Ordnance QF 17-pounder

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Ordnance QF 17-pounder
17-pounder in Batey ha-Osef museum, Israel
Type	Anti-tank gun Tank gun
Place of origin	United Kingdom
Service history
In service	1943–present
Used by	British Commonwealth
Wars	World War II Korean War Bizerte crisis[1]
Production history
Designed	1941–42
Produced	1942-
Specifications
Mass	3 long tons (3.05 t)
Barrel length	13 ft 9 in (4.19 m) 55 calibres
Width	2.2 m (7 ft 3 in)
Height	1.6 m (5 ft 3 in)
Crew	5-6
Shell	Fixed QF 76.2×583mmR (R/135mm)
Calibre	3 inches (76.2 mm)
Breech	Vertical sliding breech
Recoil	Hydro-pneumatic
Carriage	Split trail carriage, with gun shield.
Elevation	-6° to +16.5°
Traverse	60°
Rate of fire	20 rpm cyclic 10 rpm practical
Muzzle velocity	2,900 ft/s (880 m/s) APCBC HE 3,050 ft/s (930 m/s) APCBC [2] 3,950 ft/s (1,200 m/s) APDS
Effective firing range	1.5 km (0.93 mi)
Maximum firing range	10.5 km (6.5 mi)[3]

The Ordnance Quick-Firing 17-pounder (or just 17-pdr)^{[note 1]} was a 76.2 mm (3 inch) gun developed by the United Kingdom during World War II. It was used as an anti-tank gun on its own carriage, as well as equipping a number of British tanks. Used with the APDS shot, it was capable of defeating all but the thickest armour on German tanks. It was used to "up-gun" some foreign-built vehicles in British service, notably to produce the Sherman Firefly variant of the US M4 Sherman tank, giving British tank units the ability to hold their own against their German counterparts. In the anti-tank role, it was replaced after the war by the 120 mm BAT recoilless rifle. As a tank gun, it was succeeded by the 84 mm 20 pounder.

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