GERMANY
Anti-tank rifles The German army used two mam types of anti-tank rifle but, as will be related, they attempted to develop many more models. The first inservice weapon was the 7.92-mm Panzerbüchse 38, an 0.312-m rifle produced by Rhemmetall-Borsig, This was a weapon that was both complex and expensive, for it resembled a miniature artillery piece so far as the breech mechanism was concerned. This featured a small sliding breech block and an automatic ejector for the spent cartridge case. About 1,600 of these anti-tank rifles were procured by the German army, but the type was not accepted as a full service-standard weapon although those that were produced were retained in service and were used during the early war years. The standard German anti-tank rifle was the 7.92-mm Panzerbüchse 39. This was a much simpler weapon than the Panzerbüchse 38 and was produced by the Gustloff-Werke of Suhl. This weapon still had a sliding breech block for the powerful cartridge, but the block was operated by pulling down the pistol grip. Like the earlier rifle it was a single-shot weapon and the stock could be folded to make carriage more handy. Extra ammunition could be carried on the weapon in small boxes secured on each side of the breech mechanism. These two anti-tank rifles fired the same ammunition, which originally used a hard steel core, In 1939 numbers of Polish Marosczek anti-tank rifles were captured, and on examination it was found that the bullets fired by this very effective weapon had a tungsten core that gave much better armour penetration. The Germans seized upon this principle and adopted it to lengthen the service life of their own anti-tank rifles, which would otherwise have been rendered obsolete by increases in enemy tank armour. The Germans developed a surprising number of follow-on designs in an effort to replace the Panzerbüchse 39. Various manufacturers produced a series of prototypes, all of them in 7.92mm calibre, but none of them got past the prototype stage. There was even a programme to develop an anti-tank machine-gun known as the MG 141, but again that did not proceed far
The Panzerbüchse 39 is shown in the travelling position (below) and with the bipod lowered and stock extended ready for action (above). German an ti- tank rifles vvere rendered obsolete by the increasing thickness of tank armour.
An Africa Korps soldier is seen with a 7.92-mm (0.312-in) Panzerbüchse 39. This was a single-shot rifle that n'red tungsten-cored projectiles. The projectile could penetrate 25 mm (0.5-in) of armour at 300 m (328 yards), making it unable to tackle any but the lightest tanks after 1940. along its development path. There was one further anti-tank rifle used by the Germans, but this was a Swiss product known as the 7.92-mm M SS 41. This was produced by Waffenfabrik Solothurn in Switzerland to German specifications, but not many
The German Granatbüchse 39 was a converted PzB 39 anti-tank rifle fitted with a 'Schiessbecker' grenade la uncher cup on the m uzzle. The grenades fired included small hollow-charge anti-tank grenades (see cross section) that were effective only against the very lightest armour at ranges up to 125 m (136 yards).
appear to have been made or delivered though some were used in North Africa. Solothurn was also responsible for the design and manufacture of a weapon more accurately described as an anti-tank cannon, for it was the 2-cm Panzerabwehrbüchse 785(s). This was
a fairly bulky weapon that was towed on its own two-wheeled mounting, and again only a limited number were procured by the Germans. Others went to Italy, where the type was known as the Fucile anticarro. It was an automatic weapon that used five- or 10-round magazines, and was sometimes known as the s 18-1100; some were used by the Netherlands during 1939 and 1940 as the Geweer tp 18-1110. Specification PzB 38 Calibre: 7.92 mm (0.312 in) Lengths: overall with stock extended 1,615 m (63.58 in); barrel 1.085 m (42.72 in) Weight: 16.2 kg (35.7 lib) Muzzle velocity: 1210 m (3,970 ft) per second
Armour penetration: 25 mm (0.98 in) at 300 m (328 yards) PzB 39 Calibre: 7.92 mm (0.312 in) Lengths: overall with stock extended 1.62 m (63,78 in); barrel 1.085 m (42.72 in) Weight: 12.6 kg (27,78 lb) Muzzle velocity: 1265 m (4,150 ft) per second Armour penetration: 25 mm (0.98 in) at 300 m (328 yards) 209