higher pressure charges were not a good thing.

Nato type tank guns are beefier so a bigger charge isn't a problem. At one stage a longer calibre gun was an option for the
Abrams but the standard calibre with a more powerful charge did the same job so it stayed.
 
Something you guys might find interesting:
The cross you see in the Ukraine Military flag in the background of Roger's post above, is called the "Cossak Cross" and has a long history in the region that is now Ukraine.

I find it very fitting, seeing as how the Cossaks were legendary for their ferocity on the battlefield.
 
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