TAB Episode 43: QF 2pdr Anti-Tank Gun
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 มี.ค. 2019
- Introduced just before the beginning of WW2 the 2pdr AT Gun was more than capable of dealing with Axis tanks at the beginning of the war but as tank armour got thicker it became outgunned. Despite this the 2pdr remained in service and equipped a plethora of tanks and armoured cars including the Valentine and Matilda.
The 2pdr performed well during the Battle of France, in North Africa and during the defence of Malaya against the Japanese but it was eventually replaced by bigger and better guns. In this video Matt looks at the history, development and use of Britain's first anti-tank gun.
Check out our accompanying blog on the 2pdr AT Gun over at: armourersbench.com/2019/03/10...
If you enjoyed the video please consider supporting our work via Patreon, TAB is a viewer supported, non-monetised channel and any help is very much appreciated!
Check out our Patreon page here: / thearmourersbench
Where to find TAB:
armourersbench.com
/ armourersbench
ko-fi.com/armourersbench
/ thearmourersbench
/ armourersbench
utreon.com/c/Armourers-Bench
imgur.com/user/ArmourersBench
/ discord
Don’t forget to like, comment, share and subscribe and help us spread the word!
Thanks for watching, if you'd like to support the project check out our Patreon page here: www.patreon.com/thearmourersbench
If you'd like to see more photographs of the 2pdr AT gun check out our accompanying indepth blog here: armourersbench.com/2019/03/10/the-2-pounder-anti-tank-gun/ Thanks! - Matt
My great uncle George Ireland told me the story of his deeds as a 2-per gunner on a portee defending Tobruk, in late ‘41-early ‘42. His battery was overrun and he was one of a very survivors, taken prisoner by the Italian bersagliere. He told me he had knocked out several tanks before being overrun. I don’t know which regiment or battery he was part of though. Interestingly, as a PoW, he was paraded in the desert in front of the top Italian brass and actually saw Mussolini arrive on a white horse. He and all the POWs felt very dejected and demoralised until Mussolini made the mistake of dismounting and inspecting Uncle George and his fellow POWs. Due to Mussolini, and the other Italian top brass’s, small stature, one of my Uncle’s mates burst into laughter at the absurd and comical scene and all the other POWs joined rendering the PR stunt a farse. They were duly mal-treated for a while but their morale rose sky high!
Wow great story!! That must have been a hard fought action. Took balls to man a Portee.
Mussolini was small?
Probably 3 RHA
Great episode Matt! Greatly enjoyed this look at some bigger stuff. Much maligned, it was, as you say right there with contemporary guns of the early war era.
Thanks Rob, appreciate it. Will eventually have a look at its big brother too!
A good little gun for its day!
Well researched, well scripted, well delivered, informative. Brings back memories of the old Airfix mag of the 1970s, take that as a compliment.
Very kind Mike, thank you for the feedback! Next on the list is the last of the three - the 17pdr! Thanks for watching - Matt
Every Brit’s favourite.
Thank you for posting this. One thing very apparent is how beautifully engineered the 2 pdr carriage was.
The question of the 2 pdr HE round is an interesting one. There's evidence that it was actually manufactured, but never issued because the HE content was so small it made it ineffectual. Re the evidence, there is documentation to that effect in TNA which I came across when researching the 6 pdr. Also, a few years ago the website 28 Days Later accessed a disused armament manufacturing facility, and photographed the interior of many buildings. One of the shots revealed an (empty?) wooden box still bearing its wartime labels and stencils, one of which stated "2pr HE".
Hope that's of interest.
very neat! especially the little john adaptor and ''super velocity'' ammo
I'd like to get a look at one of those, will have to keep my eye out! Thanks for watching glad you enjoyed it! - Matt
Another excellent episode with great descriptions of the various aspects and components of the two pounder.😁👌👌👏👏👏👏
Well researched and presented episode like always.
Very, very kind. Hopefully have some more artillery centric videos in the near future.
Fantastic video! Thank you, very informative.
Thanks for watching!
Excellent video, I actually hope you do more on towed anittank guns from WWII, they are a very undercovered piece of equipment!
It's definitely something I'd like to do more of, if I come across them I'll definitely cover them. Thanks for watching. - Matt
2 Pounder AP ammunition performance:
APHE (1934 pattern) = Up to 48mm. of RHA @ 0 degrees @ 100 yards (Declared obstelete in 1936, used only for target practice).
AP/T (1937 pattern) = Up to 64mm. of RHA @ 0 degrees @ 100 yards (Solid shot).
AP/T (1939 pattern) = Up to 77mm. of RHA @ 0 degrees @ 100 yards (Hadfield process hardened solid shot).
APCBC/T (1942 pattern) = Up to 84mm. of RHA @ 0 degrees @ 100 yards.
APSVCNR (Littlejohn) = Up to 104mm. of RHA @ 0 degrees @ 100 yards.
The 1934 pattern APHE shell (which I own an example of) contained 1.68 pounds of Picric Acid based Lydite explosive granules and had a base mounted Hotchkiss Mark XIV inertial deceleration impact fuse that employed a shotgun percussion cap as a detonator. Between 1934 & 1936, 164,000 of these APHE shells were manufactured for stockpiling. However, the War Department issued new specifications, in 1936, stipulating that the 2 pounder gun should have no less than a 70% probability of a penetration of a 25mm. RHA target, set vertically, at a range of 500 yards. The APHE shells only managed a best result of 28% out of several range tests, so Vickers hastily came up with a tool steel based solid shot projectile, to meet the new specification. In 1939 the Hadfield company demonstrated a chemically hardened solid shot projectile that exceeded the performance of the Vickers solid shot and this was adopted into service. This improved solid shot is referred to as "Hadfield Shot".
Thanks a lot, very interesting history.
Glad you enjoyed it
Very enjoyable episode
Ahh I'm glad you enjoyed it, I thought people might like some bigger stuff now and then. Thanks for watching - Matt
“We’re gonna need a bigger bench”
Haha love it!
good video lad
Appreciate it, Thanks for watching! - Matt
I’m from Singapore and the textbooks said the British lost due to the Japanese using tanks. The Ha Go and Chi Ha had paper thin armor so I didn’t think that was an issue.
It is if you don't have an ant-tank gun!
The Japanese armour plate was of very high quality. After the Milne Bay battle some of the plate was tested in Australia and found to be of higher standard than allied armour, there was not much of it.
I want one. A nice little 40mm pop gun for this 105mm Artilleryman.
Do the 40/60 Bofor!
I could never understand why a high explosive round was not supplied for this gun. I knew it was fitted in a few tanks but after seeing this video I now see just how widespread the gun was which begs the question, why no HE? Any one know why?
British army hard headedness. Anti tank guns only need anti tank projectiles.
@@owensthilaire8189 Not really, its just that the 2lber HE round didn't pack much of a punch.
@@JohnyG29 There were no HE rounds available for the 2lbr.
Solid shot only.
@@owensthilaire8189 Yes there were, the HE/T MkII.
Ffs.
They were not available for issue.
There is some question weather they were even put into production.
Reading comprehension is a list art I suppose.
There were no HE rounds available for the British army tank corps or royal artillery 2lbr gun.
Always puzzles me why the overcomplex mount was developed. Took much longer to get into battery than the simple split trail design used by most other nations.
The mount wasn't the problem, but the large Gunshield and the missing HE Shell.
In fact, the mount made it possible to mount the qf 2 pounder on portees while still be able to turn to both sides. In comparison, the Bofors 37mm At gun wich also was mounted on portees didn't had this possibility. It could only fire into the rear area of the truck.
Any idea if the sight bracket can be retracted so it sits behind the top of the gun shield when it is folded down? Also, do you know the height of the gun when on its wheeled carriage? I'm currently doing some research into the 2-pdr's use in pillboxes.
Need to get hold of a 2pdr manual for some exact numbers.
@@TheArmourersBench no worries, thanks. Pretty sure I've seen a reprint somewhere online.
It was not enough and should have been designed much farther ahead and a larger shot given the inevitable evolution of armor.
From what I have read the projectiles moved at such high velocity from this gun that they would often simply shatter when striking cemented, ( face hardened ) type armors. A capped AP round only slightly corrected this. Tungsten projectiles are dense enough to stay intact at very high speeds. Around 4000 fps. This is why the USA went with Depleted Uranium penetrators as it is even denser that Tungsten Carbide and can take even higher velocities before shattering.
Interesting thanks Owen!
Last sentence is incorrect. DU shatters before Tungsten does. DU has greater penetration at speeds below cca 1.7 km/s due to self sharpening. DU is used because its good enough and lower velocity means less barrel wear. You can google graphs of that.
The British army was so badly managed that the HE round was not used. But some Commonwealth armies did use HE rounds. Very effective against Japanese tanks, because the AT rounds went straight through.
Do you have any source for this? According to British sources the HE Shell never entered ordinary production in any GB- or Commonwealth Nation.
The Australian Army demanded HE Shells several times but never got some as far as I know.
@@papaaaaaaa2625 Na, of course it doesn't. Its just another nonsensical comment.
I'm a firm believer that the 2nd amendment has no size limit. There is no reason why these little beauties should not be in every American home!