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The 7.5 cm Pak 41 was one of the last German anti-tank guns brought into service and used in World War II and notable for being one of the largest anti-tank guns to rely on the Gerlich principle (pioneered by the German gun-designer Hermann Gerlich, who developed the principle in the 1920s, reportedly for a hunting rifle) to deliver a higher muzzle velocity and therefore greater penetration in relation to its size.〔("Mile-A-Second Rifle Bullet Is Squeezed In Firing" ) ''Popular Mechanics'', August 1933〕 It is similar to but distinct from the Waffe 0725, which while based on the Gerlich principle also, had a different barrel calibre. ==Design and development == Designed and built by Krupp AG to compete with the Rheinmetall 7.5 cm Pak 40, the Pak 41 was intended from the onset to take advantage of the Gerlich principle to increase shot velocity. In addition to its squeeze bore design and the use of a tungsten core flanged shell, the Pak 41 incorporated several novel features. One feature was that the barrel was split into three distinct sections: the rear part was parallel-sided and conventionally rifled; the central part was unrifled and tapered down; at the muzzle end, the last was parallel-sided again but remained unrifled. Another novel feature was the attachment of the split trail legs and solid rubber tires directly to the gun shield to save weight. The gun cradle was set inside a special ball mount attached to the gun shield. The cradle itself was cylindrical, covering the whole of the rear half of the barrel. The weight of the powder charge fired is 95 percent of the weight of the projectile, which had an estimated velocity of approximately 1200 m/s (4,000 f/s), and a penetration of 15 cm (5.94 inches) of homogeneous armor at 900 m (1,000 yards). The reinforced breech is of the vertical wedge type, with a semi-automatic action. Compared to the PaK 38 and the PaK 40, the appearance was long, low, and sturdy. The gun is sighted up to 1,500 meters; the sight has four scales for use according to the actual muzzle velocity of the gun. The barrel life is provisionally estimated as 500 to 600 rounds. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「7.5 cm Pak 41」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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