A 6-pounder anti-tank gun being towed through an Italian town, 1943

Photograph by Major Wilfred Herbert James Sale, MC, 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters), World War Two, Italy, 1943.

The 6-pounder was introduced in North Africa in April 1942 and its armour-piercing shot was able to penetrate any axis tank then in service. However it was only effective frontally at short ranges and shallow angles against the new generation of heavier German tanks like the Tiger and Panther that were introduced from late 1942 onwards. This new threat led to the introduction of the 17-pounder anti-tank gun in 1943.

From a photograph album containing 246 photographs compiled by Major W H J Sale, MC, 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters).