The 7.5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 97/38 originated from the well-known 75 mm Modèle 1897 Déport cannon, developed in France at the end of the 19th century, produced by Schneider in thousands of units. At the outbreak of the Second World War, the cannon was still in use by the Polish and French armies, and many hundreds of pieces were captured by the Germans. When the German army invaded the USSR in 1941, they encountered tanks against which the 5 cm anti-tank gun in service was inadequate. On the other hand, the development of the new powerful 7.5 cm PaK 40 was delayed. To fill the temporary gap, the German authorities decided to adapt the French gun barrel, which compensated for the low muzzle velocity with a good rate of fire. However, the original carriage, besides being too tall and visible, allowed for a modest firing angle and did not allow towing at adequate speeds. It was replaced with the carriage of the 5 cm PaK 38 with tubular trail arms and constant recoil, with two rubber-coated metal wheels and a sloped shield. Over 3000 units were produced between 1941 and 1943. The weapon used armor-piercing and explosive ammunition of French and Polish origin, and due to the modest initial velocity, a hollow-charge projectile with penetration capability up to 75 mm was adopted. Ten guns were also installed on the hull of captured Soviet T26 tanks, forming a small tank destroyer unit that operated until spring 1944. Overall, the PaK 97/38 performed its task sufficiently well, although it was rather inaccurate and had violent recoil despite the muzzle brake. When a sufficient number of 7.5 cm PaK 40 guns were available, the Wehrmacht handed over their PaK 97/38 to various allies, including Finland, Hungary, and Romania, who used them on the Eastern Front. The Italian Royal Army also received nine batteries of six guns each, which were assigned to each division of the Italian Army in Russia (except for Vicenza). In spring 1943, some batteries were also deployed in Sardinia, Sicily, and southern France.