Panzerschreck
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The Panzerschreck (German: tank terrorizer; lit. armor fear or tank's fright) 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 World War II. Another popular nick-name was "Ofenrohr" ("stove pipe").
It was given to infantry to bolster their anti-tank capability. The weapon was shoulder-launched and fired a rocket-propelled, fin-stabilized grenade with a shaped charge warhead. It was made in much smaller numbers than the Panzerfaust, which was a disposable recoilless rifle firing an anti-tank grenade.
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[edit] History
When German troops captured American M1A1 "Bazookas" in North Africa, they noticed qualities (penetration power and range) that were lacking in the rifle-grenades they had been using up to date, and quickly sent it to engineers back in Germany for analysis, since the Puppchen launcher system, a weapon using HEAT projectiles with good accuracy and sufficent range (about 350 m) but too little mobility, was already in development. The bazooka was no more than a steel tube which made it easy for mass production, was able to be quickly reloaded, and had a shaped charge warhead. German engineers examined the captured bazookas, and this resulted in the Panzerschreck, which had a significantly greater penetration power and a range of 150 m, since it combined a modification of the already developed ammunition for the Puppchen launcher system with a man portable launcher system.
The first model was the RPzB 43 which was 164 cm long and weighed about 9.25 kg empty. Operators of the RPzB 43 had to wear a protective poncho and a gas mask without a filter to protect them from the heat of the backblast when the weapon was fired. 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. Because of the weapon's tube and the smoke, the German troops nicknamed it the Ofenrohr ("Stove Pipe"). This also meant that Panzerschreck teams were revealed once they fired, making them targets which required them to shift positions. This type of system also made it problematic to fire the weapon from inside closed spaces (such as bunkers or houses), filling the room with toxic smoke and revealing the location immediately. Compare to PIATs cumbersome, but non-smoking system, or the Panzerfausts short burst launch system.
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, such as that found on heavy Soviet tanks such as the IS-2 [1], but paid for this hitting power with extra weight. One shot was usually enough to destroy any Allied armored vehicle. When handled by well-trained crews, this weapon became the bane of Allied armored units, who frequently attempted to add improvised protection to their tanks, e.g. sandbags, spare track units, logs and so on. Most of this make-shift protection had little actual effect. [2]
Triple Panzerschrecks were mounted on some SdKfz 251s, Volkswagen Kübelwagens and captured Universal Carriers. [3]
[edit] References
- ^ John Erickson The Road to Berlin pages 79, 83
- ^ Belton Y. Cooper Death Traps pg. 229, 1998
- ^ [1]
[edit] See also
- Shoulder-launched missile weapon
- PIAT, a British shoulder-launched missile weapon
- List of common World War II infantry weapons
[edit] External links
| German-made firearms and light weapons of World War II |
|---|
| Side arms (Pistole) |
| Mauser C96 | Luger | Walther P38 | Walther PPK | Sauer 38H | Mauser HSc |
| Rifles & carbines (Gewehr & Karabiner) |
| Karabiner 98k | Gewehr 41 | Gewehr 43/Karabiner 43 | StG44/MP44 | FG42 | StG45(M) | Volkssturmgewehr 1-5 |
| Submachine guns ( Maschinenpistole ) |
| Bergmann MP18 | MP38/MP40 "Schmeisser" | MP3008 "Volks MP" |
| Machine guns & other larger weapons |
| MG08 | MG34 | MG42 | Faustpatrone | Panzerfaust | Panzerschreck
Flammenwerfer 35 | Panzerbüchse 39 | Granatwerfer 36 | Granatwerfer 42 |
| Notable foreign-made infantry weapons |
| P.640(b) | Vis.35 | Vz.24/G24(t) | MG26(t) | Panzerbüchse 35(p) |
| German-made cartridges used by the Wehrmacht |
| 7.92 x 57 mm | 7.63 x 25 mm Mauser | 7.92 mm Kurz | 7.65 mm Luger | 9 mm Luger |
