Ordnance QF 17 pounder
|
17-pounder in Batey ha-Osef museum, Israel. |
The
Ordnance QF 17-pounder (or just
17-pdr) was a 76.2 mm
gun developed by the
United Kingdom during
World War II. It was used as an
anti-tank gun on its own carriage, as well as equiping a number of British tanks. It was the best
Allied anti-tank gun of the war. Used with the
APDS shot it was capable of defeating all German armour and the equal of all their guns up to the massive
88/L71. It was used to 'up-gun' some foreign-built vehicles in British service, notably the
Sherman Firefly that gave British tank units the ability to hold their own with their German counterparts. In the anti-tank role it was replaced by the
120 mm BAT recoilless rifle after the war. As a tank gun it was succeeded by the
20 pounder.
Although it had not yet entered service, the British predicted that the
6-pounder would soon be inadequate given the increasing armour of German tanks. 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 set up that spring, and with the appearance of
Tiger tanks in
North Africa, the first 100 prototype 17-pdrs anti-tank guns were quickly sent off to help counter this new threat. 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. They first saw action in February 1943.
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 shot, 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).
Initially the HE shell that was developed for the 17 pdr lacked power. This was due to the high powered cartridge - the shell walls had to be thicker to stand the stresses of firing leaving less room for explosive. Reducing the size of the propelling charge for the HE shell allowed the use of a thinner walled and more explosive shell.
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 converted some of their
M10 Wolverines removing the 3-inch (76 mm) cannon and replaced it with the 17-pdr as well; the resulting vehicles were called
Achilles or just
17 pdr M10.
The 17 pounder anti-tank guns saw action in Korea, not only against tanks but in general support use against bunker positions.
The United States Army did not use the 17-pounder in action, although the gun was offered to US forces. US pre-war doctrine was based on using tanks in the infantry-support and exploitation roles, avoiding combat with enemy tanks whenever possible. The role of fighting enemy tanks was tasked to the
tank destroyers. Thus the US M4 Sherman mounted much smaller 75 mm weapons, leaving the 3in-armed M10 Wolverine to deal with German armour. In practice this doctrine proved flawed. US tanks ran into their German counterparts all the time, and their smaller guns and lighter armour proved to be a serious disadvantage when facing heavier tanks such as the
Panther.
The British success with the 17 pounder did not go unnoticed. In the spring of 1944, Shermans with the new
76 mm gun entered production, with a few hundred available in the UK prior to
D-Day. The first 76-mm-armed tanks saw combat during
Operation Cobra and became common by the winter. Although the US 76mm was considerably less powerful than the British 17-pounder when firing the most common APC ammunition, when firing HVAP ammunition its performance was adequate against most German armour. The 17-pounder, however, remained the best Allied AT gun.
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 shot. 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 3-inch 20 cwt AA gun cartridge, along a shortened 17-pdr barrel. This new gun's ammunition was not interchangeable with the 17-pounder, so to prevent confusion over ammunition 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.
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
*
Tank, Cruiser, Challenger (A30)*
SP 17pdr, A30 (Avenger)*
Tank, Cruiser, Comet I (A34) (77 mm OQF HV)
*
SP 17pdr, Valentine, Mk I, Archer tank destroyer built from Valentine tank hull.
*
Sherman Firefly (Modified
Sherman)
*
17pdr SP. Achilles (Modified
Wolverine)
*
Tank, Infantry, Black Prince (A43) (prototype tank, never fielded)
*
Crusier Tank AC IV, Sentinel (prototype turret only, never fielded)
Post-war
*
Centurion*
LemaireSoft*
Nase noviny*
Images of 17 pounder at Singleton Infantry Museum*
A guide to tracked British 17 pounders*
Armor penetration table
