7.5 cm KwK 40
Encyclopedia
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
7.5 cm Second World War era vehicle mounted gun, used as the primary anti-tank weapon of the German medium tank
Medium tank
Medium tank was a classification of tanks; the medium being intermediate in size and weight and armament between heavy tanks and light tanks.The medium tank concept has been eclipsed by the main battle tank.-History:...
the SdKfz.161 Panzerkampfwagen IV
Panzer IV
The Panzerkampfwagen IV , commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a medium tank developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz...
(Ausf. F2 models onwards) and the SdKfz.142 Sturmgeschütz III (StuG III)
Sturmgeschütz III
The Sturmgeschütz III assault gun was Germany's most produced armoured fighting vehicle during World War II. It was built on the chassis of the proven Panzer III tank...
assault guns (Ausf. F models onwards). When mounted on an assault gun the weapon was called Sturmkanone 40 (StuK 40). KwK40 and StuK40 was developed from the towed anti-tank gun Pak 40
PaK 40
The 7.5 cm PaK 40 was a German 7.5 centimetre anti-tank gun developed in 1939-1941 by Rheinmetall and used during the Second World War...
. Ammunition was shortened in length to allow easy storage for KwK40 and StuK40. KwK40 came in both the L/43 and L/48 barrel lengths
Caliber (artillery)
In artillery, caliber or calibredifference in British English and American English spelling is the internal diameter of a gun barrel, or by extension a relative measure of the length....
. Along with the Pak 40, the Kwk 40/StuK 40 was the most numerous anti-tank gun of the German army.
The L/43 version was mounted on the Panzer IV and StuG III for a short period from February 1942 until August 1942. All 225 vehicles of the Panzer IV F2 mounted the L/43 version with a ball shaped muzzle brake. A couple hundred out of 1687 vehicles of the Panzer IV Ausf. G mounted L/43 with a double baffle muzzle brake. The StuG III with the L43 was designated as Ausf. F. Only 120 of the 366 StuG III Ausf.F mounted the L/43 version. The remaining 246 StuG III Ausf. F had the longer L/48 version. All Ausf. F/8 and G of StuG III mounted the longer L/48.
The L/48 was 334mm (13.1 inches) longer and slightly more powerful than the L/43. L/48 became the standard gun from June of 1942 until the end of World War II. The gun was fitted with an electric firing mechanism and the breech operated semi-automatically. Only fixed ammunition was used.
- Following number of vehicles mounted L/48 version from June 1942-April 1945
- Approximately 6000 vehicles of Ausf. G, H, J out of 8800 Panzer IVPanzer IVThe Panzerkampfwagen IV , commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a medium tank developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz...
- 7720 vehicles of StuG III Ausf. G + 246 of Ausf.F + 250 vehicles of StuG III Ausf. F/8
- All 1139 vehicles of StuG IV
- All 175 vehicles of Marder IIIMarder IIIThe Marder III is the name for a series of World War II German tank destroyers built on the chassis of the Panzer 38. The German word Marder means "marten" in English...
Ausf. H + All 975 vehicles of Ausf. M - 780 vehicles out of 1998 vehicles of Jagdpanzer IVJagdpanzer IVThe Jagdpanzer IV, Sd.Kfz. 162, was a tank destroyer based on the Panzer IV chassis built in three main variants. As one of the casemate-style turretless Jagdpanzer designs, it was developed against the wishes of Heinz Guderian, the inspector general of the Panzertruppen, as a replacement for the...
, the rest mounted 7.5cm KwK 42.
- Approximately 6000 vehicles of Ausf. G, H, J out of 8800 Panzer IV
As with the Pak 40
PaK 40
The 7.5 cm PaK 40 was a German 7.5 centimetre anti-tank gun developed in 1939-1941 by Rheinmetall and used during the Second World War...
, the muzzle brake
Muzzle brake
Muzzle brakes and recoil compensators are devices that are fitted to the muzzle of a firearm or cannon to redirect propellant gases with the effect of countering both recoil of the gun and unwanted rising of the barrel during rapid fire...
of the KwK 40 and Stuk 40 went through a series of design changes. Five types of muzzle brakes were used, gradually increasing the area of exposure to the blast. Early tubular type double baffle muzzle brakes. Single baffle ball shape muzzle brakes, which proved to be insufficient in reducing recoil. Double flange type from May 1943. Front flange and rear disk type from March 1944. Finally, double disc type.
Ammunition
KwK 40 used shell 75×495 mm. R- Pzgr. Patr. 39 KwK 40 (Armour Piercing Capped Ballistic Cap High Explosive round)
- Muzzle velocity: 790 m/s
- Projectile: Panzergranate 39 (Pzgr. 39)
- Projectile weight: 6.80 kg
- Explosive filler: 18 g of RDX/wax
- Fuze: BdZ 5103 or BdZ 5103* base fuze
- Round weight: 11.52 kg
- Cartridge case height: 495 mm
- Propelling charge: 2.410 kg of Digl. R.P. G1
- Primer: electric, model C/22 or C/22 St.
- Pzgr. Patr. 40 KwK 40 (Armour Piercing Composite Rigid)
- Muzzle velocity: 990 m/s
- Projectile: Panzergranate 40
- Projectile weight: 4.10 kg
- Explosive filler: none
- Fuze: none
- Round weight: 8.61 kg
- Cartridge case height: 495 mm
- Propelling charge: 2.2 kg of Gu. R.P. 7,7
- Primer: electric, model C/22 or C/22 St.
- Gr. Patr. 38 HL/B KwK 40 (High Explosive Anti-Tank)
- Muzzle velocity: 475 m/s
- Projectile: Gr. 38 HL/B
- Projectile weight: 4.60 kg
- Explosive filler: 0.51 kg of RDX/wax
- Fuze: A.Z. 38 St
- Round weight: 7.36 kg
- Cartridge case height: 495 mm
- Propelling charge: 0.43 kg of Gu. Bl. P.-AO
- Primer: electric, model C/22 or C/22 St.
- Gr. Patr. 38 HL/C KwK 40 (High Explosive Anti-Tank)
- 7.5 cm Sprgr.Patr.34 KwK 40 (High Explosive) L/48
- Muzzle velocity: 550 m/s
- Projectile: Sprgr. 34
- Projectile weight: 5.75 kg
- Explosive filler: 0.66 kg of amatol
- Fuze: kl. A.Z. 23 (0,15) umg. nose fuze
- Round weight: 8.71 kg
- Cartridge case height: 495 mm
- Propelling charge: 0.755 kg of Gu. Bl. P.-AO
- Primer: electric, model C/22 or C/22 St.
Penetration Comparison (armor plate inclined at 30 degrees from vertical)
| Gun type | Barrel Length | Ammunition Type | Muzzle velocity | 100m | 500m | 1000m | 1500m | 2000m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.5cm Kan. L/24 | 1766.5mm | K.Gr.Patr.rot.Pz | 385m/s | 41 | 39 | 35 | 33 | 30mm |
| 7.5cm StuK 40 L43 | 3281mm | Pzgr.Ptr.39 | 740m/s | 99 | 91 | 82 | 72 | 63mm |
| 7.5cm StuK 40 L48 | 3615mm | Pzgr.Ptr.39 | 790m/s | 106 | 96 | 85 | 74 | 64mm |
(Sturmgeschutz & Its Variants, Walter J. Spielberger, P67, ISBN:0-88740-398-0)
L/43
- SdKfz.161/1 Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf. F2/GPanzer IVThe Panzerkampfwagen IV , commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a medium tank developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz...
(Little to no difference between the two models.) - SdKfz.142/1 Sturmgeschütz III (StuG III) Ausf. FSturmgeschütz IIIThe Sturmgeschütz III assault gun was Germany's most produced armoured fighting vehicle during World War II. It was built on the chassis of the proven Panzer III tank...
- KV-1
L/48
- SdKfz.161/2 Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf. GPanzer IVThe Panzerkampfwagen IV , commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a medium tank developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz...
(Later production G's.) - SdKfz.161/2 Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf. HPanzer IVThe Panzerkampfwagen IV , commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a medium tank developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz...
- SdKfz.161/2 Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf. JPanzer IVThe Panzerkampfwagen IV , commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a medium tank developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz...
- SdKfz.142/1 Sturmgeschütz III (StuG III) Ausf. F/8Sturmgeschütz IIIThe Sturmgeschütz III assault gun was Germany's most produced armoured fighting vehicle during World War II. It was built on the chassis of the proven Panzer III tank...
- SdKfz.142/1 Sturmgeschütz III (StuG III) Ausf. GSturmgeschütz IIIThe Sturmgeschütz III assault gun was Germany's most produced armoured fighting vehicle during World War II. It was built on the chassis of the proven Panzer III tank...
- SdKfz.167 Sturmgeschütz IV (StuG IV)Sturmgeschütz IVThe Sturmgeschütz IV , was a German assault gun of the Second World War.-Development:The Sturmgeschütz IV resulted from Krupp's effort to supply an assault gun...