The 7.5 cm Pak 41 was one of the last German anti-tank guns brought into service and used in World War II and notable for being one of the largest anti-tank guns to rely on the Gerlich principle (pioneered by the German gun-designer , who developed the principle in the 1920s, reportedly for a hunting rifle) to deliver a higher muzzle velocity and therefore greater penetration in relation to its size. It is similar to, but distinct from, the , which, while also based on the Gerlich principle, had a different barrel calibre.