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Plate 014 · Anti-Tank · World War II

7.5 cm Pak 40

The Wehrmacht's standard anti-tank gun from 1942 onward — feared on every front.

7.5 cm Pak 40 — Photograph by Bukvoed
Photograph by Bukvoed · CC BY 4.0View on Wikimedia Commons →

Historical Record

Provenance & Service

Rheinmetall's Pak 40 entered service in late 1941 to counter heavy Soviet tanks like the T-34 and KV-1. With APCBC ammunition it could penetrate 96 mm of armour at 1,000 m. Over 23,000 were produced. After 1945 it served on with many post-war armies and remains the archetypal mid-war anti-tank gun.