Germany 5.0cm KwK 38 L/42 5.0cm Kampfwagenkanone 38 L/42 (translates as Tank Gun)

Showing the details of the shells used(where known)   Tweet Weapon Details 5.0cm KwK 38 L/42 5.0cm Kampfwagenkanone 38 L/42 (translates as Tank Gun) History This gun armed the Panzer III F - J the later models were upgraded to use the 5cm KwK L/60 a more powerful gun Calibre 50mm Length L/42   5.0cm PzGr. 39 l/42 (AP Armor Piercing) 50mm 2.06Kg 600M/Sec Quoted Penetration 69mm @ 100mtr/0° Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.17 0.35 0.72 1.59 2.63 3.92 5.56 7.7 Penetration(mm@30°) 59 54 48 40 33 27 21 16 Penetration(mm@0°) 69 63 56 47 39 32 25 19 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 85 41 22 3 2 PzGr.40 APCR l/42 (AP40 Armour Piercing Tungsten Cored) 50mm 0.93Kg 1050M/Sec Quoted Penetration 115mm @ 100mtr/0° Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.1 0.2 0.43 0.98 1.72 2.75 4.29 6.87 Penetration(mm@30°) 90 81 71 57 45 33 24 16 Penetration(mm@0°) 104 94 82 66 52 39 28 19 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 98 77 39 15 3 5.0cm K.GrPz (APHE Armor Piercing High Explosive) 50mm 2.06Kg 500M/Sec Quoted Penetration 55mm @ 100mtr/0° Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.2 0.42 0.87 1.91 3.16 4.71 6.67 9.24 Penetration(mm@30°) 49 45 40 33 27 22 18 13 Penetration(mm@0°) 57 52 47 39 32 26 21 16 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 69 25 8 3 1 5cm Sprgr Patr (HE High Explosive) 50mm 1.78Kg 550M/Sec 0.165Kg explosive Maximum Range not shown as gun elevation is limited Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.19 0.38 0.79 1.73 2.87 4.28 6.06 8.39 Direct Fire Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.19 0.38 0.79 1.73 2.87 4.28 6.06 8.39 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 77 34 15 3 2 Blast/Fragmentation Effects Burst radius Infantry in open 99% kill 2 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 66% kill 4 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 33% kill 11 mtr  Armour Penetration inc roof at 1 mtr 0 mm An explosion within 2 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 99% casualties - lethal. An explosion within 4 mtr of infantry in the open will cause > 66% casualties and could damage some AFV's. An explosion within 11 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 33% casualties. The blast effect of this shell exploding within 1 mtr of an armoured vehicle will not cause any significant armour damage. Vehicles in our database using this gun Vehicle Name Common Name   PzKpfw III Ausf G Panzer III     PzKpfw III Ausf H Panzer III     PzKpfw III Ausf J Panzer III

Hit probability is based on a static 2 x 2.4 metre panel at 0 degrees(vertical) at the range specified.

The data that has been used to create these records has come from Wikipedia, The Lone Sentry, The Bundes Archive and numerous books and websites that have provided the detailed information that has not been available anywhere else. The information we use to calculate the penetration tables, flight times and the hit probability comes from the Gun Calibre, the Shell Mass(Kg) and the muzzle velocity, plus range reductions to allow for gravity and wind resistance. This calculation originally came from a pre-war Krupp calculation which has been modified, and seems to fit the actual test results.

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