75l24

[Astérix]

many french books are considering PzIV equipped with 75L24 as the best German tank during battle of France.
As far as I know, this tank had only few AT capability, with poor penetration and low muzzle velocity (leading to a curve path).
Was that tank used in that role? Was it efficient?

Thanks for answer

[cbo]

Re: 75l24

Originally posted by Astérix
many french books are considering PzIV equipped with 75L24 as the best German tank during battle of France.
As far as I know, this tank had only few AT capability, with poor penetration and low muzzle velocity (leading to a curve path).
Was that tank used in that role? Was it efficient?

The Panzer IVs accompanied the other German tanks in combat, so whatever the Panzer IIIs etc. were fighting, the Panzer IVs were shooting at as well.

The anti-tank capabilities of the 7,5cm L/24 KwK 37 were in fact better than that of the 3,7cm L/45 KwK used in the Panzer III, especially as the range increased. At 500 meters, the 3,7cm PzGr. would penetrate 29mm of armour, while the 7,5cm PzGr. went through 38mm. Obviously, the much larger 7,5cm round would do a lot more damage to the target.

The 3,7cm had the advantage of being able to fire the PzGr. 40 APCR round, but this only became available during the French campaign and in very small numbers. The small and inert penetrator of the 3,7cm PzGr 40 would probably not do much damage to a target unless it hit a vital component.

Another advantage to the 7,5cm KwK 37 was its larger HE round which could also be fired at enemy tanks with some effect against engine louvres, turret ring and running gear. This is important, because neither the 3,7cm nor the 7,5cm could reliably penetrate the heavier French and British tanks with their AP rounds.

This does not mean that the 7,5cm KwK 37 was a good anti-tank gun, rather it emphasises just how ill equipped the German army was when it came to anti-tank capabilities.

Just too late for the French campaign a a hollow-charge or HEAT round called the Gr. 38 Hl was issued for the 7,5cm KwK and StuK 37. The first versions, tested in the North African desert early in 1941 only penetrated 45mm, i.e. they were little better than the standard PzGr. The next versions, the Gr.38 Hl/A and Hl/B penetrated 70-75mm and first became available late in 1941. The final version, the Gr.38 Hl/C was probably not available until 1944. This penetrated 100mm of armour.

As for the problems of hitting the target, the KwK and StuK 37 were renowned for their accuracy and despite the low velocity (385 m/s for the PzGr, 450 for the HE and Gr.38 Hl) a good gunner could probably hit a stationary target with 3 rounds even at long ranges. The Sturmgeschütz III with the 7,5cm Stuk 37 had quite a lot of succes as an anti-tank weapon in Russia and this was basically the same weapons as the 7,5cm KwK 37 found in the Panzer IV.