A.K.A "Long Rod Penetrator"

This is the M735 version

It also creates spall.

The original M-1 Abrams MBT used a 105mm cannon that
fired a long rod, tungsten alloy, kinetic energy penetrator.
This cartridge is based on the Sabot principle, and uses a
very long, thin, hard projectile to focus all it's energy
on to one small point of a target's armor.

Eventually the U.S. Army started adding Depleted Uranium to the
tungsten to make it pyrophoric and less susceptible to shattering.

This was done as part of it's effort to make the 105mm cannon
more competitive w/ the German 120mm cannon
the Carter Admin. wanted the Army to buy.

The 105mm DUTP round comes in three slightly different lengths.
The 105mm DUTP's have a muzzle velocity of 1500m/sec.
They can penetrate virtually any known armor.

The M-1's 105mm, rifled, cannon can fire the M-60's normal
cartridge, the tungsten penetrator, or the new DUTP ammo.
It’s rifled barrel is not suited to fire the fin stabilized,
shaped-charge anti-tank round used in the M-1A1,
but the use of a loose fitting metal band that
rotates around the DUTP's Sabot makes
the 105mm cannon DUTP capable.

The Rheinmetall (once a maker of Hitler's artillery) designed
120 mm smooth bore can’t shoot the M-60's plentiful 105 mm ammo.

However, it’s DUTP and Shaped-Charge ammo are considered
the best in the world, because they contain more
explosive/propellant than the M-1's 105mm rounds.

Both the long rod penetrator and the M1's other
primary round, the HEAT, are fin stabilized.
This prevents spin induced centrifugal force
from dispersing their energy outward.

The M-1's 105mm and 120mm cartridges use a combustible,
plastic cartridge case w/ a metal base that ejects
automatically when the gun recoils.

Depleted Uranium, an incendiary also used in the
A-10 attack aircraft's 30mm anti-tank gun, emits
a toxic gas when it burns that is suspected of being
one of several factors contributing to Gulf War Syndrome,
which has caused serious illness in many Gulf War Vets.

DUTP rounds tend to go straight through lightly armed vehicles,
but when it hits a heavy tank, high pressure causes
it to turn into a molten mass of red-hot metal.

This glob of metal shatters into small pieces of shrapnel
and emits a toxic gas.