KwK42 (75 mm)

The 75 mm KwK42 on the VK 3002 (M) gun mantlet.

Description

The 75 mm KwK42 is the main cannon of the Panther tanks.

The cannon was designated as the PaK42 when mounted on Jagdpanzer IV tank destroyers, and featured some minor differences, such as lack of a muzzle brake and a thinner but longer breech block, due to the recoil buffers being mounted on top of the breech block instead of the sides. However, it still functions identically to the KwK42 in-game.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

KwK42 from a panther with the letterbox mantlet and recoil system included.

• VK 3002 (M)
• Panther A
• Panther D
• Panther G
• Ersatz M10
• ▂T-V
• Panther "Dauphiné"
• Panzer IV/70(V)
• Panzer IV/70(A)

General info

The KwK42 gun has shells with high muzzle velocity, but relatively low projectile mass, which along with a long reload makes it more suited for long range engagements.

Available ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
PzGr 39/42	APCBC	192	188	173	156	140	126
PzGr 40/42	APCR	228	224	204	182	162	145
Sprgr. 42	HE	13	12	11	11	11	11

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
PzGr 39/42	APCBC	935	6.8	1.2	14	28.9	48°	63°	71°
PzGr 40/42	APCR	1,120	4.75	-	-	-	66°	70°	72°
Sprgr. 42	HE	700	5.74	0.2	0.1	725	79°	80°	81°

Comparison with analogues

Give a comparative description of cannons/machine guns that have firepower equal to this weapon.

Usage in battles

With a much higher muzzle velocity compared to the preceding 75 mm cannon, the KwK42 can penetrate much more armour and fly in a flatter arc to allow for vehicle knock-outs from hundreds of metres away with greater degrees of range-estimating error.

The stock APCBC shell has enough power to frontally penetrate a M4A3E2 Jumbo. Although, this can be somewhat unpredictable: if the Jumbo is angling, the shell will bounce or shatter.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Fairly high muzzle velocity
• Accurate up to long distances
• Good penetration

Cons:

• Low explosive filler in AP rounds
• Long reload time

History

With the development of the new Panther tanks, a new gun (the KwK42) also had to be designed, as the KwK40 was seen as insufficient to deal with the new generation of Soviet tanks. Shells between these guns were near-identical allowing for easier manufacturing with the only difference being the larger driving band.

The PaK42 is a tank gun near identical to the KwK42, rather than a towed gun as the name would designate it as. The towed version may have been manufactured, though no evidence of such has been found.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

• M1 (76 mm)
• D-5S (85 mm)
• Ordnance QF 17-pounder (76 mm)

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.