37 Mm Anti-tank Gun M1930 (1-K) - Development and Production

Development and Production

Soviet Union started to develop anti-tank guns in late 1920s. These attempts failed to advance beyond early stages, as Soviet engineers lacked experience with this kind of weapons. It was clear that USSR needed technical assistance in modernizing its arsenal.

Germany could offer such assistance; its first anti-tank gun–37 mm gun model 18–was introduced before the end of World War I. Treaty of Versailles forbade Germany to have anti-tank artillery, but Rheinmetall secretly continued to work on anti-tank guns and in 1926 built a pre-production sample of a new 3.7 cm gun model 26. From their part, Germans were interested in any opportunity to proceed with development of this and other types of weapons.

In 1929, Rheinmetall created a dummy company Butast for contacts with USSR. In accordance with the Sovnarkom decision from 8 August 1930, on 28 August in Berlin a secret agreement was signed. Germans obliged to help USSR with production of six artillery systems:

• 37-mm anti-tank gun
• 76-mm anti-aircraft gun
• 152-mm mortar
• 152-mm howitzer
• 20-mm anti-aircraft autocannon
• 37-mm anti-aircraft autocannon

For $1,125 mil. Rheinmetall supplied pre-production samples, documentation and parts from which in USSR a few pieces of each type could be assembled. All involved weapons were modern, many of the same designs were eventually used by Wehrmacht in World War II. In USSR these weapons were adopted; however even with German help Soviet industry still was not ready for mass production of some types, such as anti-aircraft autocannons.

Among other pieces, Rheinmetall brought to USSR 12 37 mm anti-tank guns, which can be seen as early variant of PaK 35/36 - the most numerous anti-tank gun of Wehrmacht until 1942. In USSR the gun was designated 37-mm anti-tank gun model 1930 (1-K) (Russian: 37-мм противотанковая пушка образца 1930 года (1-К)).