Feldgrau.net

Hi all, I've read tons of books and other info regarding WW2 and tanks, etc... In all of my reading i have never seen an explanation of what 7.5 cm KwK 40/L48 (Panzer IV) means 'completely'. I know 75mm is the caliber, Kwk is Kampfwagenkanone (fighting vehicle canon), but, what does 40/L48 mean. I'm guessing that 40 is the model number but L48 eludes me. Is is length? If so, 48 what? Any help would be appreciated. thx

Kent

I believe it means the barrel length is 48 (or what ever number follows) times the caliber of the gun.

Equals what? Inches, mm, M, feet??? This would be 48 times 7.5 (cm) or 75 mm? Anyone? C'mon folks, impress me with your knowledge.

The L/ number is the length of the gun in calibers. Or how many bore diameters long the gun is from muzzle to breech.

ie. a (5 cm L/60) is (60 x 5cm) or (3 m) long

So for your example:

7.5 cm StuK 40 L/48: 7.5 cm x 48 = 360 cm 360 cm converted to Metes = 3.6 M in total length.

Or for all of us who use feet (11.81 ft)

Hope that helps.

myplane150 wrote:Hi all, I've read tons of books and other info regarding WW2 and tanks, etc... In all of my reading i have never seen an explanation of what 7.5 cm KwK 40/L48 (Panzer IV) means 'completely'. I know 75mm is the caliber, Kwk is Kampfwagenkanone (fighting vehicle canon), but, what does 40/L48 mean. I'm guessing that 40 is the model number but L48 eludes me. Is is length? If so, 48 what? Any help would be appreciated. thx

Kent

Kent, you've also misunderstood the KWK part, the gun was a KWK 40, the "40" doesn't go with the L/48. So as you've learned it was calibre, followed by the model designation followed by the barrel length in calibres.

I'm pretty sure I remember reading somewhere that there is some slight variation from one country to the next in just how the "caliber" is measured as well. I forget the details though.
found it. This page addresses it:
http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/Gun_Data.htm