A few more Mods

[DEY]

I finally tracked down that elusive German Heavy 28mm anti-tank gun, and gave it a whitewash, actually I put a little camo on the summer gelb version also.

Here is a little info on this gun also, I didn't realize that this is what that gun was.

2.8cm s.Pz.B41

This is a light anti-tank gun, it fires a 28mm projectile through a 20mm bore which results in good armor penetration from a fairly small weapon. The tapered bore creates an effect similar to a discarding sabot type armor piercing round. Due to the high cost and the need to use a number of scarce materials production of the sPzB41 was discontinued in 1943, it remained in use until the end of the war. Ammunition for the gun was always in short supply after 1943 but a small amount remained in production until the wars end as the small rounds made few demands on the limited tungsten supply. It is equipped with a light wheeled mount which includes a gun shield and is designed for high speed towing. It was also often deployed mounted on light vehicles and trucks.

The principle of the taper bore gun was known since 1903, but the "heavy antitank rifle 41" (1). was the first to put it into practise. The result of the high muzzle velocity was a formidable antitank weapon for a weight that was only a fraction of the antitank weapon of the same power

(2). Appearing in 1941, it was used successfully against the British Cruiser tanks in North Africa but was less successful against the Russian armor. It was also mounted on armored cars and half-tracks. paratroopers got a version on a lightened carriage. From 1942, the penury of tungsten in Germany (a indispensable component of its core ammuntion) condemned the weapon to confidentiality.

(1) it had been called "rifle" for camouflage

(2) it could penetrate 50% more armor than a 37mm Pak 36

[junk2drive]

You should have asked me. I tracked it down for CMAK 1940. That 28mm 20mm thing was bugging me. Thanks for the info.

[DEY]

This is the gun that is on the Sd.Kfz. 250/11 HT also.

The vehicle that was to become the Sd.Kfz. 250 leicher Schutzenpanzerwagen series had its beginning in the same operational requirement produced during the mid-30's that led to the Sd.Kfz. 251 series. It was intended that there would be both a 1-ton and 3-ton half-tracks to provide mobility for the infantry and other units operating with the Panzer divisions, and the 1-ton vehicle became the Sd.Kfz. 250.

The Sd.Kfz. 250 was first produced by Demag AG of Wetter, in the Ruhr, although later other companies were also involved in its manufacture. The vehicle was based on the chassis of the Sd.Kfz. 10 Leichter Zugkraftwagen 1-ton vehile, but featured an armored hull with an open top to accommodate the crew of five men...plus the driver.

The first examples were produced during 1939, and the Sd.Kfz. 250 first went into action during the May 1940 invasion of France. Compared to its larger counterpart, the Sd.Kfz. 251, the Sd.Kfz. 250 was built and used in a much smaller scale. The type's total production run was impressive enough (5,900 were built between 1942 and 1944) and by the time the war ended it was made into no less than 14 official variants (plus the usual crop of unofficial variants).

From 1943 onwards production modifications were introduced to the hull shape to assist manufacturing, while at the same time cutting down on the amount of precious raw materials required. The armor thickness ranged from 6 to 14.5mm (0.24 to 0.57in).

The Sd.Kfz. 250/11 variant. is an early body style and mounts the special "taper-bore" weapon, 2.8cm (1.1in) heavy anti-tank rifle sPzB 41.

The German taper-bore weapons were an odd off-shoot from the main stream of anti-tank gun development. Although they were successful, they floundered for the simple reason that German war economy could not afford the raw materials required to produce great numbers of them. Three different taper-bore weapons were produced for service. All relied on what is commonly known as the Gerlich principle. In simple terms this involved the use of a small projectile core made from tungsten, a hard and very dense metal...ideal for punching its way through armor plate.

In order to provide the tungsten core with the maximum punch the Gerlich system involved the use of guns with calibers that tapered downwards in size from the breech to the muzzle. The special projectiles involved the using flanged or "skirted" ammunition that allowed the flanges to fold back as the bore narrowed. This had the advantage of increasing the emergent velocity of the projectile, enabling it to travel farther and to hit the target harder.

The principal was attractive to the German ordinance designers who adapted it for the anti-tank gun, but the principal had some disadvantages: to ensure the maximum power of the gun expensive and relatively rare tungsten had to be used for the projectile core, and the guns themselves were costly to produce.

[Zimorodok]

DEY, if you want that posted, let me know tomorrow, since i'll be out of town for a few days.

Zim