7.5 cm PaK 41

The PaK 41 was one of the last German anti-tank guns brought into service and used in World War II. It was built on the squeeze-bore principle (Gerlich in German, from the German gun-designer Hermann Gerlich who developed the principle in the 1920s, reportedly for a hunting rifle) to deliver a higher muzzle velocity and there greater penetration in relation to its size.

Design and development

These guns were made by the Rheinmetall factories. The barrel was in three distinct sections: the rear part was parallel-sided and conventionally rifled; the central part was unrifled and tapered down; at the muzzle end, the last 27.6 inches it was parallel-sided again but remained unrifled.

The weight of the powder charge fired is 95 percent of the weight of the projectile. With an estimated velocity of approximately 1200 m/s (4,000 f/s), and a penetration of 15 cm (5.94 inches) of homogeneous armor at 900 m (1,000 yards.)The reinforced breech is of the vertical wedge type, with a semi-automatic action. Compared to the PaK 38 and the PaK 40, the appearance was long, low, and sturdy.The carriage was a split trail type on metal wheels with solid rubber tires. The gun cradle and shield is, in effect, on a spherical universal joint. The cradle was cylindrical, covering the whole of the rear half of the barrel. The gun is sighted up to 1,500 meters; the sight has four scales for use according to the actual muzzle velocity of the gun. The barrel is provisionally estimated as 500 to 600 rounds.

ervice

The PaK 41 was the third of the tapered-bore weapons introduced by Germany.

Data

*Calibre: 75mm (2.95 in) reducing to 55 mm (2.16 in)
*Barrel length: 4.32 m (14.17 ft)
*Weight: 1,356 kg (2,990 lbs)
*Traverse: 60°
*Elevation: -12.5° to +16°
*Muzzle velocity: AP 1,230 m/s (4,035 ft/s)
*Projectile Weight: AP 2.5 kg (5.51 lbs)
*Armour penetration: 171 mm (6.73 in) at 455 m (500 yards)
*Max effective range: 2,000 m (2,185 yds)

References

* Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Peter. "Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939-1945". New York: Doubleday, 1979 ISBN 0-385-15090-3
* Hogg, Ian V. "German Artillery of World War Two". 2nd corrected edition. Mechanicsville, PA: Stackpole Books, 1997 ISBN 1-85367-480-X

ee also

*Littlejohn adaptor

External links

* http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/ttt/75mm-tapered-bore-antitank-pak-41.html