The 4.2 cm Pak 41 (

Panzerabwehrkanone ''Panzerabwehrkanone'', usually referred to with the acronym Pak, is the German language term for anti-tank gun. Before and during World War II, the German Army produced a series of 13 anti-tank guns which they designated Panzerabwehrkanone, i.e ...

—" anti-tank gun") was a light anti-tank gun issued to German airborne units in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. This gun was externally similar to the 3.7 cm Pak 36, using a modified version of the latter's carriage, but used the

squeeze bore A squeeze bore, alternatively taper-bore, cone barrel or conical barrel, is a weapon where the internal barrel diameter progressively decreases towards the muzzle resulting in a reduced final internal diameter. These weapons are used in conjuncti ...

principle (in German called ''Gerlich'' after Hermann Gerlich, who developed the principle in the 1920s, reportedly for a hunting rifle) to boost its velocity, and hence armour-piercing ability. The bore had a diameter of at the chamber, but tapered down to at the muzzle. Production was terminated in June 1942, after the delivery of 313 guns. By November 1943, 47 remained in service.

Specifications

*Projectile weight: AP

References

* Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Peter. ''Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939-1945''. New York: Doubleday, 1979 * Hogg, Ian V. ''German Artillery of World War Two''. 2nd corrected edition. Mechanicsville, PA: Stackpole Books, 1997 World War II anti-tank guns of Germany 40 mm artillery Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1941 {{artillery-stub

Specifications

See also

References