Allied Tank Gun Development.

[Enoch]

I was reading through the Appendix of Chamberlain and Ellis that discusses German Tank armament a few days ago. In it they mention that the Germans were able to increase the muzzle velocity, and therefore effectiveness, of several of their tank guns by increasing the caliber length of the barrel.

For instance, the short 75 was increased in length from 24 calibers to 70 over the course of the war. I don't know how much of the increase in muzzle velocity was due to an increase in the length of the barrel and how much was due to other factors. I also don't know to what extent lengthening the barrel requires other changes to a gun.

But, my question is why didn't the American's and British pursue a similar course in developing tank guns. I understand that standardization was a concern and perhaps longer guns would have taken up more space in shipping. Also the 76mm US gun and the British 17lbr solved some of the concerns about the armor penetration of their tank guns. Still, would a longer barrel on the US 76mm gun have improved its performance?

I'd be interested in what people know and any additional info people could provide on what improvement were made to German guns in addition to the lengthening of the barrels.

Thanks.