| Cannone da 47/32 M35 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Infantry gun / anti-tank gun |
| Place of origin | Italy |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Böhler |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | Travel: 315 kg (690 lb) Combat: 277 kg (610 lb) |
| Length | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) |
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| Caliber | 47 mm (1.85 in) |
| Elevation | -15°- +56° |
| Traverse | 62° |
| Muzzle velocity | 630 m/s (2,067 ft/s) AP 250 m/s (820 ft/s) HEAT |
| Maximum range | 7,000 m (7,700 yd) |
The Cannone da 47/32 M35 was an Austrian artillery piece produced under license in Italy during World War II. It was used both as an infantry gun and an anti-tank gun.
In contrast to other "dual purpose" artillery pieces of similar weight used during the war, such as the PaK 36 and Bofors 37 mm, it proved to be successful even in an anti-tank role especially when equipped with HEAT (Italian: "Effetto Pronto") rounds.
The Austrian firm of Böhler originally designed and manufactured the gun. In the 1930s Italy bought some of these guns from Böhler, and then began to produce the weapon under license, continuing its development. The same weapon was also used in the Austrian, Romanian, Soviet and Dutch armies. The Cannone da 47/32 M35 was the main armament in the M13/40 medium tank, the M14/41 medium tank, and experimentally on the AB 41 armored car (see photograph), and the 47/32 self propelled gun. The M15/42 featured a slightly improved version of this gun (the 47/40).
The 47/32 was built in two versions, the first with semipneumatic disk wheels, and the second (in 1939, from which the name 47/32 mod. 39) with improved barrel and suspension (in some series also electron wheels with celerflex semipneumatics).To tow this piece, the tractor OCI-780 CM and the light tank L3 were used, but these projects were soon abandoned as the gun was subjected to breaking at the axels spindles and shanks.