5 cm Pak 38

The 5 cm Pak 38 was an anti-tank gun employed by the German Army's infantry during World War II. Designed and manufactured by Rheinmetall-Borsig AG in 1938, it entered service with the Wehrmacht in May 1941. It replaced the 3.5 cm Pak and provided the German front line troops with a much more powerful anti-armor fire support. This 50-mm gun was mounted on a split-trail carriage as it was usually towed by either truck or a half-track vehicle. Although it was a towed piece of field artillery, it was one of the many WW2 German Infantry weapons. It was massively produced as it was deployed on every front of the war.

Technical Charasteristics

The 5 cm Pak 38 was a 50mm gun, with a very high muzzle velocity of up to 1,180 m/s (with the hard-core shot). It fired armor-piercing shells, high-explosive (HE) shells, and armor-piercing, hard-core ammunition (AP 40), which was fitted with a tungsten carbide core and windshield nose. This tungsten shot had excellent performance at ranges of 500 and 600 m. The carriage had a tubular split trail and was equipped with an armored shield to protect the crew. The gun barrel featured a muzzle brake.

Specifications

Type: anti-tank gun

Caliber: 50 mm

Shell: fixed 50x419mm R: Panzergrenate 39/40; Sprenggrenate 38.

Weight: 1.062 ton (1,062 kg)

Barrel Length: 3 m (L/60)

Recoil: hydropneumatic

Breech Type: horizontal sliding-wedge

Elevation: -8° to +27°

Transverse: 65°

Maximum Range: 2,700 m

Below, a drawing of the gun breech and barrel, with their different parts: 1) recoil spring; 2) breech lever; 3) striking bolt spring; 4) attachment for the gun craddle; 5) firing piston; 6) securing and firing lever; 7) rear of breechblock with shell entrance

Below, the 5 cm Pak 38 being employed by the Fallschirmjäger in Italy.

The German 50mm anti-tank gun being towed to the battlefield on the Eastern Front.