Britain
Gun Self-Propelled 17pdr (Archer)

Tweet The Gun Self-Propelled 17pdr was designed in 1942, manufactured by Vickers-Armstrong based on the existing fully tracked Valentine and was in use from 1943 to 1945. General Details 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 designed in 1942, manufactured by Vickers-Armstrong based on the existing fully tracked Valentine and was in use from 1943 to 1945. 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 which could penetrate 170 mm of flat plate at 400 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 0.22 0.44 0.94 1.5 2.13 2.85 3.69 Penetration(mm@30°) 174 161 147 129 113 97 84 71 Penetration(mm@0°) 201 186 170 150 131 113 97 82 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 98 88 60 34 22 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 0.77 1.63 2.59 3.68 4.93 6.37 Direct Fire Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.18 0.37 0.77 1.63 2.59 3.68 4.93 6.37 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 98 81 44 22 8 3 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.

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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