7.5 cm KwK 37

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7.5 cm KwK 37 (L/24)
Panzer IV with 7.5cm KwK 37 L/24
Type	Kampfwagenkanone
Place of origin	Germany
Service history
In service	1937–1945
Used by	Nazi Germany
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Krupp
Designed	1934
Manufacturer	Krupp
Unit cost	8000 RM
Produced	1934-1945
Specifications
Mass	490 kg (1,080.3 lb)
Barrel length	176.25 cm (69.39 in) bore (23.5 calibers)
Shell	Fixed QF 75×243mm R
Caliber	75 mm (2.95 in)
Elevation	-10° to +20°
Rate of fire	12–15 round per minute
Muzzle velocity	385 m/s (1,260 ft/s)
Maximum firing range	6,200 m (20,341 ft)

The 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 (7.5 cm Kampfwagenkanone 37 L/24) was a short-barreled, howitzer-like German 75 mm tank gun used during World War II, primarily as the main armament of the early Panzer IV tank. Slightly modified as StuK 37, it was also mounted in early StuG III assault guns.

It was designed as a close-support infantry gun firing a high-explosive shell (hence the relatively short barrel) but was also effective against the tanks it faced early in the war. From March 1942, new variants of the Panzer IV and StuG III had a derivative of the 7.5 cm PaK 40 anti-tank gun, the longer-barreled 7.5 cm KwK 40.^[1] When older Panzer IVs were up-gunned, their former KwK 37 guns were reused to arm later Panzer III tanks and other infantry support vehicles. In 1943, depleted stocks and demand for the Panzer III Ausf. N required restarting production of a slightly revised 7.5 cm K 51 L/24 (7.5 cm Kanone 51 L/24).