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The 17-pounder (17-pdr) was a 77 mm anti-tank gun developed by the United Kingdom during World War II. It was the best Allied anti-tank gun of the war, able to defeat all German armor and the equal of all their guns up to the massive 88/L71. It was used on a number of "up-gunned" tanks as well, notably the Sherman Firefly that gave British tank units the ability to hold their own with their German counterparts. A group of Canadian Firefly's destroyed Michael Wittman's Tiger I section shortly after D-Day, the first time that British armor had been able to stand up to this tank. It was replaced by the 120mm recoiless gun after the war.
History
With the increasing armor of German tanks, the British predicted that the 6-pounder would soon be inadequate. 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 setup up that spring, and with the appearance of Tiger tanks in North Africa, the first 100 prototype 17-pdrs were quickly sent off to help counter this new threat in September 1942. 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.
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 shells, which increased the power of the 17-pdr greatly.
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. Because of this the gun was issued strictly to armor and anti-tank artillery units, and not infantry.
The gun was also quickly adapted to use on various tank chassis, outperforming everything the US or British had. Early attempts to mount it on existing chassis were not tyerribly 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. US tanks of the era mounted a much less powerful 75mm design, but after several terrible months in action they adopted a version of the 17-pdr as well. US doctrine suggested that tank-on-tank combat was to be avoided and German armor should be dealt with by the dedicated M10 tank destroyer and its 90mm gun. The British also used the M10, as the Wolverine, but later replaced the US gun with the 17-pdr to create the Achilles.
Versions - 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 shells. 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 who's 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 90mm guns in the M10, 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.
Vehicles using
World War II
Post-war
External links - A guide to tracked British 17 pounders (http://www.ww2modelmaker.com/articlepub/SAtrckpdrs.htm)
- LemaireSoft (http://users.belgacom.net/artillery/artillerie/789.html#60190)
- Nase noviny (http://www.geocities.com/nasenoviny/17pdrGunEN.html)
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