During the invasion of Russia in 1941, the Germans encountered the T-34 medium tank and KV-1 heavy tank. The armor of these tanks was much thicker than what German anti-tank guns were intended to face. This was made worse by the fact that at the time of the invasion of Russia, the more powerful APCR ammunition was in short supply, making up only about ten percent of ammunition stocks.
Selected armor thicknesses of the T-34 and KV-1 tanks.
| Armor Section |
Thickness |
Angle |
Relative Thickness |
| T-34 |
| Hull front |
45 mm |
37-30° |
75-90 mm |
| Hull side |
40-45 mm |
90-50° |
45-52 mm |
| Turret front |
52 mm |
Rounded |
- |
| Turret side |
52 mm |
60° |
60 mm |
| KV-1 |
| Hull front |
40-75 mm |
60-25° |
87-95 mm |
| Hull side |
75 mm |
90° |
75 mm |
| Turret front |
90 mm |
Rounded |
- |
| Turret side |
75 mm |
75° |
78 mm |
German anti-tank gun status at the beginning of Unternehmen Barbarossa, using standard ammunition.
| Gun |
Penetration |
Availability, 1 June 1941 |
| 100 m |
500 m |
| s Pz B 41 |
60 mm |
40 mm |
183 |
| 3,7 cm Pak |
34 mm |
29 mm |
14 459 |
| 5 cm Pak 38 |
69 mm |
59 mm |
1 047 |
Two more powerful anti-tank guns, the 7,5 cm Pak 40 and the 7,5 cm Pak 41, were being designed, but were several months away from entering production. Furthermore, until sufficient numbers of the new anti-tank guns could be manufactured a stop-gap measure was needed. The solution was to mount gun barrels from the obsolete French Canone de 75 Mle 1897 field artillery piece, large quantities of which had been captured in 1940, on a modified 5 cm Pak 38 carriage.
The relatively short gun barrel resulted in a low muzzle velocity. As a result, the 75 mm APCBC-HE ammunition, which was of Polish design, was only approximately equal in penetration capability to the short 5 cm Kw K of the Pz Kpfw III firing standard APC-HE ammunition, and inferior to the 5 cm Pak 38. HEAT ammunition was designed for the gun, which could penetrate up to 90 mm of armor. However, because the low velocity, and therefore much more curved projectile trajectory, anti-tank gunners were reported to prefer high-velocity ammunition, even though it could penetrate less armor.
Production
Production Statistics
| Month |
Opening Balance |
Wa A |
Fz In |
Losses |
| Combat |
Other |
Exported |
| 1942 |
| May |
- |
1000 |
1000 |
1021 |
| June |
898 |
- |
- |
0 |
| July |
898 |
1000 |
1000 |
192 |
120 |
| August |
1759 |
- |
- |
98 |
6 |
| September |
1655 |
- |
- |
62 |
- |
| October |
1593 |
- |
- |
24 |
- |
- |
| November |
1569 |
- |
- |
13 |
- |
- |
| December |
1556 |
854 |
574 |
44 |
239 |
| 1943 |
| January |
1847 |
449 |
727 |
35 |
6143 |
- |
| February |
1925 |
207 |
138 |
217 |
6 |
75 |
| March |
18464 |
123 |
181 |
45 |
215 |
196 |
| April |
16646 |
52 |
15 |
9 |
- |
65 |
| May |
1605 |
12 |
9 |
28 |
- |
45 |
| June |
1541 |
15 |
- |
7 |
- |
10 |
| July |
1524 |
- |
- |
78 |
- |
- |
| August |
1446 |
- |
- |
99 |
- |
- |
| September |
1347 |
- |
- |
68 |
- |
- |
| October |
1279 |
- |
437 |
67 |
- |
- |
| November |
1255 |
No further reports |
| Total |
- |
3712 |
3 687 |
734+ |
641+ |
517+ |
Production Costs
| 7,5 cm Pak 97/38 (L/36) |
| Price |
8000 Reichmark |
| Man-hours |
1500 |
| Production time |
4 months |
| 7,5 cm Pak 97/38 (L/36) |
| Gun |
| Caliber |
75 mm |
| Weight, combat ready |
1190 kg |
| Weight, with transport carriage |
1270 kg |
| Barrel length |
2.72 m |
| Barrel length in calibers |
36.27 m |
| Range (max) |
11 000 m |
| Rate of fire |
12-14 rounds per minute |
| Mount |
| Maximum elevation |
25° |
| Minimum depression |
8° |
| Traverse |
60° |
Armor Penetration
| Round |
Shot type |
Weight (shot) |
Muzzle velocity |
Range |
| 100 m |
1000 m |
1500 m |
| 7,5 cm K Gr Pz (p) |
ABCPC-HE |
6.80 kg |
570 m/s |
61 mm |
58 mm |
8 |
| 7,5 cm Gr 38/97 Hl/A (f) |
HEAT |
4.40 kg |
450 m/s |
75 mm |
| 7,5 cm Gr 38/97 Hl/B (f) |
4.57 kg |
| 7,5 cm Gr 15/38 Hl/A (f) |
| 7,5 cm Gr 38/97 Hl/C (f) |
4.80 kg |
90 mm |
Ammunition
The 7,5 cm Pak 97/38 (L/36) could fire both the original French ammunition, as well as German-design ammunition. For space reasons, the ammunition names have been abbreviated in the table, but is presented in full below the table.
|
233/1 |
230/1 |
230/1 (m) |
230/1 (k) |
231/1 |
231/1 (m) |
231/1 (k) |
236/1 |
38/97 Hl/A |
38/97 Hl/B |
15/38 Hl/B |
38/97 Hl/C |
K Gr Pz |
| Full ammunition names |
- 7,5 cm Sprgr Patr 233/1 (f) - frz 17 -
- 7,5 cm Sprgr Patr 230/1 (f) - frz 1900 -
- 7,5 cm Sprgr Patr 230/1 (f) - frz 1900 - mittl. Ladung
- 7,5 cm Sprgr Patr 230/1 (f) - frz 1900 - kleine Ladung
- 7,5 cm Sprgr Patr 231/1 (f) - frz 15 -
- 7,5 cm Sprgr Patr 231/1 (f) - frz 15 - mittl. Ladung
- 7,5 cm Sprgr Patr 231/1 (f) - frz 15 - kleine Ladung
- 7,5 cm Sprgr Patr 236/1 (f) - frz 18 -
- 7,5 cm Gr Patr 38/97 Hl/A (f)
- 7,5 cm Gr Patr 38/97 Hl/B (f)
- 7,5 cm Gr Patr 15/38 Hl/B (f)
- 7,5 cm Gr Patr 38/97 Hl/C (f)
- 7,5 cm K Gr Patr Pz (p)
|
| Type |
| Type |
HE |
HEAT |
APCBC-HE |
| Physical Characteristics |
| Caliber |
75 mm |
| Weight, shot |
6.195 kg |
5.445 kg |
6.595 kg |
4.40 kg |
4.57 kg |
4.80 kg |
6.80 kg |
| Length, shot |
- |
305.3 mm |
| Length, round |
596 mm |
585 mm |
590 mm |
585 mm |
590 mm |
585 mm |
578 mm |
604 mm |
618 |
- |
630 mm |
| Muzzle velocity |
575 m/s |
550 m/s |
396 m/s |
344 m/s |
550 m/s |
396 m/s |
344 m/s |
555 m/s |
450 m/s |
570 m/s |
| Muzzle energy |
- |
1104 kJ |
| Maximum range |
11 000 m |
- |
| Explosive Contents |
| Weight, propellant |
750 g |
600 g |
304 g |
250 g |
600 g |
304 g |
250 g |
695 g |
345 g |
340 g |
345 g |
- |
805 g |
Additional Reading
- 7,5 cm Pak 40
- Information about the 7,5 cm Pak 40, which replaced the 7,5 cm Pak 97/38 (L/36).
- Tank Combat Firing Methods
- Experience report for the 7,5 cm Pak 97/38 (L/36), comparing it to other German guns.
Notes
- Including 96 given to the Waffen-SS. Back
- Including six given to to Wa Abn. Back
- Including 339 given to Luftwaffe. Back
- Arithmetic discreprency not explained in reports. Back
- Given to Luftwaffe. Back
- Arithmetic discreprency not explained in reports. Back
- Repaired combat-damaged guns. Back
- Unknown penetration. Back
Sources
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