L-11 76.2 mm tank gun

L-11 76.2 mm tank gun
T-34 Model 1940 with L-11 gun
Type Tank gun
Place of origin Soviet Union
Service history
Used by  Soviet Union
 Nazi Germany
Wars World War II
Production history
Designer IA Makhanov
Designed 1938
Manufacturer Kirov Plant
Produced 1939-1941
Variants L-17
Specifications
Barrel length 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in) L/30.5[1]
Shell Fixed QF 76.2 × 385 mm. R
Shell weight 6.5 kg (14 lb 5 oz)
Caliber 76.2 mm (3.00 in)[1]
Breech Semi-automatic vertical sliding-wedge
Recoil Hydro-pneumatic
Elevation 2° to 25°
Traverse 360°[2]
Rate of fire 6-7 rpm
Muzzle velocity 613 m/s (2,010 ft/s)
Maximum firing range 5.6 km (3.5 mi)[2]
7.62 cm FK 250(r)
Type Field gun
Place of origin Soviet Union
Service history
Used by  Soviet Union
 Nazi Germany
Wars World War II
Production history
Designer Kirov Plant
Produced 1941-1942
Specifications
Weight 1,325 kg (2,921 lb)
Barrel length 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in) L/30.5[1]
Shell Fixed QF 76.2 × 385 mm. R
Shell weight 6.5 kg (14 lb 5 oz)
Caliber 76.2 mm (3.00 in)[1]
Breech Semi-automatic vertical sliding-wedge
Recoil Hydro-pneumatic
Carriage Split-trail
Elevation -5° to +37°
Traverse 55°[1]
Rate of fire 6-7 rpm
Muzzle velocity 613 m/s (2,010 ft/s)
Maximum firing range 5.6 km (3.5 mi)[1]

The L-11 76.2 mm tank gun was a Soviet tank gun, used on the earliest models of the T-34 Model 1940 medium tank and KV-1 Model 1939 heavy tank during World War II.

History

The L-11 was designed in 1938 by IA Makhanov of the SKB-4 design bureau at the Kirov Plant in Leningrad. It was 30.5 calibers long,[3] had a semi-automatic vertical sliding-wedge breech, used fixed quick-fire 76.2 x 385 mm R ammunition and had a hydro-pneumatic recoil mechanism.

It has been claimed that the L-11 was based on the 76 mm air-defense gun M1914/15 designed by VV Tarnovsky and F. F. Lender.[4] What can be said is that both the M1914/15 and L-11 had similar lengths, similar muzzle velocities (592 m/s vs 613 m/s), were built in the same factory and fired the same ammunition.

Through a combination of administrative interference by Marshal Grigory Kulik and bureaucratic inertia, the first models of the T-34 and KV-1 were both armed with the L-11. Testing of both tanks highlighted an undesirable situation where both a medium tank and heavy tank were equal in firepower and neither had the firepower necessary to defeat a foreign tank of similar capabilities. Although an acceptable tank gun by the standards of the time the L-11 did not have a substantial performance advantage over foreign designs. Therefore, the L-11 was a stopgap until improved guns for the T-34 and KV-1 could be produced. An early favorite to replace the L-11 was a modified version of the 76 mm air defense gun M1931, but delays and difficulties saw it passed over despite excellent performance.[4]

During 1941 the L-11 was replaced on T-34 production lines by the 42.5 caliber F-34 and on KV-1 production lines by the 31.5 caliber F-32. Despite being considered a superior design the performance of the F-32 gun was not substantially better than the L-11 and inferior to the F-34 gun used on the T-34. Eventually, the F-32 gun was replaced on the KV-1 production lines by a modified version of the F-34 gun called the ZiS-5, finally giving the T-34 and KV-1 parity in firepower.[4]

Variants

L-17 casemate gun

During the 1930s the Red Army proposed creation of a new 76 mm casemate gun capable of withstanding a direct hit from a 76 mm armor-piercing projectile fired from a distance of 400 m (1,300 ft) or the explosion of a 203 mm (8.0 in) high-explosive projectile at a distance of 1 m (3 ft 3 in) from the pillbox.

The design bureau of the Kirov Plant under the leadership of IA Makhanov responded by creating a variant of the L-11 which it called the L-17. The L-17 was mounted in a heavily armored gun mantlet with the barrel inside of an armored tube. In May 1939, the Kirov plant received an order for six-hundred L-17 guns. During testing between September 29 and October 8, 1939 the L-17 was able to successfully withstand the impact of a 76 mm armor piercing projectile fired from a M1902/30 field gun at a velocity of 529–547 m (1,736–1,795 ft) at a distance of 50 m (160 ft). The first L-17's were installed in June 1940 in the Kamenets-Podilsky fortified area.[5]

Field gun conversion

During 1941-1942 a field gun based on the L-11 was introduced. It consisted of an L-11 barrel on the split-trail carriage used by the ZiS-3. This adaptation was probably done to address the huge losses of artillery suffered during the summer of 1941 and to use surplus L-11 barrels. The Soviet designation for this gun is not known, but the Germans referred to them as the 7.62 cm FK 250(r).[1]

Comparison of guns

Comparison of Soviet 76.2mm guns and ammunition
GunL-11F-32F-34
Length (calibres) L/30.5L/31.5L/42.5
F-534 high explosive (HE)
weight (kg) 6.236.236.23
muzzle velocity (m/s) 610613680
OF-350 high explosive fragmentation (HE-Frag)
weight (kg) 6.216.216.21
muzzle velocity (m/s) 610638680
BR-353A high explosive anti-tank (HEAT)
weight (kg) 3.93.93.9
muzzle velocity (m/s) ??325
penetration (mm) 757575
Armour-piercing (AP)
weight (kg) 6.516.516.3
muzzle velocity (m/s) 612613680
penetration at 500 m (mm) ?60?
penetration at 1,000 m (mm) 505060
BR-350/BR-350A armour-piercing high explosive (APHE)
weight (kg) 6.36.36.3
muzzle velocity (m/s) 612613655
penetration at 500 m (mm) 62?69
penetration at 1,000 m (mm) 56?61
BR-350P armour-piercing, composite rigid (APCR)
weight (kg) ??3.0
muzzle velocity (m/s) ??965
penetration at 500 m (mm) ??92
penetration at 1,000 m (mm) ??60

[2][6]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Chamberlain, Peter (1975). Light and medium field artillery. Gander, Terry. New York: Arco. p. 62. ISBN 0668038209. OCLC 2067331.
  2. 1 2 3 amvas. "Guns and Ammo of Soviet Tanks". www.armchairgeneral.com. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
  3. ↑ Zaloga, Steve (1994). T-34/76 Medium Tank 1941-45. Osprey Publishing. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-85532-382-7.
  4. 1 2 3 "Tank Archives: "Minor Modernization": T-150". Tank Archives. 2016-02-05. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
  5. ↑ "Дело о казематной пушке / Гений советской артиллерии. Триумф и трагедия В.Грабина". www.plam.ru. Retrieved 2017-09-17.
  6. ↑ Zaloga, Steve (1984). Soviet tanks and combat vehicles of World War Two. Grandsen, James. London: Arms and Armour Press. p. 225. ISBN 0853686068. OCLC 12810882.

References

  • Chamberlain, Peter. Gander Terry. 1975. Light and medium field artillery. New York: Arco. ISBN 0668038209.
  • Zaloga, Steve. 1994. T-34/76 Medium Tank 1941-45. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85532-382-7
  • Zaloga, Steve. Grandsen, James. 1984. Soviet tanks and combat vehicles of World War Two. London: Arms and Armour Press. p225. ISBN 0853686068.
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