12.7×108mm

The 12.7×108mm cartridge is a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun and anti-materiel rifle cartridge used by the former Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact countries, including Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, and many others. It was invented in 1934 to create a cartridge like the German 13.2mm TuF anti-tank rifle round and the American .50 Browning Machine Gun round (12.7×99mm NATO).

It is used in the same roles as the NATO .50 BMG (12.7×99mm NATO) cartridge. The two differ in bullet shape and weight, and the casing of the 12.7×108mm is slightly longer, and its larger case capacity allows it to hold slightly more of a different type of powder. The 12.7×108mm can be used to engage a wide variety of targets on the battlefield, and will destroy unarmored vehicles, penetrate lightly armored vehicles and damage external ancillary equipment (i.e.: searchlights, radar, transmitters, vision blocks, engine compartment covers) on heavily armored vehicles such as tanks. It will also ignite gasoline and—since 2019—diesel fuel (experimental "Avers" AP/I round).

Cartridge dimensions
The 12.7×108mm has 22.72 ml (350 grains) H2O cartridge case capacity.



12.7×108 maximum cartridge dimensions. All sizes in millimeters (mm).

Americans define the shoulder angle at alpha/2 ≈ 18.16 degrees.

According to guidelines the 12.7×108mm 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 CIP pressure to certify for sale to consumers.

Soviet and Russian 12.7×108 types

 * Б-30 / B-30
 * First version of 1930. Armor-piercing (бронебойная) bullet weighing 49 g and 64 mm long with hardened steel core. Replaced by B-32.


 * БЗТ / BZT
 * Pre-WW2 armor-piercing incendiary (бронебойно-зажигательная) tracer. Replaced by BZT-44.


 * Б-32 / B-32 (GRAU# 57-BZ-542, 7-BZ-2)
 * Steel-cored API bullet. Main type in use. Penetrates 20 mm NATO medium-hard RHA from 500 m at 0° when fired out of DShKM. Penetrates 20 mm 2P steel from 100 m at 0° when fired out of NSV-12.7. First produced 1936; named after the B-32 7.62×54mmR ammunition of 1932.


 * БС-41 / BS-41
 * API bullet weighing 55.4 g and 51 mm long with a cemented carbide (Re8 WC-Co) core. Produced in small quantities at the beginning of WWII for the 12.7 mm Sholokhov anti-tank rifles (PTRSh-41).


 * БЗТ-44 / BZT-44 (GRAU# 57-BZT-542)
 * APIT with brighter tracer, usually used with B-32. Complemented by BZT-44M (GRAU# 57-BZT-542M) of 2002 with subdued tracer.


 * БЗФ-46 / BZF-46
 * API bullet with (white) phosphorus (фосфорная). Aircraft MG round.


 * БС / BS (GRAU# 7-BZ-1)
 * API bullet with cemented carbide (VK8 WC-Co, commonly called a "cermet" in Russian) core, developed in 1972. Ballistics also similar to B-32.


 * МДЗ / MDZ (GRAU# 7-3-2)
 * Immediate-action incendiary. Used in belt with B-32 and BZT-44(M).


 * 12,7 1СЛ / 12.71SL (GRAU# 9-A-4012)
 * 12,7 1СЛТ / 12.7 1SLT (GRAU# 9-A-4427)
 * Tandem / duplex cartridge with two bullets inside, in normal and tracer versions. Developed 1985 for use by helicopter against soft targets.


 * 12,7СН / 12.7SN (GRAU# 7N34)
 * Sniper cartridge (FMJ; AP). Bullet weighs 59.2 g and travels at ~800 m/s. Bullet consists of hardened tool steel tip and lead body. Able to defeat lightly-armored vehicles at 1500 m and 10 mm RHA at 800 m. Entered production in the 2000s.


 * 12.7 Blank (GRAU# 7H1)
 * 12.7 UCH Dummy (GRAU# 7H2)

Note that some WW2 bullets share designations with ones for 14.5×114mm.

Anti-tank and anti-materiel rifles

 * AMR-2 anti-materiel sniper rifle
 * ČZW-127 anti-materiel sniper rifle
 * Falcon OP96 anti-material rifle
 * Gepard anti-materiel rifles
 * Golan S-01 anti-materiel sniper rifle
 * KSVK anti-materiel sniper rifle
 * OSV-96 anti-materiel sniper rifle
 * PDSHP anti-materiel sniper rifle
 * QBU-10 anti-materiel sniper rifle
 * QBU-201
 * Snipex M
 * SVN-98 experimental anti-materiel rifle
 * V-94 anti-tank/anti-materiel rifle
 * Vidhwansak anti-materiel rifle
 * Zastava M93 Black Arrow anti-materiel sniper rifle
 * Zastava M12 Black Spear anti-materiel sniper rifle
 * Zijiang M99 anti-materiel sniper rifle
 * Zijiang & Poly M99-I/M99B-I/M06 anti-materiel sniper rifle
 * Zijiang LR-2/LR-2A anti-materiel sniper rifle

Heavy machine guns

 * 6P62 handheld machine gun
 * Afanasev A-12.7 heavy machine gun
 * DShK heavy machine gun
 * Berezin UB aircraft machine gun
 * CS/LM5 Gatling machine gun
 * M17G 12.7mm hatch machine gun
 * NSV heavy machine gun
 * Kord heavy machine gun
 * Type 77 heavy machine gun
 * QJC-88 heavy machine gun
 * QJZ-89 heavy machine gun
 * QJZ-171 heavy machine gun
 * Zastava M02 Coyote heavy machine gun
 * Yak-B 12.7mm Gatling gun
 * Zastava M87 heavy machine gun
 * Yu-12.7 aircraft gun