French Guns Technical Data 1940

Gun Technical Data

French Guns

Name German Name Calibre Length Equipped

Mitrailleuse de7,5mm MAC mle.31

KpfwMG 311(f) 7.5mm n/a AMR 33, FT-31

Mitrailleuse de13,2mm Hotchkiss mle 30

sMG 271(f) 13.2mm n/a AMR 35 ZT1, Laffly AM 80

Canon de25 SA 35

2,5cm KwK 121(f) 25mm47.2 or52[4]

Panhard 178, AMR 35 ZT2

Canon de antichar25 SA mle 34

2,5cm PaK 112(f) 25mm 72 Anti-tank gun

Canon de25 SA-L mle 37

2,5cm PaK 113(f) 25mm 77 Anti-tank gun, AMR 35 ZT3

Mitrailleuse de25 CA mle 1939 [3]

2,5cm FlaK Hotchkiss 39 25mm 60 Anti-aircraft gun

Canon de d'infanterie37 mle 16 TR (or TRP) [1]

3.7cm IG 152(f) 37mm 21 Infantry gun

Canon de37 SA 17

37mm 21 Laffly 50

Canon de37 SA 18

37mm 21 FT-17c

Canon de37 SA 18 mle 37

3,7cm KwK 144(f) 37mm 21 H 35, H 39, R 35, FCM 36

Canon de37 SA 38

3,7cm KwK 143(f) 37mm 33 H 35, H 39, R 39, R40

Canon de47 SA 34

47mm 21 AMC 34, B1, D1, early D2

Canon de47 SA 35

4,7cm KwK 173(f) 47mm 32 AMC 35, B1 bis, late D2, S 35


4,7cm PaK 181(f)[2] 47mm 53 Anti-tank gun, Laffly W15 TCC

Canon de75 SA 35

7,5cm KwK 251(f) 75mm 17 B1 and B1 bis hull gun

Canon de75 mle 1897

FK 97(f) 75mm 36 Field gun (wooden spoke wheels)

Canon de75 mle 1897 modifié 1933

FK 232(f) 75mm 36 Field gun (split-trail)

Canon de75 mle 1897 modifié 1938

FK 231(f) 75mm 36 Field gun (metal wheels with tyres)

Notes:

TR means "Tir Rapide" or "rapid fire". Sometimes called TRP after the manufacturer Puteaux.1.The Germans liked this gun and prodiced their own Pzgr.40 APCR for it. Care should be taken not to confuse this with the originalFrench shells.

2.

This was an anti-aircraft gun (CA=contre-aéroplanes). It was however used in a dual role against both air and ground targets bythe Mobile Anti-Tank Batteries (BACA).

3.

Sources differ.4.

Armour Penetration Overview

To be useful, armour penetration figures should specify not only the gun, range and penetration achieved, but also the ammunition fired,the angle of impact, the type of armour attacked and the penetration criterion used.

The customary angle of impact when quoting penetration performance is 30º from the vertical (i.e. 60º from the horizontal). The Frenchand British measure angle from the vertical, the Germans and NATO measure angles from the horizontal. It is also traditional to quotepenetration against homogenous armour. Performance against face hardened plate, especially for smaller weapons firing uncappedrounds, can differ greatly. Homogenous armour plate has the same density and hardness all the way through, face harden armour has hadits outside hardened or carburised.

Gun Technical Data - Keiths Guide to Wargaming the French Army of... http://www.littlewars.se/french1940/gundata.html

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The Germans generally tested against Homogenous Armour Plate at 30º from the vertical. Luckily for us, in 1941, the German DesignOffice (Wa Pruef) tested the armour piercing penetration of many French guns using their own criterion. For this reason, I have quotedthe German designation of the French guns in the table above.

The French had figures for their own guns, but the rarely seem to standardise on an angle (25º, 30º or 35º) and usually use 400m which isnever used by the Germans.

A table for rough conversions from sloped armour to an equivalent thickness of vertical plate is given in WO 185/118; well-slopedarmour being more effective than would be indicated by a simple cosine calculation.

Penetration tables also take no account of non-penetrating damage. The running gear of all vehicles can be vulnerable to AP or HE firefrom nearly all calibres; in fact the German 37mm gunners speciallised in firing at the tracks of the heavily armoured French tanks.Extremely large calibre rounds can cause catastrophic damage without needing to penetrate the target; a 155mm shell, for example, mightcompletely remove the turret of its target.

Germany began using welded construction in the 1930s and France used cast armour. Riviting was still used in many British tanks as wellas a few German and French tanks such as the Panzer 38(t), the AMR 33 and the hull but not turret of the B1 bis. A shot hitting anexposed rivet-head could cause the rivet shank to break off and be projected into the tank, causing damage.

The following table can be used to convert penetration values for shell sizes vs different angles of impact from the vertical:

Shell 10° 20° 30° 40° 50° 60° 70°

37mm 0.99 0.90 0.75 0.57 0.41 0.30 0.22

50mm 0.99 0.92 0.79 0.63 0.47 0.35 0.26

75mm 0.99 0.93 0.82 0.66 0.51 0.39 0.29

88mm 0.99 0.93 0.83 0.67 0.52 0.40 0.31

128mm 0.99 0.94 0.84 0.69 0.55 0.43 0.32

Armour Penetration - French Guns

The following table shows a comparison of muzzle velocity (in m/s), angle of impact from the vertical and armour penetration (in mm)from different sources.

Gun Source Ammo m/s Angle 100m 200m 300m 400m 500m 1000m 1500m

Mitrailleuse de7,5mm MAC mle.31

French AP 29 805 15°8mm@ 50m

Mitrailleuse de13,2mm Hotchkiss mle 30

German AP 35 800 0° 22.5mm 18mm 14mm

AP 35 30° 12mm 10mm 8mm

French AP 35 800 0° 20mm

APT 35 800 25° 20mm

Canon de25 SA 35

German AP 34 920 0° 47mm 40mm 30mm

30° 35mm 30mm 20mm

45° 18mm 16mm 15mm

French APT 34 880 0° 40mm

35° 32mm



0° 54mm

Mitrailleuse de25 CA mle 1939

French AP 875 0° 35mm

Canon de d'infanterie37 mle 16 TR (or TRP)

French APHE 92 mle 24 388 0° 12mm

Canon de37 SA 18

French APHE 92 mle 24 388 0° 12mm

APC 35 600 35° 20mm

Canon de37 SA 18 mle 37

German APC 35 600 30° 25mm 19mm

French 35° 20mm

Canon de37 SA 38

German APC 38 705 30° 29mm 23mm 16mm 12mm

French 705 25° 32mm


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Canon de47 SA 34


480 30° 25mm

Canon de47 SA 35

German APC 35 660 30° 39mm 33mm 26mm 20mm

French 30° 40mm


German APCBC 36 855 30° 57mm 50mm 42mm 36mm

French 855 0° 106mm 101mm 97mm 93mm 89mm 72mm 57mm

Canon de75 SA 35

French APHE 10M 470 30° 40mm

Canon de75 mle 1897

German Unknown ? 30° 62mm

Canon de75 mle 1897modifié 1933

French APHE 10M 580 30° 50mm

FrenchAPHE 16[1]APHE 18

575 30° 40mm

Notes:

The Obus perforant AL (Allongé Lefèvre) Mle 1916 (APHE) shell was heavier than the earlier Obus de rupture Mle 1910M. Itcontained 350g of HE instead of 90g. However this did not seem to improve its performance as might be expected. The mle 18 had325g of HE.

1.

Comparision between French/German/British Guns

The following table shows a comparison of muzzle velocity (in m/s) and armour penetration (in mm) against homogenous armour plate ata 30° angle of impact from the vertical for the guns used in the France 40 campaign.

Country Gun Ammo m/s 100m 500m 1000m 1500m 2000m

MG 34SmK 785 8 3

SmKH [1] 785 13 8

7,5mm MAC mle.31 AP mle 29 805 6

12.7mm Vickers AP 785 15 9

13,2mm Hotchkiss AP mle 35 800 12 8

15mm BESA AP 884 20 15

Panzerbüchse 39 SmKH 1265 34 14

Boys Mk.I Kynoch AP 990 21 11

2 cm KwK 30 & 38 Pzgr 780 20 14 9

25 SA 35AP mle 34charge forte

950 35 30 20

25 SA 34 or SA-L 37AP mle 34charge normal

920 35 30 20

25 CA 39 AP 875 30 25 15

3,7cm KwK 363,7cm PaK 35/36

Pzgr 745 35 29 22 20

Pzgr.40 [2] 1020 64 31

3,7 cm KwK 34 (t) Pzgr.(t) 675 35 30 23 21

3,7 cm KwK 38 (t) Pzgr.(t) 741 36 31 25 22

37 mle 16 TR37 SA 1837 SA 17

APHE mle 92 m 24 388 12 8

37 mle 16 TR37 SA 1837 SA 18 mle 37

APC mle 35 600 25 19

37 SA 38 APC mle 38 705 29 23 16 12

2pdr OQF Mk.IX AP 808 66 50 35 25

4.7cm Pak(t) Pzgr.36(t) 775 54 48 41 35

47 SA 35 APC mle 35 660 39 33 26 20

47 SA 37 APCBC mle 36 855 57 50 42 36


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7,5 cm KwK 40K Gr rot Pz 385 41 38 35 32 30

Gr38 H1/A [3] 450 70 70 70 70

7,5 cm leIG 18 IGr 38 H1 [3] 305 45 45 45 45

75 mle 1897 APHE mle 10M 580 51 47 43 39 36

75 SA 35 APHE mle 10M 470 41 38 35 32 30

25pdr OQF Mk.I AP-T 610 82 60 41 28

8,8cm FlaK 18 & 37 Pzgr.39 773 120 110 100 91 84

10,5cm leFH 18Pzgr 470 63 59 54 50 46

Gr39 H1/A [3] 470 80 80 80 80

15cm sIG 33 Gr39 H1/A [3] 280 160 160 160 160

15cm sFH 13 Gr39 H1/A [3] 460 160 160 160 160

15cm sFH 18 Gr39 H1/A [3] 465 160 160 160 160

Notes:

The SmKH was a very rare (less than 2%) bullet with a hardened core of tungsten. It was available until 1942 when lack oftungsten stopped its production. The Panzer I seems to have been give priority as it was expected to meet enemy tanks; it had94 SmKH and 2100 SmK rounds (i.e. approx 5%).

1.

The only Pzgr.40 (APCR) shells produced in 1940 were for the 3,7cm L/45 KwK36 or the 3,7cm PaK 35/36 which were equippedwith a very small number during the battle of France. Reports by OKW show that 7,440 Pzgr.40 rounds were fired out of a total ofabout 70,000 (i.e. approx 10%). The 4,7cm Pak(t) on the Panzerjäger I received the Pzgr.40 only in July 1940, the 2cm Pzgr.40 wasnot introduced until later in the year and the other Pzgr.40, such as the 3,7cm(t), in May 1941: i.e. in time for the Russiancampaign.

2.

The German GR H1 shells are HEAT. This explains why armour penetration does not drop off with range. HEAT peretration is notusually quoted over 1500m. The HEAT shells quoted here are those in use in 1940, HEAT shells improved during the war.

3.


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French Guns Technical Data 1940

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