The 7.5 cm Pak 40 was a powerful anti-tank gun fielded by the German Army infantry during World War II. Along with the 5 cm Pak 38, it was one of the most massively produced guns in the arsenal of the Third Reich, with more than 23,000 pieces by 1945. Although it had first been designed in 1939, their industrial production began in late 1941, after the Wehrmacht had encountered the Soviet KV-1/2 and the T-34 tank on the battlefield. It entered service in early 1942, being deployed on every front of the European theater. PaK stands for the German words: PanzerAbwehrKanone.
The 7.5 cm Pak 40 retained the torsion bar suspension, the doubled steel shield, and the muzzle brake of the 5 cm Pak 38. The gun barrel was larger; 75-mm caliber and 3.45 m in length (L/46). It was its muzzle velocity and the type of shells it fired which made of it a real tank killer; 990 m/s. Shooting hardened tungsten tipped round, it could knock out an enemy tank at 2,000 m away. It was almost as deadly as the 8.8 cm Flak 18/36 gun. This artillery piece would be adapted to be used on a German tank, being mounted in the turret of the Panther (Panzer V) tank in 1943.
Below, German 7.5cm PaK 40 in 1943.
Specifications
Type: Infantry anti-tank gun
Caliber: 75-mm
Weight: 1,500 kg (in ready to fire mode)
Barrel Length: 3.45 m - L/46.
Barrel Life Span: 6,000 rounds
Breech: Horizontal sliding block
Recoil Type: Hydro-Pneumatic
Traverse: 65°
Elevation: -5° to +22°
Maximum Effective Range: 1,800 / 2,000 m
Below, the 7.5 cm Pak 40 in action in July 1943.
The technical data of this gun taken from a German Infantry's manual
