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Kampfwagenkanone
(KwK) (German, 'fighting vehicle cannon') was the designation given to any type of tank gun mounted in an armoured fighting vehicle or infantry fighting vehicle of the German-Wehrmacht until 1945. The wording was derived from the German nouns ''Kampfwagen'' (fighting vehicle) and ''Kanone'' (cannon or gun). However, the present-day designation in German speaking armed forces to this particular weapon system is ''Panzerkanone'' ('tank gun').Panzerkanone – tank gun. Teil II/ Teil III Deutsch – Englisch. In: Bundessprachenamt (Hrsg.): Militärisches Studienglossar Englisch. Januar 2001, S. 284. ''Kampfwagenkanonen'', developed in Germany, were normally derived from the construction concept of anti tank guns (''Panzerabwehrkanone''). Modifications were used in the anti-aircraft artillery (''Flakartillerie'') as well. Examples The following table contains examples of ''Kampfwagenkanonen'', operated by the Wehrmacht in World War II. See also *List of Sd.Kfz. designations ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
5 Cm KwK 38
The 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 ''(''5 cm '' Kampfwagenkanone'' 38 L/42'')'' was a German 50 mm 42 calibre cannon used as the main armament of variants of the German Panzer III medium tank during the Second World War. The towed anti-tank gun equivalent was the PaK.37 of which 2,600 were produced from 1937 until 1940. History The Panzer III was intended to fight other tanks; in the initial design stage a gun was specified. However, the infantry at the time were being equipped with the 3.7 cm PaK 36, and it was thought that, in the interest of standardization, the tanks should carry the same armament. As a compromise, the turret ring was made large enough to accommodate a gun should a future upgrade be required. This single decision later assured the Panzer III a prolonged life in the German Army.Perrett (1999), p. 4. The early Panzer III ''Ausf.'' A to early ''Ausf.'' G were equipped with a 3.7 cm KwK 36 L/45, which proved adequate during the campaigns of 1939 and 1940. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2 Cm KwK 38
The 2 cm KwK 30 L/55 ''(2 cm Kampfwagenkanone 30 L/55)'' was a German 2 cm cannon used as the main armament of the German Sd.Kfz.121 Panzerkampfwagen II light tank and various reconnaissance vehicles. It was used during the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War. It was produced by Mauser and Rheinmetall-Borsig from 1935. The KwK 30 also served as the basis for the 20 mm C/30, an aircraft variant mounted experimentally in some Heinkel He 112 fighters and proved to make an excellent ground-attack weapon during the Spanish Civil War. Direct ground-attack was not considered a priority for the Luftwaffe and thus, the cannon was not used on other designs. An improved version, the 2 cm KwK 38 L/55 ''(2 cm Kampfwagenkanone 38 L/55)'', was introduced in 1942 and mounted mainly on armored cars. The KwK 38, equipped with the longer L/65 Flakbarrel, was used on the Panzer II Luchs and also on the Sd.Kfz.251/17 Schützenpanzerwagen (2 cm) Platoon leader vehic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2 Cm KwK 30
The 2 cm KwK 30 L/55 ''(2 cm Kampfwagenkanone 30 L/55)'' was a German 2 cm cannon used as the main armament of the German Sd.Kfz.121 Panzerkampfwagen II light tank and various reconnaissance vehicles. It was used during the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War. It was produced by Mauser and Rheinmetall-Borsig from 1935. The KwK 30 also served as the basis for the 20 mm C/30, an aircraft variant mounted experimentally in some Heinkel He 112 fighters and proved to make an excellent ground-attack weapon during the Spanish Civil War. Direct ground-attack was not considered a priority for the Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ... and thus, the cannon was not used on other designs. An improved version, the 2 cm KwK 38 L/55 ''(2 c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tiger II
The Tiger II was a Nazi Germany, German heavy tank of the World War II, Second World War. The final official German designation was ''Panzerkampfwagen'' Tiger ''Ausf''. B, often shortened to Tiger B.Jentz and Doyle 1993, p. 16. The ordnance inventory designation was ''List of Sd.Kfz. designations, Sd.Kfz.'' 182. (''Sd.Kfz.'' 267 and 268 for command vehicles). It was also known informally as the ''Königstiger'' (German language, German for Bengal tiger, ). Contemporaneous Allied forces (World War II), Allied soldiers often called it the King Tiger or Royal Tiger. The Tiger II was the successor to the Tiger I, combining the latter's thick armour with the armour sloping used on the Panther tank, Panther medium tank. It was the costliest German tank to produce at the time. The tank weighed almost 70 tonnes and was protected by of armour to the front. It was armed with the long barrelled (71 calibres) 8.8 cm KwK 43 anti-tank cannon. The chassis was also the basis for the ''Jagdtiger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panzer IV
The IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), commonly known as the Panzer IV, is a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161. The Panzer IV was the most numerous German tank and the second-most numerous German fully tracked armoured fighting vehicle of the Second World War; 8,553 Panzer IVs of all versions were built during World War II, only exceeded by the StuG III assault gun with 10,086 vehicles. Its chassis was also used as the base for many other fighting vehicles, including the assault gun, the self-propelled anti-tank gun, the and self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, and the self-propelled gun. The Panzer IV saw service in all combat theatres involving Germany and was the only German tank to remain in continuous production throughout the war. The Panzer IV was originally designed for infantry support, while the similar Panzer III was to fight armoured fighting vehicles. However, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
5 Cm KwK 39
The 5 cm KwK 39 L/60 ''(5 cm 39 L/60)'' was a German 50 mm calibre tank gun used during the Second World War, primarily as the main armament of later models of the German Panzer III tank from December 1941 onwards. It was produced when the well-armoured T-34 and KV-1 tanks were encountered in ever increasing numbers on the Eastern Front, although it was only partially successful in its role. It was later superseded by the 7.5 cm KwK 40 L/43. It was also mounted on the Sd.Kfz. 234/2 heavy armoured car, and adapted for mounting in the Me 410 aircraft. History The gun was developed as a variant of the 5 cm Pak 38 towed anti-tank gun using the same ammunition. On the Panzer III, it replaced the 5 cm KwK 38, which had an L/42 calibre length, less powerful ammunition and a lower muzzle velocity. However, even the 5 cm KwK 39 gun with a longer barrel, higher muzzle velocity and more penetration was not sufficient against newer Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks. There ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panzer III
The ''Panzerkampfwagen III (Pz.Kpfw. III)'', commonly known as the Panzer III, was a medium tank developed in the 1930s by Nazi Germany, Germany, and was used extensively in World War II. The official German ordnance designation was List of Sd.Kfz. designations, Sd.Kfz. 141. It was intended to fight other armoured fighting vehicles and serve alongside and support the similar Panzer IV, which was originally designed for infantry support. Initially, the Panzer III had the same 3.7 cm gun as the infantry used in an anti-tank role, but later models were given the 5 cm KwK 38 gun. This was the largest gun that could be fitted within the physical limitations of the turret ring, but it turned out to be ineffective against Soviet T-34 and Kliment Voroshilov tank, KV-1 tanks. The Panzer IV, which had a larger turret ring, was redesigned to mount the long-barrelled 7.5 cm KwK 40 gun and became the main German tank instead. Produced from 1942 onwards, the last version of the Panzer III ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panzer VIII Maus
''Panzerkampfwagen'' VIII ''Maus'' (English: 'mouse') was a German World War II super-heavy tank completed in July of 1944. As of 2025, it is the heaviest fully enclosed armored fighting vehicle ever built. Five were ordered, but only two hulls and one turret were completed; the turret being attached before the testing grounds were captured by the Soviet military. These two prototypes underwent trials in late 1944. The complete vehicle was long, wide and high. Weighing about 188 metric tons, the Maus's main armament was the Krupp-designed 128 mm KwK 44 L/55 gun, based on the 12.8 cm Pak 44 towed anti-tank gun also used in the casemate-type '' Jagdtiger'' tank destroyer, with a coaxial 75 mm KwK 44 L/36.5 gun. The 128 mm gun was powerful enough to destroy all Allied armored fighting vehicles in service at the time, with some at ranges exceeding . The principal problem in the design of the ''Maus'' was developing an engine and drivetrain powerful enough to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caliber (length)
In artillery, caliber or calibre''Caliber'' is the American English spelling, while ''calibre'' is used in British English. is the internal diameter of a gun barrel, or, by extension, a relative measure of the barrel length. Rifled barrels Rifled barrels introduce ambiguity to measurement of caliber. A rifled bore consists of alternating grooves and lands. The distance across the bore from groove to groove is greater than the distance from land to land. Projectiles fired from rifled barrels must be of the full groove-to-groove diameter to be effectively rotated by the rifling, but the caliber has sometimes been specified as the land-to-land diameter before rifling grooves were cut. The depth of rifling grooves (and the consequent ambiguity) increases in larger calibers. Steel artillery projectiles may have a forward bourrelet section machined to a diameter slightly smaller than the original land-to-land dimension of the barrel and a copper driving band somewhat larger than ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
5 Cm Pak 38
The 5 cm Pak 38 (L/60) (''5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 38 (L/60)'') was a German anti-tank gun of 50 mm calibre. It was developed in 1938 by Rheinmetall-Borsig AG as a successor to the 3.7 cm Pak 36, and was in turn followed by the 7.5 cm Pak 40. The unique curved gun-shield design differed from most WWII anti-tank guns which had either one flat or two angled and one flat gun-shield plates for ease of manufacturing. Development After the Spanish Civil War, the German authorities started to think that a new anti-tank gun would be needed, even though the 3.7 cm Pak 36 had proven to be very successful. They asked Rheinmetall-Borsig to produce a new and more capable AT-gun. They first designed the Pak 37 in 1935, but the German authorities did not approve it because of its low capabilities. Rheinmetall-Borsig were forced to create a new gun with a longer - L/60 - barrel which was approved for mass production in 1939 under the designation Pak 38. Variants The original ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jagdtiger
The ''Jagdtiger'' ("Hunting Tiger"; officially designated ''Panzerjäger Tiger Ausf. B'') is a German casemate-type heavy tank destroyer (''Jagdpanzer'') of World War II. It was built upon the slightly lengthened chassis of a Tiger II. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 186. The 72-tonne ''Jagdtiger'' was the heaviest armored fighting vehicle (AFV) used operationally by any nation in WWII and the heaviest combat vehicle of any type to be produced during the conflict. It was armed with a 12.8 cm Pak 44 L/55 main gun which could out-range and defeat any AFV fielded by the Allied forces. It saw brief service in small numbers from late 1944 until the end of the war on both the Western and Eastern Front. Although 150 were ordered, only around 80 were produced. Due to an excessive weight and an underpowered drivetrain system, the ''Jagdtiger'' was plagued with mobility and mechanical problems. Three ''Jagdtigers'' survive in museums. Development With the success of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armoured Fighting Vehicle
An armoured fighting vehicle (British English) or armored fighting vehicle (American English) (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by vehicle armour, armour, generally combining operational mobility with Offensive (military), offensive and defense (military), defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or Continuous track, tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armored car (military), armoured cars, assault guns, Self-propelled artillery, self-propelled artilleries, infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), and armoured personnel carriers (APC). Armoured fighting vehicles are classified according to their characteristics and intended role on the battlefield. The classifications are not absolute; two countries may classify the same vehicle differently, and the criteria change over time. For example, relatively lightly armed armoured personnel carriers were largely superseded by infantry fighting vehicles with much heavier armament in a similar role. Successful designs are often ada ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
