July-August - Air Defense Artillery School

The 76.2 super-high velocity Russian gun, mounted on a Skoda (Czech) tank chassis,
and used as a mobile A.T. gun. The picture was taken near Daba, Egypt, in 1942.
usarmor on their tanks kept pace with what known AT.
nsmight do at each progressive stage in the long story of
or vs. high velocity AP. projectiles.
HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT
During the First World \Var the French produced an
.r. gun in 37mm caliber. This was a 1916 Puteux Gun,
mmonly known as a one-pounder, and affectionately
beledthe "Pound Wonder" by the AE.F. in 1918.
Beforethat, however, the caliber and basically the same
ojectile design was used as far back as 1900. Maxim
e an oversize machine gun to fire this same type of
mm round; and this type of weapon has seen use in sev-
Inavies throughout the world.
In the rather unnoticed years immediately following
18 the Germans took careful stock of their failings of
14-]8. Their analyses indicated many underlying miswhich
helped to add up to the final defeat of 1918.
lh the advent of Hitler came the call for an unbeatable
y, lavishly equipped with excellent materials and weap'
, and built on principles which were to avoid the mis,
of \Vorld \Var 1. Much of the new German Army's
er and success was later realized by use of the tank;
h combat team was equipped with a powerful tank gun,
ich was of course an AT. gun when facing enemy armor.
Any close observer must be struck by the manner I in
which German materiel represents maximum efficiency in'
operation or in destruction of their enemy, or both. German
industrial preparations for munitions production always
headed for those joint goals, providing equipment in lavish
quantities. So it was that in the early days of \\Torld War n
the German Army was able to roll relentlessly over every
enemy. All the early advantages were with them when
their lavishly equipped army encountered troops armed
with insufficient and often obsolescent weapons.
Then too we must remember that Hitler used the Spanish
Civil \Var as a proving ground for both materiel and
tactics. In addition to developing the value of the Stuka,
he learned the value of both his tanks and his A.T. guns.
Among these A.T. guns was the new 37mm designed in
1936 to supplant the earlier 20mm. This new 37mm is
probably the father of all modern high powered A.T. guns.
It was sold all over the world by the Germans prior to 1939
when they were seeking to obtain foreign exchange. Our
own 37mm AT. gun follows this German type, but is
today much more powerful than its prototype.
DEVELOPl\IElS'T IN \VORLD \VAR II
In the battle of France this German 37mm functioned
well against all armor except the British heavy "I" tank, the