The Bordkanone BK 3,7 was a 37mm anti-tank/bomber autocannon

Autocannon

An autocannon or automatic cannon is a rapid-fire projectile weapon firing a shell as opposed to the bullet fired by a machine gun. Autocannons often have a larger caliber than a machine gun . Usually, autocannons are smaller than a field gun or other artillery, and are mechanically loaded for a...

 based on the earlier 37 mm Flak 18

3.7 cm FlaK 43

The 3.7 cm Flak 18/36/37/43 were series of anti-aircraft cannon produced by Nazi Germany, which saw widespread service in the Second World War. The cannon was fully automatic and effective against aircraft flying at altitudes up to 4200 meters. The cannon was produced in both towed and...

 made by Rheinmetall

Rheinmetall

Rheinmetall AG is a German automotive and defence company with factories in Düsseldorf, Kassel and Unterlüß. The company has a long tradition of making guns and artillery pieces...

. It was mounted on World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

 aircraft such as the anti-tank or bomber-destroyer versions of the Junkers Ju 87

Junkers Ju 87

The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka was a two-man German ground-attack aircraft...

D-3 and G-2, Henschel Hs 129

Henschel Hs 129

The Henschel Hs 129 was a World War II ground-attack aircraft fielded by the German Luftwaffe. Its nickname, the Panzerknacker , is a deliberate pun—in German, it also means "safe cracker"...

B-2/R3, Messerschmitt Bf 110

Messerschmitt Bf 110

The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often called Me 110, was a twin-engine heavy fighter in the service of the Luftwaffe during World War II. Hermann Göring was a proponent of the Bf 110, and nicknamed it his Eisenseiten...

G-2/R1-3, and others. The cannon could be attached under the wings or fuselage of the aircraft as a self-contained gun pod

Gun pod

A gun pod is a detachable pod or pack containing machine guns or automatic cannon and ancillaries, mounted externally on a vehicle such as a military aircraft which may or may not also have its own guns....

 with a 12-round magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

. It fired APCR (Tungsten

Tungsten

Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...

 hard core) ammunition or high explosive shells

Shell (projectile)

A shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot . Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used...

 in 37x263B mm caliber

Caliber

In guns including firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel in relation to the diameter of the projectile used in it....

 at 160 rounds per minute.

Specifications

• Type: single-barrel automatic cannon
• Caliber: 37 mm (1.46 in)
• Cartridge: 37 mm x 263
• Operation: Short Recoil
• Length: 3.63 m (11 ft 11 in)
• Weight: 295 kg (650 lb)
• Rate of fire: 160 rpm
• Muzzle velocity: 1,170 to 780 m/s (3,836 to 2,557 ft/s)
• Projectile weight: APCR 380 g, HE 640 g, AT
  AT
  The word at is an English word, which may act as a preposition AT may also refer to:- Places :* Austria's ISO, 2-letter country code** .at, the Internet country code top-level domain for Austria...
  
   685 g

See also

• Vickers S gun
• COW 37 mm gun
  COW 37 mm gun
  The COW 37 mm gun was a British automatic cannon that was developed as a heavy-calibre aircraft weapon.It was trialled in several installations and specified for the Westland C.O.W. Gun Fighter...
  
  
• 37 mm Gun M3
• Oldsmobile M4 cannon
  M4 cannon
  The 37 mm Automatic Gun, M4, known as the T9 during development, was a 37 mm autocannon designed by John Browning and used in the Bell P-39 Airacobra and P-63 Kingcobra fighters, as well as experimentally on other designs. It provided interceptors with a weapon that could shoot down any...
  
  
• Nudelman-Suranov NS-37
  Nudelman-Suranov NS-37
  The Nudelman-Suranov NS-37 was a aircraft cannon, which replaced the unreliable Shpitalny Sh-37 gun. Large caliber was planned to allow destruction of both ground targets and planes .Developed by A. E. Nudelman and A...
  
  
• Nudelman N-37
  Nudelman N-37
  The N-37 was a powerful, 37 mm aircraft cannon used by the Soviet Union. It was designed by V. Ya. Nemenov of A.E. Nudelman's OKB-16 to replace the wartime Nudelman-Suranov NS-37, entering service in 1946...