3,7cm KPÚV vz. 34

3,7cm KPÚV vz. 34

In Armádní muzeum Žižkov
Type Anti-tank gun
Place of origin Czechoslovakia
Service history
In service 1934–1944
Used by Czechoslovakia
Slovakia
Nazi Germany
Wars World War II
Production history
Designed 1934
Manufacturer Škoda Works
Produced 1934–1939
Variants ÚV vz. 34 tank gun
Specifications (3,7cm KPÚV vz. 34)
Barrel length 1.48 m (4 ft 10 in) L/40

Shell fixed
Shell weight .85 kg (1 lb 14 oz)
Caliber 37.2 mm (1.46 in)
Breech semi-automatic
Carriage split trail
Rate of fire 12 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity 675 m/s (2,210 ft/s)
Effective firing range 1,000 m (1,100 yd)
Maximum firing range 4,000 m (4,400 yd)

The 3,7cm KPÚV vz. 34 (Czech: kanón proti útočné vozbě) (designated 3,7cm PaK 34(t) in German service) was an anti-tank gun produced by the Škoda Works in Czechoslovakia. Škoda's own designation for it was A3. It is not known if guns seized by German after the occupation of Bohemia-Moravia saw service in World War II. Slovakia acquired 113 when it declared independence from Czechoslovakia in March 1939.[1] The ÚV vz. 34 version that equipped the Czech LT vz. 35 tanks also seized was used during the war.

It was designed to a Czech Army requirement to penetrate 30 millimetres (1.2 in) of armor at 1,000 metres (1,100 yd) in 1934. It also fired a HE shell out to a maximum range of 4,000 metres (4,400 yd). The gun had a small shield and wooden-spoked wheels, although some were fitted with pneumatic wheels.[2]

The ÚV vz. 34 tank gun fired a .815 kg (1.80 lb) armor-piercing shell at 690 metres per second (2,300 ft/s). It was credited with penetrating a plate inclined at 30° from the vertical 37 millimetres (1.5 in) thick at 100 metres (110 yd), 31 millimetres (1.2 in) thick at 500 metres (550 yd), 26 millimetres (1.0 in) thick at 1,000 metres (1,100 yd), and 22 millimetres (0.87 in) thick at 1,500 metres (1,600 yd).[3] Another source quotes penetration of a vertical plate 45 millimetres (1.8 in) thick at 500 metres (550 yd). It was mounted on the T-32 (S-I-D) tank destroyer, as well as the LT vz. 34 and LT vz. 35 tanks built by the Czechs.[2]

Notes

  1. Kliment and Nakládal, p. 121
  2. 1 2 Kliment and Francev, p. 138
  3. Chamberlain and Doyle, p. 245

References

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