Canon léger de 25 antichar SA-L mle 1937
| Canon léger de 25 antichar SA-L mle 1937 | |
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| General Information | |
| Military designation: | Canon léger de 25 antichar SA-L mle 1937; 2.5 cm PaK 113 (f) |
| Manufacturer designation: | Canon léger de 25 antichar SA-L mle 1937 |
| Manufacturer country: | France |
| Developer / Manufacturer: | Atelier Puteaux |
| Development year: | 1934 |
| Production time: | 1937 to? |
| Number of pieces: | 6000 |
| Technical specifications | |
| Pipe length: | 1,813 m |
| Caliber : |
25 mm |
| Caliber length : | L / 77 |
| Cadence : | 15-20 rounds / min |
| Elevation range: | −10 ° to +26 degrees |
| Side straightening area: | 37 ° |
The Canon léger de 25 antichar SA-L mle 1937 was an anti-tank gun used by the French army during World War II . During the western campaign in 1940 , the Wehrmacht captured them in large quantities and used them as a 2.5 cm PaK 113 (f), just like the originally French 4.7 cm PaK 181 (f) , in their own ranks.
history
The PaK 113 (f) (f for French) was the French Canon léger de 25 antichar SA-L mle 1937 captured by the Wehrmacht in the western campaign in 1940 . Although it had a low combat value, it was used for coastal defense on the Atlantic Wall and on the Channel Islands .
The cannon weighed 310 kilograms and could fire 0.32 kilograms tank shells. It was able to penetrate 50 millimeters of armor steel over a distance of 600 meters.
The head of the Foreign Armies Department West Ulrich Liss reports in his memoirs that some of these anti-tank guns and a few rounds of ammunition were captured during the Seated Warfare in October 1939. He writes:
“The 2.5 cm anti-tank gun, a sleek construction, has now been tried out on the firing range of the Heereswaffenamt in Kummersdorf in the presence of officers from the Foreign Army West Department, at the angle of incidence of 60 degrees against all armor plates of the time, which was usual for such attempts German tanks. The result was amazing. The high-quality tungsten ammunition penetrated all armor plates, including those of the Panzer IV, and left a circular hole punched out. That gave good prospects for our tank divisions, which at that time were still largely equipped with tanks I and II! Strangely enough, during the offensive in May and June 1940, when we lost a not inconsiderable number of tanks, not a single statement from the troops about the 2.5 cm anti-tank gun reached us. "
literature
- Terry Gander, Peter Chamberlain: Encyclopedia of German Weapons 1939-1945 . 2nd Edition. Special edition. Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-613-02481-0 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Terry Gander, Peter Chamberlain, p. 110.
- ↑ Terry Gander, Peter Chamberlain, p. 123.
- ^ Ulrich Liss : Western Front 1939–1940 . Neckargemünd 1959, p. 99 f.