Aires 4178 Bordkanone 3,7cm BK 2x

The Bordkanone 37 (short: BK 3.7) is a WWII German airborne anti-tank cannon. The weapon entered service in 1942 and remained in service until 1945. Its curb weight was 295 kilograms, with a total length of 363 centimeters. The theoretical rate of fire of this cannon was up to 160 rounds per minute, and the speed of the bullet fired from this weapon was up to 1170 m / s, assuming that the plane with the cannon was in a diving flight. The Bordkanone 37 cannon was developed by Rheinmetall based on the 37mm Flak 18 cannon. The main stimulus for its development was the numerical superiority of the Red Army on the Eastern Front in armor, which the German side tried to remedy using air anti-tank guns. Thus, the main purpose of the machines armed with this gun was to destroy numerous Soviet tanks - especially the T-34. The gun was mounted mainly on Junkers Ju-87 G airplanes, but also on e.g. Henschel Hs-129 B-2 / R-3, Messerschmitt Me-110 G-2 / R-1 or Junkers Ju-88 P- 2. It is worth noting that it was when the Ju-87 G armed with a BK 3.7 cannon was used by the German "tank destroyer" Hans Ulrich Rudel to achieve his numerous successes on the Eastern Front.