BK 3.7 (37 mm)

Description

The 37 mm BK 3.7 is a German autocannon that was used by the Luftwaffe during World War II. It was mounted on a variety of aircraft and also used by the Soviet Union, who captured a number of the guns from the Germans.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• Bf 110 G-2 (Suspended)
• Hs 129 B-2 (Suspended)
• Hs 129 B-2 (Romania) (Suspended)
• ▄Hs 129 B-2 (Romania) (Suspended)
• Ju 87 G-1
• Ju 87 G-2

General info

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Available ammunition

• Default: HVAP-T · HEF-T
• Armored targets: HVAP-T
• Air targets: HEF-T

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
HVAP-T	108	101	75	51	35	24
HEF-T	7	7	5	4	4	4

Shell details
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
						0%	50%	100%
HVAP-T	1,150	0.41	-	-	-	66°	70°	72°
HEF-T	914	0.55	0.4	0.2	108	79°	80°	81°

Comparison with analogues

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Usage in battles

Against armour, the 37 mm cannon should be used to fire at the roof or sides of medium tanks and light tanks. Against heavy tanks, the 37 mm should be used to knock out the engine, tracks or other important modules as it would not have sufficient penetration.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• HVAP-T shells have excellent penetration against armour

Cons:

• Packs a small amount of ammo in all but the Bf 110 G-2 gun pod
• HEF-T shell doesn't have as much effect as Minengeschoss from 30 mm
• Too slow rate of fire to be practical in a dogfight

History

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Media

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See also

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• reference to the article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;
• references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Wikipedia] Bordkanone 3,7 (BK 3,7)