![]() ![]() The long-barrelled 75 mm gun of this Panzer IV is typical of larger late WWII designs built to destroy heavily armored tanks. The thin armour of the tanks meant that such weapons were effective against other vehicles, though the Germans fielded few tanks anyway and the Allied tanks concentrated on anti-infantry and infantry support activities. The early French Schneider CA1 mounted a short 75 mm gun in a sponson on the right hand side, while the Saint-Chamond mounted a standard 75 mm field gun in the nose. ![]() The first German tank, the A7V, used British-made 57 mm Maxim-Nordenfelt fortification guns captured from Belgium and Russia, mounted singly at the front. These guns proved too long for use in the British tank designs as they would come into contact with obstacles and the ground on uneven terrain, and the succeeding Mark IV tank of 1917 was equipped with the shortened 6 pounder 6 cwt version which can be considered the first specialised tank gun. The early British Mark I tanks of 1916 used two naval 57 mm QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss mounted either side in sponsons. These were naval or field artillery pieces stripped from their carriages and mounted in sponsons or casemates on armored vehicles. The first tanks were used to break through trench defences in support of infantry actions particularly machine gun positions during the First World War and they were fitted with machine guns or high explosive firing guns of modest calibre. ![]()
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