7.5 cm PaK 41
| 7.5 cm PaK 41 | |
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| General Information | |
| Military designation: | 7.5 cm PaK 41 |
| Manufacturer country: | German Empire |
| Developer / Manufacturer: | Croup , food |
| Production time: | 1942 to 1942 |
| Number of pieces: | 150 |
| Weapon Category: | Anti-tank gun |
| Team: | five soldiers |
| Technical specifications | |
| Overall length: | 4.32 m |
| Pipe length: | 2.95 m |
| Caliber : |
7.5 cm to 5.5 cm |
| Caliber length : | L / 57 |
| Elevation range: | –12.5 ° to +16 degrees |
| Side straightening area: | 60 ° |
The 7.5 cm PaK 41 was an anti-tank gun used by the Wehrmacht during World War II .
history
As with the Schwere Panzerbüchse 41 and the 4.2 cm light PaK 41 , the gun was based on the conical barrel developed by Carl Puff. The starting caliber of the weapon was 75 mm and tapered to 55 mm. The bullet had a core made of tungsten . The outer diameter of the grenade was compressed as it passed the barrel. Due to the large initial cross-section, the projectile could be accelerated to a high muzzle velocity. The problem was that tungsten was only available to a limited extent for the German armaments industry. The gun was only produced for a short time.In March 1942, 48 guns were accepted by the Army Weapons Office, 4 in April 1942 and 146 guns in May 1942. It was used until 1945, however - due to a lack of ammunition - from August 1943 the guns (only 66 pieces) handed over to HG West from the Eastern Front.
technology
Except for the barrel construction, the Krupp cannon was a conventional gun. The weapon was stored on a base plate with two spreader bars. The recoil was cushioned by a hydropneumatic system. The spreader bars with their ground spurs were used for stabilization. The protective shield was double-walled and only protected against fire from hand weapons and against fragmentation.
The pipe was a special construction. In the first attempts with weapons with conical barrels, the tapering of the gun barrel was drawn over the entire length. In the case of the Pak 41, however, the initial caliber of 75 mm was retained over 2.95 m. In a section of the tube, the caliber then tapered over a relatively short distance to 55 mm. However, this also increased the wear and tear on the pipe in this section. Since the section was bolted to the rest of the pipe, worn pipes could be quickly replaced and repaired in the field.
Technical specifications
- Caliber: 75 to 55 mm
- Pipe length: 2.95 m
- Combat weight: 1356 kg
- Elevation range: –12.5 ° to + 16 °
- Side straightening range: 60 °
- Muzzle velocity: 1125 m / sec
- effective firing range: 2000 m
Penetration performance
At a combat range of 500 m, the PaK 41 was able to penetrate armor steel with a thickness of 210 mm without any problems. Armor plates with a thickness of 125 mm were destroyed even when the effective combat range was used to the full at 2000 m. The gun was thus able to destroy any tank that existed at the time.
literature
- Ian Hogg : Artillery of the 20th Century , 1st edition, Gondrom Verlag, Bindlach 2001, ISBN 3-8112-1878-6 . (German translation)
- Waffenrevue vol. 33 (p. 5282)