Difference between revisions of "Gun/Germany"

A tank's gun, typically a cannon, is the tank's main weapon. The gun caliber is not the only factor in its overall performance; one must also look at the penetration and rate of fire as very important considerations when choosing a gun. Longer guns tend to have more accuracy and penetration because more of the gunpowder is burned while the shell is in the barrel, resulting in greater acceleration. Not all guns that are available for a tank can be mounted on any turret. If there is a turret module preceding a gun on a tank tech tree, you will probably need to research, buy, and install it before mounting the gun. A destroyed gun will lock, it will prevent the tank from firing until it is repaired, and a damaged gun will fire with drastically-reduced accuracy.

In-Game Gun Characteristics

Damage - The amount of hit points the shell takes from the enemy tank with a hit. Measured in HP (Hit Points), The gun damage statistics are usually written in a format such as #/#/#: referring to the shell types available for the gun, usually AP/APCR/HE ammo types.

Penetration - The penetration of the weapon refers to the amount of flat metal armor the gun can penetrate in millimeters (mm). Penetration is calculated as if firing at flat armor at a range of 100m, and is usually written in the #/#/# format. Again, this refers to the different shell types available for the gun.

Shells - The available shell types for the guns are determined by the color of the damage and penetration attributes: AP, APCR, HE, HEAT. For more info, see Ammo.

Rate of Fire - The rate of fire of a gun is the number of shells that can be fired in a particular span of time, also known as RoF. The rate of fire of a gun is measured in rounds per minute, and for conventional guns is another way to to state the reload time. For guns equipped with a magazine, the given rate of fire is the sustained rate of fire, or the average firing rate including the magazine reload time, not the burst firing rate of a single magazine.

Accuracy - The accuracy of the gun is the maximum shell dispersion when the sights are fully closed/contracted. The accuracy of a gun is measured in meters, indicating the amount of dispersion when fired at a target at a distance of 100m. The shell dispersion is also effected by Gaussian distribution.

Aim Time - The time it takes in seconds for a gun to come to full aim.

See the section on Autoloaders or that on Semi-Autos or that on Autocannons for more details about those variants of the main guns available in-game.

Historical German Gun Marks

The German Wehrmacht practiced a standard convention in naming their gun designs and models. For example, the Tier-1 stock gun for the PzKpfw 35(t) was designated the 3,7 cm KwK 34 (t) L/40. This designation means that the gun is of a design adopted in 1934 and intended for use as a KampfwagenKanone (tank mounted main gun). It has a caliber of 3.7cm and a barrel Length equivalent to 40 times its caliber, or 40 x 3.7 = 148cm.

The (t) stands for " Tschechisch", and indicates that this gun is not of German origin, but instead refers to a gun designed and built in Czechoslavakia, which has been captured, renamed, and redeployed in German service. Similarly, an (r) in a German gun designation stands for "Russisch" and would refer to a captured, renamed, and re-used gun of Russian origin.

Other German acronyms and abbreviations used in gun names found in the following table of gun characteristics include:

• Ausf. = Ausführung, which means model or mark.
• Breda = refers to a gun made in Germany's Axis ally Italy, by Società Italiana Ernesto Breda of Brescia.
• E.W. = Einbau Waffe, which means a gun designed for fixed emplacement.
• F.H. = Feldhaubitze, which means a field howitzer.
• le.F.H. = Leichte Feldhaubitze, which means a light caliber field howitzer.
• s.F.H. = Schwere Feldhaubitze, which means a heavy caliber field howitzer.
• Flak = Flugabwehrkanone, which means an anti-aircraft gun.
• KwK = Kampfwagenkanone, which means a gun designed to be mounted as a tank's main gun.
• M.K. = Machinenkanone, which means an autocannon.
• Mörser = seige mortar.
• PaK = Panzerabwehrkanone, which means a gun intended for anti-tank use regardless of its mount.
• StuH = Sturmhaubitze, which means an assault howitzer.
• StuK = Sturmkanone, which means an assault gun.