7.5 cm PaK 97/38
| 7.5 cm PaK 97/38 | |
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| General Information | |
| Military designation: | 7.5 cm PaK 97/38 |
| Manufacturer country: | German Empire |
| Production time: | 1941 to? |
| Number of pieces: | 3712 |
| Weapon Category: | Anti-tank gun |
| Technical specifications | |
| Pipe length: | 2,489 m |
| Caliber : |
7.5 cm |
| Caliber length : | L / 36 |
| Elevation range: | −8 to +25 degrees |
| Side straightening area: | 60 ° |
The 7.5 cm PaK 97/38 was a provisional anti-tank gun used by the Wehrmacht during World War II .
history
After the Wehrmacht had encountered the T-34 and KW-1 , it turned out that the previous anti-tank guns, in particular the standard PaK 5 cm PaK 38 introduced in 1940 , could hardly be used successfully against the Soviet tanks.
Before the new 7.5 cm PaK 40 could be used, provisional anti-tank guns like the 7.5 cm PaK 97/38 were quickly created.
It consisted of pipes from the French Canon de 75 mle 1897 , which were fitted with a muzzle brake and placed on the mount of the PaK 38 . After the captured French and Polish ammunition was used up, own shaped charge ammunition was manufactured for the cannon.
Later some cannons were mounted on the mount of the PaK 40 because the mount of the 5 cm PaK 38 proved to be not stable enough when fired with explosive and tank shell cartridges. This variant was called 7.5 cm PaK 97/40 .
The PaK 97/38 fired HE shells from French stocks, tank shells (6.8 kg) from Polish stocks and shaped charge grenades (4.54 kg). All grenades were fired as 75 × 336 mm shell cartridges. The maximum firing range was 11,000 m with high-explosive shells, 1,300 m with anti-tank shells or 1,900 m with shaped charge grenades. The effective combat range in the anti-tank defense against moving armored vehicles was, however, low because of the low muzzle velocity (450 m / s with shaped charge ammunition) and the subsequent low chance of hit. Punctures against medium tanks like the T-34 could be achieved with the tank shell due to its low muzzle velocity (570 m / s) compared to the 7.5 cm PaK 40 and due to the outdated shell construction only up to a few hundred meters away.
Cartridges (75 × 336 mm):
7.5 cm Sprgr Patr 230/1 (f)
7.5 cm Sprgr Patr 231 (f)
7.5 cm Sprgr Patr 233/1 (f)
7.5 cm Sprgr Patr 2363 / 1 (f)
7.5 K Gr Pz Patr (p) (old interwar design of a tank
shell , i.e. without caps to prevent ricocheting or smashing) 7.5 cm Gr Patr 98/38 Hl / B (with impact fuse AZ 38, 5, 98 kg total weight)
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c Ian V. Hogg : German Artillery of World War Two. Stackpole Books, 1979/2002.
- ^ Terry Gander, Peter Chamberlain: Encyclopedia of German Arms 1939-1945. Motorbuch Verlag, 2005.
literature
- Terry Gander, Peter Chamberlain: Encyclopedia of German Weapons 1939-1945. 2nd edition, special edition, Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-613-02481-0 .
