British 17/25 pdr Anti-Tank Gun ‘PHEASANT’

Plastic kit from BRONCO, for the asembly of a British anti-tank gun British 17/25 pdr Anti-Tank Gun ‘PHEASANT’ of WW II, on 1/35 scale. Includes sprues with plastic parts, assembly instructions, P.E. parts and decals.

The appearance of the Tiger tank in North Africa at the end of 1942 drove the British army to accelerate the development of its 17-pound anti-tank gun and put it into service as soon as possible. However, before the design of the special gun mount was completed, the first batch of artillery had to be temporarily installed on the 25-pounder gun mount as an application. For confidentiality reasons, this temporary weapon was called the 17/25-pounder and was codenamed "Pheasant". At least 100 such artillery pieces were manufactured and quickly shipped to Tunisia in February 1943 to meet urgent needs. In the North African battlefield, the'pheasant' proved its existence value, and the only criticism was its too tall appearance. After several months of service on the battlefield, the official special mount for the 17-pounder anti-tank gun was successfully developed. The 17-pounder gun has strong performance and can penetrate the armor of German tanks at long distances. It was recognized as the best anti-tank artillery for the Allies in WW II. Its high-energy armor-piercing APCBC ammunition can penetrate 140 mm armor at a 30-degree angle and 1000 meters away.