| German: Panzerfaust | |
| Is Ranged: | yes |
| Is Explosive: | yes |
| Service: | 1943–1945 (Germany) |
| Unit Cost: | 15–25 German: Reichsmark |
| Production Date: | 1942–1945 |
| Number: | 8,254,300 (all variants)[1] |
| Variants: | German: Panzerfaust 30, 60, 100, 150, 250 |
| Spec Label: | Panzerfaust 60 |
| Weight: | 6.25kg (13.78lb) |
| Length: | ~1m (03feet) |
| Range: | 60m (200feet) |
| Sights: | leaf |
| Detonation: | Impact |
The German: Panzerfaust (pronounced as /de/, "tank fist" or "armour fist",[2] plural: German: Panzerfäuste) was a development family of single-shot man-portable anti-tank systems developed by Nazi Germany during World War II. The weapons were the first single-use light anti-tank weapons based on a pre-loaded disposable launch tube, a weapon configuration which is still used today (a modern example being the AT4).
The German: Panzerfaust-design consisted of a light recoilless launcher tube outfitted with a single pre-loaded high-explosive anti-tank warhead protruding from the muzzle. It was an inexpensive, easy-to-use anti-tank weapon for the common infantry man, being issued as a single unit of ammunition meant to be operated by a single soldier. Firing was done from under the arm at an upward angle as the effective firing range was barely beyond that of hand grenades (NaNm (-2,147,483,648feet) max). After use the launcher was discarded.
Development of the German: Panzerfaust started in 1942. The initial design was dubbed German: Faustpatrone ("fist-cartridge") and was smaller than the later designs. Later dubbed German: Panzerfaust Klein ("tank-fist small"), it entered service in 1943, the larger design being named German: Panzerfaust Gross ("tank-fist big") and entering service in mid to late 1944. All types were used by Germany until the end of the war, with the design remaining in use in other countries for a number of years after the war.[3] [4]
The German: Faustpatrone ("fist cartridge") was the initial development of what eventually became the German: Panzerfaust-family. The German: Faustpatrone-design was much smaller than the later German: Panzerfäuste-designs.
Development of the German: Faustpatrone started in the summer of 1942 at the German company Hugo Schneider AG (HASAG) with the development of a smaller prototype called German: Gretchen ("little Greta") by a team headed by Doctor Heinrich Langweiler in Leipzig. The basic concept was that of a recoilless gun; in the German: Faustpatrone and the German: Panzerfaust, a propellent charge pushed the warhead out the front of the tube while the blast also exited the rear of the tube, balancing forces, and therefore there was no recoil force for the operator.
The following weapon, the German: Faustpatrone Klein, 30 m ("fist-cartridge small") weighed 3.2kg (07.1lb) and a total length of 98.5frac=4NaNfrac=4; its projectile had a length of 36frac=4NaNfrac=4. The 10cm (00inches) diameter of warhead was a shaped charge of 400g of a 50:50 mix of TNT and tri-hexogen. The propellant was of 54g of black powder, the metal launch tube had a length of 80frac=2NaNfrac=2 and a diameter of 3.3cm (01.3inches) (early models reportedly 2.8cm (01.1inches)). Fitted to the warhead was a wooden shaft with folded stabilizing fins (made of 0.25mm thick spring metal). These bent blades straightened into position by themselves as soon as they left the launch tube. The warhead was accelerated to a speed of 28m/s, had a range of about 30m (100feet) and an armour penetration of up to 140frac=2NaNfrac=2 of plain steel.
Soon a crude aiming device similar to the one used by the German: Panzerfaust was added to the design; it was fixed at a range of 30m (100feet). Several designations of this weapon were in use, amongst which German: Faustpatrone 1 or German: Panzerfaust 30 German: klein; however, it was common to refer to this weapon simply as the German: Faustpatrone. Of the earlier model, 20,000 were ordered and the first 500 German: Faustpatronen were delivered by the manufacturer, HASAG, Werk Schlieben, in August 1943.
Development began in 1942 on a larger version of the German: Faustpatrone. The resulting weapon was the German: Panzerfaust 30, also known as German: Panzerfaust Gross ("tank-fist big") and the like, with a total weight of 5.1kg (11.2lb) and total length of 104.5cm (41.1inches). The launch tube was made of low-grade steel 44mm in diameter, containing a 951NaN1 charge of black powder propellant. Along the side of the tube were a simple folding rear sight and a trigger. The edge of the warhead was used as the front sight. The oversize warhead (1401NaN1 in diameter) was fitted into the front of the tube by an attached wooden tail stem with metal stabilizing fins.[5]
The warhead weighed 2.9kg (06.4lb) and contained 0.8kg (01.8lb) of a 50:50 mixture of TNT and hexogen explosives, and had armour penetration of 200mm.[6] The German: Panzerfaust often had warnings written in large red letters on the upper rear end of the tube, the words usually being "German: Achtung. Feuerstrahl." ("Beware. Fire jet."). This was to warn soldiers to avoid the backblast.
After firing, the tube was discarded, making the German: Panzerfaust the first disposable anti-tank weapon. The weapon, when correctly fired from the crook of the arm, could penetrate the armour of any armoured fighting vehicle of the period.[7]
| Designation | Weight | Propellant weight | Warhead diameter | Projectile velocity | Effective range | Penetration performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| German: Faustpatrone 30 German: Panzerfaust (Klein) 30m | 2.7– | 70g | 100mm | 28m/s | 30m (100feet) | 140mm | |
| German: Panzerfaust 30 German: Panzerfaust (Gross) 30m | 5.22kg (11.51lb) | 95g100g | 149 mm | 30 m/s | 30 m | 200 mm | |
| German: Panzerfaust 60 | 6.8 kg | 120–134 g | 149 mm | 45 m/s | 60 m | 200 mm | |
| German: Panzerfaust 100 | 6.8kg (15lb) | 190g200g | 149 mm | 60 m/s | 100m (300feet) | 200mm | |
| German: Panzerfaust 150 | 7kg (15lb) | 190– | 106mm | 85m/s | 150m (490feet) | 280– |
To use the German: Panzerfaust, the soldier removed the safety, tucked the tube under their arm and aimed by aligning the target, the sight and the top of the warhead. Unlike the Americans' original M1 60 mm bazooka and the Germans' own heavier 88 mm German: [[Panzerschreck]] tube-type rocket launchers based on the American ordnance piece, the German: Panzerfaust did not have the usual trigger. It had a pedal-like lever near the projectile that ignited the propellant when squeezed. Because of the weapon's short range, not only enemy tanks and infantry, but also pieces of the exploding vehicle, posed dangers to its operator. As such, the usage of German: Panzerfäuste required relatively great personal courage.[8] [9] The backblast from firing went back around 2 m behind the operator.
When used against tanks, the German: Panzerfaust had an impressive beyond-armour effect. Compared to the bazooka and the German: Panzerschreck, it made a larger hole and produced massive spalling that killed or injured (via burns and shrapnel) the crew and destroyed equipment. One informal test found that the German: Panzerfaust made an entry hole 2.75inches in diameter, whereas the German: Panzerschreck made an entry hole at least 1inches in diameter; contrastingly, the bazooka made an entry hole that was only 0.5inches in diameter).[10] Much of this can be attributed not only to the size of the German: Panzerfausts warhead but also its horn-like shape, as opposed to the traditional cone-shaped warheads of rockets used in the bazooka and German: Panzerschreck. This design was later copied in the modern-day AT-4 anti-tank weapon to produce the same effect against modern main battle tanks.
In the Battle of Normandy, only 6% of British tank losses were from German: Panzerfaust fire despite the close-range combat in the thick bocage landscape. However, the threat from the German: Panzerfaust forced Allied tank forces to wait for infantry support before advancing. The portion of British tanks taken out of action by German: Panzerfäuste later rose to 34%, a rise probably explained by the lack of German anti-tank guns late in the war and the increased numbers of German: Panzerfäuste that were available to defending German troops.[11]
In urban combat later in the war in eastern Germany, about 70% of tanks destroyed were hit by German: Panzerfäuste or German: Panzerschrecks. Soviet and Western Allied tank crews modified their tanks in the field so as to provide some kind of protection against Panzerfaust attacks. These included logs, sandbags, track links, concrete and wire mesh, along with bed frames with springs (bedsprings), similar to expanded metal-type German tank sideskirts. In practice, about 1 meter of air gap was required to substantially reduce the penetrating capability of the warhead, thus sideskirts and sandbags, along with other improvised armor, were virtually entirely ineffective against both the Panzerschreck and Panzerfaust. Moreover, the added weight from such add-on armor overburdened the vehicle's engine, transmission and suspension systems.[12]
Later on, each Soviet heavy tank (IS) and assault gun (ISU-152) company were assigned a platoon of infantry in urban battles to protect them from such infantry-wielded anti-tank weapons, often supported by flamethrowers. This order remained intact even during 1950s and the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.[13] [14]
During the last stages of the war, due to the lack of available weapons, many poorly-trained conscripts (mainly elderly men) and teenage Hitler Youth members were often given a single German: Panzerfaust, plus any type of obsolete pistols or rifles (some only had a Panzerfaust and nothing else). This caused several German generals and officers to comment sarcastically that the empty launch-tubes could then be used as clubs in hand-to-hand combat.
Many German: Panzerfäuste were sold to Finland, which urgently needed them, as Finnish forces did not have enough anti-tank weapons that could penetrate heavily armoured Soviet tanks like the T-34 and IS-2. The Finnish experience with the weapon and its adaptability to Finnish needs was mixed, with only 4,000 of 25,000 German: Panzerfäuste delivered expended in combat.[15] The manual that came with the weapon upon delivery to the Finns included depictions of where to aim the weapon on the Soviet T-34 and US Sherman tank (which also saw service with Soviet troops from US Lend-Lease-supplied stocks).
The Italian Social Republic (RSI) and the Government of National Unity (Hungary) also used the German: Panzerfaust. Several RSI army units became skilled in anti-tank warfare and the Hungarians themselves used the German: Panzerfaust extensively, especially during the Siege of Budapest. During this brutal siege, an arms factory, the Hungarian Manfred Weiss Steel and Metal Works, located on Csepel Island (within the city) kept up production of various light armaments and ammunition, German: Panzerfäuste included, all the way until the very last moment, when attacking Soviet troops seized the factory by the first days of 1945.
The US 82nd Airborne Division captured some German: Panzerfäuste in the Allied invasion of Sicily and later during the fighting in Normandy. Finding them more effective than their own bazookas, they held onto them and used them during the later stages of the French Campaign, even dropping with them into the Netherlands during Operation Market Garden. They captured an ammunition dump of German: Panzerfäuste near Nijmegen and used them through the Ardennes Offensive toward the end of the war.[16]
The Soviet Red Army only incidentally used captured German: Panzerfäuste in 1944, but from the beginning of 1945, many became available and were actively used during the Soviet offensives of 1945, mostly in street fighting against buildings and protective covers. In February 1945, such use of captured German: Panzerfäuste was recommended in a directive by Marshal Georgy Zhukov. Similarly, they were used by the Polish People's Army. After the war, some 4,000 German: Panzerfäuste were adopted by the Polish Army in 1949, which designated them as PG-49.
Plans and technical materials on the Panzerfaust were supplied to the Empire of Japan to assist with their development of an effective anti-tank weapon. However, the Japanese went with a different design, the Type 4, loosely based upon the American bazooka. Examples of the American weapon were captured by the Japanese at Leyte in 1944.[17]