Ordnance QF 2-pounder
The Ordnance QF 2 Pounder ( two pounder ) is an anti-tank gun with a caliber of 40 mm. Commissioned by the British Army in 1938, this cannon was a standard anti-tank armament until 1942.
history
In 1936 the "QF 2" was developed to obtain a standard gun for the anti-tank departments of the infantry regiments, which exceeded the performance of the guns of the time. Another requirement was that this gun should be built into tanks. It should be possible to use the same type of ammunition for both applications. According to these tasks, the gun had become very heavy, which was problematic for the gunners.
The gun was derived from the tank cannon developed by Vickers for the Cruiser Tank Mk. I. It was used as the main armament of most British tanks and armored vehicles at the beginning of World War II. The lack of a suitable explosive shell should be compensated by the fact that these vehicles also in Nahunterstützungsversionen ( close support were armed manufactured CS) with a 3.7-inch howitzer.
When it was commissioned, the gun was considered the most powerful anti-tank weapon in the world. It proved itself in the Norway and France campaigns in 1940. The German Wehrmacht captured around 500 guns and, because of their high rate of fire, used them to defend the beach in 1944 when they landed in Normandy. As an anti-tank weapon, the gun was already out of date during the battle in North Africa in 1941. The gun lost its effectiveness against the new Panzerkampfwagen III and Panzerkampfwagen IV . Against the panthers and tigers newly developed during the war , it was almost useless. However, it proved to be a very effective weapon against the weakly armored Italian tanks M13 / 40 , M11 / 39 and L3 / 33 .
From 1942 it was replaced by the Ordnance QF-6-pounder-7-cwt gun (57 mm). The two-pounder remained in use in the Pacific theater of war until the end of the war due to its low weight, the associated high mobility and the inadequate protection of Japanese tank models.
description
Due to its intended use, the gun was a rather unconventional design: Instead of the usual spreading mount, the mount was mounted on a base plate with a two-wheeled axle. In contrast to conventional guns, with the exception of anti-aircraft guns , the mount could be pivoted through a full 360 °. The braking and recovery device together with the loading mechanism formed a unit. The gunner had his own seat behind the superstructure and swiveled with the gun. The small protective shield offered protection against handguns and fragments. Thanks to a simplified ammunition feed, a high rate of fire was achieved. To fire, the wheels were spread apart and the weapon stood on the base plate itself, which was stabilized by a cross mount. The expandable spars with earth spurs were used for this. During transport by truck or other vehicles, the bars were folded back and hung on the truck as a drawbar. The short cannon made it possible to keep the gun in the firing position even when driving off-road, which allowed quick deployment and readiness for fire.
Technical specifications
| Caliber / cartridge | 40 × 304 mm r |
| Length weapon | (L / 52) 2081 mm |
| Length of tube | 2000 mm |
| Length of the drawn part | 1672 mm |
| total weight | 840 kg |
| Combat weight | 757 kg |
| Muzzle velocity | 853 m / s |
| Bullet weight | (PzGr) 1 kg |
| Maximum range | 7315 m |
| Combat Range | 550 m |
| Manufacturer | Royal Ordnance Factory, Leeds |
| Penetration performance ( RHA ) | 60 mm over 180 m 55 mm over 360 m 51 mm over 550 m |
literature
- Ian Hogg: 20th Century Artillery . Gondrom, Bindlach 2005, ISBN 3-8112-1878-6 .
