7.5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 40 | |
---|---|
Type | Anti-tank gun |
Place of origin | Nazi Germany |
Service history | |
In service | 1942–1945 |
Used by | Nazi Germany Finland Kingdom of Romania Kingdom of Hungary[1] Kingdom of Bulgaria Norway (postwar) Portugal (postwar) |
Wars | World War II Vietnam War Indonesian invasion of East Timor |
Production history | |
Designer | Rheinmetall-Borsig AG |
Designed | 1939–1941 |
Manufacturer | Rheinmetall-Borsig AG |
Unit cost | 12,000 RM |
Produced | 1942–1945 |
No. built | 23,303[2] |
Specifications | |
Mass | 1,425 kg (3,142 lb) in action[2] |
Length | 6.2 m (20 ft 4 in) |
Barrel length | 46 calibres: 3.45 m (11 ft 4 in) |
Width | 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)[3] |
Height | 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)[3] |
Crew | 6[3] |
Shell | Fixed QF 75×714mm R[3] |
Caliber | 75 mm (2.95 inch) |
Breech | semi-automatic horizontal sliding-block |
Recoil | Hydro-pneumatic[3] |
Carriage | Split trail |
Elevation | −5° to +22° |
Traverse | 65° |
Rate of fire | 14 rounds per minute |
Effective firing range | 1,800 m (1,969 yd) direct fire |
Maximum firing range | 7,678 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.