M40A1

The M40A1 is a 106mm recoilless rifle, primarily designed as an anti-tank weapon. It is a crew-served, direct-fire weapon capable of being mounted on a tripod or light vehicles.

Developed in the early 1950s to replace the flawed M27 recoilless rifle, the M40 entered service with the United States military in 1955. It saw extensive combat during the Vietnam War, where it was frequently mounted on M151 Jeeps and M50 Ontos vehicles for infantry support. The weapon was also widely exported and utilized in numerous global conflicts, including the Indo-Pakistani Wars and the Lebanese Civil War. While phased out of front-line U.S. service in the 1970s in favor of guided anti-tank missiles, the M40A1 remains in active service with several nations and is still used domestically for avalanche control.