7.5 cm leichte Infantriegeschutz 18
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The 7.5 cm leichte Infantriegeschutz 18 (7.5 cm le.IG 18), during World War II, was an infantry support gun of the German Wehrmacht. Development of the gun began in 1927, by Rheinmetall. The crew was protected by an armoured shield. There was a mountain gun variant, the 7.5 cm le.GebIG 18. For transport, The mountain variant could be broken down into 6-10 packs, the heaviest weighing 74.9 kg. The Germans would typically assign two of these to each mountain battalion. 6x7.5 cm le.IG 18F were manufactured in 1939. These were airborne guns, capable of being broken down into 4x140 kg loads. The airborne variant had smaller wheels and no shield. There was also an infantry support gun, known as the 7.5 cm Infantriegeschutz L/13 and which was a modified le.IG 18, this gun could be broken into 4-6 loads. The official German designation for this latter gun is unknown and not many were produced, although they were used.
Statistics of the 7.5 cm le.IG 18 and 7.5 cm le.GebIG 18
- Calibre: 75 mm
- Elevation: -10° to 73°
- Muzzle Velocity (w/HE shell): 210 m/s
- Range: 3550 m
- Traverse: 12°
- Weight: 400 kg
- Weight of the 7.5 cm le.GebIG 18: 440 kg
- Weight of HE Shell: 6 kg
- Weight of HC Shell: 3 kg
Statistics of the 7.5 cm IG L/13
- Calibre: 75 mm
- Elevation: -5° to 43°
- Muzzle Velocity: 305 m/s
- Range: 5100 m
- Traverse: 50°
- Weight: 375 kg
- Weight of Shell: 6.35 kg