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96
Close Combat
Operation
Grenade launcher, percussion fired
Caliber
44 mm (1.73 in.)
Weight
5 to 7 kg (11 to 15.4 lbs)
Overall length
approx. 104 cm
(40.95 in.)
Range
up to 80 m (88 yds)
Armor penetration
240 mm (9.4 in.)
Like the American Bazooka, the German
Panzerfaust (“Tank Fist”) was a simple device that
delivered a potent punch. In the course of the war a
series of models was produced, ending with the
Panzerfaust 100. All Panzerfaust models consisted
of a steel tube that contained a propellant charge. As
in all small arms cartridges (and unlike the electri-
cally fired Bazooka and Panzerschreck launchers),
the charge in the tube was ignited by percussion,
firing a 44-mm hollow-charge antitank grenade from
the tube. When the grenade left the tube, spring-steel
fins deployed to stabilize its flight. Early models
were effective only at close range—about 30 meters.
Later models improved the range, first up to 80
meters, and finally up to 150 meters. Allied tank
crews trapped in the blind enclosures of the Norman
bocage country often became aware of concealed
Panzerfaust teams only when their vehicles were
struck by exploding antitank grenades.
Panzerfaust
Antitank
Grenade Launcher