17 pounder anti-tank gun

Originally posted by Tony Smith
The 17pdr was being produced in Australia in the early half of 1943. I'm surprised that it should go into production here and not also in Canada. What was the source of the 17pdr guns fitted to Sherman Fireflies?

Hanno is our man for this; as I understand it the 17pdr tank gun is not a "simple" fit of the barrel tube but some substantial mods were done to shoe-horn the thing in, isn't the whole breech assembly rotated 90 degrees? Also I think the source of all VC Fireflies and their guns was GB since the Americans were never interested in the 17pdr so the modified gun was fitted to a standard M4A4, as delivered, over here. Hence perhaps why there was never enough of them.

There are some paradoxical things in tank gunnery, the 17pdr would sometimes not penetrate where a lesser gun would; simply as the velocity was so great the round shattered on impact and again trials showed for some engagements this was true also of the 2pdr against the American 37mm. Some types of 17pdr ammo was also desperately inaccurate although very potent, the chances of a first-round hit being slim indeed.

R.