German AT Rifles

[Kriegerfaust007]

------------------------------------PZB-40-W---------------------------------------------

Panzerbüchse PzB 40 W / Model 40 anti-tank rifle

Model 40 PTR (PzB 40 W)

By the beginning of World War II, the infantry units of the German army were armed with anti-tank rifles (ATR) PzB 38 and PzB 39, which penetrated armor up to 30 mm thick.

In this regard, in 1940, large competitive trials of new German anti-tank rifles were held, which were intended to replace the single-shot PzB 38 and PzB 39. At that time, German designers proposed a number of experimental self-loading anti-tank rifles with increased combat and operational characteristics, designed to use the standard 7.92 mm Patrone 318 cartridge (metric designation 7.92x94) with the SmK armor-piercing bullet and with the SmKHRs-L.Spur armor-piercing-tracer-chemical bullet. The tactical and technical characteristics of the presented prototypes of the PTR, despite the strong dispersion in the designs, were very similar. This was due to the very strict conditions of the task. The tested samples included the following anti-tank rifle models: 40; 41; 42; 43 and 44.

The Model 40 anti-tank rifle, indexed PzB 40 W, was created by the designers of Carl Walther GmbH together with Merz Werke in Frankfurt am Main.

A feature of this semi-automatic gun was the widespread use of stamping for the manufacture of most parts.

Caliber, mm 7.92x94
(Patrone 318)
Length, mm

• stock unfolded
• stock folded 1570
  1170
  Barrel length, mm 1085
  Weight without cartridges, kg 14.6
  Magazine, number of cartridges 8
  Speed of fire, rounds/min 32

The automatic system of the PzB 40 W worked on the principle of removing powder gases from the barrel bore. The bolt was locked by a lever that swung in the vertical plane.

The firing mechanism allowed only single fire with a practical rate of fire of 32 rounds per minute.

The extraction of spent cartridges was carried out upwards.

The anti-tank missile was fed with ammunition from a sector-type box magazine with a capacity of eight rounds, installed in the lower part of the receiver.

The barrel of the PzB 40 W was equipped with a fairly effective single-chamber muzzle brake, which significantly reduced the recoil of the weapon when firing.

The gun had a folding receiver, a stamped metal stock and a bipod from the MG 34 machine gun.

Walther produced six slightly different PzB 40 W models, and one of them had a firing mechanism that was adapted for firing both single and automatic fire. 6600 shots were fired from this anti-tank missile during the tests.

In October of 1940, thorough multilateral tests of the new anti-tank rifle took place, but it, like models from other companies, was not accepted for service. Although, according to some reports, the Walther company allegedly produced a very limited series of PzB 40 W shotguns, which were equipped with an optical sight and were used in a number of sabotage units as a heavy sniper rifle.
---------------------------------------------------PZB-40 M-------------------------------------

Panzerbüchse PzB 40 M / Model 41 anti-tank rifle

Model 41 PTR (PzB 40 M)

At the beginning of World War II, the Wehrmacht used anti-tank rifles (ATR) PzB 38 and PzB 39 as anti-tank weapons for infantry units, which penetrated armor up to 30 mm thick.

Therefore, back in 1940, large competitive trials of new German anti-tank rifles were held, which were intended to replace the single-shot PzB 38 and PzB 39. At that time, German designers proposed a number of experimental self-loading anti-tank rifles with increased combat and operational characteristics, designed to use the Patrone 318 cartridge (metric designation 7.92x94). The tactical and technical characteristics of the presented prototypes of the anti-tank gun, despite the strong variation in the designs, were very similar, which was explained by the very strict conditions of the task. Anti-tank rifles of models 40, 41, 42, 43 and 44 were presented for testing.

The Model 41 anti-tank rifle, indexed “PzB 40 M”, was created by Mauser Werke in Oberndorf am Neckar.

The automation of this gun worked on the principle of removing powder gases from the barrel bore. Locking was carried out by turning the bolt.

Caliber, mm 7.92x94
(Patrone 318)
Length, mm 1670
Barrel length, mm 1085
Weight without cartridges, kg 12.5
Magazine, number of cartridges 8
Speed of fire, rounds/min 32

The firing mechanism allowed only single firing with a practical rate of fire of 32 rounds/min.

The weapon was fed with ammunition from a sector-type box magazine with a capacity of 8 rounds, inserted into the receiver on the left side of the receiver.

The barrel, tapering towards the muzzle, was fixed on the stock of the weapon without moving. To reduce recoil when firing, a powerful muzzle brake was attached to the barrel.

Rack-mount open sight. The front sight was protected by a ring fence.

To stabilize when firing and reduce the size of the gun in the stowed position, a two-legged folding bipod was fixed on the barrel.

To carry the weapon, a side-folding handle mounted on top of the barrel served as a sideways.

To reduce recoil, the shoulder rest was equipped with a rubber butt plate.

In the manufacture of individual parts of this semi-automatic shotgun, the stamping method was used.

In October of 1940, thorough trials of the PzB 40 M anti-tank rifle took place, but it was not accepted for service, as well as models from other companies that participated in the competition.

[Kriegerfaust007]

Guns that tanks were afraid of. A short century of small-caliber “laser pointers”.

7 minutes

11.2 thousand reads

April 18, 2021

It’s been a long time since I talked about anti-tank rifles.
.

A continuation article is long overdue. But somehow there was no time.Beginning of the seriesPart 2.

Panzerbuchse 38 - PzB 38.

In the interwar period - between the first and the second, the break is short - the armies of European countries received a fairly large number of armored vehicles. And all these armored tanks posed a serious threat to light infantry, light cavalry and in general all light units. Since, by and large, they did not have regular means of combating the new threat. Armor-piercing bullets of rifle caliber somehow gave little comfort to the ordinary infantryman. Moreover, they were mostly not in a pouch, but in the barracks, in responsible storage. Battalion support equipment, mortars and light 57-76mm guns, were not suitable as a means of destroying maneuverable targets. And they “worked” on completely different “tasks”. Cover the trench there, demolish the machine-gun nest…
Under these conditions, the infantry anti-tank rifle was created. However, the first copies, in addition to a hundred positive properties, also had significant disadvantages. 20mm, PTR, weighed an exorbitant 30-50 kilograms. Excluding ammo boxes. And for quick transportation on the battlefield, they had to be manned by a large crew = 2-4-6 people.
For how long, the science of “ballistics” and the science of “properties of new steel alloys” offered a way out. At the end of the 20s, weapons developers in different countries tried to accelerate a small-caliber projectile - 7.62mm = 12.7mm, to “cosmic speeds” = 1100-1400 meters per second. The experiments gave a positive result. A small 10-20 gram projectile acquired gigantic kinetic energy. And it could penetrate armor barriers from all tank plates known at that time. Even if not at a very long distance, up to 100 meters and a little further.
The soldiers enthusiastically picked up the new idea. And for several pre-war years, a large number of relatively light, but at the same time formidable rifles were ordered.
Since there is no point in maintaining a chronology here, I will show these rifles in the order in which I found them in the literature.

Above, the first photos refer to a German small-caliber anti-tank “buzen” Panzerbüchse Modell 1938. (in Russian it is read as “panzerBUSE”) And his small “shell”. The case is from the 13.2mm Mauser G18 anti-tank rifle, equipped with a 7.92mm bullet. At the same time, the powder load was even slightly increased, 14.8 grams against 14.2. The bullet flew out of the barrel at a speed of 1210 m/s. And it pierced 30 mm of armor at 100 meters. At 300 meters = 20 mm, provided that it hit the slab at a right angle. And not pendicularly.
)))The
rifle works with a semi-automatic bolt. Which opened itself, after the shot, the next cartridge was inserted manually, as well as the bolt was closed manually. But despite the small caliber, the weapon still turned out to be an impressive weight and length = 16.2 kilograms by 1615 millimeters long. In total, the Wehrmacht received 1408 rifles of the first version.

Literally as soon as the rifle entered the infantry, complaints poured in. The designer was put “in sight”. And he quickly redid everything as it should be. The rifle lost its cunningly sophisticated automatics. Which, in fact, did not give advantages. Reloading became completely manual. But the wedge bolt was still put into operation for a reason - but by turning the pistol grip with the trigger mechanism.
The toy immediately lost weight to 12 kilograms. And it became shorter by 15 millimeters. The combat qualities of the weapons, shown at the beginning of the 2nd World War, delighted the Wehrmacht. And in total, 39,232 rifles of the “new” model entered service.

Model 40 anti-tank rifle, indexed PzB 40 W, by Carl Walther GmbH

In 1940, a competition was held for a new, more convenient and effective anti-tank rifle. “Walter” showed a “semi-automatic” - in the Soviet terminology of those years = “automatic shotgun” - with an 8 loading magazine. Weighing in… 14.6 kilograms without magazine.

PzB 40 M. From the word MAUSER.

12.5 kilogram rifle. Also semi-automatic.

Panzerbüchse PzB 40 G/Gustlov rifle.

18 kilograms. 8-round magazine. All three rifles had approximately the same rate of fire of 28-32 rounds per minute. The characteristics of armor penetration did not differ from the single-shot rifle already in service. But during the testing and evaluation of the rifles submitted to the competition, the situation changed dramatically. The Wehrmacht met the thick-armored Matilda, KV and T-34 tanks. With the armor of which, the presented rifles could no longer fight.
And although there were still many thin-skinned armored personnel carriers and armored cars on the battlefield, it was considered sufficient to fight them.

Karabin przeciwpancerny wz. 35 Poland.

In 1935, Poland adopted the “rifle” caliber PRT.
As the initial sample, they took the German Mauser G18 anti-tank rifle. However, a long cartridge case held a 7.92mm bullet. The rifle was 1760 mm long, weighed 9.1 kilograms, and had a 4-round magazine. The combat rate of fire is considered the standard - 10-12 rounds per minute. The muzzle velocity is 1240mm/sec. Armor penetration is “standard” - 30 mm at 100 meters.
In total, Poland produced about 7600 rifles. Which were delivered in an atmosphere of total secrecy. For “disinformation”, the work was carried out under the guise of deliveries to Uruguay.
According to some reports, a special bullet was developed for the rifle, made of solid lead - having hit the armor, it “adhered” to the surface, pushing the steel with its kinetic energy… Due to this, the bullets were cheaper, and even slightly won in armor penetration…
But for some reason, in reference books, among the nomenclature of cartridges, there are only bullets with a steel core. And even with a tungsten head.
New rifles began to be mastered in units only immediately before the start of the German invasion. The shooters did not achieve much success. And all the trophies went to the Wehrmacht.

PzB M.SS.41 shotgun. Czechia. Or rather, the “Protectorate of Bohemia”.

Work on this rifle began in Czechoslovakia in 1935-36. Designers of the Czech concern “Zbrojovka Brno”. But by the time of the occupation, the work was not completed. And they continued under German leadership, in the German concern Waffenwerke Brunn. The semi-automatic rifle was created according to the “bullpup” layout, which was not popular in those years. In which the trigger, bolt, magazine and buttstock were combined into one unit. At the same time, the weapon became much shorter = 1360 mm, lighter = 13.1 kg.
Nevertheless, the bullet at a muzzle velocity of 1175 m/sec retained a standard penetration of 30 mm, at 100 meters.
The rifle magazine was of two types - 5 and 10 loading. The combat rate of fire reached 20 rounds per minute.
The rifle, created in 41, was already of little relevance. At the same time, the already known Czech quality of workmanship made the weapon very reliable. Although expensive. Due to its extremely unusual appearance, the weapon interested the SS troops. Where it arrived in the amount of several thousand.
The high quality of the processing of parts made the rifle a high-precision weapon, and the PzB M.SS.41 was most often used as a long-range sniper rifle.

During the Second World War, designers Václav and Emmanuel Holeki created the 7.92mm PTR, chambered for their own cartridge. The screw weighing 12.5 kg, 1720 mm long, accelerated the bullet to 1270-1300 m/s.
But the development was not completed.

All small-caliber anti-tank guns, due to the enormous velocity of the bullet, had a direct shot distance of about 400 meters. That is, at this distance, the bullet fired at a full-size target flew almost in a straight line, and made it possible to use a simple sight, without gradation in range. At the same time, even the lead on a moving target could be minimal.
That is, everything is like in the laser “pointers” that are popular today.
However, even at lightly armored targets, it was pointless to shoot from these anti-tank missiles. A fairly light bullet that flew 400 meters away quickly slowed down, and the science of “ballistics” came into play.
And they did not think about long-range snipers working on infantry at that time.

[Meatfraud]

As neat as they are; they’re not much good past BR1 and virtually useless beyond BR2.

[GiltBurrito7238]

On one hand they can be used as a “heavy sniper rifle” but they still have a use in general. You never know when you occasionally bump into a low BR vehicle, destroying tracks of any vehicle, taking out APCs, and destroying structures. Even plane sniping too

I’ve also had an idea that they could give ATR the ability to penetrate any structures so you can basically shoot through walls. After they became obsolete against tanks they still found use being used to shoot at tough structures. It gives them a niche use

[ParaDivision]

how good was the penetration? nothing would be more fun than a BR2 high powered AT rifle, basically like the japanese one but a bit better.
preferably something around 2mm with strong penetration and also HE filling.

[SzepWaxweiler]

@GiltBurrito7238

I’ve also had an idea that they could give ATR the ability to penetrate any structures so you can basically shoot through walls. After they became obsolete against tanks they still found use being used to shoot at tough structures. It gives them a niche use

That would make PZB 40(W) very broken I don’t know if OP mentions it but PZB 40(W) had 6 experimental models each having different features and one of these six had ability to swich from semi to full automatic (It fired 6600 round during test without any failure though again it only has 8 round.

[Meatfraud]

Oh, I try to have an ATR in every anti-tank squad for dealing with AT guns, HMGs, "A"PCs, and… Well, pretty much that. Basically as an anti-materiel rifle.

@ParaDivision

how good was the penetration

I believe the essay says they were all 30mm @ 90° within 100 meters. It also looks to me like all but the Polish one used steel cores penetrator rounds.

[SpedTable]

I read self-loading and i really want a semi-auto atr for germany so yes