Cannone da 25/72 (Canon de 25 mm Semi-Automatique Lèger Modèle 1934 and Modèle 1937 in Italian Service)

Kingdom of Italy (1940-1943)
Anti-Tank Gun – 293 Operated

The Cannone da 25/72 (English: 25 mm L/72 Cannon) was the most common captured anti-tank gun employed by the Regio Esercito (English: Royal Army) during the Second World War. The Cannoni da 25/72 were actually captured by French Canon de 25 mm Semi-Automatique Lèger Modèle 1934 and Modèle 1937 (English: Canon de 25 SA-L Mle.1934 and Canon de 25 APX SA-L Mle.1937). These cannons were either captured by the Italians themselves during the Italian invasion of France in June 1940 or handed over by the Germans.

Origin and Development

The Birth of the Canon de 25 mm

The company Hotchkiss started developing a new tank gun during the First World War. By the time the project was completed in 1920, the war had ended and it was subsequently abandoned. Later in the 1920s, the French Army needed to replace the Canon d’Infanterie de 37 modèle 1916 Tir Rapide Puteaux (English: 37 mm model 1916 Puteaux Quick Firing Infantry Cannon ), which was now completely obsolete in countering new armored vehicles. Hotchkiss designed a 25 mm cannon, which was adopted by the French Army in 1934 under the name Canon de 25 mm Semi-Automatique Modèle 1934. The French Army immediately placed an order for 200 pieces.

Fortress and Vehicle Version

The Canon de 25 became the primary anti-tank weapon of the Armée de Terre (English: French Army) in 1934. A fortress version, the Canon de 25 AC Mle.1934, was developed to arm the Ligne Maginot (English Maginot Line) fortifications in a “mixed” mount with two Reibel MAC 31 machine guns.

Model 75R05 turrets, which were created by recycling Model 1905 turrets originally fitted with 75 mm cannons, were used to install the new weapons. The Société d’Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire (English: Society of Loire Laboratories and Shipyards) converted the turrets in 1934, and they were installed in the Maginot Line works after 1936. The barrel of the Canon de 25 AC Mle.1934 was shortened to 1.5 m and installed above the pair of machine guns. The three weapons could fire independently of each other and each had its own aiming system and an L700 model sight.

In 1935, the Atelier de Poteaux (APX) created the Canon de 25 APX SAL 35 to arm the Panhard 178 armored cars.

The Canon de 25 Mle.1937

In 1937, APX developed a modification of the Mle. 1934 called the Canon de 25 mm Semi-Automatique Modèle 1937. The new cannon was lighter than its predecessor and had a longer barrel. The two cannons were intended for different roles: the Mle. 1934 was meant to equip armored and anti-tank units, while the Mle. 1937 was intended to equip the anti-tank support companies of the infantry battalions.

Brief Use in the French Army and in the British Expeditionary Force

The Canons de 25 mm were originally designed to be horse-drawn, which caused problems when attempts were made to transport them in a mechanized manner. For example, when supplied to the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France in 1940, the Canons de 25 mm were found to be too fragile, as they could not withstand larger bumps. Even the Canon de 25 Mle. 1937 had problems when towed by horses. In order to solve the problem, the British mounted the cannons onto their vehicles, creating the first portèe versions.

By 1940, a total of 4,225 Canon de 25 Mle. 1934 and 1,285 Canon de 25 Mle. 1937 had been produced. During the German invasion of France in May-June 1940, the two cannons proved to be excellent weapons if used by skilled crew. However, in most cases, they were misused or outright abandoned.

Design

The muzzle, equipped with a flash hider, was mounted on a two-tailed carriage with tyre wheels and a shield with a hemmed upper edge to make it difficult to detect the weapon when in ambush position. The Cannone de 25/72 Modello 1934 (English: 25 mm L/72 Cannon Model 1934) had a horizontal firing arc of 60°,a depression of -5° and an elevation of +21°.

Although it was a small-caliber cannon, it was very heavy, about 492 kg in battery position, compared, for example, with the 277 kg of the Italian Cannone da 47/32 Modello 1935. One of the advantages was its low profile of 1.1 m.

The Cannone da 25/72 Modello 1937 differed from the previous model by a lower weight, 310 kg, a wider horizontal firing arc, 67°, and also by the presence of a flash hider behind the muzzle brake and wheel rims with holes for lighter weight. The main difference between the two pieces was the way they fired. The Modello 1934 fired while on its wheels, while the Modello 1937 was equipped with a flat prop that rested on the ground, while the rear rested on the two tails of the carriage.

Ammunition

The Cannone da 25/72 used 20x194R ammunition that was fired at a muzzle velocity of 920 m/s. It had an average range of 800 m against heavy armored vehicles, 1,000 m against medium armored vehicles, and 1,500 m against light vehicles. The Cannone da 25/72 could fire various types of ammunition, such as the Perforante (English: perforating), the Traceuse-Perforante (English: perforating with tracer), the Ordinaire (English: Ordinary) with steel perforator and, finally, the Portèe Reduite practice shell.

According to a German study from 1941, the Perforante shell could penetrate 47 mm at 100 m at an impact angle of 0°, 40 mm at 500 meters, and 30 mm at 1,000 meters. If the impact angle was 30°, penetration was reduced to 35, 30 and 20 mm, and if it was 45°, it was reduced again to 18, 16 and 12 mm.

In the Italian manual Istruzione provvisoria sul cannone da 25 mm S.A. Lr mod.37 (English: Provisional instruction on the 25 mm S.A. Lr mod.37 cannon) of 1941, all four types of ammunition are listed, whereas in Istruzione provvisoria sul cannone da 25 mm Mod.1934 (English: Provisional instruction on the 25 mm cannon Mod.1934), it is established that the useful range against armored vehicles is 1,500 m.

Penetration of the Perforante shell (armor-piercing)
Distance in m	Penetration in mm at 0° impact	Penetration in mm at 30° impact	Penetration in mm at 45° impact
100	47	35	18
500	40	30	16
1,000	30	20	12

Lack of Anti-Tank Weapons in the Regio Esercito

The main Italian anti-tank weapon when the country entered the war on 10 June 1940, was the Cannone da 47/32 Modello 1935, also known as the Elefantino (English: Little Elephant) by the soldiers. This cannon was the Italian licensed version of the Austrian 4.7 cm Bohler. The Elefantino was still an excellent anti-tank gun in 1940, but was not distributed in large numbers. Each Italian infantry division had only eight Cannoni da 47/32. For comparison, a German infantry division in 1939 had 72 PaK 36 37 mm anti-tank guns, while a British one had 48 Ordnance QF 2-pounder guns.

In 1940, the Regio Esercito also bought some anti-tank rifles, the Swiss 20 mm Solothurn S-18-1000, called Fucili “S” (English: ‘S’ Rifles) or Carabina anticarro “Solothurn” da 20 mm (English: ‘Solothurn’ 20 mm anti-tank carbine). This weapon, although heavy and bulky, was chosen because it had excellent performance and could use the same ammunition as the Cannoni-Mitragliera Breda da 20/65, i.e. 20×138 mm. The first units arrived in the autumn of 1940 and were sent to Libya to equip the units of the 10a Armata (English: 10th Army). The Solothurn S-18-1000 was very successful among Italian soldiers thanks to its excellent qualities, and could be used to fight light armored or unarmored vehicles. They were used by many Italian units deployed in North Africa. Some were even mounted on L3 light tanks to increase their feeble firepower. In 1942, each infantry division of the AS-42 model (English: North Africa model 1942) was expected to be equipped with 12 Solothurn S-18-1000 per infantry battalion.

However, there was a clear lack of anti-tank weapons in the Regio Esercito, which was thus forced to ask its German ally for help. The Wehrmacht sent the Italians captured or obsolete anti-tank guns, the most numerous of which were the PaK 36 (named by the Italians Cannone da 37/45) and the Canon de 25 Mle.1934 and Mle.1937 (Cannone da 25/72 Modello 1934 and Modello 1937). The Cannone da 37/45 had already been used by the Italians during the Spanish Civil War, and a few were captured from the Ethiopians during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.

The Germans also sent the Italians 270 Dutch 4.7 cm Bohler and 200 French Canon de 47 mm Semi-Automatique Mle 1937 (called Cannone da 47/50 Modello 1937).

Use of the Cannone da 25/72 Modello 1934 and Modello 1937 in the Regio Esercito

With the entry of the Kingdom of Italy into the war alongside the Axis on 10th June 10 1940 the first Italian campaign was the attack on French forces deployed in the Alps, which began on 21st June. The campaign did not go particularly well for the Italian forces, who barely occupied the city of Menton and some minor locations beyond the border, suffering heavy losses in both personnel and equipment.

The Kingdom of Italy, after the campaign, obtained the first 43 Cannoni da 25/72. A further 250 were delivered from Germany. With these, the Regio Esercito reinforced the motorized and infantry divisions deployed in North Africa. Each motorized infantry division of the AS-42 type (English: North Africa model 1942), i.e. the 102a Divisione di Fanteria Autotrasportabile “Trento” (English: 102nd Auto-Transportable Infantry Division type AS), 27a Divisione di Fanteria “Brescia” (English: 27th Infantry Division), 17a Divisione di Fanteria “Pavia” (English: 17th Infantry Division), 25a Divisione di Fanteria “Bologna” (English: 25th Infantry Division), 60a Divisione di Fanteria “Sabratha” (English: 60th Infantry Division), as well as the 101a Divisione Motorizzata “Trieste” (English: 101st Motorised Division), were equipped with an anti-tank platoon of Cannoni da 25/72.

In 1943, the 1a Armata (English: 1st Army) fighting in Tunisia still had 36 Cannoni da 25/72. On mainland Italy, in spring 1943, in Civitavecchia, the Comando delle Scuole Centrali Militari (English: Command of the Military Central Schools) was still conducting courses on the use of Cannoni da 25/72.

Unfortunately, no publicly available records currently exist detailing any specific actions during which they were used, nor the opinion of the Italians about the French guns.

After the Italian occupation of Provence and the Côte d’Azur in November 1942, two Panhard 178 armored cars used by the forces of Vichy France were captured. Because of the armistice clauses between the French Republic and Germany in June 1940, the vehicles remaining in Vichy France were deprived of anti-tank armament. The Canons de 25 APX SAL 35 had been removed from the Panhard 178s, which were armed with two Reibel MAC 1931 machine guns. The two armored cars were assigned in January 1943 to the 224a Divisione Costiera (English: 224th Coastal Division), which protected the Côte d’Azur from possible Allied landings.

Use in the Repubblica Sociale Italiana

Some Cannoni da 25/72 were also used by the armed forces of the Repubblica Sociale Italiana (English: Italian Social Republic), an allied state of Hitler’s Germany born after the Armistice of 8th September 1943 between the Allies and the Kingdom of Italy. A total of 6 Cannoni da 25/72 were used by the I° Battaglione Bersaglieri Volontari ‘Benito Mussolini’ (English: 1st Bersaglieri Volunteer Battalion), which operated in northeastern Italy and on the border with Yugoslavia.

Conclusion

The Cannone da 25/72 had significant use within Italian units, especially those deployed in North Africa, and was employed in a manner similar to the Cannone da 47/32. While a welcome addition to the underequipped Italian divisions, the gun was rapidly becoming obsolete and added yet another logistics link to an already overburdened logistics chain.

It was a reasonably effective anti-tank gun but could not deal with the heavier tanks used by the Americans or British, such as the Matilda. However, it was a good weapon against light tanks and armored cars, which were used in large numbers in North Africa.

Specifications of Cannone da 25/72 Modello 1934 (Modello 1937)
Caliber	25 mm
Weight in battery	492 (310) kg
Fire mouth length	1,800 (1,925) m
Elevation	-5°/+25°
Traverse	60 (67) °
Muzzle velocity	918 m/s
Maximum range	3,450 m
Firing rate	12 shots per minute

Sources

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Nicola Pignato and Filippo Cappellano Le armi della fanteria italiana (1919-1945) Parma 2008
Nicola Pignato and Filippo Cappellano Andare contro i carri armati. L’evoluzione della difesa controcarro nell’Esercito Italiano dal 1918 al 1945 Udine 2007
Chris Bishop The encyclopedia of weapons of World war II New York 1998
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