PaK 35/36 (PanzerAbwehrKanone 35/36)

History

The 3.7 cm PaK 35/36 ("PaK" stands for "PanzerAbwehrKanone") was the standard anti-tank gun of the Wehrmacht during the 1939 German invasion. Like other German systems being developed in the 1930s, the PaK 35/36 was tested in the Spanish Civil War with good results. The PaK 35/36 demonstrated the importance of portable, crew-operated anti-tank weapon systems, especially in these early campaigns.

But by 1940, increasingly thicker armor had appeared on British, French, and Russian enemy tanks, causing the light PaK 35/36 system to quickly fall out of favor as a front-line tank killer. Rheinmetall began developing this special anti-tank gun for the German Army as early as 1925.

Reportedly, 14,459 PaK 35/36 systems were delivered and production began in 1928.

The PaK 35/36 is a light battlefield weapon that can be maneuvered into place with relative ease by its crew and towed to hot spots by pack animals or vehicles. Her relatively small size also allows her crew to hide, an advantage when ambushing unsuspecting enemy vehicles. The main force behind the PaK 35/36 is its powerful 37mm L/45 barrel, which is embedded in a sloping armored shield, supported on both sides by two wheels and held in place by two separate tubular legs. The wheels were originally a spoked wheel type used to improve horse traction, as at this point in history the German army was still heavily reliant on animal-powered artillery, but these eventually gave way in 1934 to steel wheels with pneumatic tires, now producing PaK The 35/36 system is suitable for towing by vehicle.

The three crew members were relatively unprotected while loading and firing their weapons - save for shields and any other natural protection.

Ammunition types include armor-piercing, high-velocity, high-explosive, and shaped projectiles. Height is limited to -5 t +25 and lateral to 60 degrees. The armor-piercing projectile has a muzzle velocity of 2,500 feet, and the HVAP and APCR projectiles have a muzzle velocity of 3,400 feet.

The effective range is about 2,000 feet (other sources report a much lower effective range).

On the Western Front, the PaK 35/36 excelled against lightly armoured vehicles of the Spanish Civil War, proving to be just as powerful as the Polish Wehrmacht over the years. When confronting the British Matilda II and the French Char B1 heavy tanks, the range of the weapon is quickly stretched to its limits - PaK 35/36 projectiles bounce off the thick armor of these steel beasts. On the Eastern Front, the PaK 35/36 remained in front-line service in 1940, albeit officially replaced by the 5cm PaK 38 series of towed guns.

However, it still proved effective against the Russian BT-7 and T-26 series of light tanks, but the arrival of the sturdy T-34 medium series (and even the bulky KV-1 and KV-2 heavy models) eliminated this usefulness Sexual PaK 35/36 is completely obsolete. Its ineffectiveness at this point earned the PaK 35/36 the appropriate nickname "Heeresanklopfgerat", meaning "the door knocker of the army".

An attempt was made to demonstrate the ineffectiveness of the PaK system by introducing a new type of projectile into the mix - the armor-piercing "Panzergranate 40" with a tungsten core. Unfortunately, the new cartridge did not bring additional penetration in practice, so an updated projectile - "Stielgranate 41" - was developed with a shaped charge and a stabilizing tail device . The tank, which entered service in 1942 with the PaK 35/36 and its new projectiles, had certain advantages, although the low muzzle velocity of the PaK 35/36 barrel itself meant that the crew had to get closer to the enemy tank's target than would otherwise be comfortable.

In general, production of the PaK 35/36 ceased from 1942 onwards, although the gun entered service in large numbers - purely in excess - and other larger caliber guns were designed and put into production alongside it. The PaK 35/36 proved useful in support roles, especially when mounted on mobile platforms such as the SdKfz 250 and SdKfz 251 half-tracks (when deployed in a light anti-tank support role).

Due to the portability of the weapon system, the Fallschirmjager ("parachute") troops also received this anti-tank gun as well as garrison and training troops. In any case, the PaK 35/36 secured its legacy by developing its own successful version by presenting a proven anti-tank weapon to many countries.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

Depends on network operator. Includes armor-piercing, high-velocity, high-explosive, and shaped charge types.

Changes