2 cm KwK 30


The 2 cm KwK 30 L/55 was a German 2 cm cannon used as the main armament of the German Sd.Kfz.121 Panzerkampfwagen II light tank and various reconnaissance vehicles. It was used during the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War. It was produced by Mauser and Rheinmetall-Borsig from 1935.
The KwK 30 also served as the basis for the 20 mm C/30, an aircraft variant mounted experimentally in some Heinkel He 112 fighters and proved to make an excellent ground-attack weapon during the Spanish Civil War. Direct ground-attack was not considered a priority for the Luftwaffe and thus, the cannon was not used on other designs.
An improved version, the 2 cm KwK 38 L/55 , was introduced in 1942 and mounted mainly on armored cars. The KwK 38, equipped with the longer L/65 Flakbarrel, was used on the Panzer II Luchs and also on the Sd.Kfz.251/17 Schützenpanzerwagen (2 cm) Platoon leader vehicle, which had the gun on a pedestal mounting with a small armored turret to protect the gunner.

Vehicles mounted on

Ammunition

The 2 cm KwK 30 used the 20×138mmB cartridge. Average penetration performance established against rolled homogenous steel armor plate laid back at 30° from the vertical.PzGr.39 PzGr.40 2 cm Sprgr. 39
German designationUS AbbreviationProjectile weight Bursting chargeMuzzle velocity Description
Sprenggranatpatrone L'spur mit ZerlegerHEF-T1156.2 g HE 888 m/sNose fuzed tracer round, self-destruct after 5.5 - 6.5 seconds due to tracer burn-through.
Sprenggranatpatrone L'spur W mit ZerlegerHEF-T1206.2 g HE ?Nose fuzed tracer round with heat transfer. Self-destruct after 5.5 - 6.5 seconds due to tracer burn-through.
Sprenggranatpatrone L'spur mit ZerlegerHEF-T1206.6 g HE ?Boat-tailed HE-Frag. tracer round with nose fuze. Self-destruct at 2000m range due to tracer burn-through.
Sprenggranatpatrone 39 ErdHEF 13211 g HE ?995 m/sHE-Frag. round with nose fuze, no tracer.
Brandsprenggranatpatrone L'spur mit ZerlegerHEI -T120-1222.4 g HE +
4.1 g incendiary 		900 m/sNose fuze, tracer, with self-destruct after 5.5 - 6.5 seconds due to tracer burn-through.
Brandsprenggranatpatrone ohne L'spur mit ZerlegerHEI 115-12022 g total
20 g HE Hexogen 5
+ 2 g incendiary powder		900 m/sNose fuze, no tracer, self-destruct after 5.5 - 8 seconds flight. Lack of tracer and high density of incendiary allows heavy filling load.
Brandsprenggranatpatrone vk. L'spur W mit ZerlegerHEI -T13219 g HE ? + ? g incendiary 995 m/sNose fuzed HEI tracer round with heat transfer. Self-destruct after 5.5 second due to tracer burn-through.
Brandsprenggranatpatrone mit Zerleger?HEI 100? g HE ? +
? g incendiary 		1050 m/sNose fuze, no tracer, with self-destruct?
Brandsprenggranatpatrone L'spur mit Zerleger?HEI -T100? g HE ? +
? g incendiary 		1050 m/sNose fuze, tracer, with self-destruct? after ? second due to tracer burn-through.
Panzergranatpatrone L'spur mit ZerlegerAPHEI-T1462.4 g +
? g incendiary 		830 m/sBase-fuzed tracer round, with self-destruct due to tracer burn-through after 4.5 second flight.
Panzergranatpatrone 39AP148w/o filling780 m/sNo fuze, no tracer or self-destruct function.
Panzergranatpatrone 40 L'spurAPIHC-T
APICR-T
HVAPI-T		100Light metal shell,
special steel core		1050 m/sTungsten carbide core. Tracer round, with no fuze or self-destruct function. Tracer burn-through after 0,9 second flight.
Penetrating effect with incendiary effect due to melting of light metal tip.
Panzerbrandgranatpatrone L'spur ohne ZerlegerAPI-T1483.0 g incendiary 780 m/sTracer round, with no fuze or self-destruct function. Tracer burn-through after 1,8 second flight.
Panzergranatpatrone L'spur ohne ZerlegerAP-T143w/o filling800 m/sTracer round, with no fuze or self-destruct function. Tracer burn-through after 1,8 second flight.
Panzersprenggranatpatrone L'spur mit Zerleger APHE-T1213.6 g HE ??Base-fuzed round, self-destruct after 4.5 second flight due to tracer burn-through.