I have plans to build AFV Club's German halftrack with the Pak 40 gun, but wondered how effective it was in use. What about the gun alone? What could and couldn't it do? Thanks.

Some specs for the PAK 40 L/46 from an old WWII Fact File publication:

Muzzle velocity (AP40 ammo) 933 m/s (3060 ft/s)
Shell weight (AP) 6.8 kg (15lb)
Shell weight (AP40) 3.2kg (7lb)
Armour penetration (AP) 106mm at 500 yards (30*)
Armour penetration (AP40) 115mm at 500 yards (30*)

Hi,

In an ambush role it can be very effective. From 500 to 1000 meters it can knock out all but the very heavy tanks....

If you want to kill an Su122 your gonna have to let him get pretty close.... and hope the first shot does it....


Penatration at 30deg
______________________________________________________
Pzgr39 100m / 106 500m / 96 1000m / 85 1500m/ 74
Pzgr40 100m / 143 500m / 120 1000m / 97 1500m/ 77

These numbers are from Encyclopedia of German Tanks of WWII
by Doyle, Chanberlain, and Jentz

Gray

From internet source (Wikipedia):

The weapon was effective against almost every Allied tank until the end of the war, with the exception of the Soviet IS-2 and the American M26 Pershing. However it was much heavier than the PaK 38, decreasing its mobility to the point where it was difficult or impossible to move without an artillery tractor on boggy ground.

But then that does not matter because you've got your halftrack to pull it!

Everything else I think has been covered already.
Harry

Check out what a motivated Flemish warrior did with it;
http://www.geocities.com/wolfram55/rschrijnen.html

Joinmypit
Jointhepit

Don't let "experts(who where infants at the time) tell you that it was impossible to nock out this or that tank, with this or that weapon.
Humans never stop at the first try!
Look at all those Abraham losses in Iraq, and that's facing a amateur "army".
Lucky the Yanks only got their Ronsons on the continent when there was only a shadow left of the Heer.

Yeah, the gun could be used to the end of WWII to knock out enemy tanks.

As has been written above socalled "invincible" tanks are still being knocked out with very simple means in Iraq, chechenya etc. So a PAK 40 would still be very useful at the end of WWII.

All those Abrams losses in Iraq? I think there were maybe three lost due to hostile fire. One of those was a huge IED.

Shaun
/Could be wrong, of course.

There exists a memoir of a German AT gun crewman who eventually used the Pak 40. He mentions how once his gun was hidden in an approach route for attacking T-34s. It was constructed where the gun could be swung 360 degrees using the trail arms to rotate the gun. After several T-34s got past his position, his gun fired onto their thinner rear armor.

The book is by Folkestad , William "Panzerjager"