Pz.Kpfw. 38 D mit 8 cm PAW 600

[tobias5555]

I got the new 38 D from Amusing Hobby on friday. A nice kit, but some minnor parts had to be added:

[deafpanzer]

I don't think I have seen this before... good start!

[tobias5555]

Thanks

[afvfan]

What a wonderfully bizarre muzzle brake. Looks like someone read too much Flash Gordon while designing it.

[wing_nut]

Nice. that guy should've ducked.

[moramarth]

Very interesting.  If that hull was built to take the Pz IV turret, I wonder what else that fitted the Pz IV turret ring would look good on it?  I've seen a model of a "Kugelblitz" turret on an E25 hull, and I understand it was to have been fitted to the Hetzer chassis, but it would appear it would be more comfortable on this hull than the other attempts to I have seen that attempted to recreate such a combination.

Regards,

M

[Leon]

That sure is odd looking! I like it.

[tobias5555]

I added some extra Amour and the tracks:







And the same model with an other turret:

[Leon]

Coming along nicely Tobias!

[Deleted]

The PAW 600 was the first ever reduced-propellant high-low pressure gun and only fired at 320m/s, less than half the muzzle velocity of the PaK40, as it relied on shaped charge rounds rather than kinetic energy shot and was only specified to be accurate to 750m. So it didn't actually need that daft triple-baffle muzzle brake. The field-carriage version had a fairly conventional brake.

Ammunition was derived from the 8cm Granatewerfer (mortar), hence the calibre. In some respects it could perhaps be considered as a breech-loading mortar.

[moramarth]

So it didn't actually need that daft triple-baffle muzzle brake. The field-carriage version had a fairly conventional brake.

While it certainly had a reduced muzzle energy, it was a reduced-recoil rather than recoilless; the initial field carriages were too weak and had to be beefed-up.  This was because the barrel assembly itself was quite light, so it didn't need much energy to accelerate it backwards.  The recoil mechanism is pretty compact compared with conventional guns and will certainly benefit from a muzzle brake, the bigger the better.  However, the bigger the muzzle brake, the more gas is deflected backwards and the nastier it is for the crew of an open mount (c.f. the Russian 122mm artillery piece).  With the crew in an enclosed turret this won't be a problem so you can stick on a big brake and reduce the strain on the mechanism.  With a gun on a field carriage any excess recoil energy will be transferred to the carriage making it jump; in a vehicle mount it would have all to be absorbed by the recoil mechanism creating strain...

...or at least that's how it looks to me, but I'm typing this at four in the morning on yet another sleepless night so my brain might be malfunctioning...

Regards,

M

[tobias5555]

If this muzzel break was needed or not: it looks so cool

[tobias5555]

I put a Little paint on this one: