The 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 ''(7.5 cm
Kampfwagenkanone 37 L/24)'' was a short-barreled,
howitzer
The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...
-like German 75 mm tank gun used during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, primarily as the main armament of the early
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 numer ...
tank. Slightly modified as StuK 37, it was also mounted in early
StuG III assault guns.
It was designed as a close-support infantry gun firing a
high-explosive shell (hence the relatively short barrel) but was also effective against the tanks it faced early in the war. From March 1942, new variants of the Panzer IV and StuG III had a derivative of the
7.5 cm PaK 40 anti-tank gun, the longer-barreled
7.5 cm KwK 40. When older Panzer IVs were up-gunned, their former KwK 37 guns were reused to arm later Panzer III tanks and other infantry support vehicles. In 1943, depleted stocks and demand for the Panzer III Ausf. N required restarting production of a slightly revised 7.5 cm K 51 L/24 ''(7.5 cm Kanone 51 L/24)''.
Ammunition
The KwK 37 used 75×243 mmR caliber.
*''K.Gr.rot.Pz.'' - Armour Piercing Capped
*''Kt. Kw. K.'' - Canister
*''Nbgr. Kw. K.'' - Smoke
*''Gr.38 Hl'' - High Explosive Anti-Tank
*''Gr.38 Hl/A'' - High Explosive Anti-Tank
*''Gr.38 Hl/B'' - High Explosive Anti-Tank
*''Gr.38 Hl/C'' - High Explosive Anti-Tank
7.5 cm Sprgr.34 - High Explosive
*Projectile weight:
*Explosive weight: (1900 Kilojoules)
PzGr. 39/43 Armour-piercing
*Projectile weight:
*Muzzle velocity:
Penetration comparison
Applications
7.5 cm KwK 37 / 7.5 cm K 37
*
Neubaufahrzeug
The German ("new construction vehicle"—a cover name), abbreviated as PzKpfw Nb.Fz, series of tank prototypes were a first attempt to create a medium tank for the Wehrmacht after Adolf Hitler had come to power. Multi-turreted, heavy and slow, ...
*
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.K ...
Ausf. N
*
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 numer ...
Ausf. A to F1
*
StuG III Ausf. A to E
*
Sd.Kfz. 233 ''Schwerer Panzerspähwagen''
*
Sd.Kfz. 251/9 ''Schützenpanzerwagen''
7.5 cm K 51
*
Sd.Kfz. 234/3 ''Schwerer Panzerspähwagen''
*
Sd.Kfz. 250/8 ''Schützenpanzerwagen''
*
Sd.Kfz. 251/9 ''Schützenpanzerwagen (Late-production Ausf. D)''
See also
*
Howitzer motor carriage M8, armed with 75mm American
M2 or M3 howitzer
Notes
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:7.5 cm Kwk 37
Tank guns of Germany
World War II artillery of Germany
75 mm artillery
World War II tank guns
Military equipment introduced in the 1930s