- For the Steel Division II unit see SD2:PaK 36 37mm
PaK 36 37mm is a German Anti-tank unit. Inadequate against better armored tanks, its light weight (450kg) made it the only viable option for air-mobile and airborne units.
PaK 36 37mm is fielded by the 3rd rate divisions 91. Luftlande and Festung Groß-Paris giving both capability against lightly armored units and leaving both highly vulnerable to enemy tanks.
The 3. Fallschirmjäger division fields different AT guns: L.PaK 41 Gerlich and Puppchen.
Strategy[ | ]
PaK 36 37mm is a good weapon against lightly armored vehicles, but PaK 36 37mm is neither fish nor fowl:
- The AP performance of the 5-cm-PaK 38 (L/60) exceeds that of the PaK 36 37mm by an amount that makes the latter unsuited to be used against medium tanks.
- The HE performance of the 7,5 cm le.IG 18 or the 15-cm s.IG. 33 far exceed that of the PaK 36 37mm.
Any division fielding both is to be considered vastly superior to a division fielding neither but the PaK 36 37mm instead.
In-game the PaK 36 37mm has only 1 AP less then its successor, the PaK 38 50mm. But, far more important, the PaK 36 37mm does less suppression damage and has 1 crew member less (4 as opposed to the 5 of the PaK 38).
When fielding the unit[ | ]
- Any of the Sherman tanks will supress or even destroy the PaK 36 37mm before they become suppressed by being shot at from this gun at ranges 801m to 1000m with their 75mm HE rounds. At 800m, the Shermans start using their 12.7mm to suppress this unit even faster, and at 600m they start using their 7.62mm as well. At less then 300m, PaK 36 37mm can destroy a Sherman with 1 shot.
- Against light tanks, such as the M5A1 and its derivatives, the CMD M22 or the M8, PaK 36 37mm has a good fighting chance.
- Lightly armored and unarmored vehicles should be considered as the main targets of this weapon.
When opponent fields the unit[ | ]
Use your tanks (especially Shermans) to fight and destroy this anti-tank unit fast and reliably. Do not send Infantry in the open against it, and avoid placing any lightly armored vehicle withing its 1000m range!
Background[ | ]
The 3.7 cm Pak 36 L/45 was first produced in 1928 and first used in the Spanish Civil War in 1936, where it proved very effective against solitary light tanks. Its limitations became clear during the Battle of France (10 May – 25 June 1940 (46 days)), as British Mathilda II tanks and French Char B1 tanks were impervious against the light calibre anti-tank guns. Nevertheless, the majority of Allied tanks were light tanks and vulnerable to the Pak 36.
During Operation Barbarossa beginning in Summer 1941, the Pak 36 could deal with the BT-7 and T-26 light tanks. However, the AT gun was grossly inadequate against the T-34 and KV-1, which in contrast to medium tanks during the Battle of France, were used combined and in much higher numbers.
Despite the gun having already proven to be inadequate and despite the possibility of dealing with much higher numbers of tanks in the battles to come, the 5 cm Pak 38 L/60 only started replacing the Pak 36 in mid-1941, and only gradualy and for many units the PaK 36 37mm remained the standard AT gun until 1942.
The introduction of the Stielgranate 41, a shaped charge with a HEAT warhead, allowed PaK 36 37mm to destroy all World War 2 tanks at close range. On the downside, the low-velocity shaped charge was inaccurate and thus the effective range to engage enemy tanks was around 300m.
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