PaK 35/36 Anti-Tank Gun

In 1926, the Rheinmetall company created a prototype for a 37mm anti-tank gun known as the Obr.26. Over the years 1935-1936, Rheinmetall upgraded the Obr.26, replacing its entire chassis and wooden wheels with alloy wheels with rubber tires, and added extra shock absorption for the recoil. The resulting model would become known as the 3.7cm Pak 35/36 anti-tank gun.

It received its baptism by fire during the Spanish Civil War, where the machine demonstrated excellent combat performance against light armored tanks. It followed this further success in 1939 during the German invasion of Poland. But during the French campaign in 1940, it became clear that this gun was all but useless against heavy tanks. The attack on the USSR finally proved that this gun was no longer able to perform its combat duties.

Over the course of its mass production, just over 16,500 units were released.