KwK38 (20 mm)

Description

The KwK38 (20 mm) was an improved version of the KwK30 (20 mm), having almost double the fire rate than its predecessor. It is used on the later version of the Panzer II - the Pz.II F.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• Sd.Kfz. 140/1
• Sd.Kfz.234/1
• Pz.II F

General info

The KwK38 has an extremely high rate of fire - 450 rounds per minute. It also has very good penetration, up to 48 mm at point-blank range. However, the penetration rate falls drastically at 500 m.

Available ammunition

• Default: API-T · HEFI-T* - Half of the shells (HEFI-T) are useless against tanks while the other 50% (API-T) is useless against planes. However, this belt is reliable against open-topped or lightly armored vehicles like SPAA vehicles.
• Sprgr.: HEFI-T*
• PzGr: API-T - This belt offers a good transition from the Default to the PzGr 40 APCR belt. The round offers decent use and damage against lightly armored tanks, especially at close range. Due to lack of high-explosive filler however, it is better to focus on the PzGr 40 belt to maximize penetration power.
• PzGr 40: HVAP-T - This belt is best for fighting tanks. While the damage effects post-penetration are quite poor, the rapid-fire from the autocannon will wreck most tanks at this BR. In close combat, these shells should be used against modules and crew members to make the most of each shell. Against angled armor, however, the APCR ammo may not be very effective, just like any other APCR shell.

Penetration statistics
Belt	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Default	37	34	23	14	9	6
Sprgr.	2	2	2	2	2	2
PzGr	37	34	23	14	9	6
PzGr 40	48	45	31	20	13	8

Comparison with analogues

• Germany - KwK30 (20mm)
• Great Britain - Oerlikon Mk.II (20 mm)

Usage in battles

The extremely high fire rate and excellent penetration of the KwK38 allows enemy tanks to be killed quickly. Try not to "spray-n-pray", as you will quickly use up all your ammo, and allow enemies to fire back and destroy you during your long reload time. After shooting at enemies, take cover to reload. Try to avoid long-range engagements, as the penetration rate drops off rapidly at around 500 m.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Extremely high fire rate
• High penetration at close/medium ranges when using PzGr 40 belt with HVAP-T
• Better fire rate and penetration when compared to other 20 mm cannons at its rank

Cons:

• Relatively long reload of 7.8 seconds when stock
• Small magazine, only has 10 shells
• Because of the high fire rate and small magazine, it is easy to waste all your ammo in a few seconds.

History

Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />.

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

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• encyclopedia page on the weapon;
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