14.5 × 114 mm

Lore & Background

The 14.5×114 mm cartridge was originally developed for the PTRS and PTRD anti-tank rifles. Its exterior case shape was designed to promote reliable feeding and extraction in bolt-action rifles, semi-automatic rifles, and heavy machine guns under extreme conditions. The cartridge has been manufactured in Bulgaria, China, Egypt, Hungary, Iraq, North Korea, Poland, Romania, Russia, and the former Czechoslovakia.

Ammunition types include the BS armour-piercing incendiary round with a tungsten carbide core, the B-32 with a hardened steel core, the BZT tracer, the MDZ high-explosive incendiary, and the ZP incendiary tracer. Newer Chinese types include the DGJ02 APIDS-T with discarding sabots and the DGE02 APHEI round. Cartridges use lacquered steel cases and percussion primers, with some countries using brass cases.

Chambered weapons include the PTRS-41 and PTRD-41 anti-tank rifles, the KPV heavy machine gun, the ZPU anti-aircraft guns, and numerous anti-materiel rifles such as the Denel NTW-20, Gepard M-3, Istiglal IST-14.5, Snipex T-Rex, and Snipex Alligator. The Ukrainian Horizon's Lord rifle uses a proprietary 12.7×114 HL cartridge made by necking down the 14.5×114 mm case.

Reader's Guide

The 14.5×114 mm cartridge holds significance as a versatile heavy machine gun and anti-materiel rifle round that has seen widespread use across the Soviet Union, Warsaw Pact nations, modern Russia, and other countries. Originally designed for anti-tank rifles, it became the basis for the KPV heavy machine gun and the ZPU series of anti-aircraft guns, as well as the main armament of BTR armoured personnel carriers from the BTR-60 to the BTR-80. Its legacy includes continued use in modern anti-materiel sniper rifles and the development of specialized ammunition types such as armour-piercing incendiary, tracer, and high-explosive incendiary rounds. The cartridge's design, with a case capacity of 42.53 ml and a maximum pressure of 360 MPa, has allowed it to remain in service for decades, with manufacturing in multiple countries and ongoing development of new projectile types like the Chinese DGJ02 APIDS-T and DGE02 APHEI rounds. Its influence extends to the creation of the 12.7×114 HL cartridge, derived by necking down the 14.5×114 mm case.

Did You Know?

• The 14.5×114 mm cartridge case has a capacity of 42.53 ml (655 grains H2O).
• The BS armour-piercing incendiary round can penetrate 30–32 mm of RHA steel at 500 m.
• The Chinese DGJ02 APIDS-T cartridge uses a 45 g tungsten penetrator wrapped in discarding sabots.
• The cartridge is the parent case for the 12.7×114 HL cartridge used in the Ukrainian Horizon's Lord rifle.

Origins & Case Engineering

The 14.5×114 mm cartridge was conceived in the 1940s as the dedicated round for the PTRS and PTRD anti-tank rifles, giving Soviet infantry a purpose-built means to engage armoured vehicles. Its influence quickly outgrew that original role. The same cartridge became the foundation for the KPV heavy machine gun, which in turn served as the basis for the ZPU family of anti-aircraft guns and as the primary weapon aboard BTR-60 through BTR-80 armoured personnel carriers. It also found a home in numerous heavy anti-materiel sniper rifles.

The case holds 42.53 ml of propellant and was shaped with a 22.5-degree shoulder angle so that it would feed and extract reliably whether cycling through a bolt-action rifle, a semi-automatic platform, or a fully automatic heavy machine gun. The bore features eight grooves with a land diameter of 14.50 mm and a groove diameter of 14.95 mm, twisted at one turn per 455 mm. Official specifications allow the case to withstand up to 360 MPa of piezo pressure, and in C.I.P.-regulated markets every load must be proofed at 125 percent of that figure before reaching a consumer.

Ammunition Variants & Ballistic Performance

The cartridge family spans a wide range of projectile designs. The original BS round is an armour-piercing incendiary with a 64.4-gram projectile containing a 38.7-gram tungsten carbide core and 1.8 grams of incendiary compound in the tip. At roughly 1,006 m/s muzzle velocity it delivers about 32,588 joules of translational kinetic energy and can punch through 30 to 32 mm of RHA steel at 500 metres, or 40 mm at 100 metres. The B-32 substitutes a hardened steel core in a full-metal jacket, while the BZT adds a tracer that burns to at least 2,000 metres. The MDZ is a high-explosive incendiary of instant action, and the ZP is a dedicated incendiary tracer.

All rounds use lacquered steel cases with percussion primers, though some manufacturers opt for brass. Propellant is 28.8 grams of smokeless powder in seven tubes, designated 5/7NA. Early bullet designs featured a boat-tail with a long engraving section that caused significant barrel wear; from around 1957 onward, newer projectiles adopted a smaller engraving portion and a rounder boat-tail to reduce that problem.

Chinese Modernisation & Sabot Technology

China has pushed the 14.5×114 mm platform well beyond its original Soviet-era envelope. The DGJ02 is an armour-piercing in-development sabot tracer round that employs 45-gram tungsten penetrators wrapped in discarding sabots, a concept analogous to the American SLAP cartridge. Dual-colour tracers aid ranging, and the sabot separates from the penetrator somewhere between 150 and 200 metres downrange. Muzzle velocity reaches 1,250 m/s—approximately Mach 3.7—and the round is quoted as capable of penetrating 20 mm of armour plate set at a 60-degree angle at 1,000 metres.

The DGE02 takes a different approach as an APHEI round with a projectile mass of 175 to 188 grams. At 1,000 metres it carries a 90 percent probability of penetrating 15 mm of armour at 30 degrees. In a more complex scenario at 300 metres, after first passing through a 2 mm soft-steel plate representing aircraft skin, it can still breach a further 1.2 mm steel plate and generate 20 fragments. Upon detonation, 75 to 95 incendiary pieces are produced, each with an 80 percent chance of igniting aviation fuel.

Global Weapon Platforms & Case Heritage

The 14.5×114 mm has been chambered in an extraordinary breadth of weapons. Anti-materiel rifles include the PTRS-41, PTRD-41, Anzio, Cadex CDX-X145, Denel NTW-20, Gepard M-3, MCR Horizon's Lord, Istiglal IST-14.5, Mambi-1 AMR, PDSHP, Shaher, Snipex T-Rex, Snipex Alligator, Truvelo, Vidhwansak, and the home-made Şer rifle. Heavy machine guns range from the Slostin and the original KPV to China's Type 56, Type 58, and Type 02/QJG-02. The ZPU anti-aircraft guns and the 2Kh35 unified self-loading gun round out the list.

Production has spread across Bulgaria, China, Egypt, Hungary, Iraq, North Korea, Poland, Romania, Russia, and the former Czechoslovakia. Perhaps most notably, the Ukrainian MCR Horizon's Lord also fires a proprietary 12.7×114 HL round created by necking down the 14.5×114 case to accept a .50 BMG bullet, making the 14.5×114 the direct parent case for that calibre.