76 mm gun M1
Encyclopedia
Military of the United States
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
-era tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
gun, which replaced the 75 mm gun
75 mm Gun (US)
The US 75 mm gun tank gun M2 and the later M3 were the standard American tank guns of the Second World War.Besides use on the two main American medium tanks of the war the M3 Lee and the M4 Sherman . The lightweight M6 and M5 variants were developed to equip the Light Tank M24 and the B-25...
on late Medium tank M4s
M4 Sherman
The M4 Sherman, formally Medium Tank, M4, was the primary tank used by the United States during World War II. Thousands were also distributed to the Allies, including the British Commonwealth and Soviet armies, via lend-lease...
, and was used for all 76 mm Gun Motor Carriage M18
M18 Hellcat
The 76 mm Gun Motor Carriage M18 was an American tank destroyer of World War II. The manufacturer, Buick, gave it the nickname "Hellcat" and it was the fastest tracked armored fighting vehicle during the war with a top speed up to 60 mph. Hellcat crews took advantage of the vehicle's...
tank destroyer
Tank destroyer
A tank destroyer is a type of armored fighting vehicle armed with a gun or missile launcher, and is designed specifically to engage enemy armored vehicles...
s. The previous 75 mm M3 L/40 gun on the early M4 Sherman variants was designed more as an infantry support weapon. The performance of this gun against armor was considered insufficient and led to the design of a higher velocity weapon.
Design and development
It was a new gun with breechBreech-loading weapon
A breech-loading weapon is a firearm in which the cartridge or shell is inserted or loaded into a chamber integral to the rear portion of a barrel....
similar to that of the 75 mm M3 Gun. It fired the same shell as the 3 inches (76.2 mm) gun of the 3in Gun Motor Carriage M10
M10 Wolverine
The M10 tank destroyer, formally 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage, M10 was a United States tank destroyer of World War II based on the chassis of the M4 Sherman tank. It was numerically the most important U.S...
tank destroyer, but from a different case. The 76 mm was developed as a lighter gun than the "3 inch". The gun received a 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...
and faster rifle twist during production.
While the 76 mm had less High Explosive (HE) and smoke performance than the 75 mm, the higher-velocity 76 mm gave better anti-tank performance, with firepower clearly superior to the Soviet ZiS-S-5 85 mm gun of the T-34-85 and similar to many of the armored fighting vehicles it encountered, particularly the Panzer 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...
and StuG
Sturmgeschütz
Sturmgeschütz is a German word for "assault gun", usually abbreviated StuG. The vehicle was a leading weapon of the Sturmartillerie, a branch of the German artillery tasked with close fire support of infantry in infantry, panzer, and panzergrenadier units...
vehicles.
The M1 was tested on an M4 Sherman tank, it was then found that the long barrel caused balance problems. The barrel was shortened and a counterweight added to the breech to compensate giving the M1A1. The reduction in length - by about 15 inches - reduced performance but the 76 mm was still superior to the 75 mm gun.
When the counterweight was found to be insufficient, the turret design of the T23 tank was used on the M4 chassis to carry the 76mm gun.
Wholesale introduction of the 76 mm gun was opposed due to its inferior HE round - approx 0.9 lb of explosive to the 1.5 lb in the 75 mm round - and the muzzle blast which could create large dust clouds in dry conditions.
The UK was not interested in the 76 mm gun Sherman as they had their own guns under development - although of intermediate length between the M1 and M1A1 76 mm, their Ordnance QF 17 pounder
Ordnance QF 17 pounder
The Ordnance Quick-Firing 17 pounder was a 76.2 mm gun developed by the United Kingdom during World War II. It was used as an anti-tank gun on its own carriage, as well as equipping a number of British tanks. It was the most effective Allied anti-tank gun of the war...
(76.2 mm) antitank gun used about 5.5 lb (2.5 kg) more propellant. Armed with this gun the M4 was known as the Sherman Firefly
Sherman Firefly
The Sherman Firefly was a World War II British variant of the American Sherman tank, fitted with the powerful British 17 pounder anti-tank gun as its main weapon...
.
Variants
- M1 -57 calibre long gun
- M1A1 - 52 calibre long version of gun with breech counterweight.
- M1A1C - fitted with muzzle brake
- M1A2 - fitted with muzzle brake
Usage
With British Commonwealth designations in brackets- 76 mm Gun Motor Carriage M18M18 HellcatThe 76 mm Gun Motor Carriage M18 was an American tank destroyer of World War II. The manufacturer, Buick, gave it the nickname "Hellcat" and it was the fastest tracked armored fighting vehicle during the war with a top speed up to 60 mph. Hellcat crews took advantage of the vehicle's...
(Hellcat) - Medium Tank M4A1(76)W (Sherman IIA)
- Medium Tank M4A1(76)W HVSS (Sherman IIAY)
- Medium Tank M4A2(76)W (Sherman IIIA)
- Medium Tank M4A2(76)W HVSS (Sherman IIIAY)
- Medium Tank M4A3(76)W(Sherman IVA)
- Medium Tank M4A3(76)W HVSS
76 mm gunned Shermans supplied to the British were only used in Italy
Italian Campaign (World War II)
The Italian Campaign of World War II was the name of Allied operations in and around Italy, from 1943 to the end of the war in Europe. Joint Allied Forces Headquarters AFHQ was operationally responsible for all Allied land forces in the Mediterranean theatre, and it planned and commanded the...
or by the Polish 1st Armoured Division
Polish 1st Armoured Division
The Polish 1st Armoured Division was an Allied military unit during World War II, created in February 1942 at Duns in Scotland. At its peak it numbered approximately 16,000 soldiers...
in North-West Europe. The British supported their 75 mm gunned Shermans with QF 17 pdr
Ordnance QF 17 pounder
The Ordnance Quick-Firing 17 pounder was a 76.2 mm gun developed by the United Kingdom during World War II. It was used as an anti-tank gun on its own carriage, as well as equipping a number of British tanks. It was the most effective Allied anti-tank gun of the war...
(76mm) equipped "Fireflies"
Sherman Firefly
The Sherman Firefly was a World War II British variant of the American Sherman tank, fitted with the powerful British 17 pounder anti-tank gun as its main weapon...
Towed variant
From 1943, at the instigation of the head of the Armored Force General Jacob DeversJacob L. Devers
General Jacob "Jake" Loucks Devers , commander of the 6th Army Group in Europe during World War II. He was the first United States military officer to reach the Rhine after D-Day.-Biography:...
, US Ordnance worked on a towed anti-tank gun based on the barrel of the M1, known as "76 mm gun T2 on carriage T3". Later interest in the project declined and in 1945 the program was officially canceled.
Performance
| Ammunition | 500 m | 1,000 m |
|---|---|---|
| Armour-Piercing Capped (APC), US M62 or Soviet APC | 109 mm, 93 mm | 92 mm |
| Armour-Piercing Capped Ballistic Capped (APCBC) APCBC The armour-piercing capped ballistic cap is a type of armor-piercing shell introduced in the 1930s.-Development:The APCBC munition type was an evolutionary development of the early war armour-piercing capped shell, itself an evolution of the more basic AP and APHE shell types... |
98–93 mm | 88 mm |
| High-Velocity Armour-Piercing (HVAP) | 139 mm | 127 mm |
| High-Velocity Armour-Piercing M93 | 146 mm | 127 mm |
| High-Velocity Armour-Piercing T-4 | 147 mm | 120 mm |
See also
- 7.5 cm KwK 407.5 cm KwK 40The 7.5 cm KwK 40 was a German 7.5 cm Second World War era vehicle mounted gun, used as the primary anti-tank weapon of the German medium tank the SdKfz.161 Panzerkampfwagen IV and the SdKfz.142 Sturmgeschütz III assault guns ...
- Similar contemporary German tank gun - Ordnance QF 17 pounderOrdnance QF 17 pounderThe Ordnance Quick-Firing 17 pounder was a 76.2 mm gun developed by the United Kingdom during World War II. It was used as an anti-tank gun on its own carriage, as well as equipping a number of British tanks. It was the most effective Allied anti-tank gun of the war...
- British 76 mm gun of the same period - List of U.S. Army weapons by supply catalog designation
External links
- USA 75 and 76mm guns
- http://www.wwiivehicles.com/usa/guns/76-mm.asp