History of production and use of Panzerfaust (faustpatron)

destruction of captured faustpatrons with an overhead charge. 1945

The massive use by the Red Army of medium and heavy tanks forced the German command to urgently look for ways to establish anti-tank defense of infantry units. In the spring of 1942, the Ordnance Department invited several companies to develop new anti-tank weapons. Little is known about what other contestants have proposed, but the choice fell on a project designed by Dr. Heinrich Langeweiler of Hugo Schneider Aktien-Gesellschaft (HASAG) in Leipzig-Altenburg.
Langweiler created an unusual device called the Faustpatrone. Faustpatron, which translates as "fist-cartridge" was a cumulative projectile mounted on a short tube. The total length of the device did not exceed 35 cm. The descent was carried out using a lever located on the side of the rough. The projectile was twisted thanks to two rods inserted into the grooves on the inner surface of the pipe. The caliber of the projectile was 80 mm, the total mass did not exceed 1 kg.

The device had a serious flaw. When fired from the rear end of the pipe, a powerful sheaf of flame escaped, which forced the shooter to hold the pipe at arm's length. And this did not allow for aimed fire. The projectile was unstable in the air, the fuse was very sensitive to the angle of impact. That is, if the projectile did not hit the target at a right angle, then the explosion did not occur. But the project also had undeniable advantages.
In October 1942, the armaments department decided to refine the faustpatron so that the effective range of fire reached at least 30-40 m. In November, the main shortcomings of the weapon were eliminated.


fuse diagram FPZ8003 from the faustpatron

Faustpatron received a longer pipe with a larger diameter. Thanks to this measure, the soldier was able to put the pipe on his shoulder and aim accurately. The projectile was stabilized in flight by the plumage of sheet metal mounted on a wooden shank. The plumage wound around the shank when the projectile was in the tube, but after leaving the tube, the plumage straightened due to the elasticity of the metal. The caliber of the projectile was brought up to 95 mm and equipped with a bottom fuse that worked regardless of the angle of attack. The propellant charge consisted of a sample of black powder weighing 56 g. The initial velocity of the projectile was 25-28 m / s, the effective firing range was 30 m. The projectile pierced armor up to 140 mm thick.


aiming from panzerfaust 60

Approximately simultaneously with the faustpatron, work was carried out on an enlarged projectile with a caliber of 150 mm. The basis was put magnetic cumulative mine
Hafthohladung 3 kg (Haft-Hl 3), The larger projectile weighed 5.1 kg. for its throwing, a charge of black powder weighing 95 g was intended. Despite the large mass, the effective firing range was the same 30 m. At the same time, the projectile pierced armor up to 200 mm thick.


Pointing Papzerfaust 30 was primitive and at the same time difficult, as can be clearly seen in the picture. It was necessary to combine the aiming bar with a small notch on the top of the warhead. The accuracy of such aiming left much to be desired, although it was enough to hit the tank from 30 m. Russia, early 1944

In March 1943, both models were presented to officials from the armaments department at the Kummersdorf training ground. For comparison, an American bazooka was demonstrated. Based on the test results, it was decided to continue work on both types of weapons. At the same time, work was underway on the German bazooka, nicknamed Ofenrohr ("chimney"). The Ordnance Department placed an order for 3,000 faustpatrons of both types. Soon, new weapons arrived on the eastern front.


Standard box for 4 panzerfausts. The detonators were stored in a separate case during transportation.

The first batches of faustpatrons entered the troops in August 1943. These were 500 pieces of small and 6800 large faustpatrons. The instruction manual is dated September 1, 1943. For distinction, the smaller faustpatrone was named Faustpatrone 1 and the larger faustpatrone 2. In October 1943, the Ordnance Department placed an order for 100,000 faustpatrons 1 and 200,000 faustpatrons 2 monthly. Although these results were achieved only by the end of 1944, very quickly the German industry began to produce tens of thousands of faustpatrons monthly. Faustpatrons were easy to use, but required caution from the shooter, since the exhaust from the rear end of the pipe hit two meters. All copies were stenciled with a warning inscription in red paint: Achtung Feuerstrahl (“Beware of a fiery stream”) or another similar warning.

The instructions said that the release is dangerous for people within a radius of ten meters. The shooter himself could suffer from the ejection if there was an obstacle behind him at a distance of up to two meters.
Before firing, the faustpatron projectile was removed from the pipe. Then a detonator and a demolition charge were installed. In Faustpatron 1, the explosive charge was in the shank, which was inserted into the pipe. In the Faustpatron 2, the detonator and explosive charge were placed in the tubular protrusion of the warhead.


detonators kl.zdlg. 34 used in panzerfausts

Then the projectile was installed back. The shot was fired by pressing the striker, which broke the primer and ignited the propellant charge. The explosive charge and primer were installed at the factory. Before firing, it was necessary to remove the pin that held the aiming bar in the lowered position. Next, the bar had to be raised. At the same time, the striker was cocked, and the descent protruded outward. The sight was very simple and was a slot with which to catch the target. The mouse was missing. The aiming range did not exceed 30 m.

Notation

The name Faustpatrone was used until the end of the war, although at the end of 1943 official name weapons were changed to Panzerfaust - "tank fist". Small panzerfaust became known as Panzerfaust klein. and the big one is Panzerfaust gross. To eliminate confusion, the shell of a large panzerfaust was necessarily marked with the inscription gross. This measure seemed superfluous, since the large and small Panzerfaust are already easy to distinguish.
Most authors agree that the production of small panzerfausts was curtailed at the beginning of 1944. The large panzerfaust in 1944 received a new designation Panzerfaust 30.



The sergeant-major explains to the soldiers the rules for using the large panzerfaust 30. The photograph is dated September 1943. Just a month earlier, the first small batches of panzerfausts had entered combat units. Apparently, it is one of the earliest photographs on this topic. Russia, September 1943


A non-commissioned officer aims a Panzerfaust 30 gross from cover. The shot was taken shortly after the Allied landings in Normandy in order to boost the morale of the soldiers. France, June 1944

Panzerfaust 60

As mentioned above, Panzerfaust 30 had effective range shooting only 30 m. To get closer to an enemy tank at such a distance, a soldier needed great courage and determination. The shot from the panzerfaust was very loud, in case of a miss, the soldier did not have the opportunity to reload the weapon and try to shoot again. Therefore, the military demanded to increase the aiming range of the Panzerfaust. This requirement was soon granted. In the same 1944, the Panzerfaust 60 appeared. The new Panzerfaust had a tube with walls 3 mm thick instead of 2, capable of withstanding a charge of propellant gunpowder increased to 140 grams. The more powerful charge increased the muzzle velocity to 48 m/s and the effective range to 60 m, hence the name.



The Panzerfaust 60 had a more complex sight with graduations at 30. 60 and 80 m. The projectile had a notch that played the role of a front sight. The weapon was easy to use and had an upgraded trigger mechanism. Before the shot, the projectile was removed, a detonator and a demolition charge were installed in it, after which the projectile was installed back into the pipe. The release button gave way to a lever that acted on a spring-loaded firing pin. Pressing the lever released the firing pin.

instructions for use panzerfaust 60

The fuse was a crude sliding pin. In the rear position, he blocked the trigger lever. To remove panzerfauet 60 from the fuse. it was necessary to take the pin to the front position


Panzerfaust 100


cover of the manual for panzerfaust 100

Panzerfaust 150

In the late autumn of 1944, the armaments department demanded that the design of the Panzerfaust be further improved. Due to the lack of raw materials, it was proposed to reduce the mass of the shaped charge, while maintaining its penetrating ability. In parallel, the new Panzerfauette was supposed to get an even greater range of effective shot.
This meant a radical change in the design of the projectile. Experiments with cumulative funnels various shapes allowed to increase the penetrating power to 360 mm. The wooden shank of the projectile, which stabilized it in flight, was replaced with a steel one. Thanks to this measure, the projectile was delivered already fully equipped.

The launch tube of the Panzerfaust 150 allowed reloading, since in the design of the Panzerfaust the tube was the most difficult part to manufacture. Lack of materials and problems with transportation forced the command to announce a bonus of three cigarettes for the delivery of each fired pipe from Panzerfaust 60 and 100.

In the spring of 1945, work on the Panzerfaust 150 was completed and an order for 3,000,000 copies was received. But such an order was already impossible to fulfill. Only a few hundred panzerfausts were collected. moreover, most of them had to be destroyed so that they would not fall into the hands of the advancing enemy troops.


There is conflicting information regarding exact characteristics panzerfaust 150. An illustration in Waffen und Geheimwaffen des deutschen Heeres 1933-1945 shows a device with a pistol grip and a bell at the rear end of the tube. But according to the Deutsches Waffen-Journal, these features are characteristic of the next Panzerfaust 250 model, which remained at the experimental stage. This article reports that the Panierfaust 150 outwardly resembled the Panierfaust 100. But the sight was calibrated for only three distances, and the shape of the projectile was changed. Perhaps the DWJ depicts a "hybrid" in the form of a Panzerfaust 150 projectile on a pipe from 60 or 100. Production dimensions
Different models of Panzerfaust were produced in such a massive series that it is almost impossible to give any exact production numbers. By November 1944, more than a million Panzerfausts had been produced and mass production continued until at least February 1945.
The official statistics given in Ruestungsstand des Heeres reports the presence of 335,300 copies in 1943, almost 5,500,000 in 1944 and 2,056,000 in January-February 1945. A significant part was issued by Hugo Schneider Aktien-Gesellschaft. but many firms were involved in the release. Unfortunately, no details about this have been preserved.


“In a crater on the side of the road, a soldier from the Grossdeutschland division equipped himself with a firing position). Here he waits for the approaching soviet tanks”, says the original caption under the photo. At the end of 1944, units of the Red Army were irresistibly rushing to the west. Eastern Front, November 1944

Given such mass production, it is not surprising that the panzerfaust became the emblem of the German army at the last stage of the war. In almost any picture taken at the end of the war, you can see the Panzerfaust. In March 1945, it came to an attempt to use panzerfausts as an aircraft weapon. The military had quite a few Vis 181 training aircraft at its disposal. A proposal was made to convert them into attack aircraft (Behelfspanzerjaeger - literally auxiliary tank hunters). Each plane was supposed to take three 50-kg bombs and four panzerfausts. attached two at the tips of the wings. planned to start combat use aircraft already in mid-April, but it is unlikely that it came to practical use.




Information about the effectiveness of panzerfausts is somewhat contradictory. Most likely, it was not as great as it is commonly believed. A shot from a panzerfaust required a rather strong soldier nervous tension, the ability to which one could hardly expect from an unfired militia. But one way or another, panzerfaust had a noticeable impact on the course of the war.



The picture was taken by SS photographer Dospesh. The original caption reads: “He is not afraid of enemy tanks. Confident in the fighting qualities of his Panzerfaust, he calmly awaits the approach of British tanks. Western Front, October 1944


Aiming. Soldiers and non-commissioned officers (with binoculars), who are easily recognizable as veteran veterans, do not seem particularly impressed. They can't figure out how this little thing can penetrate thick tank armor. Please note that the projectile is not completely inserted into the pipe. Russia, September 1943


The original caption reads: “These are our grenadiers. Since the beginning of the enemy offensive in the east, they have not known rest. They fight day and night with admirable tenacity. At the limit of human capabilities, the grenadiers again and again enter the battle, demonstrating desperate courage. Eastern Front, July 1944


The soft atmosphere of this shot contrasts strikingly with the atmosphere of other photos. The original caption reads: “Women brought pies and cookies for the soldiers. Every time the soldiers pass through the village to the front, the grandmother comes to the window and distributes food. Every soldier gets a piece." The SS man in the picture is armed with a Panzerfaust 60, the type of Panzerfaust is easily identified by the shape of the warhead. Notice the white line and arrow at the bottom of the picture. This is the mark of the editor who planned to crop the image. Germany, November 1944


A group of SS men awaiting orders. All wear camouflage, most have large panzerfausts 30. The original caption reads: “SS cavalry ready to move. The soldiers are waiting for the command to attack. Most of the soldiers are from Siebenbürgen, they are ready to defend their home.” Eastern Front, October 1944


German positions in Holland near the destroyed bridge over the Mudijk. Mielke, Essov's photographer, did an excellent job of capturing the hopelessness of the situation. Neither the MG 34 machine gun nor the Panzerfaust 60 will save Germany. Holland, January 1945


A soldier in camouflage sets a Panzerfaust 30 gross shell into the tube. The picture was taken in winter, it is not clear why the soldier did not turn his uniform inside out with the white side out. In addition, the soldier made the mistake of raising the aim bar before placing the projectile. When the scope is raised, the trigger mechanism of the Panzerfaust is cocked, so an accidental shot may occur. Russia, December 1943


“Every soldier should become a tank destroyer. Experienced instructors introduce the soldiers to the device of the panzerfaust, ”says the original with a different caption. Officers learning to use the Panzerfaust 60. Unknown location, December 1944.

Stickers for panzerfaust. Click to view in full size:


Chinese products. Airsoft version of the Panzerfaust anti-tank grenade launcher.
This model is a modification of the Panzerfaust - Panzerfaust 60. 60 means - that the real model hit at a distance of 60 meters (by the end of the war, the Germans brought the range of the Panzerfaust to 200 meters).

The manufacturer of this device is unknown - there was an inscription on the boxes - S.H.I. - Spide Heavy Industries. Maybe it's the manufacturer. The grenade launcher is supplied in two boxes - head and pipe separately...

Weight - about 3-4 kg. The pipe is metal. But the head, unfortunately, is made of plastic like textolite. To the touch, it seems to be strong - it’s still not worth dropping or being an enemy ...

Appearance.

There is a plastic cap on the end of the grenade launcher. Which can be removed .. In principle, for this, the Chinese can be given a solid "five" - ​​with a plug, a grenade launcher can be placed on the ground without fear that earth or debris will fill it ...

The head is attached to the pipe quite primitively - it simply slips into the groove and is fastened with a pin (it is immediately recommended to tie the pin with some kind of rope - because you can ... t)

Incomplete parsing.

The head is disassembled into two parts according to the principle of a nesting doll and fixed with grooves by rotating the halves clockwise. The trigger system can be observed inside.

The trigger system is a metal rod - which, moving along the pipe, presses on the valve on the grenade and thereby initiates it ...

The grenade launcher is designed for conventional 40mm airsoft grenades.

The grenade is inserted into the upper half of the head. It is fixed only due to friction forces - but it goes quite tightly. I turned the half over - the grenade did not fall .... There is another plastic plug on the front that closes the hole for the grenade charge to fly out. So, outwardly with a plug, the grenade launcher also does not differ much from its combat prototype. And the entourage is not broken. For this, Chinese manufacturers receive another "five". Of course, the plug must be removed to shoot.

The principle of operation is similar to a combat grenade launcher. Let's uncheck the sight and cock it (and at the same time it is also a fuse). Then we press the lever ..... And voila - we earn ourselves a patch on the sleeve)))

I was very pleased that, thanks to the variety of airsoft grenades, the grenade launcher is universal.
Ordinary 40mm grenades can be used against infantry, while specialized ones (which fire paintballs or special charges) can be used against vehicles...

Photos of special grenades are attached ...

Impression.
Pros - entourage appearance, ease of use, versatility, the presence of plugs.
Cons - a plastic head, and a slightly unfinished striker system (I'm afraid it will not put much pressure on the grenade valve).

Photos of special grenades ...

Grenades firing special "charges"

Paintball shooting grenade.

Panzerfaust grenade launcher (armored (tank) fist) - german grenade launcher single use from World War II.

He came to replace the faustpatron and was used by the German troops until the end of the war. One of its modifications (Panzerfaust 150) became the basis for the Soviet counterpart RPG-2.

cutaway

The image of the invincibility of tanks compared to infantry faded with the advent of the Panzerschreck and Ofenrohr anti-tank rifles, and finally ceased to exist after the appearance in August 1943 anti-tank grenades disposable rocket launchers "Faustpatron". This rocket-propelled weapon was developed by the designers of the Leipzig company Hazag. Depending on the version of the Faustpatron, its rocket-propelled grenade hit a sheet of steel with a thickness of 140 to 200 mm, and a grenade that never entered service with the Faustpatron - 150 m could pierce a steel sheet with a thickness of 280-320 mm.


The development of the Panzerfaust grenade launcher began in 1942 on enlarged Faustpatrone samples. As a result, Panzerfaust was developed, which is a steel pipe with a diameter of 5 cm and a length of 1 meter. On top was a sight and a starter. Aiming was carried out by combining the sight and the upper edge of the warhead. A charge of gunpowder was placed inside the tube. Ahead was a warhead with a diameter of 15 cm, weighing up to 3 kg and containing 0.8 kg of explosive.

A red inscription in German was applied to the pipe: “Achtung! Feuerstrahl! ("Watch out! Jet blast!"), warning soldiers not to stand behind the user of the weapon. Jet blast burns up to 3 meters away were fatal. According to the instructions, there should be 10 meters of free space behind the shooter. Like the Faustpatrone, the Panzerfaust was disposable and discarded after being fired. The projectile could penetrate steel sheet up to 200 mm thick.


In urban combat conditions, a short distance made it possible to use weapons with high (albeit later greatly exaggerated) efficiency, which was especially noticeable in the battle for Berlin. The simplicity of the weapon made it possible to create it in the conditions of a besieged city and immediately transfer it to low-skilled defenders.

Many panzerfausts were sold to Finland as the main anti-tank weapon against the Soviet T-34 and IS-2 tanks.

cutaway

Part of the captured "faustpatrons" (as the soldiers of the allied forces mistakenly called both panzerfausts and faustpatrons) was also used by the Soviet army in the development of the first samples of the RPG-2.

The very first version of the weapon was the Panzerfaust 30 "Gretchen", developed by Dr. Langweiter from the company "Hugo Schneider AG", officially it was called "Panzerfaust 30 small" (kleine). It was a pipe 762 mm long, from which a cumulative grenade with a mass of 1.5 kg and a diameter of 100 mm was fired at a speed of approximately 30 m / s. The ammunition used the cumulative Monroe principle: a high-explosive charge had a cone-shaped notch on the inside, covered with copper, with a wide part forward. When such a projectile hit the armor plate, the charge detonated at some distance from it and the entire force of the explosion rushed forward. The charge burned through the copper cone at its top, which in turn created the effect of a thin directed jet of molten metal and hot gases hitting the armor at a speed of about 6000 m / s. "Panzerfaust 30 (small)" did not have sights, and the maximum effect was achieved when firing at a distance of up to 30 meters: the grenade was able to penetrate a 140 mm armor sheet at an angle of 30 degrees. The shot was carried out with the help of an expelling charge placed inside the pipe,


The Panzerfaust 30 kleine was replaced by Panzerfaust grenade launcher 30, used since August 1943, featuring a larger diameter warhead and increased armor penetration. The number 30 means the weapon's nominal maximum range in meters.

The most common version of the grenade launcher is the Panzerfaust 60, which began production in August 1944. The distance was increased to 60 meters, for which the pipe diameter was increased from 4.4 to 5 cm and the mass of the charge was increased by 134 g. The launch mechanism was also improved. As a result, the mass of the grenade launcher was increased.


The latest version of the Panzerfaust weapon is the Panzerfaust 100 grenade launcher, which entered the troops in November 1944. The nominal distance has been increased to 150 meters. The diameter of the pipe was again increased to 6 cm. Holes with luminescent marks appeared on the sight at 30, 60, 80 and 150 meters.

In addition, at the very end of the war, a limited series of Panzerfaust 150 was released. Changes affected the warhead, and the charge was divided into two parts, which increased the projectile speed to 85 m / s and penetration. The pipe could be reused up to ten times.

Also, the Panzerfaust 250 grenade launcher was planned for release in September 1945, but the development was not completed.


Panzerfaust
modifications with grenades

In addition, many modifications of the panzerfaust were made:

One of the designs allowed it to be used as an anti-personnel weapon: the kit included a small rocket, Kleinrakete zur Infanteriebekampfung ("small anti-infantry rocket"), the warhead was 24.5 cm long and 7.6 cm in diameter, only a few copies of this were made design, because it turned out that the range was the same as that of rifle grenades.

In late 1944, the Panzerfaust 150 used a projectile (with an increased fragmentation effect) with a connection to shrapnel rings (Splitterringe), notched like hand grenades, to increase the fragmentation effect. Such a grenade simultaneously hit both the tank and the infantry of the Soviet army, often located on the armor.

Another development was the Schrappnellfaust ("shrapnel fist"), unlike the Panzerfaust, it was rechargeable, also designed to defeat infantry. The Shrapnel Fist weighed 8 kg and had a maximum range of 400 meters.

In January 1945, a new warhead was developed for the Panzerfaust called the Verbesserte Panzerfaust ("improved armor fist"). This modification had a tube diameter of 160 mm with variable detonation distance. There is no evidence that this warhead was used by the Wehrmacht.

  • Weapons » Grenade launchers » Germany
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Useful to the Wehrmacht and ... Red Army
http://Russianmovement.rf/index.php/military-equipment/54-military-equipment/12915-2012-12-14-10-21-​07

The development of this weapon in the Third Reich was a turning point in the development of infantry weapons designed to combat enemy armored vehicles. Moreover, it served very well both German and Soviet troops, influenced the creation of domestic analogues in the first post-war years.


"Fist cartridge", aka "iron hand"

In 1943 german army received a recoilless (or, as it was also called, a dynamo-reactive) device, known as the Panzerfaust or Faustpatron. This was one of the results of the implementation of the Infantry Armament Program, the adoption of which was urgently required by the experience of fighting on the Eastern Front.

Shortly after the start of the aggression against Soviet Union it turned out that the German 37-mm anti-tank gun was unable to fulfill the tasks assigned to it and therefore received from German soldiers contemptuous nickname "army mallet". But the troops had a large number of these guns, and besides, they were light enough to keep up with the infantry everywhere. True, in order to increase their capabilities, already at the end of 1941, an over-caliber feathered projectile (grenade) with a cumulative warhead, which was inserted into the gun barrel, was delivered specifically for the fight against new Soviet tanks.


However, the rate of fire and range of aimed fire with this ammunition turned out to be too low for more or less successful firing of thirty-seven millimeters. The Germans decided that it was more effective to fire such a grenade with a light fixture that would correspond in size, weight and mobility to infantry weapons. And then they remembered the recoilless principle.

Here we need a little digression into history. The recoilless principle itself has been known for a long time. For example, the Russian "Artillery Journal" back in 1866 reported on experiments "made in England" with a gun with a barrel open at both ends and a powder charge placed between two felt wads. During the First World War, similar schemes were proposed for "trench" guns or aircraft weapons. In Russia, in 1916, D.P. Ryabushinsky manufactured a 70-mm recoilless gun in the form of a pipe open at both ends for a unitary cartridge with a burning cartridge case (“free pipe” scheme). Active work on recoilless schemes was carried out in the 30s in the USSR (which is yet to be told) and in Germany.

German designers began the practical development of recoilless rifles in 1930. Since 1938, the Scientific Research Institute of the Ground Forces has been operating in Gottovo near the Kummersdorf training ground, among the main topics of which, according to data collected by Soviet specialists after the war, were recoilless guns (Glimm group), the phenomenon of explosion cumulation (Dipner group), self-igniting liquids ( Gluppe group), etc.

It should be noted that at that time the schemes of recoilless guns were of interest to specialists as a way to reduce the combat weight of field guns by lightening the carriage, and not creating specialized anti-tank guns. The role of primarily anti-tank weapons will be played by recoilless guns a little later. So the 75-mm and 105-mm recoilless guns 7.5 cm L.G.40 and 10.5 cm L.G.40, adopted in 1940 by the Wehrmacht, were intended for fire support of airborne units, but real anti-tank capabilities were acquired only at the end of 1941 - beginning of 1942 th, when these guns were equipped with cumulative shells.


At the same time, Dr. Heinrich Langweiler offers a lightweight recoilless device for "throwing" an over-caliber cumulative anti-tank grenade. He, as the technical director of the Leipzig company HASAG (Hugo Schneider A.G.), led the development of this new type of anti-tank weapon, and infantry.

Meanwhile, the Wehrmacht command was urgently looking for new anti-tank weapons that would allow the infantry to fight modern Soviet tanks. It is Langweiler who is credited with the authorship of the name "Faustpatron" (Faustpatrone - "fist cartridge"), which the weapon originally received. The simplest recoilless device was connected to the same 3.7 cm Stiel-Gr over-caliber grenade. Patr.41. I must say that in the experienced "Faustpatron" she did not look too good, which required significant changes. So, instead of the tail stem, a tube with a wooden rod was introduced, the rigid plumage replaced the plumage deployed in flight, the caliber was reduced and the head fairing was changed, after experimental firing, the launch tube was lengthened to protect soldiers from burns.


In the summer-autumn of 1942, the first tests of infantry recoilless weapons with a cumulative grenade took place, and already in December, its first model, the Panzerfaust, was put into service. Historical and mythological analogies were loved in Germany, so the name "Panzerfaust" is associated with the popular medieval legend of the early 16th century about the "knight with an iron hand" Goetze von Berlichingen, although the military leader Friedrich von Walten from the same XVI century.

Perfection

HASAG has developed versions of the Panzerfaust with a range of 30, 60, 100, 150, 250 meters. Of these, only the following samples entered service: F-1 and F-2 (“43 system”), F-3 (“44 system”), F-4.


The basis of the "Panzerfaust" F-1 was an open steel pipe-barrel 800 mm long with a propellant charge and a trigger mechanism. An over-caliber grenade was inserted into the pipe in front. The propellant charge of smoky gunpowder was placed in a cardboard case and separated from the grenade with a plastic wad. A tube of an impact mechanism was welded to the front of the pipe, which included a drummer with a mainspring, a release button, a retractable stem with a screw, a return spring and a sleeve with an igniter primer. The descent was made by pressing a button. The beam of fire from the primer-igniter was transmitted to the propellant charge. When it burned, the powder gases pushed the grenade forward, but at the same time, most of them freely flowed back from the pipe, balancing the recoil.

The body of the grenade contained an explosive charge (TNT / RDX) with a conical cumulative recess covered with a ballistic tip. The folded stabilizer blades in the tail section opened up after the grenade flew out of the barrel.

For a shot, the weapon was usually taken under the arm, from the shoulder they shot only at a very short range or from a prone position. The sight was a folding bar with a hole, the front sight was the top of the grenade rim.

Already at the beginning of the use of the new weapon, it became clear that it was necessary to increase its armor penetration, and in March 1943, the F-2 model with a warhead mass of 95 grams (54 g for the F-1 model) was demonstrated at the Kummersdorf training ground. F-1 grenade caliber - 100 mm, F-2 - 150, armor penetration - 140 and 200 mm at an angle of impact with armor up to 30o. The initial speed of the grenade is 30 m / s. Her lack of a jet engine and the low initial speed that a black powder charge could give limited the F-1 and F-2's aimed shooting distance to only 30 meters - a little further than throwing a hand-held anti-tank grenade, but with greater accuracy. Hence the names of the Panzerfaust-30 models, while the small model was called Panzerfaust-30 Klein (Panzerfaust 30M Klein, in the army was nicknamed "Gretchen" - either by the name of Dr. Faust's beloved, or as opposed to the Russian "Katyusha" , in any case, an example of gloomy German humor), and a large one - "Panzerfaust-30 gross" or simply "Panzerfaust-30" (Panzerfaust 30M).


The third model (F-3 or "Panzerfaust-60") appeared in early 1944. With the same grenade caliber of 150 millimeters, it had a propellant charge increased to 134 grams, which made it possible to increase the initial velocity of the grenade (up to 45 m / s) and the range of aimed fire. The tube-barrel had to be enlarged. The warhead of the grenade was connected to the stabilizer rod no longer with a thread, but with a spring latch, which accelerated the loading of the grenade (inserting a detonator in preparation for a shot). A front sight appeared on its rim, which made aiming more accurate. The not entirely successful push-button trigger mechanism of the early Panzerfausts was replaced with a lever mechanism, and a more “all-weather” Javelot-type igniter primer was installed in it. The aiming bar had three holes corresponding to ranges of 30, 50 and 75 meters. In the stowed position, the aiming bar also covered the trigger lever, so it was impossible to cock the firing mechanism without raising the bar. A heavier grenade could be used to destroy not only armored targets, but also defensive structures. Instructions for use "Panzerfaust" was usually pasted on the body of the grenade. When fired, a sheaf of flame 1.5-4 meters long escaped behind the pipe, as warned by the inscription: Achtung! Feuerstral! ("Attention! Beam of fire!").


In November 1944, the F-4 model (Panzerfaust-100) was developed, and at the beginning of 1945 it was delivered to the troops. It used a two-beam propellant charge with a total mass of 190 grams with an air gap. Create a zone when fired high pressure between charges contributed, on the one hand, to an increase in the pressure of the powder gases of the front charge, accelerating the grenade, on the other hand, to more effective damping of the recoil by the gases of the rear charge. This provided an initial grenade speed of 60 m / s and a firing range of up to 100 meters, increased the stability of the weapon when fired, and hence the accuracy of fire.


Production

The first order for the F-1 model was 20,000 units, 8,700 of them were ready in August 1943, mass production began in October. For the first time, Panzerfausts were successfully used in November 1943 - in battles on the territory of Ukraine.

The bulk order for the F-2 was issued only in September, when the F-1 was already being delivered to the troops. The mass nature of weapons - both in terms of the size of production and supplies, and in terms of the speed of development - quickly affected. In January-April 1944, German infantrymen knocked out and destroyed 520 Soviet tanks on the Eastern Front in close combat, with the Panzerfausts accounting for 264 of them (more than half), and the Offenror reusable hand grenade launcher - 88.

Tactical and technical characteristics
serial grenade launchers "Panzerfaust"
Grenade launcher "Panzerfaust-30" "Panzerfaust-60"
F-1 F-2 F-3
Year of manufacture 1943 1944 1945
Grenade caliber (mm) 100 150 150
Barrel (pipe) caliber (mm) 44 44 50
Grenade launcher length (mm) 1030 1048 1048
Weight of grenade launcher (kg) 3.25 5.35 6.25
Grenade weight (kg) 1.65 2.4 2.8
Armor penetration (mm) 140 200 200
Maximum firing range (m) 50 50 80


Standardization, traditional for the German industry, made it possible to quickly connect several companies to the manufacture of Panzerfausts. Explosive charges for grenade launchers were supplied by the Oerlikon, Bürle und Co, Reinische Gummi und Celluloid Fabrik factories, and the tubes-barrels were supplied by the Volkswagen automobile plant. The average cost of one "Panzerfaust" was equal to 25-30 Reichsmarks.

If in 1943 351,700 Panzerfausts of all models were produced, then in 1944 - 5,538,800, in the first four months of 1945 - 2,363,800. The bulk were grenade launchers with an increased firing range.

Experienced Options

The Panzerfaust served as the basis for a number of experimental developments, among which were the Sprengfaust with a fragmentation warhead, and the Shrapnelfaust with 100 ready-made striking elements (anti-personnel grenade launchers), and the chemical Gazfaust with a charge of a poisonous substance, and the incendiary Einshtossflammenwerfer -44", and cumulative incendiary "Brandfaust". Attempts were made to equip light aircraft with Panzerfausts for assault operations.

In November 1944, with the advent of the Panzerfaust-100, the Arms Department gave HASAG the task of developing a variant not only with an increased firing range, but also with greater manufacturability, using surrogate explosives, and most interestingly, with a combined action grenade. For a more reliable defeat of the tank crew and the possibility of fighting manpower, the grenade, in addition to the cumulative armor-piercing one, should also have a fragmentation effect.


After unsuccessful attempts to use energy-intensive smokeless (nitrocellulose) powders in the propellant charge and light metals for the manufacture of the barrel tube, they decided to go the other way - to make the grenade launcher reusable. The walls of the launch tube were thickened, it was equipped with a nozzle in the breech to more effectively compensate for recoil from the jet action of gases. The pipe was required to withstand up to 10 shots. The grenade was connected to the stabilizer. Despite the reduction in the diameter of the warhead to 106 millimeters, armor penetration of up to 220-240 millimeters was provided, which made it possible to deal with all types of tanks that had entered the battlefield by that time.

A steel "shirt" with an external notch was put on the cylindrical part of the grenade body, forming fragments during the explosion of a warhead - the grenade launcher managed to get the name "Splitterfaust" (literally - "fragmentation fist"). According to the change in charge, the igniter and detonator were strengthened. The muzzle velocity of the grenade (85 m/s) and improved aerodynamics ensured an effective firing range of up to 150 meters, although the sight was designed for a range of up to 200 meters.

The order for the Panzerfaust-150 was issued only on March 16, 1945. The production of an initial batch of 500 pieces began with the expectation to bring mass production up to 100 thousand units per month. Such a weapon would have been very effective, but the war was already ending.

In January 1945, WASAG received an assignment for an improved Panzerfaust (Verbesserte Pz.Faust) with a grenade with a caliber of up to 160 millimeters. It was planned to launch it at the Heber plant in Osterode, but the offensive of the allied forces put an end to these plans.


In September 1944, the Panzerfaust-250 reusable model with a firing range of up to 200 meters was developed, but never put into production. The armor penetration of the grenade along the normal was 320 millimeters of homogeneous armor. This 106 mm grenade launcher weighed 7-7.2 kilograms, had an elongated barrel-pipe with a more powerful charge. A pistol grip with a trigger, a frame metal shoulder rest, and a front holding handle were attached to the barrel with clamps. Instead of a mechanical (lever) descent with pyrotechnic ignition, an electric igniter was used, which more reliably ignited the reinforced propellant charge in difficult conditions, especially in cold weather. Shooting was carried out from the shoulder. This actual prototype of many post-war RPGs with an over-caliber grenade did not have time to be brought to a serial model.

The powerful sample of the Grosse Panzerfaust by HASAG based on the Panzerfaust-250 was not brought to the series, but with a warhead diameter of as much as 400 millimeters.


"Faustniks"

Sufficiently simple to manufacture reactive cumulative grenades quickly began to crowd out less effective hand grenades. Although initially the Panzerfaust barrel was disposable, the troops organized the collection of spent pipes and sending them to bases for re-equipment at factories - the need for new weapons turned out to be so great in the face of the clear superiority of Soviet armored and mechanized troops in the last period of the war.


The Panzerfausts were as easy to use as they were to manufacture, requiring only brief training in aiming, shooting and positioning. The Faustniks tried to fire on the tanks from the side, hiding in trenches, trenches, behind terrain folds, and buildings. And yet, given the short range of aimed fire, this required strong nerves. Moreover, the shot unmasked the soldier with a white spherical cloud and raised dust.


The role of the "faustniks" has especially increased since the middle of 1944 - this was facilitated by both the increase in the supply of "Panzerfausts" to the troops, and the transfer of hostilities to a densely built-up area European countries, where the German infantrymen had more opportunities to find shelters and fire at close range, especially in battles on the streets of cities.

On the outskirts of Berlin in the spring of 1945, the damage of the Soviet tank units in armored vehicles, as a result of the use of faustpatrons by the enemy, it sometimes reached 30 percent. When moving tanks with open hatches, there were cases when a Panzerfaust grenade fired from an ambush hit the open frontal hatch of the T-34. During the Berlin operation, however, only 7.8 percent of the irretrievable losses of the thirty-fours (137 out of 1746) fell on the fire of the Faustniks. Although everything depended on the direction and methods of action.


So, the 2nd Guards Tank Army, due to the use of the Panzerfausts by the Germans, lost about 70 tanks out of 104 lost in street battles, and the 1st and 3rd Guards Tank Army - up to half of 104 and 114, respectively, the 7th heavy tank brigade ( IS-2) - 11 out of 67 (damage for the entire operation).

But for all the danger of the Faustnikov, the main role in anti-tank defense, even in the conditions of the city, was still played by artillery. Marshal I. S. Konev wrote: “The Germans saturated the defense knots big amount faustpatrons, which in the conditions of street fighting turned out to be a formidable anti-tank weapon ... Berlin also had a lot of anti-aircraft artillery, and during the period of street fighting it played a particularly large role in anti-tank defense. With the exception of faustpatrons, most of the losses in tanks and self-propelled guns we suffered in Berlin were precisely from enemy anti-aircraft guns.


And yet, it was the actions of the "faustniks" that turned out to be the most sudden due to their mobility and the difficulty of detecting before the shot.

At the last stage of the war, "Panzerfausts" were issued to the Volkssturm militias (already at the end of 1944 - more than 100,000) and the boys - members of the Hitler Youth. The enemy threw into battle "mobile tank destroyer groups" of infantrymen with "Panzerfausts", designed to compensate for the lack of anti-tank weapons on a stretched front. And General G. Guderian recalled that on January 26, 1945, Hitler gave the order to form a "tank fighter division." With a formidable name, it was supposed to consist of companies of scooters (cyclists) who would receive Panzerfausts. However, the war gives rise to not such "improvisations".

The place that the Panzerfausts occupied among the infantry anti-tank weapons of the German army at the time when the mass production of these disposable RPGs began can be judged by the following figures. From January to April 1944, the Wehrmacht received 278,100 grenades for the Offenror reusable anti-tank grenade launchers, 12,200 cumulative anti-tank hand grenades and 656,300 Panzerfausts. On March 1, 1945, the German troops had 92,728 "Panzershreks" (the development of the same "Ofenror") and 541,500 grenades (shots) for them, in warehouses - 47,002 grenade launchers and 69,300 grenades. There were 3,018,000 Panzerfausts of different brands at the same time, including 271,000 in warehouses. Appropriate was the role of disposable RPGs in the fight against tanks at close range. That is why it was necessary to develop technical and tactics protection of Soviet armored vehicles from the fire of enemy grenade launchers.


With the help of "shell nets"

In particular, assault groups, which included tanks and self-propelled guns, were widely used in urban battles. They advanced behind the infantrymen as a means of fire support and suffered fewer losses from the Faustniks. True, enemy soldiers with Panzerfausts could ambush in undefended houses and open fire from the rear. So in many cases it was necessary to specially allocate shooters to fight the "faustniks".

In addition to infantry, light regimental and anti-tank guns, heavy guns and 300-mm M-31 rockets were attracted to this fight in urban conditions. Marshal of Artillery K.P. Kazakov gives an example of the battle in Berlin of the 3rd battery of the 121st howitzer artillery brigade of high power. A tractor with a 203-mm howitzer of this unit advanced along the street. “When approaching a new firing position,” the commander recalled, “the gun came under fire from enemy Faustniks, and the driver, Sergeant B.K. Osmanov, barely managed to hide the gun around the corner of the nearest house. After a short reconnaissance, the platoon commander established that the Faustniks had settled in one of the small houses. With their fire, they blocked the path of the assault group, and it suffered losses ... Fulfilling the order of the platoon commander, Sergeant Osmanov turned the gun towards the enemy at top speed. In 3-4 minutes, the fire platoon of foreman Ostrovsky prepared for battle and smashed the house from which the Nazis fired destructive fire with three shells.


The crews of heavy tanks and self-propelled guns, armed with a 12.7-mm machine gun on an anti-aircraft mount, began to use them more widely to combat enemy firing points.

Meanwhile, back in 1943, Soviet specialists launched a systematic search for protecting tanks from HEAT shells and mines. The chief of staff of the armored and mechanized troops, Major General M.F. Salminov, in a document dated January 25, 1944, indicated:

"1. Effective and reliable protection against cumulative projectile- a screen, which is an armor plate 8–10 mm thick, installed at a distance of 400–500 mm from the main armor of the turret and the fighting compartment of the tank.

2. From magnetic cumulative mines - a clay screen 10 mm thick, applied directly to the armor (both points show the influence of the German experience in protecting tanks and assault guns. - S.F.).

3. Constantly have rifle subunits to cover our tanks in order to exclude the possibility of using cumulative mines for the enemy infantry.

4. Maximum and timely suppression of enemy artillery, especially during the attack period.


Worked out different kinds screens, for example, from solid sheets, as the Germans did. But Soviet tankmen used lighter - mesh screens, installed in the repair parts. The frequently mentioned "bed nets" are more from the realm of legends, apparently generated resemblance nets made by our repairmen with a “carapace bed”. They were attached at a distance of 250-600 mm from the main armor of the hull and turret.


A member of the Military Council of the 5th Shock Army, Lieutenant General F. E. Bokov said: “... during the assault on Berlin, army craftsmen found effective remedy protection of armor from faustpatrons. In the field arms workshops, additional simple protection against tanks was made, which greatly increased their survivability. The essence of this device, which was aptly called screening, was as follows. A metal mesh (cell 4x4 cm) of wire 0.5–0.8 mm in diameter was welded to the tank hull in the most affected places at a distance of 15–20 centimeters on special brackets. Getting into it, the faustpatron exploded, but the focus of the explosion turned out to be out of the armor and could no longer burn through it ... Immediately after the test firing, the commander of the armored and mechanized troops of the 5th shock army, Major General of the Tank Forces B. A. Anisimov ordered to make screening on all vehicles ".


The documents of the 1st Belorussian Front mention various options shielding of tank armor and the positive result of their use in battle, for example, in the 11th tank corps. This experience was actively investigated in the post-war years and contributed to the development of effective anti-cumulative screens, although they were made constructively on slightly different principles.


On the enemy from his own weapon

"Panzerfausts" often turned out to be trophies of the Red Army and were willingly used by Soviet soldiers. It happened that officers who knew German themselves translated brief German instructions for their soldiers in order to quickly put captured RPGs into action. Brief instructions and memos on the use of faustpatrons, specially published and distributed among the troops, were of great benefit.

So, on December 3, 1944, two companies of the 1st battalion of the 29th Guards Airborne Regiment, repelling the counterattack of German tanks and infantry near the city of Meze-Komar (Hungary), in addition to two 45-mm and two 76-mm guns, used captured the day before "Panzerfausts", knocking out six tanks, two assault guns and two enemy armored personnel carriers during the battle.

The chief of staff of the armored and mechanized troops, Colonel-General M. D. Solomatin, at the disposal of the chiefs of the BT and MV fronts dated March 17, 1944, reported: “Special departments have been created in units and formations of the 1st Guards TA to fight enemy tanks with the help of captured faustpatrons (one per motorized rifle company). For the preparation of people were carried out practical lessons for firing a faustpatron ... Considering the experience of 1 Guards. TA, you need to give appropriate instructions to the armored and mechanized troops on the use of captured faustpatrons.

On the experience of using faustpatrons by our troops, as well as on the experience of combating faustpatrons used against our tanks, report to the headquarters of the BT and MV KA.

Soldiers of assault groups in street battles and sappers when destroying firing points and long-term fortifications of the enemy were especially willing to use the Panzerfausts. In Danzig alone, Soviet assault groups used up 200-250 Panzerfausts almost daily.

Marshal of the Engineering Troops V.K. Kharchenko noted that "one shot through the window was enough to silence an enemy machine gunner, two or three shots made a hole in a stone or thin concrete wall." The same Lieutenant General F.E. Bokov reported: “To undermine strong doors and gates, to make breaches in the walls, Soviet soldiers in Berlin very widely used captured faustpatrons.”

The Panzerfausts were also used against German tanks and self-propelled guns. It is curious that even in one of the versions (namely, versions, we note) of the death of the notorious Reichsleiter Martin Bormann, "Panzerfaust" appears. Allegedly, on the night of May 1-2, 1945, while trying to break through a group of high-ranking Nazis from Berlin to the west under the cover of several tanks, one of them was shot down on the street by a Soviet fighter from the Panzerfaust and exploded, among the dead was Bormann, who was hiding behind the tank.

But something else is much more interesting - a new and still rather imperfect weapon quickly acquired a formidable reputation, which indicated great prospects for hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers. The commander of the 8th Guards Army, Colonel General V. I. Chuikov, noting the interest of Soviet soldiers in the Panzerfausts (Faustpatrons), even suggested introducing them into the troops under the half-joking name Ivan Patron.

By the way, Chuikov’s remark about street battles is characteristic, when tanks are a good target for armor-piercers armed with bottles of combustible mixture and especially rocket-propelled grenade launchers of the Faustpatron type, and must work as part of mixed assault groups (nevertheless expose tanks on city streets to fire RPG Russian troops continued after 50 years).

Developments for Soviet RPGs

Assessment of the value of "Panzerfaust" (and in the German-speaking countries, this word has become a household word for hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers) immediately after the war was ambiguous. Former Lieutenant General of the Wehrmacht E. Schneider wrote that “only shaped charges connected to a recoilless system ... or in combination with rocket engine... were a fairly successful means of close anti-tank defense. But they, in his opinion, did not solve the problem: “The infantry needs anti-tank weapons to be serviced by one person and that it allows them to hit the tank and disable it from a distance of 150, and if possible, 400 meters.”

Schneider was echoed by Lieutenant Colonel E. Middeldorf: “The creation of the Offenror anti-tank reactive gun and the Panzerfaust dynamo-reactive grenade launcher can only be considered as a temporary measure in resolving the problem of infantry anti-tank defense.” Although the German researcher G. Kerl later stated: “Perhaps the only German weapons, meeting the requirements of maximum efficiency at minimum cost forces and means for its production, it was anti-tank gun"Faustpatron".

In turn, Marshal of Artillery N. D. Yakovlev, who during the war years was the head of the GAU, complained about the lack of hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers in service with the Red Army at the last stage of the Great Patriotic War and explained this by the fact that “there were no active supporters of such means of anti-tank warfare as "Faustpatron" ... But he has proven himself perfectly.

By the way, the design of dynamo-reactive systems in the USSR was quite energetically engaged back in the 30s - it is enough to recall the products of L.V. Kurchevsky or the more theoretical developments of V.M. Trofimov, N.A. Upornikov, E.A. Berkalov. Infantry anti-tank weapons were also created. In 1933, the 37-mm dynamo-reactive (recoilless) anti-tank rifle proposed by Kurchevsky was adopted by the Red Army, but it lasted about two years, after which it was discontinued and withdrawn from the troops. And in 1934, the Design Bureau of P. I. Grokhovsky developed a simple hand-held dynamo-reactive launcher for shooting at lightly armored targets.

The armor-piercing effect of shells in these systems was based on their kinetic energy and was not enough at low speeds: remember that in a recoilless system, most of the powder charge is spent not on projectile acceleration, but on damping recoil. Increase in the mass of gunpowder, large dangerous area behind the breech cut, thick clouds of dust raised during the shot had an especially strong effect on large-caliber weapons (which Kurchevsky was carried away to the detriment of work on battalion and company weapons). The abbreviation DRP (dynamo-reactive gun) was even jokingly deciphered as “Come on, guys, hide!”.

One way or another, but work on the dynamo-reactive theme was interrupted (already in 1943, I.V. Stalin allegedly remarked on this occasion: “They threw out the child along with the dirty water”). They returned during the war. To a large extent - under the influence of the recoilless systems of the German army and in connection with the appearance of their own ammunition with a cumulative warhead.

Not surprisingly, after the war, a lot of time and effort was spent on studying and trying to improve this type of weapon. After the defeat of Nazi Germany, on its territory, by order of the Soviet leadership, three institutes were organized - "Rabe", "Nordhausen", "Berlin" for processing documentation, detailed reproduction of missile designs and jet weapons with the involvement of German specialists.

The Leipzig branch of the Berlin Institute, for example, was instructed to finalize the Panzerfaust-150 and Panzerfaust-250. The Nordhausen design bureau in Sommerde was preparing documentation for fuses for both grenade launchers. However, the most interested in the Soviet military "Panzerfaust-150". Tests of the "Panzerfaust-250" showed the unsuitability of this system. At the end of October 1946, German specialists were taken to the Krasnoarmeisky settlement of the Moscow Region (the area of ​​the Sofrinsky artillery range), where they took part in the work of KB-3 of the Ministry of Agricultural Engineering.

The year 1946 as a whole became a turning point in the development of domestic jet weapons: already in May, a Special Committee on Jet Technology was created under the Council of Ministers of the USSR, under the Main artillery department– Rocket weapons department. Work has intensified in various areas, including light anti-tank rocket weapons. A department of anti-tank projectiles was formed at the Scientific Research Institute of Rockets of the GAU.

The memorandum of the members of the Committee on Jet Technology to I.V. Stalin dated December 31, 1946, signed by G.M. Malenkov, said: “As a result of the work done, the main technical documentation for the V-2 rocket, anti-aircraft guided Wasserfall projectile, Typhoon-P unguided anti-aircraft projectile, Henschel rocket-propelled torpedoes, Panzerfaust anti-tank grenade launchers…

Our engineers and technicians, with the participation of German specialists in Germany, assembled samples of the following types of rocket weapons with the completion of some of the missing parts and assemblies:

... e) a hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher and a Panzerfaust grenade: a direct shot range - 100 meters, armor penetration - 200 millimeters, the weight of a charged system - about 6 kilograms;

samples - 110 pieces ...

All the above-mentioned samples of rocket weapons made in Germany were sent to the Soviet Union.

The German groundwork for the "Panzerfaust-150" and "Panzerfaust-250" was used in the development of the 80 / 40-mm RPG-2 anti-tank grenade launcher, created under the leadership of A. V. Smolyakov in GSKB-30 of the Ministry of Agricultural Engineering and adopted by the Soviet Army in 1949.

And the idea of ​​​​a light and extremely easy-to-handle disposable "rocket grenade", incorporated in the "Panzerfaust", turned out to be fruitful in terms of a "supernumerary" individual anti-tank melee weapon. Since the 60s, when the introduction of new materials and technologies made it possible to lighten disposable anti-tank grenade launchers, they have become very popular - from the American M72 and M72A1 and the Soviet RPG-18 and beyond. But that was another weapon.

Semyon Fedoseev