Recoilless!

This is coolbert:

You too are surprised?

During the Battle of Crete [1941], the German employed for the first time in combat a recoilless gun. A recoilless weapon the intent of which was to provide fire support, indirect and direct, for the paratroop, air landed, and mountain units.

NOT a recoilless rifle, that direct fire anti-tank weapon as developed by a number of nations in the aftermath of World War Two [WW2]. Understand that to be the case.

A recoilless 75 mm. artillery piece, firing conventional artillery and anti-tank ammo, to be used in the indirect and direct fire mode, and also anti-tank if needed. But not having a specialized vented HEAT round as fired by most post-WW2 recoilless "rifles".




"The first recoilless rifle [gun] to enter service in Germany was the 7.5 cm Leichtgeschütz 40 ("light gun" '40), a simple 75 mm smoothbore recoilless gun developed to give German airborne troops some useful artillery and anti-tank support that could be parachuted into battle. The 75 was found to be so useful during the invasion of Crete"




A recoilless gun, that concept being first developed and brought to a degree of completion and fruition with the American Davis gun:

"The Davis gun was the first true recoilless gun developed and taken into service. It was developed by Commander Cleland Davis of the US Navy, in 1910, just prior to World War I. His design connected two guns back to back, with the backwards-facing gun loaded with lead balls and grease of the same weight as the shell in the other gun"

The German recoilless gun not being that light in weight, but being air-droppable and having a decent range for weapon of that caliber. Smoothbore, so I am wondering what the accuracy was.

"Weight 145 kg (319 lbs) - - Effective range 6,800 m (7,434 yds)"

I might be wrong about this, bu the Leichtgeschütz 40 could be broken down into sections and "backpacked" by the crew? This would be an additional advantage, especially in mountainous terrain!

Modern recoilless rifles, direct fire almost exclusively, had a dedicated and specialized ammo that must be fired. NOT so with the Leichtgeschütz 40! Used conventional ammo already being manufactured and found in the inventory.

"One characteristic common to all the German recoilless guns was that they used ordinary shells, albeit with different cartridge cases to cater to the unique issues involved in with the recoilless principles. This gun used the HE shells from the 7.5 cm Gebirgsgeschütz (Mountain Gun) 36 and the anti-tank shell of the 7.5 cm Feldkanone 16, neuer Art (Field Cannon, New Model)"

Even larger caliber and more potent recoilless guns were in the works, on the drawing boards as designs worthy of consideration. But nothing ever came of it? NOT since WW2 and probably NEVER again. Recoilless rifle in the directy fire anti-tank role were replaced some time ago by the anti-tank guided-missile [ATGM]. That recoilless gun, an artillery piece, is also an item passe', gone forever?

coolbert.