German 7,5cm Pak 40 shell crate, above two photos. This crate is marked: Patr. 7,5cm Pak. 40 Heeres Munition Gesamtgewict 39,0 kg. This crate originally contained three complete rounds of ammunition for the Pak 40 cannon. This crate was recovered from Lithuania in 2013. |
Country: Germany Type: 7,5cm Pak 40 Model: Panzerabwehrkanone 40 L/46 Manufacturer: bwp - Berlin Anhaltische Maschinenbau AG, Dessau Date: 1944 (Estimate) Serial Number: Fl. 4047 R1518 |
Right side of the WWII German 7,5cm Pak 40 anti-tank gun, above photo. Development of the German 7,5cm Pak 40 began in 1939. Development contracts were placed at Krupp and Rheinmetall to develop a 7,5cm anti-tank gun. Priority of the project was initially low, but "Operation Barbarossa" in Russia, during 1941, and the introduction of the heavily armored Soviet KV-1 Tank, increased the priority. The first guns were delivered in November of 1941. By 1943, the Pak 40 formed the bulk of the German anti-tank artillery. Approximately 23,500 cannons were produced from 1941 through 1945. The Pak 40 weighs 3,150 lbs and is 20.3' in length. Other versions of the 7,5cm gun produced by Germany were the Panzer IV's KwK 40 L/43 (Kampfwagenkanone 40) and StuK 40 L/43 (Sturmkanone 40), 43 calibers in barrel length, or slightly shorter than the PaK 40. Later the L/43 guns were upgraded to L/48 which became the standard until the end of the war. The German 7,5cm Pak 40, shown above, is a late war variant with modified wheels incorporating holes through the tires to save rubber. This German 7,5cm Pak 40 is a BATFE compliant non-gun. |
Two German 7,5cm Shell Casings, above photo. The German Pak 40 used the model 6340 shell casing with C/12nA percussion fired primer. The suffix "St" was applied to the shell casing or primer type if it was made of "Stahl" or Steel, i.e. 6340 St or C/12nASt. |
German WWII Pak 40 Cleaning Rod, top of photo. German WWII Pak 40 Bore Brush, bottom of photo |
German WWII 7,5cm Pak 40 shell carrier lid, above two photos. This lid is marked for a single round of Pak 40 7,5cm Panzergranate (Armor Piercing) Patronen (Ammunition) Model 39. |
German WWII Pak 40 Barrel and Breech, above two photos. The top of the barrel, in front of the gun shield, is marked FL 074 bwp with the WaffenAmt code WaA859. Traces of the original ordnance tan paint can be seen on the barrel and breech. The breech is marked BS. FL. 4047 bwp above Vl. Fl. 047 bwp R1518. This Pak 40 has been removed from the BATFE list of destructive devices by the drilling of a 75mm hole in the bottom of the barrel in front of the breach and the permanent welding of the breech closed. |
German WWII Pak 40 Gunners Controls and Breech, above two photos. |
German WWII Pak 40 Wheel and Optics Mounts, above two photos. |
Four German Pak 40 Shell Casings with one shell storage container, above photo. |
Restored German 7,5cm Pak 40 shell casings and shipping container, August 2020, above photo. These five 7,5cm PAK 40 shell casings were restored by QuestMasters Museum in August 2020. All five shell casings were crushed glass blasted to bare metal and phosphate coated as was done by the original manufacturer during World War Two. The shell shipping container shown in the foreground was also restored by QuestMasters. It was crushed glass blasted to bare metal, painted in red oxide primer and painted in German ordnance tan. These items can be seen unrestored in the previous photos. The shell casing stencils are available on the Restoration Products Page, under the German Ordnance section. |
U.S. Army Signal Corps Photo SC186366, above photo. This Signal Corps photo SC186366, found by QuestMasters Museum at the National Archives, College Park, Maryland, July 29th 1943, Finale, Sicily, "Lt. P. A. Romano, right (45th Division, Coast Artillery) and a group of American Soldiers inspect some captured German equipment at Finale, Sicily." Shown here are multiple shell storage containers for the German Pak 40 anti-tank gun and one single round of 7,5cm Panzergranate 39, armor-piercing ammunition. |