KwK40 L48 (75 mm)

Description

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Vehicles equipped with this weapon

L/43

• Pz.IV F2
• Pz.IV G

L/48

• ▀KW I C 756 (r)
• Pz.IV H
• Pz.IV J
• ▄Pz.IV G
• Pz.Bef.Wg.IV J

General info

The KwK 40 was a tank version of PaK 40 cannon. It is an excellent cannon, with high penetration and a decent explosive filler.

Available ammunition

• PzGr 39 - APCBC - This should be the main ammo type, as it deals the most damage because of its explosive filler.
• Hl.Gr. 38B - HEAT - it is recommended to completely avoid this kind of shell as its performance is vastly inferior in all aspects compared to APCBC or APCR ammo used by this tank.
• PzGr 40 - APCR - This type of ammo should be used only if there will be trouble penetrating the opponent, or trying to hit a fast-moving tank at some distance. However, its damaging potential is much lower because it has no explosive filler to further enhance damage after the penetration. Use it against heavily armoured foes, that the PzGr 39 cannot penetrate.
• Sprgr. 34 - HE - Carry only very few of these. They are useless against anything other than unarmoured AA vehicles.

Penetration statistics (L/43)
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	APCBC	137	135	123	110	98	88
Hl.Gr 38B	HEAT	80	80	80	80	80	80
PzGr 40	APCR	163	159	143	126	110	96
Sprgr. 34	HE	10	10	10	10	10	10

Penetration statistics (L/48)
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	APCBC	145	143	130	116	104	93
Hl.Gr 38B	HEAT	80	80	80	80	80	80
PzGr 40	APCR	182	177	159	140	122	107
Sprgr. 34	HE	10	10	10	10	10	10

Shell details (L/43)
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	APCBC	740	6.8	1.2	14.0	28.9	48°	63°	71°
Hl.Gr 38B	HEAT	450	4.4	N/A	0.1	872.1	62°	69°	73°
PzGr 40	APCR	919	4.1	N/A	N/A	N/A	66°	70°	72°
Sprgr. 34	HE	550	5.74	0.1	0.1	686	79°	80°	81°

Shell details (L/48)
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	APCBC	750	6.8	1.2	14.0	28.9	48°	63°	71°
Hl.Gr 38B	HEAT	450	4.4	N/A	0.1	872.1	62°	69°	73°
PzGr 40	APCR	930	4.1	N/A	N/A	N/A	66°	70°	72°
Sprgr. 34	HE	550	5.74	0.1	0.1	686	79°	80°	81°

Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Screen radius (m)	Screen deploy time (s)	Screen hold time (s)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
K.Gr.Rot Nb.	540	6.2	13	5	20	50

Comparison with analogues

• M1 (76 mm)

Usage in battles

This cannon is a jack-of-all-trades due to its very high accuracy and a low drop with good penetration over the different ranges it can be fired.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Medium-high velocity
• High penetration
• Due to the high penetration and decent explosive fillers, most tanks will only need one shot to be killed

Cons:

• Slow reload, plan your shots and retreat if necessary beforehand

History

The KwK 40 was developed as the intelligence reports from the USSR showed that they were developing tanks which were too heavy for the PaK 38 (50 mm) to penetrate.

The 7.5 cm KwK 40 (7.5 cm Kampfwagenkanone 40) was a German 75 mm Second World War era vehicle-mounted gun, used as the primary armament of the German Panzer IV (F2 models onwards) medium tank and the Sturmgeschütz III (F models onwards) and Sturmgeschütz IV tank destroyers/assault guns.

The design of the KwK 40 was adapted from the similar towed anti-tank gun, the 7.5 cm Pak 40. It replaced the short-barrel 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 close-support gun, providing a huge improvement in firepower for mid-war tank designs. It came in two versions, with L/43 and L/48 barrel lengths, the former used during 1942 and early 1943, and the latter after that point. Along with the Pak 40, the KwK 40/StuK 40 was the most numerous anti-tank gun of the German army, and remained an effective weapon until the war's end.

Media

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

See also

• The carriage mounted anti-tank version PaK 40/3 (75 mm)

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the weapon;
• other literature.

Italy tank cannons
20 mm	Breda Mod.35 · Fucile Controcarri S Mod.39
25 mm	Oerlikon KBA B02
37 mm	Vickers-Terni 37/40 mod.18
47 mm	47/32 mod.35 · 47/32 mod.39 · 47/40 mod.38
60 mm	Cannone da 60/70 · OTO HVG
75 mm	75/18 mod.34 · 75/32 mod.37 · 75/34 mod.39 · Ansaldo 75 L/34 · OTO 75/43 mod.40
90 mm	90/53 mod.41 · Cannone da 90/50 M3A1 · Cockerill Mk.3
100 mm	Cannone da 100/17 Mod.1914
105 mm	Cannone Ansaldo da 105/25 · OTO Melara 105/52 · OTO Melara 105/55
106 mm	Cannone da 106 s.r.M40A1
120 mm	OTO Breda 120/44 · OTO Melara 120/45
	Foreign:
30 mm	Bushmaster 2 Mk.44 (USA)
37 mm	M6 (USA)
75 mm	KwK37 (Germany) · KwK40 L48 (Germany) · M3 (USA) · M6 (USA) · StuK40 L48 (Germany)
76 mm	M1 (USA) · QF 17-pounder (Britain)
90 mm	M3 (USA)
105 mm	L7A3 (Germany) · M68 (USA)
155 mm	M126 (USA)
	Hungary
20 mm	Solothurn QF.36M
40 mm	37/42M · MÁVAG 41.M 40/51
75 mm	41.M · 43.M
105 mm	MÁVAG 40/43M
	Foreign:
30 mm	2A72 (USSR) · MK 30-2/ABM (Germany)
88 mm	KwK36 (Germany)
120 mm	Rh120 L/44 (Germany) · Rh120 L/55 A1 (Germany)
122 mm	2A31 (USSR)
125 mm	2A46 (USSR)