Pak 40 anti-tank gun. Anti-tank guns. mm anti-tank gun leFH18

History of creation
The development of the PaK40 began in 1938 according to the terms of reference issued by two firms, Krupp and Rheinmetall. The pace of creation was initially low, only in 1940 were prototypes of guns presented, of which the Rheinmetall gun was recognized as the best. Compared to the 37-mm anti-tank gun already adopted by the Wehrmacht. PaK40 turned out to be heavy and not so mobile, requiring a specialized artillery tractor for transportation, especially on soils with weak bearing capacity. She did not fit into the concept of "blitzkrieg" and therefore an order for mass production in 1940 was not followed. On the other hand, the battles in France with the Allied S-35, B-1Bis and Matilda tanks, which had anti-projectile armor, demonstrated the need for a gun with the characteristics of PaK40. However, in the subsequent campaigns of the Wehrmacht in Yugoslavia and Crete, the purposes for which the PaK40 might be needed, there was no question of organizing it. serial production has been postponed to the future.

The situation changed after the invasion of Nazi Germany into the territory of the Soviet Union. The Wehrmacht's 37mm guns were more than successful against the lightly armored Soviet BT and T-26 tanks, but were virtually useless against the new T-34s and KVs. The introduction of the 50-mm PaK38 anti-tank gun into service somewhat improved the Wehrmacht's ability to combat new Soviet tanks, but this tool also had significant drawbacks. The most important of them are:
Only a 50-mm sub-caliber projectile could confidently penetrate the armor of a T-34 or KV, and according to reports from TsNII-48, the armor action of the ceramic-metal core of this projectile was weak (it crumbled into sand and sometimes a standard tanker jacket was enough to protect against this sand) . According to the statistics of defeats of the T-34 tank in late 1941 - early 1942. 50% of the hits of 50-mm shells were dangerous, and the probability of incapacitating the T-34 with one hit of a 50-mm shell was even lower.
Tungsten was used as the material for the ceramic-metal core, and its stocks in the Third Reich were very limited.
Weak action PaK38 on unarmored targets.

However, while there was still hope for a "blitzkrieg", the Wehrmacht leadership was in no hurry to adopt the PaK40. But by the end of the autumn of 1941, it became clear to the German military that the disorganization Soviet troops largely overcome and the number of T-34s on all fronts began to increase steadily. This made them a very dangerous adversary and the existing means to deal with them were officially recognized as insufficient. As a result, the PaK40 was put into service in November 1941, and the first mass-produced guns were delivered to the anti-tank artillery of the Wehrmacht.

In 1942, the gradual re-equipment of all parts of the Wehrmacht anti-tank artillery with PaK40 began, which was finally completed by the beginning of 1943. Reports from the Soviet tank troops At the beginning of 1943, they emphasize that the main caliber of German anti-tank artillery is 75 mm, and the percentage of defeats with smaller calibers is such that it can be ignored. All hits of the 75 mm caliber in the T-34 were considered dangerous. The PaK40 thus ended the dominance of the T-34 on the battlefield.

The gun in 1942-45 was an effective tool against any Allied medium tank that fought, so its production continued until the very end of World War II. Reliable protection from his fire it was possible to realize only in the IS-2 and T-44 tanks (the latter did not take part in hostilities). As for the first, the statistics on irretrievably disabled IS-2s was such that 75 mm caliber accounted for 14% of losses (the rest was 88 mm caliber and cumulative Faustpatrons). During the war, the British did not manage to create a tank with reliable anti-shell armor; in the USA, it was the M26 Pershing, which was resistant to PaK40 fire.

The PaK40 anti-tank gun was supplied to Germany's allies - Hungary, Finland, Romania and Bulgaria. With transition last three in 1944 to the anti-Hitler coalition PaK40 in armed forces of these countries were used against the Germans. These guns were in service with their armies after the end of World War II. Captured PaK40s were also actively used in the Red Army.

Tool production

In total, 23,303 PaK40 towed guns were produced in Nazi Germany and about 2,600 more barrels were mounted on various self-propelled gun carriages (for example, Marder II). It was the most massive weapon produced in the Reich. The cost of one gun was 12,000 Reichsmarks.

Also guns were mounted on some different types of chassis:
Sd.Kfz.135 Marder I - in 1942-1943, 184 self-propelled units were manufactured on the basis of the French Lorraine semi-armored tractor.
Sd.Kfz.131 Marder II - in 1942-1943 on the basis of light tank Pz.IIA and Pz.IIF manufactured 531 self-propelled guns.
Sd.Kfz.139 Marder III - in 1942-1943, on the chassis of the Czech tank 38 (t), 418 installations were manufactured in the "H" variant (engine in the stern) and 381 installations in the "M" variant (engine in the front of the chassis).

Combat use

PaK40 was used in the vast majority of cases as an anti-tank gun, firing at its targets with direct fire. In terms of armor-piercing action, the PaK40 was superior to the similar Soviet 76.2-mm ZiS-3 gun, but this was largely due to best quality and production technology German shells compared to the Soviet ones. On the other hand, the ZiS-3 was more versatile and had better action against unarmored targets than the PaK40.

Near the end of the production war anti-tank guns in Nazi Germany was given one of the highest priorities. As a result, the Wehrmacht began to experience a shortage of howitzers. For at least some of their replacement, PaK40 began to be used for firing from closed positions on the model of the ZiS-3 divisional cannon in the Red Army. This decision had another advantage - in the event of a deep breakthrough and the tanks reaching the positions German artillery PaK40 again became an anti-tank gun. However, scale estimates combat use PaK40 as such is highly controversial.

Tactical and technical characteristics

Caliber, mm: 75
Barrel length, klb: 46
Length with limber, m: 6.20
Length, m: 3.45
Width, m: 2.00
Height, m: 1.25
Weight in combat position, kg: 1425
Horizontal aiming angle: 65°
Maximum elevation angle: +22°
Minimum Declination: 25°
Rate of fire, rounds per minute: 14

Muzzle velocity of the projectile, m/s:
933 (sub-caliber armor-piercing)
792 (caliber armor-piercing)
548 (high-explosive)

Range of a direct shot, m: 900-1300 (depending on the type of projectile)
Maximum firing range, m: 7678 (according to other sources, about 11.5 km)
Projectile weight, kg: from 3.18 to 6.8

Armor penetration (500 m, meeting angle 90°, homogeneous armor of medium hardness, 50% fragments in the armor space), mm:
132 (caliber armor-piercing)
154 (sub-caliber armor-piercing)

ZiS - 3.
History of creation.

Pro-ek-ti-ro-va-nie new-howl push-ki would-lo-for-cha-that V.G. Gra-bi-nym at the end of 1940 after us-pesh-but pro-ve-den-nyh is-py-ta-ny 57-mm pro-ti-vo-tan-ko-how push- ki ZiS-2. Like pain-shin-st-in pro-ti-vo-tan-ko-guns, she would be compact, had a light and durable la-fet, which the other one could not have been used-pol-zo-van when creating di-vi-zi-on-noy push-ki.
At the same time, for the 76,2-mm di-vi-z-on-guns F-22USV, a tech-no-logic barrel with good-ro- shi-mi bal-li-sti-che-ski-mi ha-rak-te-ri-sti-ka-mi. So, in principle, qi-pe, con-st-hand-to-ram was-ta-elk only to-lo-live on the la-fette of the ZiS-2 push-ki 76,2-mm di-vi-trunk zi-on-noy gun F-22USV, supplying it with a muzzle tor-mo-z to reduce the load on the la-fet. Pa-ral-lel-but with the pro-ek-ti-ro-va-ni-em push-ki re-sha-lissed about the tech-no-logia of its pro-from-water-st- va, was carried out from-ra-bot-ka from-go-to-le-tion of many de-ta-lei pouring, stamping and welding. In comparison with the SPM, the labor-to-for-trade-you, when from-to-to-le-nii of one-to-that-th-to-th-tool-diya, decreased by 3 times, and the cost of push-ki was reduced by more than a third.
The experimental sample of the ZiS-3 was completed in June, and in July 1941, he went through the testing.
Initially, at first, the experimental ex-zem-p-lyar la-fe-ta ZiS-3 had a mechanism of variable length from-ka-ta. But is-py-ta-niya you-reveal a bad job of pro-ti-in-from-cat-devices, and it would be re-she-but to do from-kat by -hundred-yang-nym. But then you-clear-no-elk, that when shooting at an angle of 45, it is necessary to de-lay ro-vic me-zh-du hundred-no-on-mi. To solve this problem, the elevation angle was reduced from +45 to +37, and you increased the fire line by 50 mm.

On July 22, 1941, an experimental sample of the ZiS-3 was shown in Mo-sk-ve mar-sha-lu Ku-li-ku. Ku-lik os-mot-rel push-ku and ka-te-go-ri-che-ski for-pre-til for-launching it into production-out-of-water-st-in. Gra-bin on-beam-chil instructed to return to the factory and give more of those cannons, some of them go to the pro-from-water-st-ve .
Returning to the factory, Gra-bin, in agreement with the di-rek-to-rum for-yes-yelya-nom, took the decision to start -tit in the production of ZiS-3 under your own response. Ra-bo-ta would-la-or-ha-ni-zo-va-on such a way that de-ta-whether ZiS-3 from-go-tav-li-va-lis pa- ral-lel-but with de-ta-la-mi SPM. At the same time, no one, except for the narrow circle of the sacred, knew that a new gun was going into the production from the water. The only-st-ven-naya de-tal, someone-paradise could-la-call-dos-re-nie, - muzzle brake, - from-go-to-la-la into experience -nom tse-he.
As expected, before-a-hundred-vi-te-whether in-en-noy receive-ki from-ka-za-li-pri-no-mother “not-le-gal-nye” push- ki without permission of the GAU, at the head of no-one-to-ro-go in that po-ru was already a gene-not-ra-l-pol-kov-nick ar -til-le-rii N.D. Jacob the lion. They are on-right-vi-whether co-ot-vet-st-vuyu-schee for-request in the GAU, GAU for a long time honey-li-lo with a reply, in the workshops all the new guns of the ZiS-3 were told, and, in the end, de I.F. Te-le-shov gave command-du to take these push-ki.
Ofi-tsi-al-but push-ka would-la pri-nya-ta on the military of the Red Army only on February 12, 1942, when Gra-bin, re-pol-zo-vav-shis successful si-tua-qi-she, pre-sta-vil push-ku I.V. Sta-li-well. Stalin ras-rya-dil-sya about-the-weight-ty of the how-s-s-py-ta-niya push-ki and according to the re-zul-ta-there received co-from-vet- st-vu-shche decision. . At this time, in the front-line units, there were already no less than one thousand ZiS-3 cannons.

Launching the ZIS-3 into the production of the ZIS-3 called-lil or-ga-ni-zo-vat from-go-to-le-cannons in an exact way -house (for the first time in the world) with a sharp increase in-whether-che-no-eat pro-from-in-di-tel-no-sti. Pri-Volzh-sky plant on May 9, 1945, the ra-por-to-val of the party and the right-vi-tel-st-vu about the launch of the 100,000th ZiS-3 cannon, uve -li-chiv pro-from-water-st-vein power for the years of the war almost 20 times.

In the military, in a stu-pa-lo, there are three different types of 76-mm guns, model 1942 (ZiS-3):

1. Push-ka with kle-pa-ny-mi (ko-rob-cha-you-mi) or circle-ly-mi hundred-ni-na-mi and for-tvo-rum from 57 mm pro-ti-vo -tan-ko-howl push-ki, with a button-lower-descent-com (button-ka would-la-ra-lo-same-na in ma-ho-vi-ke in-mouth-but -go me-ha-niz-ma).
2. Push-ka with an up-ro-o-o-o-o-o-o-rum and a lever trigger. Elevation angle +27.
3. Push-ka of the second type-pa, but with an elevation angle of +37.

In addition to that, in connection with the increase in the angle of elevation from +27 to +37, go-to-le-nia (for 1944) had the following from-li-chia from the guns indicated in the first two paragraphs:

• ud-li-nen sector rise-em-no-go me-ha-niz-ma;
• from-me-not-on the length-on-from-ka-ta: the normal length-on from-ka-ta was 900-1060 mm, became-la - 680-750 mm;
• increase-whether-but at-initial pressure in on-kat-ni-ke;
• increased the volume of liquid in the tor-mo-ze from-ka-ta by 0.4 liters.

In the last time, she was in the military of the Soviet Army and the armies of many other countries of the world.

There were you-more-but more than 100 thousand guns.

Divisional gun ZiS-z model 1942. on the square of the Czech city of Trebon.

Calculation of the Soviet 76.2mm gun ZiS-3 on an army truck, Dodge, Polish-German border, Vritsen.

ZiS-3 is firing at the enemy. Autumn 1942 Stalingrad.

ZiS-3 in position.

In for-meth-n-wh-wh-st-wahs, these guns appeared in the troops in 1942, in a degree-pen-but you-crushing your pre -she-st-ven-ni-kov - di-vi-z-on-ny guns model 1902/30, model 1936 (F-22) and model 1939 (F- 22USV). In 1943, this weapon became the main one in di-vi-zi-on-noy cannon art-til-le-rii, as well as in is-tra -bi-tel-no-pro-ti-in-tan-ko-y half-kah, having 76-mm cannons according to the staff. In the Kursk battle ZiS-3, along with the 45-mm pro-ti-vo-tan-ko-you-mi push-ka-mi and 122-mm gau-bi-tsa-mi M -30 comp-stav-la-la os-no-vu so-vet ar-til-le-rii. Then, at the same time, the non-dos-that-accuracy of the bro-not-fight-but-go action of the guns against the new German tanks and self-propelled guns, in a certain degree of step-pe-ni softened-chen-naya introduced-de-ni-em in the combat set of under-ka-li-ber-nyh, and from the end of 1944 -yes - and ku-mu-la-tiv-nyh dreams-rows. In the future, until the end of the ZiS-3 war, firmly but keep the status of the main di-vi-zi-on-noy gun, and with 1944, yes, for the reason of not reducing the pace of launching 45-mm cannons and lack of 57-mm ZiS-2 cannons, this is a weapon de facto, it became the basis of the pro-ti-vo-tan-ko-howl push of the Red Army. So, ZiS-3 active-but-me-were so-vet-ski-mi how-ska-mi in the course of the war with Japan-no-her.

After the end of the Second World War, part of the cannons would be re-la-re-yes-on the so-uz-no-kam of the USSR, for some hour pe-re-pro-yes-va-whether they are in the countries of the third world. Accordingly, a number of sources, toch-no-kov, some-some Af-ri-Kan-sky and Asian-At-sky countries still have this weapon on vo-ru-same-nii-their army. Remaining in the USSR, part of the guns would have been an hour-tich-but warehouse-di-ro-va-na, and an hour-tich-but uti-li-zi-ro-va-na on me -tall.

Basic new tasks-da-chi, re-shae-my shot-fight from a push-ki:

1. Destruction of the same living force against-no-no.
2. Destroying the same fire means of ne-ho-you and giving ar-till-le-rii against-no-ka.
3. Destruction of the same tanks and other mo-to-me-ha-ni-zi-ro-van-nyh means against-no-ka.
4. Raz-ru-she-nie pro-loch-nyh for-gra-zh-de-ny (if it’s not possible to use the use of how-bits and mi-but -metov).
5. Raz-ru-she-nie uk-ry-tiy easy type-pa and am-bra-zur bunker and bunker.

The greatest range of shooting would be a long-range combat wasp-ko-loch-no-fu-gas-noy gr-on-that OF-350 is equal to 13290 m. mo-th you-shot-la when shooting-be-long-range-battle-noy wasp-ko-loch-no-fu-gas-noy gra-on-that and bro-not-battle-ny dream-near-house 820 m (when you-with those goals-whether 2 m).
The speed-ro-shooting-ness of the push-ki dos-ti-ga-et 25 shots in mi-well-tu.
The weight of the gun in combat is 1150 kg.
On-tre-ni-ro-van-nym races-tho-re-waters push-ki from in-move-no-go-to-the-same-tion in combat and reverse-but about -from-in-dit-Xia in 30-40 seconds.

You can push-ku but re-re-vo-zit me-ha-no-che-sky and horse-noy (six-ter-coy lo-sha-day) tya-goy. Pe-re-vo-zit push-ku once-re-sha-et-sya with speed: along the highway - up to 50 km / h, along the pro-se-local roads - up to 30 km / h, without-to-ro-zhu - up to 10 km / h.

For shooting, would push-ki p-me-nya-yut-sya uni-tar-nye pa-tro-ns with os-ko-loch-no-fu-gas-ny-mi, os-ko-loch-ny -mi, bro-not-fight-but-t-ras-si-ruyu-schi-mi, under-ka-li-ber-ny-mi, ku-mu-la-tiv-ny-mi, for-zhi -ga-tel-ny-mi, os-ko-loch-no-hi-mi-che-ski-mi, car-tech-ny-mi and shrap-nel-ny-mi sleep-rya-da-mi.
Os-ko-loch-no-fu-gas-steel grena-na-ta (OF-350) and os-ko-loch-long-range-but-fighting grena-na-ta-sta-li- one hundred chu-gu-na (O-350A) pre-na-know-cha-yut-sya for-ra-zhe-niya living si-ly, ma-te-ri-al-noy hour- ty ar-til-le-rii and fire means of ne-ho-you are against-no-no, as well as for the destruction of light on-left co- weapons. Os-ko-loch-no-fu-gas-naya and os-ko-loch-naya gra-on-you are one-on-to-you according to the device-swarm-st-vu and from-li-cha-yut- sya one from the other only ma-te-ria-scrap, from someone-ro-go from-go-tov-le-na kor-pu-sa. Os-ko-loch-no-fu-gas-naya gr-na-ta co-bi-ra-et-sya with the KTM-1-U or KTMZ-1-U explosion. Os-ko-loch-naya gr-na-ta co-bi-ra-et-sya with the explosion-va-te-lem KTM-1-U.

The KTM-1-U exploder has two UV-ta-nov-ki:

• without a cap-pack-ka - instant-venous (os-ko-loch-noe) action;
• with a count-patch-com - iner-chi-on-noe (fu-gas-noe) action.

Ra-di-us in-ra-zhe-niya os-kol-ka-mi composes-la-et 15-20 m.

Bro-not-fight-but-t-ras-si-rue-sleeping-row-dy (BR-350A, BR-354 and BR-350B) pre-na-know-cha-yut-sya for shooting on tanks, bro-not-ma-shi-us, am-bra-zu-ram bunkers and other targets covered with armor. The range of the direct you shot when shooting at tanks was about 820 m.
Bro-don't-fight-but-t-ras-si-ruyu-schee sleep-series BR-350B from-whether-cha-et-sya from bro-not-fight-but-t-ras-si-ruyu-shche -th dream-row-yes BR-350A head-of-the-stu-core-pu-sa and on-li-chi-em on the cor-pu-se of two sub-re-call-lo-ka-li- for something-ditch for pre-dot-bra-shche-niya races-to-la sleep-row-yes when hitting armor-nu. Armored-non-fighting sleep-rows of skom-plek-to-va-ny: target-but-core-pus-nye - with an MD-8 explosion, and with a screw-in bottom - with an explosion-va-te-lem MD-7.
Under-ka-li-ber-ny bro-not-fight-but-t-ras-si-ruyu-schee-sleep-series (BR-354P) heavy tank-kam and sa-mo-walk-nym oru-di-yam direct on-water-coy at a distance of up to 500 m.
Dy-my-howl-sleep-row (D-350) pre-na-know-cha-et-sya for os-le-p-le-niya on-ob-da-tel-nyh and command-nyh punks -tov and fire-not-out in-zi-tion ba-ta-ray, from-del-guns, fire-not-out to-check and live-howl si-ly against-tiv-no-ka .
In addition to that, this dream-row is used for the purpose-le-indication-for-tion, signal-on-li-for-tion and arrow-ki, and so- the same for providing tank attacks.

German anti-tank gun RaK-40.

History of creation.
The development of the gun was started by Rheinmetall-Borsig in 1939. Already in the spring of 1942, the first guns of this type appeared on the Eastern Front. The main purpose of the gun was to fight tanks and armored vehicles, however, a fairly large caliber and the presence in its ammunition high-explosive projectile made it possible to use a cannon to suppress firing points, destroy various light-type obstacles and to destroy enemy manpower. In total, more than 25,000 Pak 40 guns were manufactured during the war years.

In addition to the wheeled carriage, the gun was mounted on self-propelled artillery mounts Marder II and III, Jagdpanzer IV and RSO.
The main parts of the Pak 40 gun were: a barrel with a bolt, a cradle with recoil devices, an upper machine, lifting, turning and balancing mechanisms, a lower machine with chassis, shield cover and sights.
The monoblock barrel was equipped with a highly effective muzzle brake absorbing a significant part of the recoil energy.

A carriage with sliding beds provided the possibility of firing at elevation angles from -3 ° 30 "to + 22 °. The angle of horizontal fire was 58 ° 30".
When the gun was rolled by the calculation forces, the trunk part of the gun was mounted on the guide wheel. In this case, the gun moved muzzle forward. One person guided the gun with a guide lever. To transport the gun using a tractor, it was equipped with pneumatic marching brakes, which were controlled from the cab of the tractor. In addition, it was possible to slow down with levers located on both sides of the gun carriage.

The shield cover was similar in design to the cover of the RaK-38 gun and consisted of upper and lower shields. The upper shield was fixed on the upper machine and consisted of two sheets: rear and front. The lower shield was fixed on the lower machine and had a folding part.
The shutter of the gun was equipped with semi-automatic, which ensured a fairly high rate of fire of 12 - 14 rounds per minute.

The ammunition load of the Pak 40 gun included cartridge-loading shots with the following types of projectiles:
- high-explosive fragmentation grenade;
- armor-piercing tracer projectile mod. 39;
- armor-piercing tracer sub-caliber projectile: arr. 40;
- cumulative projectile.

For firing at heavily armored targets at short distances (up to 600 m) were used HEAT rounds weighing 4.6 kg. At an angle of 60°, these shells penetrated 90 mm thick armor, which made it possible to successfully use the Pak 40 cannon to deal with a significant part of armored vehicles USSR and its allies. The gun was produced until the end of the Second World War. Its carriage was also used to create a modernized 105-mm light field howitzer mod. 18/40 and 75 mm Pak 97/40 anti-tank gun, which was an overlay of the barrel of a 75 mm French gun mod. 1897 on the gun carriage Pak 40.

Tactical and technical characteristics
75 mm PaK 40 guns

The appearance of this gun began back in 1938, when the Wehrmacht's Ordnance Department issued a task to design and build a 75-mm anti-tank gun.

Two firms participated in the competition: Rheinmetall-Borsig and Krupp. At the first stage, the Rheinmetall model won, and the Krupp product became the basis for the creation of the 75-mm gun of the 1941 model.

The Rheinmetal prototype was named 7.5 cm Pak. 40 ... and that's where it all stopped. The need for an anti-tank gun is so large caliber did not have. All problems on the battlefield were quite successfully solved by the 37-mm anti-tank gun of the 1936 model.

Pak 40 turned out to be very heavy and not very mobile. To transport the gun, a tractor was required, especially where the roads were not very good, or in muddy conditions. So initially the Pak 40 did not fit into the concept of "blitzkrieg" at all, and therefore there was no order for mass production in 1940.

Yes, the battles in France with the allied S-35, B-1bis and Matilda tanks, which had some anti-ballistic armor, revealed the need for a gun with the characteristics of the Pak 40.

However, the campaign on the Western Front ended quickly, and in the following Wehrmacht campaigns in Yugoslavia and Crete, there were no targets for which the Pak 40 could be needed, and the stake was placed on establishing serial production guns 5 cm Pak. 38.

The issue of organizing the serial production of the 75-mm anti-tank gun was put on the back burner.

The situation changed after the German attack on Soviet Union when I had to face the new Soviet T-34 and KV tanks.

The adoption of the 50 mm Pak 38 anti-tank gun somewhat improved the Wehrmacht's ability to fight new Soviet tanks, but this gun also had significant drawbacks. The most important of them are:

Only a 50-mm sub-caliber projectile could confidently penetrate the armor of the T-34 or KV. According to the statistics of the defeats of the T-34 tank in late 1941 - early 1942, 50% of hits of 50-mm shells were fatal, and the probability of incapacitating a T-34 or KV with one hit of a 50-mm shell was even lower;

Tungsten carbide was used as the material for the cermet core, and tungsten stocks in the Third Reich were very limited;

Poor performance of the Pak 38 against unarmored targets.

Nevertheless, while there was still hope for a "blitzkrieg", the Wehrmacht leadership was in no hurry to adopt the Pak 40. But by the end of autumn 1941, it became clear to the German military that the disorganization of the Soviet troops had been largely overcome, and the number of T-34s on all fronts began to steadily increase. This made them a very dangerous adversary, and the existing means to deal with them were officially recognized as insufficient.

And in November 1941, the Pak 40 was put into service, mass production began.

In 1942, the gradual re-equipment of all parts of the Wehrmacht anti-tank artillery with Pak 40 began, which was finally completed by the beginning of 1943. Reports from the Soviet tank forces in early 1943 emphasize that the main caliber of German anti-tank artillery is 75 mm, and the percentage of defeats with smaller calibers is such that it can be ignored. All hits of the 75-mm caliber in the T-34 were considered fatal.

In 1942-1945. the gun was effective against any Allied medium tank that fought, so its production continued until the very end of World War II.

Reliable protection against its fire was realized only in the IS-2 and T-44 tanks (the latter did not take part in hostilities). As for the IS-2, the statistics on irretrievably disabled tanks was such that 75-mm caliber accounted for 14% of losses (the rest was 88-mm caliber and cumulative Faustpatrons).

The Pak 40 anti-tank gun was supplied to Germany's allies - Hungary, Finland, Romania and Bulgaria. With the transition of the last three in 1944 to the anti-Hitler coalition, Pak 40 in the armed forces of these countries were used against the Germans. These guns were in service with their armies after the end of World War II. Also captured Pak 40s were actively used in the Red Army.

In total, 23,303 Pak 40 towed guns were produced in Germany and about 2,600 more barrels were mounted on various self-propelled gun carriages (for example, Marder II). It was the most massive weapon produced in the Reich.

The Pak 40 was used in the vast majority of cases as an anti-tank gun, firing at its targets with direct fire. In terms of armor-piercing action, the Pak 40 was superior to the similar Soviet 76.2 mm ZIS-3 gun, this was due to a more powerful powder charge in the Pak 40 shot - 2.7 kg (for the ZIS-3 shot - 1 kg).

However, the Pak 40 had less effective recoil suppression systems, as a result of which, when fired, the coulters “burrowed” into the ground more strongly, as a result of which the ZiS-3 lost a lot in the ability to quickly change position or transfer fire. And sometimes it burrowed in such a way that it was possible to tear out their soil only with the help of a tractor.

Toward the end of the war, the production of anti-tank guns in Nazi Germany was given one of the highest priorities. As a result, the Wehrmacht began to experience a shortage of howitzers. As a result, the Pak 40 began to be used for indirect fire, modeled on the ZIS-3 divisional cannon in the Red Army.

This decision seemed to have one more advantage - in the event of a deep breakthrough and the exit of tanks to the positions of the German Artillery Pak 40 again became an anti-tank gun. However, estimates of the scale of the combat use of the Pak 40 in this capacity are very controversial. The ZIS-3 was out of competition in terms of versatility and mobility, even though it lost in armor penetration.

At the end of the Second World War, available in in large numbers Pak 40s were adopted in France, where the production of ammunition for them was established. And in 1959, as part of the Vietnamese people's army several anti-tank artillery battalions were created, armed with trophy delivered from the USSR Pak guns 40.

Tactical and technical characteristics:

Caliber, mm: 75
Weight in combat position, kg: 1425
Horizontal aiming angle: 65°
Maximum elevation angle: +22°
Minimum declination angle: -5°
Rate of fire, rounds per minute: 14

Muzzle velocity of the projectile, m/s:
933 (sub-caliber armor-piercing)
792 (caliber armor-piercing)
550 (high explosive)

Range of a direct shot, m: 900-1300 (depending on the type of projectile)
Maximum firing range, m: 7678 (according to other sources, about 11.5 km)
Projectile weight, kg: from 3.18 to 6.8

Armor penetration: (500 m, meeting angle 90 °, homogeneous armor of medium hardness, mm:
135 (caliber armor-piercing)
154 (sub-caliber armor-piercing)

German 75 mm anti-tank gun of the Second World War - had the original name 7.5 cm Pak 40 (from (German Panzerabwehrkanone and Panzerjägerkanone).
The most common and most successful of the Wehrmacht anti-tank guns. This gun was able to successfully fight with all available tanks, both the USSR and the allies. Apart from german army was in service with its allies.

History of creation and production.

Rheinmetall-Borsig began work on the design of the 75-mm anti-tank gun in 1938, when only the 5 cm Pak 38 gun was being tested. Work on the new gun did not seem to be a priority at that time. At first, the developers thought to go the most simple way- proportionally increase the Pak 38 gun.

Tests new gun, which later received the index 7,5 cm Pak 40, showed the fallacy this decision. Assemblies made of aluminum, which were used in the Pak 38 carriage, such as tubular beds, jarred from sharply increased loads. It was necessary to completely redesign the gun, but the work was slow because the Wehrmacht did not feel a significant need for a gun more powerful than the 5 cm Pak 38.

The impulse to sharply accelerate work on the 75-mm anti-tank gun marked the beginning of the war with the USSR and the collision with the new thick-armored tanks T-34 and KV-1 and KV-2. The company was instructed to urgently complete the refinement of the Pak 40. In November of the forty-first year, the Krupp 7.5 cm Pak 41 gun and the Rheinmetall-Borsig company were tested at the Hillersleben training ground. Although even before the tests, it was obvious that the 7.5 cm Pak 40 gun most closely matches the realities of production in wartime conditions.

Also obvious was the fact that the appearances in significant quantities in anti-tank units a new gun should not be expected until the spring of next year. As a temporary measure, tank destroyer units began to equip both captured anti-tank guns and their factory conversions - 7.5 cm Pak 97/38, as well as 7.62 cm Pak 36/39.

Serial production of Pak 40 began in January 1942, the first fifteen guns were sent to the troops the following month. In February General base issued an order according to which the new guns were intended exclusively for manning the army groups "South" and "Center". According to this order, in each motorized, infantry, mountain division, in the anti-tank battalion, one platoon of 37-mm guns was to be replaced by a platoon of 7.5 cm Pak 40, which should have contained only two guns.

Since the mass of 75-mm guns significantly exceeded the mass of 37-mm, it was also necessary to replace the thrust. To tow the 7.5 cm Pak 40, it was necessary to use only mechanized traction, with a shortage of regular traction, using trophy tractors. That should increase the tactical maneuverability of the guns and somehow smooth out their shortage. Even after starting mass production 75-mm guns were sorely lacking.

Serial production of the Pak 40 was launched in 42, and the first fifteen guns were sent to the troops the following month. The assembly of guns was carried out by several companies at once:

• Ardelt Werke, in the district of Eberswald;
• Gustloff Werke, in the city of Weimar;
• Ostland Werke in Königsberg;

Production proceeded at a very slow pace, if in February the industry delivered fifteen guns, then in March only ten. The planned production plans of 150 guns were achieved only in August 1942.

The appearance of the 7.5 cm Pak 40 in the troops brought a new problem - the lack of ammunition. As noted by the army leadership, on average, one gun had an average of one ammunition load. The situation became even more aggravated when, in April-May, Pak 40s began to enter the troops in more or less significant quantities. Especially to improve the situation, the Ulrich team was created with the broadest powers. And starting from July, the Reich Minister of Armaments F. Todt took up this problem directly. But, despite all efforts, the problem with ammunition was solved only in 1943.

During 1942-43 organizational structure anti-tank companies and platoons armed with 7.5 cm Pak 40 changed more than once, but not significantly. There were two or three guns in a platoon, two or three platoons in a company. The number of tractors and ammunition transporters was also subject to adjustment.

German industry reached its peak production of 75-mm anti-tank guns in October 1940 fourth year. In the future, the release began to fall due to the Allied bombing and territorial losses. During production, small changes were made to the design, mainly concerning the design of the wheels and the muzzle brake.

Production 7.5 cm Pak 40

Ammunition production

Organization.

In the states of the infantry divisions of the Wehrmacht, 75-mm anti-tank guns appeared in February 1943. Each was to contain thirty-nine guns. Each tank destroyer company of an infantry regiment has nine guns and twelve guns in a tank destroyer company of a division's anti-tank battalion.

Insufficient level of production and relatively big losses made their own adjustments. Throughout 1943, the number of 7.5 cm Pak 40s in the infantry divisions grew, but this was not enough. The tank destroyer companies only had two 75mm cannons, two Pak 38s, and eight 37mm Pak 35/36 beaters each. At the end of the year, only six Pak 38s and Pak 40s were common.

Regular state changes took place over the next year. The number of guns was revised more than once. So, in the infantry regiments, the tank destroyer companies were disbanded, leaving only three guns in the platoon. The division's anti-tank battalion may have had four weapon options:

• a company of nine or twelve 75mm mechanized anti-tank guns, a company of ten assault guns, a company of twenty 20mm anti-aircraft guns or a company of 37mm mechanized anti-tank guns;
• similarly, but with the replacement of assault guns with a company of self-propelled guns "Marder";
• a company of fourteen "Marder", a company of "Shtugov" and a company of anti-aircraft artillery;
• instead of a battalion, there was only a company of twelve 7.5 cm Pak 40s towed, without an anti-aircraft company.

Thus, despite the widespread use of self-propelled artillery, the infantry division still had a limited defensive potential compared to the number of Soviet tanks.

Instead of the forty-eight guns prescribed by the October 1943 state anti-tank artillery infantry division The Wehrmacht had only 21-35 guns. However, German industry could not give more.
They tried to change the current situation for the better by reinforcing the anti-tank artillery of the regiment with a company armed with Panzerschrecks and Panzerfausts.

Anti-tank units tank divisions had great potential. The division's tank destroyer battalion had a company of ten 7.5 cm Pak 40s and two assault self-propelled guns. In addition, anti-tank guns could attract armored personnel carriers armed with 7.5 cm Kwk 37 - 25 pieces, four 105-mm guns and twelve 88-mm anti-aircraft guns.

Things were worse for the grenadier divisions. There, the tank destroyer battalion consisted of two companies, the first of which had 12 7.5 cm Pak 40s on a mechanized tractor and two companies of 10-14 Marders. To fight the tanks, "Shtugi" from the assault artillery battalion in the amount of 31 - 45 pieces could be involved. Grenadier divisions, formed since the summer of 1944, had their own differences from the above.

Combat experience.

The first army experience in operating the 7.5 cm Pak 40 was as follows: on firing positions the gun must be transported by a tractor, rolling manually is possible only at a distance of ten meters; the accuracy of the gun on moving targets is high.

Of the shortcomings, first of all, they noted that the gun aiming mechanism was sufficiently dirty and dusty. When the gears are clogged, the latter quickly break down. Automatic cartridge case ejection did not always work. The 7.5 cm Pak 40 cannon has a relatively high silhouette, which makes it difficult to camouflage and presents a conspicuous target. The upper shield of the gun, which consisted of two sheets of armor, provided the crew with good protection.

Losses of German anti-tank guns in 1944:

With the advent of the 7.5 cm Pak 40, Wehrmacht anti-tank artillery got the opportunity to fight Soviet tanks at almost all distances of a real battle. And if in the case of the IS-2 of the latest releases, the amount of armor nailed by the cannon was insufficient to penetrate the forehead of the tank, the German gunners compensated for this with the tactics of using these guns.

Ammunition.

The ammunition load of the 7.5 cm Pak 40 cannon consisted of unitary cartridges with caliber armor-piercing projectile, sub-caliber projectile, fragmentation and cumulative projectiles. Due to the shortage of tungsten, the release of sub-caliber shells was discontinued in 1944, as well as cumulative ones. The latter, due to the small number of explosives, were considered insufficiently effective in terms of armored action, in addition, they used scarce hexogen.

Ammunition 7.5 cm Pak 40

Ballistic data and armor penetration.

TTX guns

Armor penetration according to German data.

Comparison of the geometric dimensions of shots from the BS Pz.Gr 39 guns 7.5 cm Pak 40, Kwk 40 and Kwk 42.

Armor-piercing shells Pz.Gr 40(W), Pz.Gr 40, Pz.Gr 39

14.10.2007 18:34

More PaK-40 anti-tank guns were produced than any other Reich guns. The table below shows this.

In addition to the wheeled carriage of the PaK-40 gun in 1942-1944. installed on several types of chassis:
1. Sd.Kfz.135 "Marder I" on chassis French tank"Laurent". In 1942-1943. 184 self-propelled units were manufactured;
2. Sd.Kfz.131 "Marder II" on the chassis of the T-PA and T-PR tanks. In 1942-1943. 531 self-propelled units were manufactured;
3. Sd.Kfz.139 "Marder III" on the chassis of the tank 38(t). In 1942-1943 was made 418 self-propelled units in the "H" variant (engine in the stern) and 381 installations in the "M" variant (engine in the front);
4. 39 H(f) on a Hotchkiss chassis. In 1943-1944. 24 self-propelled units were manufactured;
5. On the R.S.M. (f) chassis in 1943-1944. 10 self-propelled units were manufactured;
6. On the chassis tank PzKpfw IV, 164 self-propelled units were manufactured;
7. On the chassis of the caterpillar tractor K50;
8. On the chassis of the semi-tracked medium armored personnel carrier SM 251/22;
9. On the chassis of a wheeled (4x2) armored personnel carrier CM 234/4.

The main parts of the PaK-40 gun are: a barrel with a bolt, a cradle with recoil devices, an upper machine, lifting, turning and balancing mechanisms, a lower machine with undercarriages, shield cover and sights. The monobloc barrel is equipped with a highly effective muzzle brake, which absorbs a significant part of the recoil energy. The carriage with sliding beds provides the possibility of firing at elevation angles from -3 ° 30 "to +22 °. The angle of horizontal fire is 58 ° 30". When the gun is rolled by the calculation forces, the trunk part of the gun is installed on the guide wheel. In this case, the gun moves muzzle forward. One person guides the implement using the guide arm.

For transporting the implement using a tractor, it is equipped with pneumatic marchingbrakes, which are controlled from the cab of the tractor. In addition, you can brake using levers located on both sides of the gun carriage. The shield cover is similar in design to the cover of the PaK-38 gun and consists of an upper and lower shield. The upper shield is fixed on the upper machine and consists of two sheets - rear and front. The lower shield is fixed on the lower machine and has a folding part. The shutter of the gun is equipped with semi-automatic, which provides a fairly high rate of fire - 12-14 rounds per minute. The ammunition load of the PaK-40 cannon includes cartridge-loading shots with the following types of projectiles:
- high-explosive fragmentation grenade;
- armor-piercing tracer projectile mod. 39;
- armor-piercing tracer sub-caliber projectile mod. 40;
- cumulative projectile.

For firing at heavily armored targets at short ranges (up to 600 m), cumulative projectiles weighing 4.6 kg were used. At an encounter angle of 60°, these shells pierced 90 mm thick armor, which made it possible to successfully use the PaK-40 cannon to combat a significant part of the armored vehicles of the USSR and its allies.

PaK-40 losses were enormous. Until March 1, 1945, Germany lost 18,096 of these guns. Only in 1944 the losses amounted to:

The gun was produced until the end of the Second World War. Its carriage was also used to create a modernized 105-mm light field howitzer mod. 18/40 and 75 mm PaK-97/40 anti-tank gun, which was an overlay of the barrel of a 75 mm French gun mod. 1897 on the gun carriage PaK-40.

Sources:
1. Shirokorad A., "God of War of the Third Reich", AST, Transitbook, 2003
2. Shunkov V., "Wehrmacht", AST, 2003
3. Chris Chant, Artillery of the World War II", 2001