The 5 cm KwK 39 L/60(5 cm Kampfwagenkanone 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.[1] 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 It was later superseded by the 7.5 cm KwK 40 L/43.
5 cm KwK 39/1 from a Sd. Kfz. 234/2 Schwerer Panzerspähwagen "Puma"
It was also mounted on the Sd.Kfz. 234/2 heavy armoured car, and adapted for mounting in the Me 410 aircraft.
The gun was developed as a variant of the 5 cm Pak 38 towed anti-tank gun.[2] On the Panzer III, it replaced the 5 cm KwK 38, which had an L/42 calibre length 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. Therefore, as time went on, the Panzer III was no longer effective as a medium tank that could engage in fights with enemy tanks. So, a new role for the Panzer III tank was found. On the Panzer III, the 5 cm KwK 39 was phased out in favor of the shorter but larger calibre 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 low velocity guns[1] that could fire more effective HE and HEAT rounds. HE howitzer type rounds with explosive forces and shrapnel were very effective against infantry, machine gun nests and towed enemy guns on the battlefield. However, early HEAT rounds were somewhat unreliable. They were useful against hardened fortifications and had a good, though limited, capability against enemy armour. Thus, they were used against enemy tanks mostly in an emergency. With these changes, the Panzer III with the 7.5 cm KwK became an infantry support tank late in its career, while the new, much more capable 7.5 cm KwK 40 L/43 was mounted on the larger Panzer IV Ausf. F2 (and the longer L/48 on subsequent Ausf. versions) to fight the KV and T-34 tanks.
Ammunition
Average penetration performance established against rolled homogenous steel armour plate laid back at 30° from the vertical. KwK 39 used shell 50×419 mm. R
^Bird, Lorrin Rexford; Livingston, Robert D. (2001). WWII Ballistics: Armor and Gunnery. Overmatch Press. p. 61.
^. WWIIvehicles.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
December 31, 2022
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The 5 cm KwK 39 L 60 5 cm Kampfwagenkanone 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 1 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 5 cm KwK 39 1 from a Sd Kfz 234 2 Schwerer Panzerspahwagen Puma It was also mounted on the Sd Kfz 234 2 heavy armoured car and adapted for mounting in the Me 410 aircraft Contents 1 History 2 Ammunition 3 Vehicles mounted on 4 Aerial version 5 See also 5 1 Weapons of comparable role performance and era 6 ReferencesHistory EditThe gun was developed as a variant of the 5 cm Pak 38 towed anti tank gun 2 On the Panzer III it replaced the 5 cm KwK 38 which had an L 42 calibre length 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 Therefore as time went on the Panzer III was no longer effective as a medium tank that could engage in fights with enemy tanks So a new role for the Panzer III tank was found On the Panzer III the 5 cm KwK 39 was phased out in favor of the shorter but larger calibre 7 5 cm KwK 37 L 24 low velocity guns 1 that could fire more effective HE and HEAT rounds HE howitzer type rounds with explosive forces and shrapnel were very effective against infantry machine gun nests and towed enemy guns on the battlefield However early HEAT rounds were somewhat unreliable They were useful against hardened fortifications and had a good though limited capability against enemy armour Thus they were used against enemy tanks mostly in an emergency With these changes the Panzer III with the 7 5 cm KwK became an infantry support tank late in its career while the new much more capable 7 5 cm KwK 40 L 43 was mounted on the larger Panzer IV Ausf F2 and the longer L 48 on subsequent Ausf versions to fight the KV and T 34 tanks Ammunition EditAverage penetration performance established against rolled homogenous steel armour plate laid back at 30 from the vertical KwK 39 used shell 50 419 mm R PzGr Armour piercing Weight of projectile 2 06 kg 4 lb 9 oz Muzzle velocity 835 m s 2 740 ft s Penetration 3 Range 100 m 330 ft 500 m 1 600 ft 1 000 m 3 300 ft 1 500 m 4 900 ft 2 000 m 6 600 ft Penetration 67 mm 2 6 in 57 mm 2 2 in 44 mm 1 7 in 34 mm 1 3 in PzGr 39 Armour piercing capped ballistic cap Weight of projectile 2 06 kg 4 lb 9 oz Muzzle velocity 835 m s 2 740 ft s Penetration 3 Range 100 m 330 ft 500 m 1 600 ft 1 000 m 3 300 ft 1 500 m 4 900 ft 2 000 m 6 600 ft Penetration 69 mm 2 7 in 59 mm 2 3 in 48 mm 1 9 in 37 mm 1 5 in PzGr 40 Armour piercing composite rigid Weight of projectile 0 9 kg 2 lb 0 oz Muzzle velocity 1 180 m s 3 900 ft s Penetration 3 Range 100 m 330 ft 500 m 1 600 ft 1 000 m 3 300 ft 1 500 m 4 900 ft 2 000 m 6 600 ft Penetration 130 mm 5 1 in 72 mm 2 8 in 38 mm 1 5 in PzGr 40 1 Armour piercing composite rigid Weight of projectile 1 06 kg 2 lb 5 oz Muzzle velocity 1 130 m s 3 700 ft s Penetration 3 Range 100 m 330 ft 500 m 1 600 ft 1 000 m 3 300 ft 1 500 m 4 900 ft 2 000 m 6 600 ft Penetration 116 mm 4 6 in 76 mm 3 0 in Calculated penetration figures at 90 degrees using American and British 50 success criteria 4 Gun type Ammunition type Muzzle velocity m s Penetration mm 100 m 500 m 1000 m 1500 m 2000 m5 0 cm KwK 39 L 60 Pzgr 39 APCBC 835 m s 2 740 ft s 102 85 68 54 435 0 cm KwK 39 L 60 Pzgr 40 APCR 1 180 m s 3 900 ft s 149 108 72 56 485 cm Sprgr Patr 38 High explosive 5 Weight of projectile 1 82 kg 4 lb 0 oz Muzzle velocity 550 m s 1 800 ft s Vehicles mounted on EditPanzerkampfwagen III Sd Kfz 141 1 Ausf J to M serial production 1 Several earlier models were re equipped with this gun Sd Kfz 234 2 eight wheel armoured carAerial version EditBordkanone series BK 5 heavy caliber autocannonSee also Edit5 cm KwK 38 Rheinmetall BK 5Weapons of comparable role performance and era Edit British Ordnance QF 6 pounder Soviet 57 mm anti tank gun M1943 ZiS 2 References Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to 5 cm KwK 39 a b c Rottman Gordon L 2008 M3 Medium Tank Vs Panzer III Kasserine Pass 1943 Osprey Publishing p 20 ISBN 978 1 84603 261 5 Rottman Gordon L p 4 5 a b c d Ankerstjerne Christian Armor Penetration Table PanzerWorld com Bird Lorrin Rexford Livingston Robert D 2001 WWII Ballistics Armor and Gunnery Overmatch Press p 61 Germany s 50 mm Guns WWIIvehicles com Archived from the original on 24 October 2014 Retrieved 24 October 2014 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 5 cm KwK 39 amp oldid 1112367494, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
