Cannone Anticarro Inglese da 40 mm L.52 Ordnance QF 2-pounder, 1940–1945

This cannone anticarro 2 pdr. inglese stands in front of the Museum of the Mareth Line in Tunisia, commemorating the battle which was fought here from febbraio to marzo 1943. The 2 pdr. was an exceptionally well-made gun, but it lacked the penetration capability required to defeat anything but the weakly armoured carri armati italiani e some of the early carri leggeri e carri medi tedeschi. In retrospect, the 2 pdr. was already obsolete at the beginning of the war. More than 500 of these guns were lost in the course of the 1940 campaign in Francia, but the remaining armi continued to serve quite well against the carri armati italiani encountered nel Nordafrica. The first procurement order for the more powerful cannone anticarro 6 pdr. had already been placed in the summer of 1940, but the gun could not be produced until 1941, e the first issue did not reach the troops in the desert until mid-1942.

In the meantime, the 2 pdr. was deployed in the portee role, mounted on a Morris-Commercial 15cwt truck. The 2 pdr. could be fired from the back of the truck, e the improved mobility gave the gun e crew noticeably better chances of survival in combat. The remaining Morris-Commercial trucks were later converted to tractors di cannone anticarro.

In 1943 the "Little John" squeeze bore attachment was adopted to increase the velocity ed armour penetration of the 2 pdr. gun. Autoblindi e carri armati leggeri which could not be upgraded to a larger gun, received the Little John attachment to keep them in service a while longer. When the 6th Airborne Armoured Recce Regiment landed in Francia in 1944 most of their gliderborne carri armati Tetrach were equipped con Little Johns.

Modellini Disponibili

• 2 pdr. Anti-Tank Gun, 20 mm SHQ FBG60
• 2 pdr. Anti-Tank Gun tirante, 1:76 Hinchliffe 20/49A
• 2 pdr. Anti-Tank Gun all'avantreno, 1:76 Hinchliffe 20/498
• 2 pdr. Anti-Tank Gun (8th Army), 15 mm Flames of War BR500
• 2 pdr. Anti-Tank Gun & Crew, 15 mm Minifigs BV-83
• 2 pdr. Anti-Tank Gun & Crew, 1:300 HEROICS & ROS B36

Caratteristiche Tecniche

• Calibro: 40 mm
• Lunghezza canna: L.52 (2082 mm)
• Peso: 797 kg
• Elevazione: -5° to +23°
• Angolo di tiro: 360°
• Cadenza di tiro:
• Peso della munizione: 907 g per round
• Velocità alla volata: 808 m/sec
• Gittata utile: 1,000 m
• Perforazione della carrozza a 0-100 m:
  • A.P./T. (Armour Piercing Tracer) 84 mm
  • A.P.S.V. (A.P. Squeezed Velocity, 1943) con "Little John", 103 mm

Bibliografia

• Funcken, L. & F.: L’Uniforme et les Armes des Soldats de la Guerre 1939–1945, p. 127
• Hogg, Ian: Twentieth-Century Artillery
• Weeks, John: Men Against Tanks

Utilizzo Storico

• Cannone anticarro inglese e del Commonwealth britannico, 1937–1943
  • Anti-Tank Regiment
• Cannone da carro inglese e del Commonwealth britannico, 1934–1945
  • Autoblindo Daimler Mk.I
  • Autoblindo Daimler Mk.II
  • Autoblindo Coventry Mk.I, 1944-45
  • Carro Armato Leggero Mk.VII, Tetrarch I
  • A.9 Cruiser Tank Mk.I, 1934
  • A.10 Cruiser Tank Mk.II, 1938
  • A.12 "Matilda" II, Carro da Fanteria Mk.I
  • A.12 "Matilda" III, Carro da Fanteria Mk.II, 1939–1942
  • A.13 Cruiser Tank Mk.III, 1938
  • A.13 Cruiser Tank Mk.IV
  • A.13 Cruiser Tank Mk.V "Covenanter"
  • A.14 Cruiser Tank "Crusader" I
  • A.15 Cruiser Tank Mk.VI "Crusader" II
  • A.17 Incrociatore/Carro da Fanteria Mk.III "Valentine" I, 1940
  • A.18 Incrociatore/Carro da Fanteria Mk.III "Valentine" II
  • A.19 Incrociatore/Carro da Fanteria Mk.III "Valentine" III
  • A.20 Incrociatore/Carro da Fanteria Mk.III "Valentine" IV
  • A.21 Incrociatore/Carro da Fanteria Mk.III "Valentine" V
  • Incrociatore/Carro da Fanteria Mk.III "Valentine" VI
  • Incrociatore/Carro da Fanteria Mk.III "Valentine" VII
  • A.22 "Churchill" I, Carro da Fanteria Mk.IV, 1941
  • A.23 "Churchill" II, Carro da Fanteria Mk.IV

Carri Semoventi

• Truck, 4x4, AT Portee (2 pdr.), Morris-Commercial C8/MG

The towed cannone anticarro 2 pdr. was taken out of service when more powerful cannoni anticarro 6 pdr. became available in sufficient numbers. However, the 2 pdr. cannone da carro did serve until the end of the war as the main armament of the Daimler autoblindo e carro armato leggero Tetrach. Most of these veicoli had their guns fitted con the "Little John" squeeze bore attachment which increased the armour penetration capability of the 2 pdr. by 23 percent.

Domande più frequenti

Per ulteriori informazioni, per favore contatta la redazione di Rivista Military Miniatures nel Miniatures Forum.

Soldatini Britannici della Seconda Guerra Mondiale

– Pubblicato: 12.02.2001 – Aggiornato: 11.07.2007
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