Ordnance QF 32-pounder

The 32-pdr mounted in the Assault Tank A39 Tortoise

The Ordnance QF 32 pounder or (32-pdr) was a British 96 mm gun, developed as a replacement for the Ordnance QF 17 pounder (17-pdr) anti tank and tank gun.

Like the German 88 mm gun it was developed from an anti-aircraft (AA) gun, in this case the QF 3.7 inch AA gun.

Developed during World War II the gun was used in the experimental Tortoise heavy tank, At least one 32-pdr was developed as an anti-tank gun on a wheeled carriage and a single example using a novel form of muzzle brake was installed in a de Haviland Mosquito as an up-gunned 'Tsetse' Mosquito FB MkXVIII mounting a 57 mm Molins gun). While flight trials did not take place until after the war the aircraft flew and the gun fired without problems.

The 32-pdr fired a 32 lb armour-piercing shot at a muzzle velocity of 2880 ft/s (877.8 m/s).

Development was halted with the end of the war, and the 17-pdr was replaced with the 20-pdr for tank use, and with the intention to develop guided weapons for infantry use.

See also

• British standard ordnance weights and measurements

References

• Allied Secret Weapons a Purnell's History of the World Wars Special. Phoebus, 1975, (No ISBN)