During the battle of France in 1940 it had trouble dealing with thick armour of French and British tanks.

[1] In 1941, when Germany invaded the USSR, the gun was next to useless when confronted with Russian T-34 or KV-series tanks.

[2] It was equipped with two fuzes: in the nose, for direct hits, and in the base, to ensure detonation if the target was only grazed.

The large calibre of the HEAT warhead and shaped charge of 2.42 kg HE, enabled it to penetrate armour 180 mm thick,[2] enough to defeat any World War II tank.

The hit was equally dangerous at any distance, as the shaped-charge effect is not dependent on the velocity of the round at the point of impact.