7.5 cm KwK 37

PzKpfw IV with 7.5cm KWK 37 L/24

The 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 (7.5 cm Kampfwagenkanone 37 L/24) was a short-barreled, howitzer-like German 75 mm tank gun used during World War II, primarily as the chief weapon of the early Panzer IV tanks and early StuG III assault guns.

It was designed as a close-support artillery gun firing a high-explosive shell (hence the relatively short barrel), but was also effective against the early war tanks. Starting from March 1942,^[1] new variants of the Panzer IV and StuG III had their main armament upgraded to the new longer-barreled 7.5 cm KwK 40. When older Panzer IVs were upgunned, their former KwK 37 guns were reused to arm later Panzer III tanks and other infantry support vehicles.

Ammunition

• K.Gr.rot.Pz. - Armour Piercing Capped
• Kt. Kw. K. - Canister
• Nbgr. Kw. K. - Smoke
• Gr.38 Hl - High Explosive Anti-Tank
• Gr.38 Hl/A - High Explosive Anti-Tank
• Gr.38 Hl/B - High Explosive Anti-Tank
• Gr.38 Hl/C - High Explosive Anti-Tank

7.5 cm Sprgr.34 - High Explosive

• Projectile weight: 4.422 kg (9.75 lb)
• Explosive weight: 0.454 kg (1.00 lb)^[2]

PzGr. 39/43 Armor-piercing

• Projectile weight: 6.80 kg (15.0 lb)
• Muzzle velocity: 385 m/s (1,260 ft/s)

Penetration figures given for an armoured plate 30 degrees from vertical^[3]

Range	Penetration	Hit probability (%)
100	41	100
500	39	100
1000	35	97
1500	33	82
2000	30	n/a

Penetration comparison

Penetration figures (90 degrees) uses American and British 50% success criteria,
and allowing direct comparison to foreign gun performance.^[4]

Ammunition type	Muzzle velocity (m/s)	Penetration (mm)
		100 m	250 m	500 m	750 m	1000 m	1250 m	1500 m	2000 m	2500 m	3000 m
Pzgr. 39/1 (APCBC)	385 m/s (1,260 ft/s)	54	53	50	48	46	44	42	38	35	32
Pzgr. 39/2 (APCBC)	385 m/s (1,260 ft/s)	60	58	55	52	50	47	44	38	33	27
Gr.38 Hl (HEAT)	450 m/s (1,500 ft/s)	52	52	52	52	52	52	52	52	52	52
Gr.38 Hl/A (HEAT)	450 m/s (1,500 ft/s)	81	81	81	81	81	81	81	81	81	81
Gr.38 Hl/B (HEAT)	450 m/s (1,500 ft/s)	87	87	87	87	87	87	87	87	87	87
Gr.38 Hl/C (HEAT)	450 m/s (1,500 ft/s)	115	115	115	115	115	115	115	115	115	115

Vehicles mounted on

• Neubaufahrzeug
• Panzer III Ausf. N
• Panzer IV Ausf. A, C, D, E, and F
• StuG III Ausf. A, B, C, D, and E
• SdKfz.233 Schwerer Panzerspähwagen "Stummel"
• SdKfz.234/3 Schwerer Panzerspähwagen "Stummel"
• SdKfz.251/9 Schützenpanzerwagen (7.5 cm KwK37) "Stummel"

See also

• Howitzer Motor Carriage M8, armed with 75mm American M2 or M3 howitzer

Notes

1. Finkel "On Flexibility", p. 143.
2. German Explosive Ordnance (Projectiles and Projectile Fuzes) - Department of the Army Technical Manual TM-9-1985-3. 1953. p. 417.
3. http://www.panzerworld.com/7-5-cm-kw-k-l-24
4. Bird, Lorrin Rexford; Livingston, Robert D. (2001). WWII Ballistics: Armor and Gunnery. Overmatch Press. p. 61.

External links