Panzerschreck

Panzerschreck (lit. "armor fright" or "tank fright") was the popular name for the Raketenpanzerbüchse (abbreviated to RPzB), an 88 mm calibre reusable anti-tank rocket launcher developed by Nazi Germany in World War II. Another popular nickname was Ofenrohr ("stove pipe").

The Panzerschreck was designed as a lightweight infantry anti-tank weapon. The weapon was shoulder-launched and fired a fin-stabilized rocket with a shaped charge warhead. It was made in smaller numbers than the Panzerfaust, which was a disposable recoilless rifle firing an anti-tank warhead.

HISTORY


In 1941, when the Germans encountered the new Soviet tank designs such as the T-34, they quickly discovered the effectiveness of the high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) round against this new threat.[citation needed] The need for a more effective infantry anti-tank weapon than the Panzerbüchse 39 (PzB 39) anti-tank rifles was paramount for the German army.[citation needed]
Development of a weapon using the HEAT principle quickly ensued. The first development was a converted anti-tank grenade launcher version of the P.z.b 39 anti-tank rifle called the G.z.b 39. Further development created the Faustpatrone and later the Panzerfaust which were highly effective against Allied armor, but lacked the range and multi-purpose nature of the 2.36-inch (60mm) M1A1 "Bazooka".German troops captured many Allied bazookas in North Africa as well as some lend-lease versions on the Eastern front. The German army quickly developed an enlarged German version of the M1A1 Bazooka, the Raketenpanzerbüchse, which used a bigger 88 mm round and had double the penetrative performance. It proved itself against Allied armor on all fronts, earning the nickname "tank terror," a direct translation of the word Panzerschreck.[citation needed]
The first model was the RPzB 43 which was 164 centimetres (5.38 ft) long and weighed about 9.25 kilograms (20.4 lb) when empty. Operators of the RPzB 43 had to wear a protective poncho and a gas mask without a filter to protect them from the heat of the backblast when the weapon was fired.[citation needed] In October 1943, it was succeeded by the RPzB 54 which was fitted with a blast shield to protect the operator and was heavier weighing 11 kilograms (24 lb) empty. This was followed by the RPzB 54/1 with an improved rocket, shorter barrel and a range increased to about 180 meters.
Firing the RPzB generated a lot of smoke both in front and behind the weapon. Because of the weapon's tube and the smoke, the German troops nicknamed it the Ofenrohr ("Stove Pipe").[citation needed] This also meant that Panzerschreck teams were revealed once they fired, making them targets and, therefore, required them to shift positions after firing. This type of system also made it problematic to fire the weapon from inside closed spaces (such as bunkers or houses), filling the room with toxic smoke and revealing the firing location immediately. This was in contrast to the British PIAT's non-smoking spigot mortar system, or the Panzerfaust's short burst launch system.[citation needed]
The Panzerschreck was an effective weapon. Allied bazookas had problems with newer up-armored German tanks later in the war, most notably the Panther tank and the Tiger tank. By comparison the Panzerschreck rocket could penetrate over 200 mm of armor, which was only found on the IS-2 Soviet tanks. However, this extra hitting power required extra weight. The rocket projectile weighed 3.3 kilograms (7.3 lb).[3] One direct hit was usually enough to destroy any Allied armored vehicle. When handled by well-trained crews, this weapon became the bane of Allied armored units, who frequently attempted to add improvised protection to their tanks, e.g. sandbags, spare track units, logs and so on. Most of this makeshift protection had little effect, and overtaxed the vehicle's engine, transmission, and suspension systems.[4] Years before the collapse of Nazi Germany, Allied troops preferred to use captured Panzerschrecks over Bazookas when engaging Axis armored vehicles, but their limited supply of warheads remained a problem caused by the need to capture those as well.
Its combat success caused the Bazooka to be completely redesigned at the close of World War II. A larger, 3.5 in (90 mm) model was adopted; hence, the M20 Super Bazooka. Though bearing a superficial resemblance to the Panzerschreck, the M20 had greater effective range, penetrating capability and was nearly 20% lighter than its former counterpart.

RPG-7

The RPG-7 (Russian: РПГ-7) is a Soviet portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 (Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт – Ruchnoy Protivotankovyy Granatomyot, Hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher) and its predecessor, the RPG-2, was designed by the Soviet Union; it is now manufactured by the Bazalt company. The weapon has the GRAU index 6G3. The English-language term "rocket-propelled grenade", though frequently encountered and reasonably descriptive, is a backronym for "RPG" and not based on a literal translation.

The ruggedness, simplicity, low cost, and effectiveness of the RPG-7 has made it the most widely used anti-armor weapon in the world. Currently around 40 countries use the weapon, and it is manufactured in a number of variants by nine countries. It is also popular with irregular and guerrilla forces. The RPG has been used in almost all conflicts across all continents since the mid-1960s from the Vietnam War to the early 2010s War in Afghanistan.

Widely-produced, the most commonly seen major variations are the RPG-7D paratrooper model (able to be broken into two parts for easier carrying), and the lighter Chinese Type 69 RPG. DIO of Iran manufactures RPG-7s with olive green handguards, H&K pistol grips, and a Commando variant.

The RPG-7 was first delivered to the Soviet Army in 1961 and deployed at a squad level. It replaced the RPG-2, having clearly out-performed the intermediate RPG-4 design during testing. The current model produced by Russia is the RPG-7V2, capable of firing standard and dual high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds, high explosive/fragmentation, and thermobaric warheads (see below), with a UP-7V sighting device fitted (used in tandem with the standard 2.7x PGO-7 optical sight) to allow the use of extended range ammunition. The RPG-7D3 is the equivalent paratrooper model. Both the RPG-7V2 and RPG-7D3 were adopted by the Russian Ground Forces in 2001.

Description 

The launcher is reloadable and based around a steel tube, 40 millimeters in diameter, 95.3 centimeters long, and weighing 7 kilograms. The middle of the tube is wood wrapped to protect the user from heat and the end is flared to assist in blast shielding and recoil reduction. Sighting is usually optical with a back-up iron sight, and passive infra-red and night sights are also available.

As with similar weapons, the grenade protrudes from the launch tubes. It is 40–105 millimeters in diameter and weighs between 2.5 and 4.5 kilograms. It is launched by a gunpowder booster charge, giving it an initial speed of 115 meters per second, and creating a cloud of light grey-blue smoke that can give away the position of the shooter.The rocket motor ignites after 10 meters and sustains flight out to 500 meters at a maximum velocity of 295 meters per second. The grenade is stabilized by two sets of fins that deploy in-flight: one large set on the stabilizer pipe to maintain direction and a smaller front set to induce rotation. The grenade can fly up to 1,100 meters; the fuze sets the maximum range, usually 920 meters.

PROPULSION SYSTEM

According to the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Bulletin 3u (1977) Soviet RPG-7 Antitank Grenade Launcher—Capabilities and Countermeasures, the RPG-7 munition has 2 sections: a "booster" section and a "warhead and sustainer motor" section. These must be assembled into the ready-to-use grenade. The booster consists of a "small strip powder charge" that serves to propel the grenade out of the launcher; the sustainer motor then ignites and propels the grenade for the next few seconds, giving it a top speed of 294 meters per second. The TRADOC bulletin provides anecdotal commentary that the RPG-7 has been fired from within buildings, which agrees with the two-stage design. It is stated that only a 2-meter standoff to a rear obstruction is needed for use inside rooms or fortifications. The fins not only provide drag stabilization, but are designed to impart a slow rotation to the grenade.

Due to the configuration of the RPG-7 sustainer/warhead section, it responds counter-intuitively to crosswinds. A crosswind will tend to exert pressure on the stabilizing fins, causing the projectile to turn into the wind. While the rocket motor is still burning, this will cause the flight path to curve into the wind. The TRADOC bulletin explains aiming difficulties for more distant moving targets in crosswinds at some length. The RPG-7 has no noticeable recoil, the only effect during firing being that of the sudden lightness of the launcher as the rocket leaves the tube.