Ordnance QF 17 pdr
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The 17-pounder (17-pdr) was a 76.2 mm anti-tank gun developed by the United Kingdom during World War II. It was the best Allied anti-tank gun of the war, able to defeat all German armor and the equal of all their guns up to the massive 88/L71. It was used on a number of "up-gunned" tanks as well, notably the Sherman Firefly that gave British tank units the ability to hold their own with their German counterparts. A group of Canadian Firefly's destroyed Michael Wittman's Tiger I section shortly after D-Day, the first time that British armor had been able to stand up to this tank. It was replaced by the 120 mm recoiless gun after the war.
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History
With the increasing armor of German tanks, the British predicted that the 6-pounder would soon be inadequate. In late 1940 a design effort was started to create a replacement, and the effort was largely complete by the end of 1941. A prototype production line was setup up that spring, and with the appearance of Tiger tanks in North Africa, the first 100 prototype 17-pdrs were quickly sent off to help counter this new threat in September 1942. So great was the rush that they were sent before proper carriages had been developed, and the guns had to be mounted in the carriages of 25-pounder howitzers. These early weapons were known as 17/25-pounders and given the codename pheasant.
Fully developed 17-pdrs were placed into production in 1943 and were first used during the Italian Campaign. In 1944, the British started to use APDS shells, which travelling at nearly 4000 feet per second (1200 m/s) increased the power of the 17-pdr greatly with a penetration of 213 mm armour (at 1000 m).
The 17-pdr was a much larger weapon then its predecessor. As a result it had to be towed as it could not effectively be moved by its crew alone and needed vehicles such as the Crusader gun tractor) on poor ground and was issued strictly to armour and anti-tank artillery units, and not infantry.
The gun was also quickly adapted for use on various tank chassis, outperforming everything the US or British had. Early attempts to mount it on existing chassis were not terribly successful, but the gun proved so successful on the M4 Sherman that it was quickly rushed into service in time for D-Day as the Firefly. The British also fielded some numbers of the 90 mm-armed M10 Wolverine, but later removed the 90 mm gun and replaced it with the 17-pdr as well, known as the Achilles.
Combat History
US pre-war doctrine was based on using tanks in the infantry-support and breakthrough roles, avoiding combat with enemy tanks which were known to have superior firepower. Instead the US designs mounted much smaller 75 mm weapons, leaving the 3in-armed M10 Wolverine to deal with German armor. In practice this docrtine proved flawed, US tanks ran into their German counterparts all the time, and their smaller guns and lighter armor proved to be a serious disadvantage.
The British success with the 17 pounder did not go unnoticed, and a production line for a US version had been set up before D-Day. Sherman's with the new 76 mm gun started arriving in the fall of 1944, and had become almost universal by the winter. Although somewhat less powerful than the British versions due to a variety of design changes, the new gun was nevertheless generally similar in design and performance.
Variants
Mark I
- first production versions.
Mark II
- intended for tank use. Removed the carrier mountings and replaced the muzzle brake with a counterweight. The brake was added back on in March 1944 with the introduction of the APDS shells. The Mk.II was used on the Archer and Challenger tanks.
Mark III
- Royal Navy adaptation for use on landing craft, generally similar to the Mk.I, but included an automatic loading system. Unused.
Mark IV
- Another tank adaptation, this time with a different breech where the block slid to the side instead of down to take up less room. Unused.
Mark V
- A version of the Mk IV with different mounts to allow it to replace the US 3-inch guns in the M10 Wolverine, creating the Achilles.
Mark VI
- Another Mk.IV adaptation with a shortened breech.
Mark VII
- Similar to the Mk.VI, yet another change to the breech.
77 mm HV
- As the breech-length of the 17-pdr was too long to fit in many tanks a new version was designed with a shorter breech, firing the same projectile as the 17-pdr from a shorter, fatter catridge, along a shortened 17-pdr barrel. This new gun's ammunition wasn't interchangeable with the 17-pounder, so to prevent confusion over ammuntion supplies, it was renamed the "77 mm HV", even though it was the same 76.2 mm caliber as the 17-pdr. This gun was used in the Comet tank.
Usage
Anti-tank gun
25 pdr carriage
Stop gap measure named Pheasant.
Split trail carriage
- Split trail carriage, with gunshield.
- Weight: 3 t.
- Elevation: -6° to +16.5°
- Traverse: 60°
Vehicle mount
World War II
- Cruiser Tank Challenger
- Archer tank destroyer built from Valentine tank hull.
- Sherman Firefly (Modified M4 Sherman)
- Achilles (Modified M10 Wolverine)
Post-war
External links
- A guide to tracked British 17 pounders (http://www.ww2modelmaker.com/articlepub/SAtrckpdrs.htm)
- LemaireSoft (http://users.belgacom.net/artillery/artillerie/789.html#60190)
- Nase noviny (http://www.geocities.com/nasenoviny/17pdrGunEN.html)