7 . 62 cm Pak 36 ( r ) The 7 . 62 cm FK 36 ( r ) and Pak 36 ( r ) ( " 7 . 62 cm Feldkanone ( Field gun ) / 36 ( russisch ) and Panzerabwehrkanone ( Anti - tank gun ) 36 ( russisch ) " ) were German anti - tank guns used by the Wehrmacht in World War II . The gun was a conversion of the Soviet 76 - mm divisional gun M1936 ( F - 22 ) and the later 76 mm divisional gun M1939 ( USV ) and 76 mm divisional gun M1942 ( ZiS - 3 ) . Description . The FK36 ( r ) and Pak 36 ( r ) had split - trail carriage with transverse leaf spring axle suspension and steel wheels with foam rubber filled tires . The gun was equipped with semi - automatic vertical breech block ; recoil mechanism consisted of hydraulic recoil buffer and hydropneumatic recuperator . There was no limber ; the gun therefore could not be towed by a horse team . Development history . Soon after the German invasion of the USSR in 1941 , Wehrmacht units encountered new Soviet tanks : the medium T - 34 and the heavy KV . The thick sloped armor of these vehicles gave them a good degree of protection against German anti - tank weapons . The situation eventually led to requests for more powerful guns that would be able to destroy the aforementioned tanks from long range . Germany already had a suitable design , the 7 . 5 cm Pak 40 , entering production in late 1941 , but the first pieces were not delivered until 1942 . Until enough of those would be manufactured , expedient solutions were required . In the early stages of Operation Barbarossa , Germans captured a large number ( approximately 1 , 300 ) of Soviet 76 - mm divisional guns model 1936 ( F - 22 ) . Developed with anti - aircraft abilities in mind , the Soviet gun had powerful ballistics ; it was also originally intended to use more powerful cartridge than the one eventually adopted . However the design had some shortcomings in the anti - tank role . The shield was too high , the two man laying was inconvenient and the sighting system was more suitable for the F - 22 original divisional field gun role . Using considerable thrift , the German engineers were able to quickly modify the F - 22 , which by that time had been adopted in original form as the FK296 ( r ) by the Wehrmacht . In late 1941 German engineers developed a modernization program . The initial modifications that brought the guns to FK36 ( r ) standard included : The first of these converted F - 22s retained the original Russian ammunition ( confirmed by measuring the chamber length of 15 . 2 inches or 385 mm , and were still designated FK296 ( r ) on the sight ' s range drum . These early anti - tank conversions are discernable as they have not been fitted with a muzzle brake . These intermediate guns had various designations , but appear to have been referred to mainly as " FK36 ( r ) " , despite their dedicated anti - tank role seeming to warrant the designation " Pak " rather than " FK " . The conversion work was performed by HANOMAG with sight blocks made by Kerner & Co in 1942 ( ggn42 ) . Later up - grades were designated as the Pak36 ( r ) , and had : Production . First guns were delivered in February 1942 , and by the end of the year Germans converted 358 pieces , 169 in 1943 and 33 in 1944 . Additionally , 894 barrels were prepared for use in self - propelled guns . It is likely that these numbers include Pak 39 ( r ) , a similarly upgraded 76 - mm M1939 ( up to 300 pieces ) . Employment . The FK36 ( r ) and PaK 36 ( r ) saw combat on the Eastern Front and in North Africa . The first employment of the FK36 ( r ) was noted as early as March 1942 at Bir Hacheim in Libya , and by May 1942 , 117 are recorded as being in use by the Afrika Korps . The gun was well proven in combat , as demonstrated by Gunner Günter Halm ( Knights Cross ) , who destroyed 9 Valentine Tanks in a single action . The Pak 36 ( r ) was used in North Africa later in the campaign . The gun was actively used in both anti - tank and field artillery roles until the end of the war . As late as March 1945 Wehrmacht still possessed 165 Pak 36 ( r ) and Pak 39 ( r ) . The scale of use can be illustrated by the amount of ammunition consumed : 49 , 000 AP and 8 , 170 subcaliber AP shells in 1942 , and 151 , 390 in 1943 . For the sake of comparison , in 1942 the aforementioned Pak 40 fired 42 , 430 AP and 13 , 380 HEAT shells ; in 1943 the numbers grew significantly to 401 , 100 AP and 374 , 000 HEAT . The modernized barrels were also mounted in the below types of self - propelled guns : A number of Pak 36 ( r ) guns were captured by the Red Army ( e . g . in the Battle of Stalingrad ) and were adopted by anti - tank battalion s . Summary . When the FK36 ( r ) and Pak 36 ( r ) reached the battlefield , it was able to destroy any contemporary tank at normal combat ranges . Although the gun was heavier and had somewhat smaller penetration figures than the purpose - built Pak 40 , there is no doubt that the modernization of F - 22 provided Wehrmacht with very effective anti - tank gun at only fraction of the cost of producing one from scratch . Ammunition . The HEAT projectiles penetrated about 100 – 115 mm at meet angle 90° . References . Hogg , Ian V . " The Guns 1939 - 45 " 1st UK edition , Macdonald & Co . 1970 .