7,5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 97/38 PaK 97/38 displayed in Hämeenlinna Artillery Museum, Finland. Type anti-tank gun Place of origin Germany Service history Wars World War II Production history Number built 3,712 Specifications Weight combat: 1,190 kg travel: 1,270 kg Length 4. 65 m Barrel length 2,587 mm / 34. For the fictional characters see Gunbarrel (Transformers. A gun barrel is the tube usually Metal, through which a controlled Explosion 5 calibers 2,722 mm / 36. 3 calibers (without muzzle brake) Width 1. 85 m Height 1. 05 m Caliber 75 mm Breech interrupted screw Carriage split trail Elevation -6° to 18° (25°?) Traverse 60° Rate of fire 10-14 rounds per minute

PaK 97/38 (7,5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 97/38) was a German anti-tank gun used by Wehrmacht in World War II. The term caliber or calibre designates the interior Diameter of a tube or the exterior diameter of a wire or rod A breech-loading weapon is a Firearm (a Rifle, a Gun etc in which the Bullet or shell is inserted or loaded at the rear of the For other senses of this word see Elevation (disambiguation. In Ballistics, the elevation is the Angle between the Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific Weapon can fire or launch its projectiles Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Anti-tank refers to any method of combating military Armored fighting vehicles notably Tanks The most common anti-tank systems Wehrmacht (literally "defense force" was the name of the unified Armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945 World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The gun was a combination of a barrel from the French Canon de 75 modèle 1897 and a carriage of the German PaK 38. For the fictional characters see Gunbarrel (Transformers. A gun barrel is the tube usually Metal, through which a controlled Explosion This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The French 75mm field gun was a quick-firing field Artillery piece developed in 1894 and which saw widespread service in World War I and served into The 5 cm PaK 38 (L/60 ( 5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 38 (L/60) was a German Anti-tank gun of 50 mm Calibre.

Development history

PaK 97/38 in Hämeenlinna Artillery Museum. Hämeenlinna

PaK 97/38 in Finnish Tank Museum (Panssarimuseo) in Parola. Parola Tank Museum ( Finnish Panssarimuseo) is a Military museum located in Parola, near Hämeenlinna, in Finland.

During the invasions of Poland and France Wehrmacht captured thousands of 75 mm guns model 1897, built by the French arms manufacturer Schneider. The Invasion of Poland (1939 precipitated World War II. It was carried out by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small German-allied In World War II, the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries Schneider Electric ( is a French global company It was founded in 1836 by two brothers Eugène I and Adolphe Schneider These guns were adopted by Germans as 7,5 cm F. K. 97(p) and 7,5 cm F. K. 231(f) and used in their original field artillery role.

Soon after the German invasion of the USSR in 1941, Wehrmacht units encountered new Soviet tanks, the medium T-34 and the heavy KV. The Eastern Front of World War II (die Ostfront 1941-1945, der Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945 (Russian campaign or der Ostfeldzug 1941-1945 (Eastern Campaign Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1941 to 1958 It is widely regarded as having been the world's best Tank when the Soviet Union The Kliment Voroshilov ( KV) Tanks were a series of Soviet Heavy tanks named after the Soviet defense commissar and politician Kliment Voroshilov Thick sloped armor of these vehicles gave them good degree of protection against German anti-tank weapons. The situation led to requests for more powerful guns that would be able to destroy them from long range. Since Germany already had a suitable design, the 7.5 cm PaK 40, it entered production and in November 1941 first pieces were delivered. The 75 cm PaK 40 ( 75 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 40) was a German Anti-tank gun developed in 1939-1941 by Rheinmetall and used during the Until enough of those will be manufactured, some expedient solution was required.

It was tempting to adopt the easily available French gun to the anti-tank role. In the original configuration those guns were ill suited for fighting tanks because of their relatively low muzzle velocity, limited traverse (only 6°), and lack of suspension (which resulted in transport speed of 10-12 km/h). It was decided to solve the traverse and mobility problems by mounting the 75 mm barrel on the modern split trail carriage of PaK 38. To soften a recoil, the barrel was fitted with large 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 gun was to fire primarily HEAT shells as anti-armour performance of this type of ammunition doesn't depend on velocity.

Interestingly, another major user of the French gun, the US Army, created and briefly adopted a similar expedient design, known as 75mm Anti-tank gun on Carriage M2A3. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. ^[1].

Production

In 1942, 2,854 pieces were deliviered; 858 more followed in 1943. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In addition, 160 guns on 7.5 cm PaK 40 carriage (PaK 97/40) were built in 1943. The 75 cm PaK 40 ( 75 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 40) was a German Anti-tank gun developed in 1939-1941 by Rheinmetall and used during the The manufacturing cost of one piece was 9,000 reichsmarks, compared to 12,000 for PaK 40. For a detailed discussion of the English translation of Reich, see Reich. Production was stopped because of sufficient supply of more powerful anti-tank guns.

Employment

External images
	Romanian PaK 97/38 battery in Crimea in December 1943. [1]
	7,5 сm Pak 97/38(f) auf Pz.740(r). [2]

PaK 97/38 reached the battlefield in summer 1942. Despite moderate effectiveness and a violent recoil, it remained in service until the end of the war. The scale of use can be illustrated by the ammunition used: 37,800 HEAT shells in 1942 and 371,600 in 1943. There is photo evidence of this gun being used in 1944. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. On 1 March 1945 Wehrmacht possessed 145 Pak 97/38 and F. Events 86 BC - Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army enters in Athens, removing the Tyrant Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar K. 231(f) guns though only 14 were employed by frontline units.

Ten barrels with shields were experimentally mounted on the Soviet T-26 light tank chassis, resulting in vehicles designated 7,5 сm Pak 97/38(f) auf Pz. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The T-26 was a light tank used by the Soviet Union from the 1930s until World War II. 740(r). These self-propelled guns served with 3rd company of the 563rd anti-tank battalion before being replaced by Marder III on 1 March 1944. A company is a Military unit, typically consisting of 75-200 Soldiers Most companies are formed of three to five Platoons although the exact number may vary A battalion is a Military unit of around 500-1500 men usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel The Marder III is the name for a series of World War II German Tank destroyers built on the chassis of the Panzer 38(t. Events 86 BC - Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army enters in Athens, removing the Tyrant

The gun was also employed by the Finnish Army in Continuation War. The Finnish Army ( Finnish: Maavoimat, Swedish: Armén) is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces The Continuation War (Jatkosota Fortsättningskriget Советско-финская война ( 25 June 1941 &ndash 19 September 1944) Finns purchased the 75 mm field guns from France in 1940, became disappointed with their performance and in 1943 reached an argeement with Germany about upgrading to PaK 97/38. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 46 pieces were converted in March-June 1943. Seven of the guns were lost in combat, the rest remained in service after the war and only in 1986 were retired. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar)

A number of pieces were supplied to Romania and saw combat with the Romanian Army on the Eastern Front. Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania

Summary

PaK 97/38 could be produced using captured barrels and could fire captured French and Polish ammunition. Together with light weight, good mobility and sufficient anti-armor performance with HEAT shell (enough to penetrate T-34 in most situations; side armor of KV could also be pierced), it made the gun decent anti-tank weapon.

It had shortcomings, particularly low muzzle velocity. Although it didn't affect armor piercing characteristics of HEAT ammunition, it meant insufficient performance when firing regular AP shells and - because of difficulties in hitting small mobile targets - low effective range of about 500 m even with HEAT. The gun also had quite violent recoil, especially with AP shells. It must be also noted that in the World War II the technology of manufacture of HEAT shells was crude, so many shells had armor penetration characteristics significantly below the supposed ones.

Ammunition

It is not clear if German AP shells for PaK 97/38 were produced. Polish AP shells were used in limited numbers.

The Finnish Army used locally produced ones designated 75 psa - Vj4 and possibly old French ones designated 75 pspkrv 59/66-ps. The 75 psa - Vj4 penetrated 92 mm at 300 m, meet angle 90°. ^[2]

The HEAT projectiles penetrated about 90 mm at meet angle 90° or about 75 mm at meet angle 60°.

Notes

References

• Shirokorad A. B. - The God of War of the Third Reich - M. AST, 2002 (Широкорад А. Б. - Бог войны Третьего рейха. — М. ,ООО Издательство АСТ, 2002. , ISBN 5-17-015302-3)
• Ivanov A. - Artillery of Germany in Second World War - SPb Neva, 2003 (Иванов А. - Артиллерия Германии во Второй Мировой войне. — СПб. , Издательский дом «Нева», 2003. , ISBN 5-7654-2634-4)
• Isaev A. - Antisuvorov. Ten Myths of World War II - M. , Eksmo, Yauza, 2004 (А. Исаев. Антисуворов. Десять мифов Второй мировой. - М. , Эксмо, Яуза, 2004. , ISBN 5-699-07634-4)
• Kolomiets M. - Anti-tank Artillery of Wehrmacht 1939-1945 - "Frontovaya Illustratsiya" magazine, no. 1, 2006 (М. Коломиец. Противотанковая артиллерия Вермахта 1939-1945 гг. - журнал «Фронтовая иллюстрация», №1, 2006)
• Zaloga, Steven J. , Brian Delf - US Anti-tank Artillery 1941-45 (2005) Osprey Publishing (New Vanguard 107), ISBN 1-84176-690-9.
• Finnish Army 1918-1945: 75 PstK/97-38 "Mulatti"