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52-543: Kampfwagenkanone ( KwK ) (German, 'fighting vehicle cannon') was the designation given to any type of tank gun mounted in an armoured fighting vehicle or infantry fighting vehicle of the German-Wehrmacht until 1945. The wording was derived from the German nouns Kampfwagen (fighting vehicle) and Kanone (cannon or gun). However, the present-day designation in German speaking armed forces to this particular weapon system

104-648: A Panzer I chassis . and were used in the Battle of France The trend continued with older tanks and captured vehicles, which were available in large numbers for conversions to self-propelled guns when they were replaced by heavier and better-armed (and armored) tanks. Although just a makeshift solution, these initial experiments proved so successful, they spawned an entire class of new vehicles: dedicated tank destroyers . The US Army's early self-propelled anti-tank guns were 75 mm on M2 half-tracks (entering service in 1941) to complement towed artillery and M6 gun motor carriage

156-488: A direct fire mode to defeat a variety of ground targets at all ranges, including dug-in infantry, lightly armored vehicles, and especially other heavily armored tanks. They must provide accuracy, range, penetration, and rapid fire in a package that is as compact and lightweight as possible, to allow mounting in the cramped confines of an armored gun turret . Tank guns generally use self-contained ammunition, allowing rapid loading (or use of an autoloader ). They often display

208-407: A 37 mm on 4-wheel-drive Dodge truck (1942). US tank destroyer doctrine emphasised mobility to place the tank destroyers into positions to ambush tank attacks. Tank destroyers offered some advantages over towed anti-tank guns, since a static gun emplacement sacrificed concealment and surprise after firing the first shot, but the same gun mounted on a tracked or wheeled chassis could open fire and throw

260-717: A bulge in the barrel, which is a bore evacuator , or a device on the muzzle , which is a muzzle brake . The first tanks were used to break through trench defences in support of infantry actions particularly machine gun positions during the First World War and they were fitted with machine guns or high explosive firing guns of modest calibre. These were naval or field artillery pieces stripped from their carriages and mounted in sponsons or casemates on armored vehicles. The early British Mark I tanks of 1916 used two naval 57 mm QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss mounted either side in sponsons. These guns proved too long for use in

312-518: A common appearance in many European armies. To penetrate armor, they fired specialized ammunition from longer barrels to achieve a higher muzzle velocity than field guns. Most anti-tank guns were developed in the 1930s as improvements in tanks were noted, and nearly every major arms manufacturer produced one type or another. Anti-tank guns deployed during World War II were often manned by specialist infantry rather than artillery crews, and issued to light infantry units accordingly. The anti-tank guns of

364-529: A high muzzle velocity and could be fired from low-recoil, man-portable light weapons, such as the Panzerfaust and the American series of recoilless rifles . Although several large-caliber guns were developed during the war that were capable of knocking out the most heavily armored tanks, they proved expensive and difficult to conceal. The later generation of low-recoil anti-tank weapons, which allowed projectiles

416-625: A number of countries began producing man-portable anti-tank weapons using this ammunition. The development of man-portable, shoulder-fired, anti-tank rocket launchers began in 1941; most could be reloaded, but a few, such as the German Panzerfaust , were fired from disposable tubes. Unlike anti-tank guns, their light weight made them easily portable by individual infantrymen on the battlefield, and they offered similar degrees of firepower whilst being quicker and cheaper to produce. Towed anti-tank guns disappeared from most Western countries, such as

468-594: A postwar 90-mm anti-tank gun of its own, the Pak 50/57 , firing shells with an even lower velocity than the Mecar or DEFA guns. Apart from the T-12, which used APDS rounds, these weapons could only use HEAT shells for armor-piercing purposes. France did introduce an APFSDS shell for the DEFA D921 at some point in the 1980s. The last country known to have produced a dedicated anti-tank gun was

520-479: A split rail mounting. They were able to destroy tanks fielded by both sides during the first two years of the war, but soon proved impotent against the heavier tank armor that debuted in 1940. French doctrine was for their infantry to let enemy tanks pass through then stop the accompanying enemy infantry leaving the unsupported tanks to be engaged by anti-tank guns deployed in three echelons. The issue of 58 guns per division provided 10 guns per kilometre of front which

572-422: A tank formation into substantial disarray before quickly withdrawing to repeat the same tactic elsewhere. The introduction of tank destroyers also put an end to the traditional tactic of suppressing anti-tank gun batteries with heavy artillery bombardments, as their crews were now well-protected under armor. They were not without their own series of disadvantages, however, namely presenting a much larger target than

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624-571: A tank rather than merely penetrating its armor plate. Towed guns similar to the Pak 36 were the only anti-tank weapon issued to European armies during the 1930s, and a number of influential designs proliferated, such as the Böhler gun . By the late 1930s, anti-tank guns had been manufactured by companies in Germany, Austria, France, Czechoslovakia , Belgium, Great Britain, Denmark, and Sweden. A few countries, such as

676-501: A tank's armor at long range, but without explosive firepower, often failed to cause catastrophic damage, kill, or even seriously injure the crew, or disable the tank. A number of infantry support guns designed to defeat hard targets such as fortified machine gun emplacements were used as makeshift anti-tank weapons, including the French Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP . The 3.7 cm Tankabwehrkanone 1918 im starrer Räder–lafette

728-514: A towed gun, the added responsibilities of vehicle maintenance and logistical support, and the limited spaces in which the crew had to operate and stow all their available ammunition. By the end of the war, dedicated tank destroyers had been superseded by tanks, which were just as effective at destroying other tanks, and little incentive remained to continue their separate development. Nevertheless, much like towed anti-tank guns, they were widely exported and are still in service with some militaries in

780-561: Is Panzerkanone ('tank gun'). Kampfwagenkanonen , developed in Germany, were normally derived from the construction concept of anti tank guns ( Panzerabwehrkanone ). Modifications were used in the anti-aircraft artillery ( Flakartillerie ) as well. The following table contains examples of Kampfwagenkanonen , operated by the Wehrmacht in World War II . Tank gun As the tank's primary armament, they are almost always employed in

832-416: Is improved over earlier weapons by computerized fire-control systems, wind sensors, thermal sleeves , and muzzle referencing systems which compensate for barrel warping, wear and temperature. Fighting capability at night, in poor weather, and smoke was improved by infrared , light-intensification , and thermal imaging equipment. Technology of the guns themselves has had only a few innovations. For decades

884-437: Is limited; for extremely long ranges cannon-launched guided projectiles (CLGPs) are considered more accurate. The use of the autoloader has been a development favoured by some nations and not others. Some countries adopted it as a means to keep the overall size of the tank down. Interest has also been shown as a means to protect the crew by separating them further from the gun and ammunition. For example, an autoloader allows

936-618: The QF 2-pounder (40 mm) and 37 mm equipped British cruiser tanks and infantry tanks in the late 1930s. These weapons lacked a good high-explosive shell for attacking infantry and fortifications, but were effective against the light armor of the time. World War II saw a leapfrog growth in all areas of military technology. Battlefield experience led to increasingly powerful weapons being adopted. Guns with calibres from 20 mm to 40 mm soon gave way to 50 mm, 75 mm, 85 mm, 88 mm, 90 mm, and 122 mm calibre. In 1939,

988-704: The SU-100 ). The relative superiority in armament of tank destroyers was only relative, however: for instance, the SU-85 was a casemate-type TD on the T-34 chassis that was rendered obsolete once the basic T-34 switched from the 76 mm gun to the same 85 mm cannon, producing the T-34-85 . By the end of the war the variety in tank designs had narrowed and the concept of the main battle tank emerged. The race to increase caliber slowed, with just slight increases between tank generations. In

1040-583: The Wehrmacht fielded the even larger 7.5 cm Pak 41 and 8.8 cm Pak 43 . While the early 37-mm anti-tank guns were easily concealed and moved, the large-caliber weapons available late in the war required equally large vehicles to tow them into place, and were difficult to conceal, dig in, withdraw, or reposition. By 1945, large anti-tank guns had become almost impractical in their role, and their size and weight were considered liabilities. They were also expensive to produce and although they were capable of defeating

1092-478: The 120 mm Royal Ordnance L11A5 rifled gun until the 1990s; it was then replaced it with the 120 mm L30 rifled gun which remains in service. The Indian Arjun tank uses an Indian-developed 120 mm rifled gun. Anti-tank gun An anti-tank gun is a form of artillery designed to destroy tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles , normally from a static defensive position. The development of specialized anti-tank munitions and anti-tank guns

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1144-555: The 1920s and 1930s were of small caliber; nearly all major armies possessing them used 37 mm ammunition (the British Army used the slightly larger 40 mm 2-pounder gun ). As World War II progressed, the appearance of heavier tanks rendered these weapons obsolete, and anti-tank guns likewise began firing larger and more effective armor-piercing shot. The development of the compact hollow charge projectile permanently altered anti-tank warfare, since this type of ammunition did not depend on

1196-448: The 1980s and 1990s. The first specialized anti-tank weaponry consisted of anti-tank rifles . These emerged from the mixed results of deploying field artillery against tanks during World War I, and the need to produce a more economical weapon to destroy them. Most anti-tank rifles were over 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in) in length, however, and difficult for infantrymen to operate in the confines of their trenches. They could penetrate

1248-472: The 40- to 50-mm range began to appear, some of which simply used rebored 37-mm barrels. Although they, too, were soon approaching obsolescence, most remained in use with infantry units until the end of the war. Anti-tank guns remained ineffective against sloped armor , as demonstrated by an incident in 1941 when a single Soviet T-34 tank was hit more than 30 times by a battalion-sized contingent of German 37 and 50-mm anti-tank guns. The tank survived intact and

1300-464: The American offensive and mobile reserve model, which favoured lightly-armed open-top vehicles with a rotating turret and a powerful anti-tank-capable gun while relegating true tanks to infantry support role (exemplified by the M10 tank destroyer ); and the casemate gun mount model, which often allowed the resultant vehicle to be hard to hit and have a well-sloped and heavily armoured glacis plate (for instance,

1352-510: The British tank designs as they would come into contact with obstacles and the ground on uneven terrain, and the succeeding Mark IV tank of 1917 was equipped with the shortened 6 pounder 6 cwt version which can be considered the first specialised tank gun. The first German tank, the A7V , used British-made 57 mm Maxim-Nordenfelt fortification guns captured from Belgium and Russia, mounted singly at

1404-926: The People's Republic of China in 1988. The Chinese gun was known as the Norinco Type 86 and was probably manufactured as a replacement for the aging Soviet-sourced T-12. Anti-tank guns continued to be used in a number of conflicts around the world, such as the Six-Day War and the South African Border War . Soviet anti-tank guns in particular were exported to at least 18 other countries after being retired from service, and have continued to see action. Although still being drawn by horses or towed by trucks, towed anti-tank guns were initially much lighter and more portable than field guns, making them well-suited to infantry maneuvers. As their size and caliber increased, though,

1456-685: The Soviet Union, also manufactured foreign designs under license. At the outbreak of World War II, most armies were fielding light anti-tank guns firing 3.7-cm (37-mm) ammunition. The guns were usually mounted on two-wheeled carriages so they could be towed into position, then withdrawn and repositioned rapidly. Since they weighed only a few hundred pounds on average, they could also be manhandled into position. All fired high-explosive and solid armor-piercing shot effective at ranges up to roughly 500 m (1,600 ft), and an increasing number were manufactured with protective gun shields in addition to

1508-470: The United States, after World War II, to be replaced by shoulder-fired rocket launchers, recoilless rifles, and eventually, guided anti-tank missiles. At the end of the war, German engineers had proposed a new, large-caliber anti-tank gun that used less propellant than a rocket or recoilless weapon, yet fired similar compact hollow-charge shells. German forces subsequently fielded the 8 cm PAW 600 , which

1560-679: The Watervliet Arsenal for the US Abrams M1A1 tank using de Graffenried's patented high-precision manufacturing inventions. Based on their experience with the 2A28 Grom gun/missile system of the BMP-1 , the Soviets produced the T-64 B main battle tank, with an auto-loaded 2A46 125 mm smoothbore high-velocity tank gun , capable of firing APFSDS ammunition as well as ATGMs. Similar guns continue to be used in

1612-549: The West, guns of around 90 mm gave way to the ubiquitous 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7 , introduced in 1958. This lasted a long while, with a shift to 120 mm in the late 1970s and early 1980s (the UK changed in the late 1960s with their Chieftain tank). In the East, the 85 mm quickly yielded to the 100 mm and 115 mm U-5TS gun, with the 125 mm caliber now standard. Most of

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1664-426: The average tank had to grow as well to carry the ammunition, mounting, and protection for these powerful guns. While high velocity tank guns were effective against other tanks, for the most part British tanks moved to a dual purpose 75 mm gun capable of firing a useful HE shell; later in the war adding 76 mm 17pdr gun armed tanks for better antitank capability. Many nations devised " tank destroyers " during

1716-593: The dawn of World War II , when most tank guns were still modifications of existing artillery pieces, and were expected to primarily be used against unarmored targets. The larger caliber, shorter range artillery mounting did not go away however. Tanks intended specifically for infantry support (the infantry tanks ), expected to take out emplacements and infantry concentrations, carried large calibre weapons to fire large high-explosive shells—though these could be quite effective against other vehicles at close ranges. In some designs – for example, M3 Lee , Churchill , Char B1 –

1768-478: The difference in operation between smoothbore and rifled guns shows in the type of secondary ammunition that they fire, with a smoothbore gun being ideal for firing HEAT rounds (although specially designed HEAT rounds can be fired from rifled guns) and rifling being necessary to fire HESH rounds. Most modern main battle tanks now carry a smoothbore gun. A notable exception are the tanks of the British Army which used

1820-604: The end of World War II, armor plating became still thicker, with tanks such as the Tiger II being fitted with armor over 100 mm (3.9 in) in thickness, as compared to 15 mm (0.59 in) which was more typical in 1939. This prompted the development of a third generation of anti-tank guns, large-caliber pieces in the 57- to 100-mm range. The British Army adopted the Ordnance QF 6-pounder and Ordnance QF 17-pounder , which were then considered great advances in firepower, and

1872-613: The front. The early French Schneider CA1 mounted a short 75 mm gun in a sponson on the right hand side, while the Saint-Chamond mounted a standard 75 mm field gun in the nose. The thin armour of the tanks meant that such weapons were effective against other vehicles, though the Germans fielded few tanks anyway and the Allied tanks concentrated on anti-infantry and infantry support activities. This thinking remained pervasive into

1924-476: The guns likewise became increasingly heavy and cumbersome, restricting their role to static defense. In consequence, during World War II, both sides were compelled to make anti-tank guns self-propelled, which greatly increased their mobility. The first self-propelled anti-tank guns were merely belated attempts to make use of obsolete tanks, such as the Panzerjäger I , which was a Czech 4.7-cm Pak (t) gun mated to

1976-454: The guns were almost exclusively rifled , but now most new tanks have smoothbore guns. Rifling in the barrel imparts spin on the projectile to stabilized it, improving ballistic accuracy. The best traditional antitank weapons have been kinetic energy rounds, whose penetrating power and accuracy is greatly decreased with the loss in muzzle velocity at extended range. For longer ranges high-explosive anti-tank rounds are more effective, but accuracy

2028-670: The improvements were instead made in ammunition and fire-control systems . With kinetic energy penetrator rounds, solid shot and armour-piercing shell gave way to armour-piercing discarding sabot ( APDS ) (a product of 1944), and fin-stabilized ( APFSDS ) rounds with tungsten or depleted uranium penetrators. Parallel developments brought rounds based on chemical energy; high-explosive squash head (HESH), and shaped-charge high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT), with penetrating power independent of muzzle velocity or range. Stadiametric range-finders were successively replaced by coincidence and laser rangefinders . Accuracy of modern tank guns

2080-542: The larger bore weapons were mounted within the tank hull while a second gun for use against tanks was fitted in a turret. However, other strategists saw new roles for tanks in war, and wanted more specifically developed guns tailored to these missions. The ability to destroy enemy tanks was foremost on their minds. To this end, the emerging anti-tank gun designs were modified to fit tanks. These weapons fired smaller shells, but at higher velocities with higher accuracy, improving their performance against armor. Such light guns as

2132-488: The latest Russian T-90 , Ukrainian T-84 , and Serbian M-84AS MBTs. The German company Rheinmetall developed a more conventional 120 mm smoothbore tank gun which can fire LAHAT missiles, adopted for the Leopard 2 , and later the U.S. M1 Abrams . The chief advantages of smoothbore designs are their greater suitability for fin stabilised ammunition and their greatly reduced barrel wear compared with rifled designs. Much of

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2184-451: The lightly rifled French DEFA D921 anti-tank gun, which fired fin-stabilized shells and was available on a towed carriage or as a vehicle mount. It was later mated to the AML-90 and EBR series of French armored cars. The Soviet Union also adopted a similar design around the same time, the 100-mm T-12 anti-tank gun , which was smoothbore and fired fin-stabilized shells. Switzerland developed

2236-409: The most formidable of opponents, most tank units still consisted of less heavily armoured models that remained vulnerable to less expensive and more practical guns, as well. Many heavy anti-tank guns were issued, at least initially, on the divisional level, but gradually made their way to individual infantry battalions. Meanwhile, the effect of very compact hollow charge warheads was being noted, and

2288-521: The size of an artillery shell to be fired from the shoulder, was considered a far more viable option for arming infantry. Recoilless rifles replaced most conventional anti-tank guns in the postwar period; nevertheless, the development of new anti-tank guns exhibiting similar low-recoil performance continued until the late 1950s in France, Belgium, and the Soviet Union . A few Soviet designs saw combat well into

2340-472: The standard German panzer had either a 20 mm or 37 mm medium-velocity weapon, but by 1945 long-barrelled 75 mm and 88 mm high-velocity guns were common. The Soviets introduced their 122 mm in a turreted heavy tank series, the IS tanks . Shells were improved to provide better penetration with harder materials and scientific shaping. All of these meant improvements in accuracy and range, although

2392-563: The use of an unmanned turret in the T-14 Armata . In the 1960s, smoothbore tank guns were developed by the United States, the Soviet Union, and later by the experimental American-West German MBT-70 joint project. High-precision smoothbore tank gun barrels were perfected by the US Army's Weapons Laboratory at the Watervliet Arsenal based on a pair of patents by inventor Albert L. de Graffenried. More than 20,000 tank cannons were manufactured by

2444-410: The war – a vehicle specifically designed for anti-tank work, and armed more heavily than a tank on the same chassis could be. They generally fell into three overlapping categories: improvised modifications of old or captured tanks to render them viable again (such as converting the machine-gun-only Panzer I into the Panzerjäger I ), often with haphazard, poorly protected, limited-traverse weapon mounts;

2496-468: Was an extremely lightweight, low-pressure weapon still able to fire the same ammunition types as higher-velocity anti-tank guns. In the 1950s, this idea was revived by a Belgian firm, Mecar , which subsequently improved on the concept and developed a low-pressure, smoothbore, 90-mm anti-tank gun. Because of its low recoil forces and light construction, the gun was particularly useful for being mounted on armored cars or small gun carriages. Its design inspired

2548-651: Was driven back to its own lines a few hours later. This helped earn the Pak 36 the moniker of Panzeranklopfgerät ("tank door knocker") because its crew simply revealed their presence and wasted their shells without damaging the T-34's armor. Anti-tank gunners began aiming at tank tracks, or vulnerable margins on the turret ring and gun mantlet , rather than testing their lighter cannon against bow and turret armor. These difficulties resulted in new types of ammunition being issued, namely high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) and armor-piercing discarding sabot (APDS) projectiles. Towards

2600-454: Was expected to be able to deal with enemy tanks at a concentration of 50 tanks per kilometer. In practice the German invasion of France concentrated tanks in select divisions at up to 100 per kilometer. Introducing improved ammunition and increasing muzzle velocity initially helped compensate for their mediocre performance, but small-caliber anti-tank guns clearly would soon be overtaken by yet more heavily armored tanks. Medium-caliber guns in

2652-477: Was probably the first dedicated anti-tank gun in service. However, its gun barrel was based on an earlier Hotchkiss 5-barrelled rotary-cannon . The 3.7 cm TAK 1918 was designed and built for the Imperial German Army in 1918. The 3.7 cm Pak 36 which first appeared in 1928 was probably the first purpose-built anti-tank gun. Weighing some 160 kg, the Pak 36 could inflict a catastrophic kill on

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2704-401: Was prompted by the appearance of tanks during World War I . To destroy hostile tanks, artillerymen often used field guns depressed to fire directly at their targets, but this practice expended too much valuable ammunition and was of increasingly limited effectiveness as tank armor became thicker. The first dedicated anti-tank artillery began appearing in the 1920s, and by World War II was

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