The 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 ''(5 cm

Kampfwagenkanone (KwK) (German, 'fighting vehicle cannon') was the designation 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 ''Kampf ...

38 L/42)'' was a German 50 mm

calibre In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore match ...

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

used as the main armament of variants of the German Sd.Kfz. 141 Panzerkampfwagen III

medium tank A medium tank is a classification of tanks, particularly prevalent during World War II which represented a compromise between the mobility oriented light tanks and the armour and armament oriented heavy tanks. A medium tank's classification is ...

during the

Second World War 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 opposin ...

. (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

PaK 36 The Pak 36 (''Panzerabwehrkanone 36'') is a 3.7 cm / 37mm caliber German anti-tank gun used during the Second World War. It was the main anti-tank weapon of Wehrmacht ''Panzerjäger'' units until 1942. Developed by '' Rheinmetall'' in 19 ...

, 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 The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

.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. In response to increasingly better armed and armored opponents, the later Panzer III Ausf. F to Ausf. J were upgraded with the 5 cm KwK 38 L/42. And the later Panzer III Ausf. J¹ to M went with the longer 5 cm KwK 39 L/60 gun.Perrett (1999), p. 8.

Ammunition

Average penetration performance established against rolled homogenous steel armour plate laid back at 30° from the vertical. ;PzGr (Armour Piercing) * Weight of projectile: * Muzzle velocity: ; PzGr. 39 (

Armour-piercing, capped, ballistic cap Armour-piercing, capped, ballistic capped (APCBC) is a type of configuration for armour-piercing ammunition introduced in the 1930s to improve the armour-piercing capabilities of both Naval gun, naval and anti-tank guns. The configuration consis ...

) * Weight of projectile: 2.06 kg * Muzzle velocity: 685 m/s ;PzGr. 40 (

Armour-piercing, composite, rigid A shell, in a military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. Modern usage so ...

) * Weight of projectile: * Muzzle velocity:

Vehicles mounted on

Panzerkampfwagen III The ''Panzerkampfwagen 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) - Ausf. F to J (serial production), several earlier models were re-equipped with this gun. *

VK 20 The VK 20 series were the proposed replacements of the Panzer IV and Panzer III tanks with entries by MAN, Krupp and Daimler Benz. It was initially projected to weigh 20 tonnes, but grew to 24 tonnes. By November 1941, the designs almost reached c ...

series proposed replacement of the Panzer III and IV

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:5 cm Kwk 38 Tank guns of Germany World War II artillery of Germany 50 mm artillery World War II tank guns Military equipment introduced from 1940 to 1944