About
Pak 97/38 (7.5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 97/38) by the Nazi German army Wehrmacht II. It was a tank weapon used during World War II. The barrel part of the weapon belonged to the French -made Canon 75 Modèle 1897 ball and its swaddled 5 cm pak 38.
During the Polish campaign and the French campaign, thousands of 75 mm model 1897 were produced by Wehrmacht French manufacturer Schneider. These balls were used by the German army as 7.5 cm F.K.97 (P) and 7.5 cm F.K.231 (F).
In 1941, during the occupation of the Wehrmacht USSR, the new Soviet-made middle class T-34 and heavy class KV tanks. These tanks with thick and sloping armor were resistant to German tank weapons. For this reason, long -range and more effective tank weapons were needed against the tanks mentioned. In fact, the Germans had a 7.5 cm pak 40 balls suitable for this work and entered the service in November 1941. However, this weapon was not produced enough and a solution was needed to be used urgently.
In this case, the Germans decided to use all kinds of weapons in their hands. They decided to use the balls they seized from the French for this job. However, the barrel exit speed of the bullet was low in these balls. In addition, the angle of lateral firing remained only 6 degrees. The suspension system was very bad and the ball could be pulled at a maximum speed of 10–12 km. They solved this problem by assembling the 75 mm barrel in the more modern chassis of Pak 38. They used a wider barrel mouth to reduce the backfire created by the gunpowder. Heat bullets that do not require barrel exit speed were used in the weapon.
Interestingly, the American army also modernized this ball, M2a3 KMO, a 75mm tank ball.
In 1942, 2,854 units and 858 balls in 1943 entered the service. In 1943, 160 balls were produced as 7.5 cm PAK 40 tables (PAK 97/40). The cost of one of these balls was 9,000 Reichsmark, while this amount was 12,000 for a PAK 40. Production ended due to the development and production of more effective tank balls.
Pak 97/38 entered the service in the summer of 1942. Due to the backfire of the set, he did a little positive works until the end of the war. If the amounts of ammunition it uses are compared, it consumed 37,800 units in 1942 and 371,600 heat bullets in 1943. Even in the photographs of 1944, it is seen that this weapon is still in use. Even on March 1, 1945, Wehrmacht produced 145 pak 97/38 and F.K.231 (F) ball. But only 14 of them were used on the façade.
10 barrels were mounted on the T-26 light tank, which was experimentally looted from the Soviets, and tried to be developed under the name of 7.5 сm PAK 97/38 (F) AUF PZ.740 (R). This flutter motor balls on March 1, 1944 until the Marder III vehicles arrived 563.
This weapon was also used by the Finnish army during the war against the Red Army. In 1940, the Finns took this gun from France as a 75 mm Sahara ball. However, due to their very bad performance, Germany agreed to convert these weapons to Pak97/38 in 1943. 46 of them were transformed between March and June 1943. 7 The ball disappeared during the task. The remaining balls were used by Ordu until 1986.
Likewise, the Romanian army used these balls on the Eastern Front.
PAK 97/38 was used with bullets taken by French and Poland as booty. This ball has been a very useful tank ball with its light, good mobility and successful shots with Heat Tanksavar bullets. (Heat Bullet T-34 Tank armor was able to pierce all surfaces and KV tank armor side)
The weapon was a significant disadvantage of the weapon, with a low bullet barrel exit speed. However, this was not important in Heat bullets. However, this feature was ineffective over 500 meters. In addition, too much recoil was born when the armor piercing bullets were used.
There are doubts that German -made armor -piercing bullets are produced for PAK 97/38. A very few bullets of the Polish army were used very few.
The Heat bullet was able to cross a 90 ° angle of 90 mm and 75 mm with an angle of 60 °.