10H64

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10 cm Panzerabwehrwerfer 600 / 10cm Panzerwurfkanone 10H64
Type	anti-tank gun
Place of origin	Germany
Service history
Used by	Nazi Germany
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Krupp
Designed	1944-1945
Number built	prototypes
Specifications
Weight	1035 kg

Caliber	100 mm
Carriage	split tubular trail
Elevation	-5 to +30°
Traverse	60°
Muzzle velocity	550-600 m/s
Effective range	?, at least 750 m (anti-tank)
Maximum range	?, at least 6200 m (high explosive)

The 10 cm PAW 600 - later re-designated as 10H64 - was a lightweight anti-tank gun that utilized the high-low pressure system to fire hollow charge warheads (and most likely high explosive and smoke warheads as well).

[edit] Description

The German army was faced with various problems with regards their existing anti-tank designs in the latter stages of World War II. Some guns were too large or too heavy while others were not powerful enough.

Rheinmetall Borsig proposed a new design using the high-low pressure principle. This consisted of a light weight barrel with a heavier breech. A perforated metal plate connected the two parts which allowed the barrel to be lighter as it did not have to stand the full pressure of the charge while still providing reasonable range and performance. A simple light-weight carriage was designed for the weapon.

That other gun fired a warhead based on the 8.1 cm mortar hollow charge bomb and about 260 pieces were produced.

Krupp was developing a 10 cm design known as the 10cm PAW 600 or 10H64 at the end of the war but produced only prototypes.

Its shaped charge shell weighed 6.6 kg and was able to penetrate 200 mm steel at 60° (not that this is most likely the degree system which means that the armor is at 60° from the vertical to the flight path. The effect of angling like this is rather small, whereas 60° angling by the other definition (60° angle to the flight path) has about a doubling effect on the effective armor thickness). The steel quality used for such measurements in WW2 is also not necessarily identical to "RHA" as it is used to measure the armor penetration capability of post-WW2 munitions.

A ratio of 2 between caliber and penetration was good by WW2 standards and is explained by the late design and lack of penetration degrading spin (the 10H64 had a smoothbore barrel and fin stabilized shells). 200mm penetration would have been enough to defeat all existing tanks of WW2 unless the angle of impact prevented proper fusing

Other than in the case of the 81.4 mm caliber PAW this gun could not rely on quantity-produced mortar bombs as shells as the Germans didn't use 10 cm mortars in quantity at that time anymore.

The exact caliber is uncertain. The source (see below) states both "10 cm" as it does "10,5cm" and "100 mm x ??". German caliber designations were not always accurate, as 8 cm mortars (81.4mm) and 10 cm field cannons (10.5cm) proved.

The gun carriages in use were those of the 5 cm Pak 38 or the Sonderlafette V1. Both were only waist-high and would have easily been camouflaged well within their maximum effective range (a comparison to 8H63 concerning caliber, shaped charge shell weight and muzzle velocity suggests a higher effective range than 8H63's 750 m against tanks)..

The PAW were very special developments that enabled low-cost guns in old carriages to defeat the most modern tanks of WW2. Their maximum effective range was surpassed by classic anti-tank guns due to rather low muzzle velocity, but the non-spinning shaped charge shells offered effective anti-tank capability at ranges that exceeded the envelope of portable weapons.

[edit] Nomenclature

In 1944-5 the Germans changed their system of artillery designations from the old "year" system. Each weapon was to have a number showing their caliber group, a letter denoting ammunition group, and the last two digits were from the weapon drawing number. In this case 10 denoted 100 mm caliber using the H group of ammunition.

[edit] References

Gander, Terry and Chamberlain, Peter. Weapons of the Third Reich: An Encyclopedic Survey of All Small Arms, Artillery and Special Weapons of the German Land Forces 1939-1945. New York: Doubleday, 1979 ISBN 0-385-15090-3

German artillery of World War II

Tank & anti-tank guns