The Gun Self-Propelled 17pdr was a Self Propelled Anti Tank vehicle designed in 1942, manufactured by Vickers-Armstrong, it was based on the fully tracked Valentine chassis and was in use from 1943 to 1945. It was commonly called a Archer. General Details (SP Anti Tank) Specifications Operational Date(s) 1943 - 1945 Quantity Produced 655 Weight 15 tonne Crew 4 M.G's small n/a M.G's large(>10mm) n/a Length 6.77 mtr Width 2.66 mtr Height 2.26 mtr Engine Details/Performance Max Road Speed 20 mph Max Cross Country Speed 8 mph Range Road 140 miles Range Cross Country 56 miles Fuel Type Diesel Fuel Capacity unknown Horse Power 192 hp Power/Weight 12 hp/tonne General Information The Gun Self-Propelled 17pdr was a Self Propelled Anti Tank vehicle designed in 1942, manufactured by Vickers-Armstrong, it was based on the fully tracked Valentine chassis and was in use from 1943 to 1945. It was commonly called a Archer. The vehicle was powered by GMC '6-71 6-cylinder diesel' diesel powerplant producing 192 HP which could drive the vehicle on roads at up to 20 mph with a range of about 140 miles before refuelling. Its cross country performance was adequate providing a max speed of about 8 mph and a range of about 56 miles. Its main armament consisted of an Ordnance Q.F. 17pdr weighing 6.100 kg and with a maximum range of 10,000 metres. The archer was a modified Valentine tank with a 17pdr gun in an open barbette facing towards the rear of the vehicle. Armour Details Turret Front 65mm @ 0° (65mm) Side 60mm @ 0° (60mm) Rear 60mm @ 0° (60mm) Top 10mm @ 90° (10mm) Superstructure Front 30mm @ 68° (80mm) Side 60mm @ 0° (60mm) Rear 60mm @ 0° (60mm) Top 10mm @ 90° (10mm) Hull Front 60mm @ 21° (64mm) Side 60mm @ 0° (60mm) Rear 60mm @ 0° (60mm) Top 10mm @ 90° (10mm) Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°) Effective Armour - Maximum 80 mm - Minimum 10 mm Weapon Details Ordnance Q.F. 17pdr (Anti Tank Gun) Manufactured 1942 - unknown Calibre 76.20mm Length L/55 Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content 17pdr MkI - MkIII (AP Armor Piercing) 76.20mm 7.65Kg 950M/Sec Quoted Penetration 130mm@915m Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.11 0.21 0.44 0.9 1.39 1.91 2.45 3.02 Penetration(mm@30°) 142 138 132 120 109 99 90 82 Penetration(mm@0°) 164 160 153 139 126 115 105 95 Hit Probability(%) 93 93 93 87 77 64 52 23 17pdr HE/Red (HE High Explosive) 76.20mm 6.1Kg 550M/Sec 0.480Kg explosive Maximum Range not shown as gun elevation is limited Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.18 0.37 0.76 1.57 2.44 3.36 4.34 5.38 lateral dispersion means the side to side variation of the shell from the aiming point 50%(CEP) of shells land within +/- (mtr) 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.21 0.32 0.43 0.53 0.64 80% of shells land within +/- (mtr) 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.27 0.41 0.55 0.68 0.82 95% of shells land within +/- (mtr) 0.24 0.24 0.24 0.41 0.63 0.84 1.04 1.25 range dispersion means the back to front variation of the shell from the aiming point 50%(CEP) of shells land within +/- (mtr) 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.27 0.40 0.53 0.67 0.80 80% of shells land within +/- (mtr) 0.19 0.19 0.19 0.35 0.51 0.68 0.86 1.02 95% of shells land within +/- (mtr) 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.53 0.78 1.04 1.31 1.57 Direct Fire Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.18 0.37 0.77 1.61 2.52 3.51 4.57 Hit Probability(%) 93 93 90 64 35 14 8 Blast/Fragmentation Effects Burst radius Infantry in open 99% kill 2 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 66% kill 5 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 33% kill 13 mtr  Armour Penetration inc roof at 1 mtr 1 mm An explosion within 2 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 99% casualties - lethal. An explosion within 5 mtr of infantry in the open will cause > 66% casualties and could damage some AFV's. An explosion within 13 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 penetrate 1 mm of the tank armour including the roof. About Penetration Figures All penetration figures in this database are calculated to a common standard based on German WWII testing criteria (complete penetration with functioning fuze). This allows direct comparison between all nations' guns. Original national test figures would be higher for some nations due to different criteria: German: 1.00? (baseline - strictest) British: 1.02? (slightly looser) American: 1.05? (50% mass through plate) Soviet: 1.10? (75% mass through plate) For example, a Soviet gun showing 159mm here would be published as ~175mm in Soviet documents, and a German gun showing 120mm would be published as 120mm in German documents. The 159mm figure is directly comparable to the German 120mm - the Soviet gun really was more powerful. National Testing Standards German: 1.00? - Complete penetration, fuze functions (strictest) British: 1.02? - Complete penetration American: 1.05? - 50% of shell mass through plate Soviet: 1.10? - 75% of shell mass through plate All database figures are normalized to German standard for direct comparison. Multiply by the factor above to see original national test figures.

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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