K 44 series of 128mm towed guns

K 44

SERIES OF 128MM TOWED GUNS

The K 44 128mm field gun was created using the 128mm flak 40 anti aircraft gun as a basis. Both Rheinmetall & Krupp produced prototypes of the gun in 1943 and mass production begun near the end of 1944 though production difficulties severly hampered delivery. It was also used as an anti-tank gun by the heavy anti tank units of the wehrmacht. It was to be replaced by the K 81, a true dual-purpose weapon, but production of the mounting was so slow that barrels were mounted on a variety of captured carriages. Both versions of the weapon were mounted on a specially constructed carriage/lafette which allowed it to turn the gun around to 45 degrees. For protection against sharpnel and small-arms a shield was fitted. Thanks to a semi automatic loading/firing system the K 44 was able to fire 5 rounds per minute. The main ammunition was an armour piercing round weighing 28.3-kilograms with a muzzle velocity of 920mps. The shrapnel/explosive round had a shell weight of 28-kilograms and the same muzzle velocity as the armor piercing round. The weapon had a very good battle characteristics and was very sucessful but it showed the end of the line for the development of German anti tank guns to battle against tanks. With the increase in calibre from 37mm to 128mm it greatly increased the combat weight from 450kg to 9738kg which made it not very useful in combat even though it had a great anti tank capability.