# Ordnance QF 17-pounder
The Ordnance Quick-Firing 17-pounder (17-pdr) was a British 76.2 mm (3 inch) anti-tank gun of the Second World War, named for the weight of its projectile, about 17 pounds (7.7 kg). It was the most powerful Allied anti-tank gun of the war in widespread service, and it was mounted not only on its own towed carriage but in [Sherman Firefly](https://www.edgepedia.org/sherman-firefly) tanks, the Achilles M10C tank destroyer, the [Archer](https://www.edgepedia.org/archer-tank-destroyer), and the Challenger and early [Centurion](https://www.edgepedia.org/centurion) tanks.[1](https://www.artilleryhistory.org/artillery_register_new/nsw/gun_manly_qf_17pdr_anti_tank_gun_snl7004.html) • [2](https://paradata.org.uk/content/4663761)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Calibre and projectile | 3 inch (76.2 mm); projectile about 17 lb (7.7 kg); APDS shot about 3.5 kg[1](https://www.artilleryhistory.org/artillery_register_new/nsw/gun_manly_qf_17pdr_anti_tank_gun_snl7004.html) • [3](https://www.defence.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-03/Land-Service_Projectiles-optimized.pdf) |
| Development | Suggested as a 6-pounder replacement at a London meeting in November 1940; approved for service 1 May 1942[4](https://ra39-45.co.uk/guns-equipment/17-pounder-anti-tank-gun) |
| Muzzle velocity | 908 m/s with AP shell; about 1,200 m/s with APDS sub-caliber ammunition[5](https://www.tankarchives.com/2016/08/17-pounder-britains-long-arm.html?m=0) |
| Penetration | 118 mm of armor at 1,000 yd with APCBC; 231 mm with APDS[6](https://tankmuseum.org/article/comets-gun/) |
| Size | 458 cm long and 2.1 tons on its towed carriage, about 2 m longer and half a ton heavier than the 6-pounder[6](https://tankmuseum.org/article/comets-gun/) |
| Tank mounts | 2,100 to 2,200 Sherman Firefly conversions, the most produced 17-pounder tank of the war; also Achilles, Archer, Challenger, Centurion Mk 1[7](https://wiki.warthunder.com/3870-history-sherman-firefly-just-stick-it-in-sideways) • [8](https://tankmuseum.org/tank-nuts/tank-collection/centurion/?country=all) |
| Service life | In British service from September 1942 until replaced by the 120 mm WOMBAT recoilless gun; used in Korea[1](https://www.artilleryhistory.org/artillery_register_new/nsw/gun_manly_qf_17pdr_anti_tank_gun_snl7004.html) • [2](https://paradata.org.uk/content/4663761) |
## Origin
The gun was proposed at a meeting in London in November 1940 as a replacement for the 6-pounder, and a design and wooden mock-up were authorized quickly; four pilot models were ordered in July 1941. With pilot testing complete, the 17-pounder was formally approved for service on 1 May 1942.[4](https://ra39-45.co.uk/guns-equipment/17-pounder-anti-tank-gun) The design was straightforward, with a semi-automatic breech, but the two-wheeled split-trail carriage had to be massive to withstand the gun's powerful recoil, and carriage work delayed production.[4](https://ra39-45.co.uk/guns-equipment/17-pounder-anti-tank-gun)
The size of the gun shaped British tank design for the rest of the war. Few tanks could mount it; even the Comet's enlarged turret ring would not take the full weapon, which is why Vickers developed the shorter 77 mm gun for that tank.[6](https://tankmuseum.org/article/comets-gun/)
## The Pheasant stop-gap
When the Tiger tank appeared in North Africa at the end of 1942, the gun was in production but its carriage was not ready, and the 17-pounder was the only gun likely to deal with the Tiger at reasonable ranges. As an emergency measure, barrels were mounted on 25-pounder field gun carriages and test-fired in September 1942; performance was within acceptable limits, and a number were sent to North Africa late in the year.[4](https://ra39-45.co.uk/guns-equipment/17-pounder-anti-tank-gun) The first 100 guns were sent off to North Africa in 1942 before proper carriages existed. These hybrids were known as 25/17-pounders and given the code name 'Pheasant'; they first saw action in February 1943. Fully developed 17-pounders were first used during the Italian Campaign.[9](https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1975-03-63-14-19)
## Performance
The 1943 manual listed muzzle velocity as 2,980 fps (908.3 m/s) for the AP shell, with sub-caliber ammunition reaching about 1,200 m/s.[5](https://www.tankarchives.com/2016/08/17-pounder-britains-long-arm.html?m=0) With APCBC (armor-piercing capped, ballistic cap) shot, the gun could penetrate 118 mm of armor at 1,000 yd; with APDS (armor-piercing discarding sabot), 231 mm.[6](https://tankmuseum.org/article/comets-gun/) The long barrel was necessary to give the round the velocity for this performance.[6](https://tankmuseum.org/article/comets-gun/) First deployed to North Africa in late 1942 or early 1943, the gun earned a reputation as a potent tank killer, and with APDS it could penetrate the frontal armor of even the heaviest German tanks at normal battlefield ranges.[2](https://paradata.org.uk/content/4663761)
**APDS accuracy.** The APDS round, introduced in August 1944 in North West Europe, carried a cost in precision. In trials against static targets, average accuracy fell from 87% with APCBC to 53% with APDS, and British tests with Sherman Fireflies showed scatter 70% higher with APDS, partly because the tracer was hard to spot when buttoned up and partly because the original muzzle brake did not allow clean separation of the sabot pieces.[10](https://mmpgamers.com/support/asl/TAatW2_All.pdf) The gun also had a large muzzle flash and back blast that kicked up dust clouds, a disadvantage in the anti-tank role.[2](https://paradata.org.uk/content/4663761)
## Tank and self-propelled mounts
The gun's bulk meant few tanks could carry it. The most successful solution was the Sherman Firefly: a British conversion of the American M4 Sherman, in which the 17-pounder replaced the 75 mm gun. The turret needed a bulge at the back for the radio and an extra loader's hatch, and the hull machine-gunner position was deleted to make room for the larger ammunition. Between 2,100 and 2,200 Fireflies were converted from 1944 to 1945, making it the most produced 17-pounder tank of the war.[7](https://wiki.warthunder.com/3870-history-sherman-firefly-just-stick-it-in-sideways) • [11](https://tankmuseum.org/tank-nuts/tank-collection/m4-sherman/) In action the Firefly's gun could deal with the heavier German tanks, though the Sherman's armor was unchanged, and the long gun was often disguised to look like a regular Sherman.[11](https://tankmuseum.org/tank-nuts/tank-collection/m4-sherman/)
Other mounts included the Achilles, a conversion of the American M10 tank destroyer; the Archer, based on the [Valentine](https://www.edgepedia.org/valentine) chassis; and the Challenger. Variants were also used on [Royal Navy](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-navy) landing craft.[4](https://ra39-45.co.uk/guns-equipment/17-pounder-anti-tank-gun) • [2](https://paradata.org.uk/content/4663761) The Centurion Mark 1, Britain's first post-war gun tank, was originally fitted with the 17-pounder before later marks received the 20-pounder.[8](https://tankmuseum.org/tank-nuts/tank-collection/centurion/?country=all)
The United States evaluated the gun but did not adopt it. After American trials, the Ordnance Department considered the 17-pounder generally inferior to the 90 mm gun, and the US Army had already developed its own 76 mm gun for the Sherman.[12](https://worldoftanks.com/en/news/history/The_Chieftains_Hatch_Firefly/) The Soviet Union received two 17-pounder guns through [Lend-Lease](https://www.edgepedia.org/lend-lease) in April 1944 and trialled them between September and November 1944, but the [Red Army](https://www.edgepedia.org/red-army) did not use the type in service.[5](https://www.tankarchives.com/2016/08/17-pounder-britains-long-arm.html?m=0) • [13](https://www.tankarchives.com/2014/03/17-pounder-trials.html)
## The 77 mm derivative
Because the full 17-pounder would not fit the Comet cruiser tank, Vickers developed a compact high-velocity gun that fired the same 76.2 mm projectiles through a shortened barrel and a shorter case, mated to the casing of the original HV 75 mm design. It was renamed the 77 mm purely to prevent logistical confusion among the 17-pounder, the American 76 mm and 3 inch guns, and the new weapon, all of similar caliber. With APCBC the 77 mm penetrated 110 mm at 1,000 yd against the 17-pounder's 118 mm, and it gained a good HE round with 600 grams of explosive against the 17-pounder's 480 grams.[6](https://tankmuseum.org/article/comets-gun/)
## Later service
The 17-pounder was the standard anti-tank gun of the [Royal Artillery](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-artillery) by 1945 and the last of the [British Army](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-army)'s conventional anti-tank guns. It remained in service until replaced by the 120 mm WOMBAT recoilless gun.[2](https://paradata.org.uk/content/4663761) In Korea, the 17-pounder was the heaviest weapon used by 3 RAR, with a maximum range of 10,500 meters; the anti-tank platoon's six guns, each manned by a seven-soldier detachment, served as general-purpose support weapons and proved particularly useful against enemy bunkers.[14](https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/korea/weapons/antitank) Australia manufactured the gun from 1943, producing 128 guns, and Australian forces used it through the [Korean War](https://www.edgepedia.org/korean-war) until withdrawal in 1962.[3](https://www.defence.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-03/Land-Service_Projectiles-optimized.pdf) • [15](https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C77765)
## References
1. [QF 17 Pounder Anti Tank Gun, Serial Number L7004, Royal Australian Artillery Historical Company artillery register](https://www.artilleryhistory.org/artillery_register_new/nsw/gun_manly_qf_17pdr_anti_tank_gun_snl7004.html)
2. [Ordnance Quick Firing 17 Pounder, Airborne Assault Museum (ParaData)](https://paradata.org.uk/content/4663761)
3. [Land Service Projectiles: 17 Pounder, Australian Department of Defence UXO information sheet](https://www.defence.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-03/Land-Service_Projectiles-optimized.pdf)
4. [17 pounder Anti-Tank Gun, The Royal Artillery 1939-45](https://ra39-45.co.uk/guns-equipment/17-pounder-anti-tank-gun)
5. [17-Pounder: Britain's Long Arm, Tank Archives](https://www.tankarchives.com/2016/08/17-pounder-britains-long-arm.html?m=0)
6. [What is Comet's gun?, The Tank Museum, by James Donaldson](https://tankmuseum.org/article/comets-gun/)
7. [Sherman Firefly: Just stick it in sideways, War Thunder Wiki](https://wiki.warthunder.com/3870-history-sherman-firefly-just-stick-it-in-sideways)
8. [Centurion, The Tank Museum](https://tankmuseum.org/tank-nuts/tank-collection/centurion/?country=all)
9. [A 'Pheasant' 17-pounder field gun, Sicily, 1943, National Army Museum online collection](https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1975-03-63-14-19)
10. [Tank Warfare in WWII (appendix on British APDS accuracy), Multi-Man Publishing](https://mmpgamers.com/support/asl/TAatW2_All.pdf)
11. [M4 Sherman, The Tank Museum](https://tankmuseum.org/tank-nuts/tank-collection/m4-sherman/)
12. [The Chieftain's Hatch: US Firefly Pt. 1, World of Tanks](https://worldoftanks.com/en/news/history/The_Chieftains_Hatch_Firefly/)
13. [17-pounder Trials, Tank Archives](https://www.tankarchives.com/2014/03/17-pounder-trials.html)
14. [17-pounder anti-tank gun, Out in the Cold: Australia's involvement in the Korean War, Australian War Memorial](https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/korea/weapons/antitank)
15. [17-pounder anti-tank gun with firing equipment, Runwolt's Factory, Melbourne, Australian War Memorial](https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C77765)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Engineering and manufacturing › Artillery*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
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