PaK 38 Anti-Tank Gun in a Birch Wood, WWII (XX0014)

The PaK 38 in ambush

Light comes down through the birches onto a gun almost hidden in the grass: low shield, long barrel with a muzzle brake. The commander, down on one knee, signals with his arm outstretched; the loader holds a round ready; behind the shield one man covers his ears, waiting for the shot.

What the PaK 38 was

The 5 cm PaK 38 was the German army’s standard anti-tank gun in the middle years of the war. Low, light and with a long barrel, it replaced the 37 mm gun that had proved too weak against the new tanks.

Fighting from hiding

An anti-tank gun survived by not being seen: hidden at the edge of a wood, it waited for the tanks to come close and fired first, at their sides.

The same carriage, another gun

🔗 The PaK 97/38, a French 75 mm barrel on the carriage of the PaK 38, is in XX0039.