7,5 CM PAK 40 (GERMAN ANTI-TANK GUN)

German anti-tank gun 7.5 cm Pak 40 (7.5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 40) from the Second World War. Work on this cannon was carried out in 1939-1941 by Krupp and Rheinmetall. A significant acceleration of research work took place after the start of Operation Barbarossa and the encounter by German armored units of the KW-1 and T-34 tanks. The Pak 40 cannon was introduced into line units from the end of 1941. Thanks to its high parameters, it became the main German anti-tank gun until the end of the war. It was able to engage in firefight with any Soviet and Allied tanks, until the appearance of such vehicles as the IS-2, M26 Pershing and Centurion. In the period 1941-1945, over 29,000 of these weapons were produced (including cannons installed on tank destroyers). Its main drawback was its relatively high weight, which required the use of an artillery tractor for its transport. Due to the wide range of ammunition it could fire, it was often used as a field cannon. Projectile weights ranged from 4.1 kg to 6.8 kg. Technical data: caliber: 75 mm, weight: 1425 kg, initial velocity: 930 m / s (sub-caliber shell), rate of fire: 14 rounds / min. After the war, the Pak 40 gun was used in the armies of, among others, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Romania and Hungary.