3.7 cm TAK 1918

• Name — 3.7 cm TAK 1918 • Type — Anti-tank gun • Wars — World War I • Designer — Rheinmetall • Number — ~600 • Length — 2.17 m • Width — 730 mm • Height — 515 mm • Action — Manual • Origin — German Empire • Is Ranged — yes • Is Artillery — yes • Used By — German Empire • Design Date — 1918 • Manufacturer — Rheinmetall • Production Date — 1918 • Weight — 1020 lb travel 175 kg combat • Part Length — 780 mm L/21 • Crew — 7 • Cartridge — Fixed 37x94mm R 460 g • Velocity — 435 m/s • Range — 300 m • Max Range — 2866 yd • Recoil — None • Carriage — Box trail • Elevation — -6° to +9° • Traverse — 21°

At first, the German High Command was indifferent to the idea of developing specialized anti-tank weapons. The problem of dealing with tanks was considered to be a tactical problem and not a technical problem. Riflemen and machine gunners were given armor-piercing k bullets, while artillery units were trained to engage the tanks with direct fire. However, once allied tanks began to be encountered in greater numbers and employed with better tactical coordination an emergency program was launched to develop weapons and tactics to counter the threat from tanks. The first response to the tank threat was an anti-tank rifle based on the standard Mauser bolt-action rifle of the time, the Gewehr 98. The new Mauser 1918 Tankgewehr was a scaled up version of the Gewehr 98 firing a 13.25 × 92 mm SR armor-piercing round. Although adequate to pierce the armor of the time this gun proved unpopular due to its weight of 18.5 kg and strong recoil. The second gun was the Maschinengewehr 18 Tank und Flieger or MG 18 TuF, which was a dual-purpose anti-tank and anti-aircraft heavy machine gun based on the MG 08 and firing the same 13.25 mm round as the T-Gewehr. However, the MG 18 TuF was expensive, heavy, complex and never reached service. In July 1918, the OHL asked both Krupp and Rheinmetall to submit designs for a competition for a new anti-tank weapon with greater range and better penetration than previous weapons. Both companies presented a number of prototypes for the competition and after tests, during August 1918 at the Kummersdorf Proving Grounds, the Rheinmetall design was declared the winner. The Rheinmetall design was considered mobile, stable and accurate enough to be useful in combat.

The 3.7 cm TAK 1918 was to be deployed by Minenwerfer Battalions, with each receiving 32 guns. Training was to be conducted by instructors of the Infanteriegeschützbatterien (Infantry Gun Batteries) who would teach the new gunners anti-tank tactics. Each gun would have a seven-member crew consisting of a gunner, a loader, a commander, and four assistants who would provide covering fire and protection from infantry attacks. Two guns would form a team under the command of a four-member team consisting of a commander, a second in command, and two dispatch runners. The two guns would then be deployed to provide overlapping fields of fire and mutual assistance. An initial order for 300 guns was placed and this was soon raised to 1,020 guns. At the end of the war, approximately 600 guns had been delivered. The Bundeswehr Museum of German Defense Technology in Koblenz has one of this specimen in its collection.

• 3.7 cm Infanteriegeschütz M.15 • 37 mm trench gun M1915 • Canon d'Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 TRP • Type 11 37 mm infantry gun