Panzerfaust made from all
metal and hardwood warhead. Lift up leaf sight.
Authentic markings in German
like the original.
Weight 1.6Kg
Ideal as TV/Film prop,
Re-enacting or a WWII show piece
We ship internationally. Please ask:
sales@mg-props.co.uk
The Panzerfaust
("Tank fist", or Pzf in short; also initially known as "Faustpatrone")
was one of many revolutionary developments, produced by Germans during World War
2. These simple but effective weapons proved to be devastating against Allied
tanks during second half of the war, and, more important, these weapons set the
pattern for most post-war developments in the field of man-portable antitank
weapons.
The origins of Panzerfaust lie in recoilless anti-tank cannons, produced by
Germans during earlier stages of WW2. Actually, any Panzerfaust can be described
as a disposable recoil-less weapon firing shaped charge HEAT warhead. Developed
by Dr. Heinrich Langweiler of HASAG Co, first Panzerfaust, later known as
Panzerfaust30M Klein (small), entered small scale production by summer of 1943,
and first Panzerfausts were fired against Soviet tanks in November 1943. By the
end of the same year HASAG produced an improved
version of the first weapon, known as Panzerfaust 30M. It was basically the same
thing, but fitted with bigger warhead, which resulted in improved armor
penetration. Early in 1944 the next model appeared, the Panzerfaust 60M. This
weapon doubled the effective range of fire from 30 to 60 meters by using
launching tube / barrel of larger caliber and more powerful propellant charge.
Warhead was still the same. In November 1944 a further improved version
appeared, the Panzerfaust 100M, which extended effective range to 100 meters by
using tandem propellant charge. By the end of the war German engineers worked on
even more improved Panzerfaust weapons, withrange extended up to 150 and even
200 - 250 meters. The semi-experimental Panzerfaust 150M served as a pattern for
first Soviet post-war RPG, the RPG-2,and most other countries also were quick to
copy one of the most effective, yet simple infantry weapons of WW2 - the
Panzerfaust. It must be noted that Germany produced several millions of various
Panzerfaust weapons before end of the war,and great scores of Allied tanks were
destroyed using these crudely looking weapons.
The
Panzerfaust series of hand-held disposable anti-tank rocket systems was a
highly-feared adversary to American tank and vehicle crews. The large caliber
projectile could defeat any level of armor available to Allied crews and the
system as a whole could be quickly produced - appearing in large numbers from
1943 up through the last months of World War 2.
The Panzerfaust was an ingenious design, providing the firer little more than
flip-up leaf sights and a firing-ready disposable tube. The operator need only
to aim at the target with the launcher tucked under his arm (to protect from the
projectiles exhaust) and fire the weapon. The destructive power of the
projectile would usually render Allied armor ineffective or damaged for the
remainder of the engagement. Such was the crippling power of the Panzerfaust
that Allied tank and vehicle crews took steps to defeat the penetration power by
applying makeshift armor protection. German infantry were almost exclusively
fielded with the system, sometimes in lieu of a primary rifle, when defending
territory.