Panzerschreck
From Freepedia
The Panzerschreck (German: tank terror) was the popular name for the Raketenpanzerbüchse ('Rocket Tank-Rifle', abbreviated to RPzB) an 88 mm calibre reusable anti-tank rocket launcher developed by the Germans in WWII. It was given to infantry to bolster their anti-tank capability. The weapon is shoulder-launched and fires a rocket-propelled, fin-stabilised grenade with a shaped charge warhead. It was made in much smaller numbers than the Panzerfaust one-shot anti-tank rocket.
History
When German troops captured an American M1A1 "bazooka" in Africa, they noticed qualities that were lacking in the Panzerbüchsen (anti-tank rifles) they had been using up to date, and quickly sent it to engineers back in Germany for analysis. The bazooka was no more than a steel tube which made it easy for mass production. It has the ability to be recharged (unlike the Panzerfaust which once fired was discarded). The result was the Panzerschreck which was considerably more powerful than the bazooka, with an effective range of about 150 m.
The first model was the RPzB 43 which was 164 cm long and weighed about 9.25 kg empty. In October 1943, it was succeeded by the RPzB 54 which was fitted with a blast shield to protect the operator. This was heavier and weighed 11 kg empty. This was followed by the RPzB-54/1 with an improved rocket, shorter barrel and a range increased to about 180 meters.
Firing the RPzB generated a lot of smoke both in front and behind the weapon. As a result the German troops nicknamed it the Ofenrohr ("Stove Pipe"). This also meant that Panzerschreck teams were revealed once they fired, making them targets.
The Panzerschreck was an effective weapon. Early bazookas had problems with the 100 mm armor present on German tanks, most notably the Tiger tank. By comparison the Panzerschreck rocket could penetrate over 200 mm of armor. One shot was usually enough to destroy any Allied armoured vehicle. When used in the hands of well trained Panzergrenadier units, this weapon became the stuff of nightmare for Allied armored units and they often improvised extra protection on their tanks with sandbags, spare track units and so on.
See also
- PIAT
- Shoulder-launched missile weapon
- Panzerfaust
- Bazooka
- List of common WWII infantry weapons
- List of Axis firearms of WW2
External links
| German infantry weapons of World War II |
|---|
| Side-arms |
| C96 | Luger | Walther P38 |
| Rifles & carbines |
| Karabiner 98k | Gewehr 43/Karabiner 43 | MP 44 "Assault rifle"' | FG 42 |
| Submachine guns |
| MP-40 "Schmeisser" | MP-18 "Bergmann" |
| Machine-guns & other larger weapons |
| MG34 | MG42 | Panzerschreck | Panzerfaust |
