WW2 German Anti-Tank Guns

The WW2 German anti-tank guns were the most lethal artillery pieces on the battlefield. One of them was an anti-aircraft cannon, which was used by the infantry to destroy enemy tanks; the others were tank guns, which were developed from infantry anti-tank artillery pieces. They were all parts of the German Army's arsenal. Designed and manufactured by the German firms Krupp and Rheinmetall, they were employed by the Wehrmacht on every front of the war as they did a lot of damage to Allied armored units.

- 8.8-cm Flak 18/36/37. It was an anti-aircraft gun, which was also used in the anti-tank role and became the most dangerous tank killer of the war;

- 8.8-cm Pak 43, which was a powerful anti-tank gun fielded by the German Army infantry;

- 8.8-cm KwKs 36 L/56 and 43 L/71, which were anti-tank guns mounted in the turrets of the Tiger I and II tanks respectively;

- 7.5-cm Pak 40/41. It was a feared anti-tank weapon, which could destroy any type of tanks and armored vehicles from distances that ranged from 700 to 2000 m.

- 7.5-cm KwK 42 L/70 and KwK L/48, which were mounted on the Panther and Panzer IV tank respectively. It had an extremely high muzzle velocity and a powerful punching force.

- 5.0-cm Pak 38. Although this 50mm anti-tank gun was not as powerful than the ones mentioned above, it was very useful and very destructive against weaker tanks, such as the M4 Sherman.

All 8.8-cm (88mm) anti-tank guns were basically derivatives from the 8.8-cm Flak 18, which had originally been designed for the anti-aircraft role at the end of WW1 but it turned out to be a powerful and effective anti-tank and anti-bunker weapon in WW2. The 7.5-cm (75mm) KwK 42 L/70 was developed from the KwK L/48, which was mounted on the Panzer IV tank, and could knock out a T-34 from 1500 m away.

All these guns had one characteristic in common: a high muzzle velocity, which ranged from 1000 m/s (3300 ft/s) to 1130 m/s. It was impressive if we compared it with the muzzle velocity of the Russian T-34's 76 mm gun, which was only 680 m/s. The term "L/70" refers to the length of the gun barrel.

Below, a photo of the 8.8 cm Flak 36, the anti-aircraft gun being fielded in the anti-tank role by the German infantry in France in July, 1944. It was the most powerful of them all.

The 8.8-cm Pak 43 was not only powerful but also heavy as it always needed a truck or tracked vehicle to be carried to the battlefield.

Below, the 7.5 cm PaK 40, a lethal weapon of the German infantry