A gun crew loading a 17-pounder anti-tank gun, February 1943

Photograph, World War Two, North Africa (1940-1943), 1943.

The 17-pounder was the best British anti-tank gun of World War Two. Its armour piercing shot was capable of penetrating all but the thickest armour on German tanks. It first saw action in February 1943 when the appearance of the Tiger tank on the North African battlefield made a powerful new anti-tank gun a matter of great urgency.

From a collection of British official war photographs relating to the 78th Division.