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Anti-tank guns (towed or self-propelled) are cannons or guns designed to destroy enemy armored vehicles〔OXFORD Advanced Lerner`s DICTIONARY opf Current English, NEW EDITION, Cornelsen & OXFORD, A S Hornby, 5th edition, page 42.〕 normally from defensive positions. In order to penetrate vehicle armor they fire anti-tank ammunition〔 MILITÄRISCHES STUDIENGLOSAR ENGLISCH Teil II/ Teil III, Deutsch – Englisch, Abkürzung Begriff, Bundessprachenamt (Stand Januar 2001), page. 283, anti-tank ammunition.〕 from longer-barreled guns to achieve higher muzzle velocity than field artillery weapons, e.g. howitzers. The higher velocity, flatter trajectory ballistics provide terminal kinetic energy to penetrate the moving/static target's armor at a given range and contact's angle. Any field artillery cannon with barrel length 15 to 25 times longer than its caliber was able also to fire anti-tank ammunition, such as the Soviet A-19. == World War II== Prior to World War II few anti-tank guns had (or needed) calibers larger than 50 mm. Examples of guns in this class include the German 37 mm, US 37 mm (the largest gun able to be towed by the jeep), French 25 mm and 47 mm guns, British QF 2-pounder (40 mm), Italian 47 mm and Soviet 45 mm. All of these light weapons could penetrate the thin armor found on most pre-war and early war tanks. At the start of World War II many of these weapons were still being used operationally, along with a newer generation of light guns that closely resembled their WWI counterparts. After Soviet T-34 and KV tanks were encountered these guns were recognized as ineffective against sloped armor, with the German lightweight 37 mm gun quickly nicknamed the "tank door knocker" (), for revealing its presence without penetrating the armor. Germany quickly introduced more powerful anti-tank guns, some which had been in the early stages of development prior to the war. By late 1942 the Germans had an excellent 50-mm high-velocity design, while they faced the QF 6-pounder introduced in the North African Campaign by the British Army, and later adopted by the US Army. By 1943 Wehrmacht was forced to adopt still larger calibers on the Eastern Front, the 75 mm and the famous 88 mm guns. The Red Army used a variety of 45 mm, 57 mm, and 100 mm guns, as well as deploying general-purpose 76.2 mm and 122-mm guns in the anti-tank role. For the Invasion of Normandy the British QF 17 pounder, whose design had begun before the 6 pounder entered service, was produced that proved to be a highly effective anti-tank gun also used as a tank and tank destroyer gun. 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「Anti-tank gun」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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