Ordnance QF 32-pounder
| Ordnance QF 32-pounder | |
|---|---|
 The 32-pdr mounted in the Assault Tank A39 Tortoise | |
| Type | Gun |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Service history | |
| Used by | British |
| Wars | Second World War |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 2,972 kg (6,552 lb) |
| Calibre | 94 mm |
| Muzzle velocity | 5,000 feet per second (1,500 m/s) |
| Effective firing range | 1,350 yards (1,230 m) |
| Maximum firing range | 5,000 yards (4,600 m) |
The Ordnance QF 32 pounder or (32-pdr) was a British 94 mm gun, developed as a replacement for the Ordnance QF 17 pounder (17-pdr) anti tank and tank gun.
Like the German 88 mm gun it was developed from an anti-aircraft (AA) gun, in this case the QF 3.7 inch AA gun.
Developed during the Second World War, the gun was used in the experimental Tortoise heavy tank. At least one 32-pdr was developed as an anti-tank gun on a wheeled carriage and a single example using a novel form of muzzle brake was installed in a de Haviland Mosquito as an up-gunned version of the 'Tsetse' Mosquito FB MkXVIII (instead of the 57 mm Molins gun). While flight trials did not take place until after the war, the aircraft flew and the gun fired without problems.[1]
The 32-pdr fired a 32 lb armour-piercing shot at a muzzle velocity of 2,880 ft/s (877.8 m/s) and a 15.3lb Sabot (APDS) shell at a muzzle velocity of 5,000 ft/s (1,524 m/s).
The 32 pdr sabot (APDS) Mk.3 shell could penetrate 200mm/50° RHA (LOS 311mm) at the velocity of 1,280 m/s (the muzzle velocity was 1,524 m/s) during the test in 1946, which meant that its penetration was even far more than many early APFSDS. The hull front of the Tiger II & Jagdtiger would be easy target. And it was the only tank/anti-tank gun that could do so in the second world war. Meantime, M308 HVAP (used in 90mm M3 tank gun) could only penetrate 114mm/50° at 100 yards.
Development was halted with the end of the war, and the 17-pdr was replaced with the 20-pdr for tank use and with the intention to develop guided weapons for infantry use.
See also
References
- ^ New Vanguard 98: British Anti-Tank Artillery 1939-45. by Chris Henry. Osprey Publishing
- Allied Secret Weapons a Purnell's History of the World Wars Special. Phoebus, 1975, (No ISBN)
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