M18 and 105 Recoiless

[user1000]

Was the shoulder launched M18 57mm recoiless rifle used at the end of the war?

Also was the 105 recoiless jeep used or was it too late.

[Badger73]

Yes, barely.  No, too late.
Seek to strengthen thy own google-foo, my son! 

M18 recoilless rifle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M18_recoilless_rifle

World War II
The first fifty[6] production M18 57 mm cannons and ammunition were rushed from the factories to the European Theater in March 1945. Further examples were subsequently sent to the Pacific Theater. The first combat the new cannon saw was with the U.S. Army's 17th Airborne Division near Essen, Germany. While impressed with the performance of the high explosive (HE) warhead, the M18's 57 mm HEAT round proved to be a disappointment, with only 63.5 mm (2.5-in.) of armor penetration at 90 degrees,[7][note 4] compared with the older M1A1 Bazooka which had a nominal penetration of nearly 120 mm.[8][note 5][9]

In the Pacific Theater, the new lightweight 57 mm cannon was an absolute success as "pocket artillery" for the soldiers of U.S. Army infantry units that were issued the M18. It was first used in the Pacific Theater during the Battle of Okinawa on June 9, 1945, and proved with its HE and WP rounds it was the perfect weapon for the hard fighting that took place against the dug-in Japanese in the hills of that island. The only complaint the U.S. Army had was the lack of sufficient 57 mm ammunition for the M18.[10]

M40 recoil-less rifle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M40_recoilless_rifle

The M40 recoil-less rifle is a lightweight,[3] portable, crew-served 105 mm weapon intended primarily as an anti-tank weapon made in the United States. The weapon is commonly described as being 106 mm, but it is in fact 105 mm; the 106 mm designation was intended to prevent confusion with the incompatible 105 mm ammunition from the failed M27.[4] It could also be employed in an antipersonnel role with the use of the antipersonnel-tracer flechette round. It can be fired primarily from a wheeled ground mount. The air-cooled, breech-loaded, single-shot rifle fired fixed ammunition. It was designed for direct firing only, and sighting equipment for this purpose was furnished with each weapon.

The M27 recoil-less rifle was a 105-mm weapon developed in the early 1950s and fielded in the Korean War. Although a recoilless rifle of this caliber had been a concept since the Second World War, the weapon was hurriedly produced with the onset of the Korean War. The speed with which it was developed and fielded resulted in problems with reliability caused by trunnions that were mounted too far to the rear. The M27 was also considered too heavy by the U.S. Army and had a disappointing effective range due to the lack of a spotting rifle. Taking the M27 as the basis for a new design, the Army developed an improved version of the M27 that was type-designated the M40 106-mm recoil-less rifle in 1955.[5] Originally, along with its type-designation, it was also given the official name BAT for Battalion Anti-Tank gun, but that was soon dropped.[6] Although unsuitable for military purposes, M27 recoil-less rifles were used to trigger controlled avalanches at ski resorts and mountain passes in the United States.[7]

The M40 primarily saw action during the Vietnam War. It was later replaced by the BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missile system. The weapon was also used by anti-communist forces in Angola mounted on Land Rovers.

 

[John Kettler]

user1000,

The US used only the 57 mm M18 , which was shoulder fired, and the tripod mounted 75 mm M20 recoilless rifles during WW II. Though it arrived very late in the Pacific, the latter was much loved for dealing with Japanese cave positions.

Regards,

John Kettler