Munitions

120 mm L2 HESH

Also known as
  • 120mm L2 HESH
  • L2 HESH
  • L19A3 HESH
  • 120 mm BAT HESH L19A3
  • 120 mm BAT HESH
  • 120mm BAT HESH
  • L2 HESH round
  • BAT HESH ammunition
  • Round 120 mm BAT HESH

The 120 mm L2 HESH round was the high-explosive squash-head ammunition for Britain's BAT-family recoilless anti-tank rifles, pairing a separate-loaded 120 mm projectile and propellant case with the L2 BAT, L4 MOBAT, and L6 WOMBAT family. A 1964 joint-services ammunition-marking handbook identifies the service store as 120 mm B.A.T. H.E.S.H. L19A3, while specialist sources use the L2 HESH label for the BAT-family round. Australian War Memorial collection data documents BAT HESH ammunition tubes with an L4 MOBAT in Malacca during the Indonesian Confrontation, giving the round a direct source-backed conflict context without implying that the specific photographed rounds were fired.

120 mm L2 HESH, 120 mm high-explosive squash-head recoilless-rifle ammunition, Munitions
Image source: Commons Puckapunyal L4 MOBAT Image

Role in Conflicts

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
United Kingdom
Type
120 mm high-explosive squash-head recoilless-rifle ammunition
Service note
Cold War British 120 mm BAT-family anti-armor ammunition introduced with the L2 BAT and retained on MOBAT and WOMBAT recoilless rifles.
Designer
British state ordnance design lineage
Designed
Early 1950s BAT-family development
Produced
Early 1950s onward for BAT-family recoilless weapons

Specifications

Caliber
120 mm
Warhead type
High-explosive squash-head (HESH)
Official listed HESH designation
Round, 120 mm B.A.T. H.E.S.H. L19A3 in the 1964 joint-services marking handbook
Operational abbreviation
120 MM BAT HESH
Package marking
RD 120 MM BAT HESH L19A3 FZD
Ammunition type
Recoilless-rifle ammunition
Loading arrangement
Separate shell and metal propellant casing, often handled together for loading
Projectile weight
12.8 kg
Complete round weight
27.2 kg
Propellant charge
4.5 kg
Fuze
Impact
Muzzle velocity
462 m/s
Reported armor effect
400 mm rolled homogeneous armor equivalence in WeaponSystems.net reporting
BAT practical range
800 m practical and 1.6 km maximum reported for the original BAT context
Compatible firing weapons
BAT-series 120 mm recoilless rifles, including L2 BAT, L4 MOBAT, and L6 WOMBAT
Role
Anti-armor and position attack ammunition for breech-loaded recoilless rifles
Round Construction

The L2 HESH round used separate loading: the shell and the metal propellant casing were distinct components, although sources describe them as often handled together for loading.

Projectile

120 mm HESH projectile, listed at 12.8 kg.

Source: WeaponSystems.net 120mm L2 HESH.

Complete round

27.2 kg complete round with a 4.5 kg propellant charge.

Source: WeaponSystems.net 120mm L2 HESH.

Documented field marking

AWM describes the Malacca ammunition tubes as stencilled with 120mm and BAT HESH.

Source: Australian War Memorial L4 MOBAT Malacca.

Variants

Archival marking data separates the live HESH round from BAT-family practice and proof stores. The page title follows the specialist L2 HESH naming used for the BAT-family round, while the 1964 marking handbook gives L19A3 as the listed service HESH designation.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
L19A3Live 120 mm BAT HESH round

The joint-services marking handbook lists the service store as Round, 120 mm B.A.T. H.E.S.H. L19A3 and gives the operational abbreviation as 120 MM BAT HESH.

Sources: Joint Services Ammunition Markings Handbook

L18A1-L18A5Squash-head practice rounds

The same handbook lists S.H. Practice L18A1 through L18A5 as related 120 mm BAT ammunition markings.

Sources: Joint Services Ammunition Markings Handbook

L4 Mk.1Proof round

The handbook also lists a 120 mm BAT-family proof round as L4 Mk.1 in the same marking table.

Sources: Joint Services Ammunition Markings Handbook

Firing Weapons

The L2 HESH round belonged to the British 120 mm BAT recoilless-rifle family rather than to a tank-gun ammunition line.

Firing weaponWeapon typeFiring evidence
120mm L2 BAT, 120 mm recoilless anti-tank rifle, Infantry Weapons120mm L2 BAT120 mm BAT-family recoilless rifle

WeaponSystems.net identifies the L2 HESH as ammunition designed for the BAT series, including MOBAT and WOMBAT, and the catalog's BAT-family record covers those linked variants.

Sources: WeaponSystems.net 120mm L2 HESH, WeaponSystems.net 120mm L2 BAT

Timeline

120 mm L2 HESH Key Events

  1. L2 HESH enters BAT service

    WeaponSystems.net lists 1953 as the L2 HESH entered-service date and connects the round to the original BAT recoilless rifle.

    Sources: WeaponSystems.net 120mm L2 HESH

  2. L19A3 marking listed in joint-services handbook

    A 1964 Ministry of Defence joint-services marking handbook lists the 120 mm BAT HESH store as L19A3 and gives 120 MM BAT HESH as the operational abbreviation.

    Sources: Joint Services Ammunition Markings Handbook

  3. BAT HESH ammunition documented in Malacca

    Australian War Memorial collection metadata identifies 120 mm BAT HESH ammunition tubes with an L4 MOBAT/BAT gun at Sunggi Linggi, Malacca, during the Indonesian Confrontation.

    Sources: Australian War Memorial L4 MOBAT Malacca

Media

120 mm L2 HESH Videos

120 mm L2 HESH Images

120 mm L2 HESH, 120 mm high-explosive squash-head recoilless-rifle ammunition, Munitions - view 1
Source: Commons L2 BAT Maroubra Image
120 mm L2 HESH, 120 mm high-explosive squash-head recoilless-rifle ammunition, Munitions - view 2
Source: Commons Wombat Crew Operation Image
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Sources

WeaponSystems.net 120mm L2 HESHPublisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports L2 HESH identity, British origin, 1953 service entry, HESH designation, separate-loading design, projectile and complete-round weights, propellant charge, velocity, range figures, and BAT/MOBAT/WOMBAT compatibility. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Joint Services Ammunition Markings HandbookPublisher: Ministry of Defence / War Office Code No. 1803 via Internet Archive | Note: Supports official 1964 marking and designation context for 120 mm BAT HESH L19A3, the 120 MM BAT HESH operational abbreviation, L18-series squash-head practice rounds, and the L4 Mk.1 proof round. | Accessed: 2026-07-13IWM Gun 120mm BAT L6A2 WombatPublisher: Imperial War Museums | Note: Supports L6A2 WOMBAT museum context, including 120 mm caliber, British Army 1950s design context, HESH as the usual Wombat round, approximate 1,800 m firing range, and 400 mm penetration statement. | Accessed: 2026-07-13WeaponSystems.net 120mm L2 BATPublisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports BAT-family identity, L2 BAT origin and service context, 120 mm caliber, and the L2 HESH ammunition relationship. | Accessed: 2026-07-13WeaponSystems.net 120mm L4 MOBATPublisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports L4 MOBAT as a BAT-family 120 mm recoilless rifle and provides context for HESH ammunition in the lighter BAT-family configuration. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Australian War Memorial L4 MOBAT MalaccaPublisher: Australian War Memorial | Note: Supports Indonesian Confrontation 1962-1966 direct conflict context by identifying four ammunition tubes stencilled '120mm' and 'BAT HESH' with an L4 MOBAT/BAT gun at Sunggi Linggi, Malacca, in November 1964. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Commons Puckapunyal L4 MOBAT ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports gallery image provenance and reuse terms for a BAT-series L4 MOBAT recoilless rifle at the Royal Australian Armoured Corps Tank Museum. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Commons L2 BAT Maroubra ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports gallery image provenance and reuse terms for an L2 BAT photographed at Maroubra Junction, Sydney. | Accessed: 2026-07-13Commons Wombat Crew Operation ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports gallery image provenance and reuse terms for a public-domain U.S. Army image showing WOMBAT 120 mm recoilless antitank gun crew operation. | Accessed: 2026-07-13