Best anti-tank weapon

Which was the best infantry anti tank weapon of WW2 :bazookafire:. I hear your answers!!!

To me the panzerfaust


:bazookafire::sherman:

 

What about the Henschel HS 129 Tank killer?

 

For me probably the Panzerfaust 60, but when it comes to weapons with more tahn one shot, I would say the Panzerschreck.

Were the AT rifles used during WWII effective, like the Soviet PTRD or the German Panzerbusche?

 

Oops I just read your post again, and you said infantry weapon, so the Panzerfaust sounds good too. The problem is that it is a one shot item.

 

How specific do you want the answer? Categories could include: anti-tank rifles, anti-tank guns, magnetic mines (applied by infantry), improvised devices (molotov cocktails, etc), panzerfaust, panzerschreck, anti-tank mines (buried). the Germans were even close to producing a guided anti-tank missle. Also included in the "Panzerfaust" Family were the Panzerfaust 100 and Panzerfaust 150.

 

Both were designed when Tank armor was thinner. During the war the upgrading to heavier and heavier armor made them quickly obsolete. The same goes for the British .55in Boys Mark I /II, Finnish Lahti Model L 39 20mm, Swiss Solothurn 20mm, and the Polish Karabin przeciwpancerny wz.35 7.92 .

 

From what I have read, I should think that the various 'Panzerfaust' were the most effective ( and probably the most cost-effective, too ).

But I have to throw in a Nationalistic note here, and say that I'm surprised at how effective the bizarre-looking PIAT could be in the right hands.....

 

I have read that the Allied troops would use them whenever they were found. And IIRC they were even issued when large stocks were found.

 

I see the rifle grenade as far more effective. The panzerfaust was certainly capable of killing virtually any tank. But, it had some severe drawbacks too. First, it was a bulky load for an infantryman to haul in addition to the rest of his equipment. Next, it was one shot meaning that hauling it gave you only a very minimal use in the end. On top of this it had a large signature when fired that was likely to attract unwanted attention to the firer. Lastly, it was very short ranged. This meant getting very close to something you probably didn't want to get close to and, if the target had infantry escort things were even harder.
On the other hand, a good HEAT rifle grenade could be fired to 100 yards or more with reasonable accuracy. The attachment for most systems on the rifle added minimal weight. Hauling one or two rounds per man in a squad was not a big load addition. The user retained a useful rifle when not firing grenades in most cases. Rifle grenades also had a small signature making discovery of the firer much less likely.
The largest German AT grenade and the US M9 both penetrated about 100 mm of armor. This was sufficent performance to take out virtually any tank from the flank and could damage or destroy many from the front as well.
For urban fighting the German panzerknacker prefered the panzerwurfmine hand thrown weapon. This weapon could be thrown almost as far as a panzerfaust could fire to, had no signature, was far more convienent as a load and, attacked the top of the target, the weakest armored area.

 

Haftholladung 3H​

Magnetic hollow antitank charge, issued in the Autumn of 42. The mine was placed on the turrets of tanks in close combat. Ignition was performed by pulling the ignitor on top of the mine. It penetrated armor up to 14cm thick, and made a hole 3-5 cm in diameter. With their explosive charge and shock effects it was deadly.​

 

When i talk about weapons i do not include improvised ones such as sticky bombs or molotov cocktails. When i say panzerfaust, i talk about the various types of them. I think all of them were incredibly effective

 

Agreed : cheap and effective and could be used by almost every combatant.

 

Only two drawbacks to the Panzerfaust: akward to aim and single shot. Still an excellent weapon nonetheless.

 

Panzerschreck 54 no questions asked, many T-34 was lost due to this weapon in the Ost Preussian marshes.

 

The British No 74 ST Grenade "sticky bomb" wasn't improvised.

 

Molotov Cocktail!

 

A couple of these dropped on the centres of production:

 

I mean those sticky bombs that were done with socks and improvised

 

It took some brave Grenadiers to get in that close. Teller mines jammed underneath the turrets of T-34s,too.

My vote would be the panzerfaust though I'm surprised no one said anything nice about the bazooka.

 

I did if you include the Panzerschrek, at least the Landser has a bit of range and tremendous hitting power