Panzerfaust

The Panzerfaust (German: [ˈpantsɐˌfaʊst], lit. "armor fist" or "tank

Panzerfaust
fist", plural: Panzerfäuste) is an inexpensive, single shot, recoilless
German anti-tank weapon of World War II. It consists of a small,
disposable pre-loaded launch tube firing a high-explosive anti-tank
warhead, and was intended to be operated by a single soldier. The
Panzerfaust's direct ancestor was the similar, smaller-warhead
Faustpatrone ordnance device. The Panzerfaust was in use from 1943
until the end of the war.[1][2] The weapon's concepts played an
important part in the development of the later Russian RPG weapon
systems such as the RPG-2.[3] Most notably, the RPG-7 added a
sustainer rocket motor to the grenade.
A Wehrmacht Gefreiter aims a Panzerfaust
using the integrated leaf sight
Contents Type Man-portable anti-tank
recoilless gun
Background: Faustpatrone
Development
Place of origin Germany

Specifications Service history

Combat use In service 1943–1945 (Germany)
Germany
Used by See Users
Other countries
Wars World War II
Variants
Related development Production history
Users Produced 1939–1945
See also No. built 6.7 million (all
References variants)
Notes Variants Panzerfaust 30, 60,
Bibliography
100, 150, 250
External links
Specifications
Mass 6.25 kilograms
Background: Faustpatrone (13.8 lb) (Panzerfaust
60)
A forerunner of the Panzerfaust was the Faustpatrone (literally "fist
Length ~ 1 meter (3 ft 3 in)
cartridge").
Crew infantry
The Faustpatrone was much smaller in physical appearance than the
better known Panzerfaust. Development of the Faustpatrone started in Caliber 149 mm (Panzerfaust
the summer of 1942 at the German company HASAG with the 60)
development of a smaller prototype called Gretchen ("little Greta") by
Effective firing range 60 m (200 ft)
a team headed by Dr. Heinrich Langweiler in Leipzig. The basic
(Panzerfaust 60)
concept was that of a recoilless gun; neither the Faustpatrone, nor its
successor the Panzerfaust were rockets, because the round design, like Warhead Shaped charge
those fired by grenade launchers, did not feature a sustainer rocket Detonation Impact
motor that ignited after it left the launcher.
mechanism
The following weapon model of the Panzerfaust family, the so-called Faustpatrone
klein, 30 m ("small fist-cartridge") had a total weight of 3.2 kg (7.1 lb) and a total
length of 98.5 cm (38¾ in); its projectile had a length of 36 cm (14¼ in) and a
warhead diameter of 10 cm (4 in); it carried a shaped charge of 400 g (14 oz) of a
50:50 mix of TNT and tri-hexogen. The propellant consisted of 54 g (1.9 oz or 830
grains) of black powder, the metal launch tube had a length of 80 cm (31½ in) and a Faustpatrone 30 (top) and
diameter of 3.3 cm (1.3 in) (early models reportedly 2.8 cm (1.1 in)). Fitted to the Panzerfaust 60 (bottom)
warhead was a wooden shaft with folded stabilizing fins (made of 0.25 mm (0.01 in)
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 28 m/s (92 ft/s), had a range of about 30 m (100 ft) and
an armor penetration of up to 140 mm (5½ in) of plain steel.

Soon a crude aiming device similar to the one used by the Panzerfaust was added to
the design; it was fixed at a range of 30 m (100 ft). Several designations of this
weapon were in use, amongst which Faustpatrone 1 or Panzerfaust 30 klein;
however, it was common to refer to this weapon simply as the Faustpatrone. Of the
earlier model, 20,000 were ordered and the first 500 Faustpatronen were delivered
by the manufacturer, HASAG Hugo Schneider AG, Werk Schlieben, in August
1943.
Sectional view of Faustpatrone 30
(top) and Panzerfaust 60 (bottom)
Development warheads, further cross sectional
views for the Faustpatrone 30 and
Development began in 1942 on a larger version of the Faustpatrone. The resulting
Panzerfaust 100, including the tube,
weapon was the Panzerfaust 30, with a total weight of 5.1 kilograms (11.2 lb) and
are available.[4][5][6]
total length of 1.045 metres (3.4 ft). The launch tube was made of low-grade steel 44
millimetres (1.7 in) in diameter, containing a 95-gram (3.4 oz) 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
(140 mm (5.5 in) in diameter) was fitted into the front of the tube by an attached
wooden tail stem with metal stabilizing fins.

The warhead weighed 2.9 kilograms (6.4 lb) and contained 0.8 kilograms (1.8 lb) of
a 50:50 mixture of TNT and hexogen explosives, and had armour penetration of 200
millimetres (7.9 in).[7] The Panzerfaust often had warnings written in large red
letters on the upper rear end of the tube, the words usually being "Achtung. A Luftwaffe soldier aims the
Panzerfaust's predecessor, the
Feuerstrahl." ("Beware. Fire jet."). This was to warn soldiers to avoid the backblast.
Faustpatrone, using the integrated
After firing, the tube was discarded, making thePanzerfaust the first disposable anti- leaf sight

tank weapon. The weapon, when correctly fired from the crook of the arm, could
with its shaped charge warhead penetrate the armour of any armoured fighting
vehicle of the period.[8]

Panzerfaust 60 (left) with

Specifications Panzerschreck rocket (right)
 Four Panzerfaust 30s in original
shipping crate, on display at the
Helsinki Military Museum

Propellant Projectile speed Effective Penetration

Designation Weight Warhead Ø Vmax
weight range performance
Faustpatrone 30 2.7–3.2 kg 70 g 100 mm 28 m/s 30 m 140 mm
Panzerfaust 30 5.22 kg 95–100 g 149 mm 30 m/s 30 m 200 mm
Panzerfaust 60 6.8 kg 120–134 g 149 mm 45 m/s 60 m 200 mm
Panzerfaust 100 6.8 kg 190–200 g 149 mm 60 m/s 100 m 200 mm
Panzerfaust 150 7 kg 190–200 g 106 mm 85 m/s 150 m 280–320 mm

Combat use
To use the Panzerfaust, the soldier took off the safety, aimed, and with a little
squeeze, fired the projectile. Unlike the Americans' original M1 60 mmBazooka and
the Germans' own heavier 88 mm Panzerschreck tube-type rocket launchers based
on the American ordnance piece, the Panzerfaust did not have a trigger. It had a
pedal-like lever near the projectile that ignited the propellant when squeezed.

When used against tanks, the Panzerfaust had an impressive beyond-armour effect.
Compared to the Bazooka and the Panzerschreck, it made a larger hole and produced
massive spalling that killed the crew and destroyed equipment. One informal test
Panzerfaust-armed German soldiers
found that the Panzerfaust made an entry hole two and three-fourths inches in
on the Eastern Front in 1945.
diameter (~7 cm), whereas the Panzerschreck made an entry hole at least one inch in
diameter (~2.5 cm), and the Bazooka made an entry hole that was only a half-inch in
diameter (~1.3 cm).[9]

Germany
In the Battle of Normandy, only 6% of British tank losses were from Panzerfaust fire despite the close-range combat in the Bocage
landscape. However, the threat from the Panzerfaust forced tank forces to wait for infantry support before advancing. The portion of
British tanks taken out of action by Panzerfäuste later rose to 34%, a rise probably explained by the lack of German anti-tank guns
[10]
late in the war and the increased numbers of Panzerfäuste that were available.

In urban combat later in the war in eastern Germany, about 70% of tanks destroyed were hit by Panzerfäuste or Panzerschrecks. The
Soviet forces responded by installing spaced armour on their tanks from early 1945 onwards, although it was often easily blown off
by exploding shells or Panzerfaust hits. Each tank company was also assigned a platoon of infantry to protect them from infantry-
wielded anti-tank weapons.
During the last stages of the war, for a lack of available weapons, many poorly-
trained conscripts (mainly elderly men) and teenaged Hitler Youth members were
often given a single Panzerfaust and nothing else, causing several German generals
to comment sarcastically that the empty launch-tubes could then be used as clubs in
hand-to-hand combat.[11]

Other countries
February or March 1945:Volkssturm
Many Panzerfäuste were sold to Finland, which urgently needed them, as the members being trained to use the
Finnish forces did not have enough anti-tank weapons that could penetrate heavily Panzerfaust anti-tank weapon.
armored Soviet tanks like the T-34 and IS-2. The Finnish experience with the
weapon and its adaptability to Finnish needs was mixed, and only 4,000 of 25,000
Panzerfäuste delivered were expended in combat.[12] 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).[13]

The Italian Social Republic (RSI) and the Government of National Unity (Hungary)
also used the Panzerfaust. Several RSI army units became skilled in anti-tank
warfare and the Hungarians themselves used the Panzerfaust extensively, especially
during the Siege of Budapest. During this brutal siege, an arms factory, the March 1945: Volkssturm trooper
Hungarian Manfred Weiss Steel and Metal Works, located on Csepel Island (within explaining the handling of a
Panzerfaust to a female civilian.
the city) kept up production of various light armaments and ammunition,
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 Panzerfäuste in the Sicilian

campaign, 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 Panzerfäuste near
Nijmegen, and used them through the Ardennes Offensive toward the end of the
war.[14] Volkssturm soldiers with
Panzerfäuste in Berlin, March 1945
The Soviet army only incidentally used captured Panzerfäuste in 1944, but from
beginning of 1945 many became available and were used during Soviet 1945
offensives, mostly in street fighting against buildings and covers.[15] In February 1945 such use of captured Panzerfäuste was
recommended in a directive by Marshall Georgiy Zhukov.[15] Similarly they were used by the Polish People's Army.[15] After the
[15]
war some 4,000 Panzerfäuste were adapted by the Polish Army in 1949, designated 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 onLeyte.[16]

Variants
Panzerfaust 30 klein ("small") or Faustpatrone
this was the original version, first delivered in August 1943 with a total weight of 3.2
kilograms (7.1 lb) and overall length of 98.5 cm (38.8 in). The "30" was indicative of the
nominal maximum range of 30 m (33 yd). It had a 3.3 cm (1.3 in) diameter tube containing
54 grams (1.9 oz) of black powder propellant launching a 10 cm (3.9 in) warhead carrying
 400 g (14 oz) of explosive. The projectile
traveled at just 30 m (98 ft) per second
and could penetrate 140 mm (5.5 in) of
armour.

Panzerfaust 30
An improved version also appearing in
August 1943. This version had a larger
warhead for improved armor penetration,
200 mm (7.9 in) of steel and 5.5 inches
(140 mm) of armored steel, but the same
range of 30 meters. It has a explosive
charge of 3.3 pounds (1.5 kg) of explosive
material. It's barrel has a caliber of 1.7 Panzerfaust-armed Finnish soldiers (soldier in
inches (43 mm) and a length of 40.6 foreground is also armed with aSuomi KP/-31)
inches (103 cm). It has a weight of 11.2 passing the wreckage of a Soviet T-34 tank, destroyed
pounds (5.1 kg) and a muzzle velocity of by detonation, in the Battle of Tali-Ihantala.
148 feet per second (45 m/s).[17]

Panzerfaust 60
this was the most common version, and was completed in early 1944. However, it did not
reach full production until September 1944, when 400,000 were to be produced each
month.[18] It had a much more practical range of 60 m (66 yd), although with a muzzle
velocity of only 45 m (148 ft) per second it would take 1.3 seconds for the warhead to reach
a tank at that range. To achieve the higher velocity, the tube diameter was increased to 5 cm
(2.0 in) and 134 g (4.7 oz) of propellant used while being a total length of 104 cm (41 in). It
also had an improved flip-up rear sight and trigger mechanism. The weapon now weighed
6.1 kg (13 lb). It could defeat 200 mm (7.9 in) of armour.

Panzerfaust 100
this was the final version produced in quantity, and was completed in September 1944.
However, it did not reach full production until November 1944.[18] It had a nominal maximum
range of 100 m (330 ft). 190 g (6.7 oz) of propellant launched the warhead at 60 m (200 ft)
per second from a 6 cm (2.4 in) diameter tube. The sight had holes for 30, 60, 80 and 150 m
(260 and 490 ft), and had luminous paint in them to make counting up to the correct one
easier in the dark. This version weighed 6 kg (13 lb) and could penetrate 220 mm (8.7 in) of
armour.

Panzerfaust 150
this was a major redesign of the weapon, and was deployed in limited numbers near the end
of the war. The firing tube was reinforced and reusable for up to ten shots. A new pointed
warhead with increased armour penetration and two-stage propellant ignition gave a higher
velocity of 85 m (279 ft) per second. Production started in March 1945, two months before
the end of the war.

Panzerfaust 250
the last development of the Panzerfaust series was the Panzerfaust 250. It used a
reloadable tube and now featured a pistol grip. With propellants in both the firing tube and on
the projectile itself it was projected to reach a projectile speed of 150 m/s (490 feet/s). Serial
production was scheduled to begin in September 1945. However, the development of this
weapon was never completed and none were ever produced. The Soviet RPG-2 anti-tank
rocket launcher partially was based on the design of the Panzerfaust 250.

Related development
PAPI
 Argentine-made antitank weapon, similar to the Panzerfaust. The acronym stands for
proyectil antitanque para infanteria (Spanish for "infantry anti-tank projectile").[19]

Pansarskott m/45 and pansarskott m/46

Swedish-made copies of the Panzerfaust.[20]

Pc-100 (PC-100, pancerzownica 100m)

Polish-made copy of the Panzerfaust 100, manufactured in 1951-1952. Despite large-scale
orders, a production encountered technological difficulties and only 5000 combat and 940
training Pc-100 were made in 1952, before the Polish Army switched to more modern Soviet
RPG-2.[21] It is erroneously known as PT-100 in foreign publications.[21]

Users
Panzerfaust

Germany
Bulgaria[22]
Finland[22]
Hungary[22][23]
Italian Social Republic
Poland (use of captured Panzerfäuste during the war
, limited use Finnish soldiers armed with a
[15]
post-war under a designation PG-49). Panzerfaust
Czechoslovakia: The Czech resistance used captured
Panzerfäuste during thePrague uprising.[24]
Romania[22]
[15]
Soviet Union (mass usage of captured Panzerfäuste in 1945).
United States U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division used captured examples, fromOperation Husky—VE Day[18]

Derivatives

Argentina Argentine-made PAPI and possibly Swedish madePansarskott m/46.[25][26]

Sweden manufactured and used copies of thePanzerfaust in at least two different variants; Pansarskott m/45
and Pansarskott m/46[20]
Poland Polish-made copy Pc-100.[21]

See also
AT4
Bazooka
Fliegende Panzerfaust
List of common World War II infantry weapons
List of World War II firearms of Germany
M72 LAW
PIAT
Panzerschreck
Rocket-propelled grenade
RPG-2
Type 4 70 mm AT Rocket Launcher
Panzerfaust 3
PzF 44
Schiessbecher German anti-tank rifle grenade
References

Notes
1. Stallings, Patrick A. "Tank Company Security Operations"(http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA258111&L
ocation=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf)(PDF). Major.
2. Guzmán, Julio S. (April 1942).Las Armas Modernas de Infantería(in Spanish).
3. Very similar o the Panzerfaust 250
4. "Panzerfaust 100, courtesy of V. Potapov" (http://homepage.eircom.net/~nightingale/graphics/pzf100cut.gif)
.
5. "Reocities, Panzerfaust WW II German Infantry Anti-T
ank Weapons Page 2: Faustpatrone & Panzerfaust,
M.Hofbauer" (http://www.reocities.com/Augusta/8172/panzerfaust14.htm).
6. "Archive.org Panzerfaust WW II German Infantry Anti-T ank Weapons Page 2: Faustpatrone & Panzerfaust,
M.Hofbauer" (https://web.archive.org/web/20050209093245/http://www .geocities.com/Augusta/8172/panzerfaust2.ht
m). Archived from the original (http://www.geocities.com/Augusta/8172/panzerfaust2.htm) on February 9, 2005.
7. Handbook on German Military Forces(http://downloads.sturmpanzer.com/FMS/NARA_TM_E30_451_1945.03.pdf)
(PDF). Washington D.C.: United States War Department. 1945. p. VII-II.
8. Bishop, Chris (January 1998).The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II (https://books.google.com/books?id=Yf
JLPwAACAAJ). New York: Orbis Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7607-1022-7.
9. White, Isaac D. United States vs. German Equipment: As Prepared for the Supreme Commander
, Allied
Expeditionary Force (1997). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. p 70.
ISBN 978-1468068153.
10. Place, Timothy Harrison (October 2000). "Chapter 9: Armour in North-West Europe". Military training in the British
Army, 1940–1944: From Dunkirk to D-Day(https://books.google.com/books?id=McUS0IuZ1EYC&pg=P A160). Cass
Series—Military History and Policy. 6. London: Frank Cass. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-7146-5037-1. LCCN 00031480 (http
s://lccn.loc.gov/00031480).
11. Simons, Gerald (1982).Victory in Europe (https://books.google.com/books?id=CqJzAAAAIAAJ) . Alexandria, VA:
Time–Life Books. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-8094-3406-0. LCCN 81018315 (https://lccn.loc.gov/81018315).
12. Jowett, Philip S.; Snodgrass, Brent (Illustrator); Ruggeri, Raf
faele (Illustrator) (July 2006).Martin Windrow (ed.).
Finland at War, 1939–45 (https://books.google.com/books?id=p58vtOKyV y8C). Oxford: Osprey Publishing. p. 56.
ISBN 978-1-84176-969-1. LCCN 2006286373 (https://lccn.loc.gov/2006286373).
13. "Jack E. Hammond, hosting of 1943 Panzerfaust manual"(http://www.armyrecognition.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4
59&sid=861f1b9cf67543cd8b7ed7074165b747) .
14. More Than Courage: Sicily, Naples-Foggia, Anzio, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace ... By Phil Nordyke .P299
15. Perzyk, Bogusław: Niemieckie granatniki przeciwpancerne Panzerfaust w Wojsku Polskim 1944-1955 cz.I
in: Poligon
2/2011, pp.56-62 (in Polish)
16. Gordon L. Rottman (2014).Panzerfaust and Panzerschreck. Osprey Publishing. pp. 72–73.ISBN 1782007881.
17. Weapons of World War II by Alexander Ludeke
18. Rottman, Gordon L. (2014).Panzerfaust and Panzerschreck. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781782007883.
19. "Argentine Panzerfaust" topic, International Ammunition Association forum
(http://iaaforum.org/forum3/viewtopic.ph
p?f=8&t=12049) (retrieved 2014-01-24)
20. Pansarskott Swedish Wikipedia article, accessed 2012-11-15
21. Perzyk, Bogusław: Panzerfaust w Wojsku Polskim 1944-1955 cz.II. Projekt PC-100in: Poligon 4/2011, pp.68-80 (in
Polish)
22. Rottman, Gordon L. (2014). "The Panzerfaust and Panzerschreck in other hands".
Panzerfaust and Panzerschreck.
Osprey Publishing. pp. 68–69.ISBN 9781782007883.
23. Tibor, Rada (2001). "Német gyalogsági fegyverek magyar kézben" [German infantry weapons in Hungarian hands].
A Magyar Királyi Honvéd Ludovika Akadémia és a e Tstvérintézetek Összefoglalt Története (1830-1945)(in
Hungarian). II. Budapest: Gálos Nyomdász Kft. p. 1114.ISBN 963-85764-3-X.
24. Bartošek, Karel (1965).The Prague Uprising (https://books.google.com/books?id=EWw-AAAAIAAJ)
. Artia. p. 53.
25. Julio S. Guzmán, Las Armas Modernas de Infantería, Abril de 1953
26. "Support Weapons" (http://www.militariarg.com/support-weapons.html). Militariarg.com. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
Bibliography
Chuikov, Vasili Ivanovich; Kisch, Ruth (translator) (1969).The End of the Third Reich. Panther Books. ISBN 978-0-
586-02775-2. LCCN 74534462.

External links
Contemporary U.S. Intelligence Report on German Hollow-Charge W
eapons

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