Weight: 0.62-tons 560-kg)

Length: 13’ 2” (4.02-m)

Width: 5' 4” (1.63-m)

Crew: 4

Caliber: 1.77” (45-mm)

Barrel Length: 46-calibers

Elevation: -8- to +25-degrees

Traverse: 60-degrees

Maximum Range: 4,374-yards (4,000-m)

Effective Range: 930-yards (850-m)

Muzzle Velocity: 2,493-fps (760-m/s)

Armor Penetration:

1.69” at 546-yards @ 90-degrees

1.26” at 1,093-yards @ 90-degrees

1.57” at 546-yards @ 60-degrees

1.10” at 1,093-yards @ 60-degrees

In the beginning of the 1930s the USSR went on an arms shopping spree. They bought tanks and engines from UK, aircraft and tanks from the U.S. and guns from Germany. One of the guns that was purchased was the prototype of what would become a 37-mm Pak 35/36. The Soviet military liked it and bought the license to mass-produce it. The Soviet designation was 37-mm Model 1930.

In 1931 the decision was made to improve the penetration of the gun by increasing its caliber. A new 45-mm barrel was designed and placed over the existing mount. The reason for choosing the unusual up until then caliber for a gun was a large surplus of the 47-mm rounds left over from the Tsarist navy, these rounds were reworked into the rounds for the 45-mm gun. The new gun was so successful that it became the main tank, anti-tank and naval anti-aircraft gun of the USSR. The new anti-tank gun became 45-mm Model 1932. The Germans were constantly improving their Pak 35/36 gun and in 1937 the USSR bought the information about the updated mount. The new updated 45-mm gun was accepted into production as model 1937.

The 45-mm Model 1937 gun became the main anti-tank gun of the Soviet army. The gun had a good penetration on paper, but due to the quality control issues the ammo had poor performance in real life. The quality control issues were mostly solved by mid-1942, but the inability to penetrate the armor of the German tanks by the main tank and anti-tank gun of the Soviet army played its part in the Soviet defeats of 1941.

37,354 guns were built until the production stopped in 1943 in favor of a longer barreled 45-mm Model 1942 gun. The Model 1942 gun extended the barrel by 22-calibers to 68-, which increased penetration by 50-percent. The gun was in production until 1945 and 10,843 were made. Despite the fact that it was useless against newer German tanks it remained the main anti-tank gun of the Red Army until the end of the war.

Transport Cost to Storage: $660