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The Ordnance Quick-Firing 17-pounder (or just 17-pdr)〔The British military often used the gun's projectile weight to denote different guns of the same calibre. Hence this was a 3-inch gun, of which there were several types in British service, which fired a projectile weighing approximately 〕 was a 76.2 mm (3 inch) gun developed by the United Kingdom during World War II. It was used as an anti-tank gun on its own carriage, as well as equipping a number of British tanks. It was the most effective Allied anti-tank gun of the war. Used with the APDS shot, it was capable of defeating all but the thickest armour on German tanks. It was used to 'up-gun' some foreign-built vehicles in British service, notably to produce the Sherman Firefly variant of the US M4 Sherman tank, giving British tank units the ability to hold their own against their German counterparts. In the anti-tank role, it was replaced after the war by the 120 mm BAT recoilless rifle. As a tank gun, it was succeeded by the 84 mm 20 pounder. ==History== Before the QF 6-pounder had entered service, the British predicted that it would soon be inadequate given the increasing armour of German tanks. In late 1940, design of a replacement was started, and was largely complete by the end of 1941. A prototype production line was set up that spring, and with the appearance of Tiger I tanks in North Africa, the first 100 prototype 17-pounder anti-tank guns were quickly sent off to help counter this new threat. So great was the rush that they were sent before proper carriages had been developed, and the guns had to be mounted in the carriages of 25-pounder gun-howitzers. These early weapons were known as 17/25-pounders and given the codename ''Pheasant''. They first saw action in February 1943. Fully developed 17-pounders started production in 1943 and were first used during the Italian Campaign. The 17-pounder outperformed all other Allied armour-piercing guns, and was quickly adapted for use on various tank chassis. However, few tanks were capable of carrying such a large gun due to the limitation of the size of their turret ring. It was expected that a 75 mm gun under development by Vickers would be used for tanks, but this did not enter service. The British had plans in hand for a tank - based on the Cromwell then under development - to carry the 17-pounder. However, the problems inherent in the modifications meant that the result, the Cruiser Mark VIII Challenger, was delayed and relatively few built. However, the British devised a conversion for their US-supplied M4 Sherman tanks to take the 17-pounder and it was rushed into service in time for D-Day as the Sherman Firefly. The gun (a modified design that was produced specifically for the Firefly) had to be rotated through 90 degrees to fit into the turret of the Sherman, i.e. it lay on its side, and an additional box was welded to the back of the turret to take the radio, which was moved to allow for the breech and its recoil.〔Being a long gun, in order to give a satisfactory balance, more of the gun was mounted inside the turret〕 More Shermans were converted until about 50% of Shermans in British service were Fireflies. The British also converted some of their US-produced M10 tank destroyers, replacing the 3-inch (76 mm) gun with the 17-pounder; the resulting vehicles were called 17pdr SP Achilles or just ''17-pdr M10''. The 17-pounder was also successfully trialled on the Australian-designed Sentinel tank, though no Sentinels equipped with this gun entered service with the Australian Army. The 17-pounder anti-tank guns saw action in Korea, against tanks and in general support use against bunker positions. Afterwards, it was largely replaced in the tank role by the Ordnance QF 20 pounder and in the anti-tank role by the BAT, MOBAT and 120 mm L6 WOMBAT series of recoilless rifles. The United States Army did not use the 17-pounder, though the gun was offered to US forces with a number of Shermans modified for testing.〔(Sherman M4 and M4A3 17 pounder in US service New Information )〕 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「Ordnance QF 17-pounder」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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