7.5 cm Pak 40

7.5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 40
A Pak 40 75 mm anti-tank gun, displayed in the Museum of Military History, Vienna.
TypeAnti-tank gun
Place of originNazi Germany
Service history
In service1942–1945
Used byNazi Germany
Finland
Kingdom of Romania
Kingdom of Hungary[1]
Kingdom of Bulgaria
Norway (postwar)
Portugal (postwar)
WarsWorld War II
Vietnam War
Indonesian invasion of East Timor
Production history
DesignerRheinmetall-Borsig AG
Designed1939–1941
ManufacturerRheinmetall-Borsig AG
Unit cost12,000 RM
Produced1942–1945
No. built23,303[2]
Specifications
Mass1,425 kg (3,142 lb)
in action[2]
Length6.2 m (20 ft 4 in)
Barrel length46 calibres: 3.45 m (11 ft 4 in)
Width2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)[3]
Height1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)[3]
Crew6[3]

ShellFixed QF 75×714mm R[3]
Caliber75 mm (2.95 inch)
Breechsemi-automatic horizontal sliding-block
RecoilHydro-pneumatic[3]
CarriageSplit trail
Elevation−5° to +22°
Traverse65°
Rate of fire14 rounds per minute
Effective firing range1,800 m (1,969 yd) direct fire
Maximum firing range7,678 m (8,397 yd) indirect HE shell

The 7.5 cm Pak 40 (7,5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 40) was a German 75 millimetre anti-tank gun of the Second World War.

The gun was developed in 1939–1941 and entered service in 1942. With 23,303 examples produced, the Pak 40 formed the backbone of German anti-tank guns for the later part of World War II, mostly in towed form, but also on a number of self propelled artillery such as the Marder series of Panzerjäger.

A modified version of the gun designed specifically for vehicle-mounting was the 7.5 cm KwK 40, which differed primarily in using more compact ammunition, thereby allowing more rounds to be carried inside the vehicles. The KwK 40 armed many of the German mid-war tank and tank destroyer designs such as the Panzer IV, replacing the Pak 40 in the latter role.

The Pak 40 may be referred to as the 7.5/L46, referring to its calibre and the barrel's length in calibres. There were two versions of the KwK 40, which would be referred to as the 7.5/L43 or 7.5/L48.

  1. ^ Rada, Tibor (2001). A Magyar Királyi Honvéd Ludovika Akadémia és a Testvérintézetek Összefoglalt Története (1830-1945) (in Hungarian). Vol. II. Budapest: Gálos Nyomdász Kft. p. 1114. ISBN 963-85764-3-X.
  2. ^ a b "7,5 cm Pak 40". Panzerworld. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e Foss, Christopher (1977). Jane's Pocket Book of Towed Artillery. New York: Collier. p. 27. ISBN 0020806000. OCLC 911907988.