7.5 cm PaK 41

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A preserved 7.5 cm PaK 41

The PaK 41 was one of the last German anti-tank guns brought into service and used in World War II. It was built on the squeeze- bore principle (Gerlich in German usage, from a hunting rifle made by a firm with that name) to deliver a higher muzzle velocity and there greater penetration in relation to its size.

1 Design and development
2 Service
3 Data
4 References
5 See also
6 external links

[edit] Design and development

These guns were made by the Rheinmetall factories. The barrel was in three distinct sections: the rear part was parallel-sided and conventionally rifled; the central part was unrifled and tapered down; at the muzzle end, the last 27.6 inches it was parallel-sided again but remained unrifled.

The weight of the powder charge fired is 95 percent of the weight of the projectile. With an estimated velocity of approximately 4,000 f/s, and a penetration of 5.94 inches of homogeneous armor at 1,000 yards. The reinforced breech is of the vertical wedge type, with a semiautomatic action. Compared to the PaK 38 and the PaK 40, the appearance was long, low, and sturdy. The carriage was a split trail type on metal wheels with solid rubber tires. The gun cradle and shield is, in effect, on a spherical universal joint. The cradle was cylindrical, covering the whole of the rear half of the barrel. The gun is sighted up to 1,500 meters; the sight has four scales for use according to the actual muzzle velocity of the gun. The barrel is provisionally estimated as 500 to 600 rounds.