BK 3.7 (37 mm)

Description

The Bordkanone 3,7 (BK 3,7) ("on-board cannon 3.7") was a German 3.7 cm (1.46 in) anti-tank/bomber autocannon of World War II and based on the earlier 3.7 cm (1.46 in) 3.7 cm Flak 18.

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

Type: Aircraft cannon

Caliber: 3,7 cm (1,46) in

Available ammunition

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

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	108	101	75	51	35	24
Armored targets	108	101	75	51	35	24
Air targets	10	10	8	4	4	4

Belt details
Belt	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Armored targets	HVAP-T	1,150	0.41	N/A	N/A	N/A	66°	70°	72°
Air targets	HEF-T	914	0.55	1	0.5	108	79°	80°	81°

Comparison with analogues

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

Usage in battles

The Bk 3,7 can penetrate any tank or armored target at its battle rating. If attacking heavy tanks like KV-1 you should go for the roof of the enemy tank. Remember that your ammo count is very low so use your ammunition efficiently.

You should not fight airplanes using this cannon because the spread of the cannon is prettt bad.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• HVAP-T shells have excellent penetration against armour
• He shell shreds planes

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 dogfights
• Hard to hit to planes

History

BK 3,7 equipped ground attack aircraft were developed for tank hunting on the Eastern Front in an effort to blunt the massive numerical superiority of the Soviet T-34 tank as the war turned against Germany. The concept was rather rudimentary, suffered from poor accuracy, severe weight penalty making the craft vulnerable to fighters, and low ammunition capacity; but could be extremely effective when operated by a sufficiently skilled and practised ground-attack pilot, such as Hans-Ulrich Rudel in his BK 3,7 armed Junkers Ju 87G. 

Media

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

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• 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)