What's new
British Ordnance Collectors Network

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

German Pak 36(r) 76mm Antitank Gun - Russian M1936 F-22 Divisional Gun

M8owner

Well-Known Member
I made a special trip to Fort Hood, TX to see this weapon as it is one of my favorites from WWII. There are very few examples remaining, and the pictures of existing weapons are few and of poor quality. I saw this gun in the past and recalled that it was still at the fort. It started life as a Russian F-22 76mm Divisional gun. The Germans captured thousands in 1941, and they converted many into the Pak 36(r) - the "r" meaning Russian. The F-22 is often called an antitank gun, but it was most definitely a field gun primarily for indirect fire. It uses the Russian standard PG-1 artillery sight, can elevate to almost vertical, and the transverse and elevation handles are on opposite sides of the breech - think of two guys trying to track a moving German tank. It did have AP ammunition.

The Germans cut off the top of the gun shield and used it to reinforce the remainder of the shield. They bored out the chamber to accept Pak 40 shell cases - it used special 76mm projectiles vs. 75mm for the Pak 40. That is quite a feat when you consider the Pak 40 case is almost twice as tall the standard Russian 76mm case. They also added a the Pak 40 sight mount so it could use the ZF direct fire telescopic sight. Finally, they moved the elevation crank handle to the left side of the gun by passing the drive shaft through the elevation gear. This cut down the max elevation to 18 degrees. Think of how far this gun has traveled: made in Russian, captured by Germans and modified in Germany, shipped to North Africa where it was captured by Allied forces and shipped to the US. These were also used in several models of the Marder tank hunter.
 

Attachments

  • 76mm Pak 36(r) Ft. Hood6.jpg
    76mm Pak 36(r) Ft. Hood6.jpg
    304.3 KB · Views: 27
  • 76mm Pak 36(r) Ft. Hood5.jpg
    76mm Pak 36(r) Ft. Hood5.jpg
    285.5 KB · Views: 28
  • 76mm Pak 36(r) Ft. Hood4.jpg
    76mm Pak 36(r) Ft. Hood4.jpg
    301.5 KB · Views: 31
  • 76mm Pak 36(r) Ft. Hood3.jpg
    76mm Pak 36(r) Ft. Hood3.jpg
    296.2 KB · Views: 30
  • 76mm Pak 36(r) Ft. Hood2.jpg
    76mm Pak 36(r) Ft. Hood2.jpg
    323.6 KB · Views: 27
  • 76mm Pak 36(r) Ft. Hood.jpg
    76mm Pak 36(r) Ft. Hood.jpg
    310.2 KB · Views: 31
Great post Steve.
I'm not familiar with the PG-1 sight on the original F22.
If they had to use direct fire did they use the PG-1 somehow or was there some other sighting device?
 
It is a wonder that the Russians were able to hit anything with their 76mm guns in the antitank mode. The PG-1 sight has a simple crosshair. Here it is sitting on its sight mount. There are four ammunition ranging drums. You have to select the ammo type then dial in the range to the target. You have to select full charge HE, reduced charge HE, armor piercing or HEAT. Almost all Russian artillery pieces used the PG-1 sight. This same sighting system was used on all three models of the 76mm Divisional guns: F-22 Model 1936; Model 1939 and the ZiS-3 or Model 1942. These three guns are commonly referred to as antitank guns. They were also called "Crash Bangs" by the Germans.
 

Attachments

  • PG-1 76mm Sight.jpg
    PG-1 76mm Sight.jpg
    287.2 KB · Views: 19
Last edited:
Actually the designation for this gun is 7,62 cm Pak 36, so without the (r). I think the reason for that is, that it was radically converted by the Germans and couldn't fire the standard Russian ammo, but only German ammo.
 

Attachments

  • 7,62 Pak 36.jpg
    7,62 Pak 36.jpg
    222.7 KB · Views: 9
Top