antiarmor weapons

The tank was developed during World War I as a proposed answer to the trench warfare stalemate on the western front. Not only could the vehicles— when they worked—traverse trenches, their armor was impervious to machine gun and rifle fire. Although tanks were neither sufficiently numerous nor sufficiently reliable to make a decisive impact on combat in World War I, their potential had been demonstrated, and, in the early phases of World War II, the Germans used greatly improved tanks to stunning effect in the early Blitzkrieg invasions. Antiarmor, or antitank, weapons rapidly emerged as of great importance in World War II. They were of two broad types: antitank artillery and infantry antitank weapons. A third category, the tank destroyer, is, in fact, a fast, lightly armored tank and is therefore treated in armor, French; armor, German; armor, Italian; armor, Japanese; armor, Soviet; and armor, U.S. BRITISH ANTITANK ARTILLERY The British fielded three major antitank guns, the Ordnance, Q.F., 2 pdr, Ordnance, Q.F., 6 pdr, and Ordnance, Q.F., 17 pdr. The Q.F. 2 pdr fired a two-pound, 40-mm round at 2,626 feet per second, which was capable of piercing 2.08 inches of armor at 500 yards. It had the advantage of being small and light and was usually towed by a small truck or jeep. Its great failing as a weapon was that it had been designed pursuant to 1934 specifications, when tank armor was relatively thin. By the time the war began, the gun was obsolescent, if not obsolete, as German tanks 60 antiarmor weapons were very heavily armored. Nevertheless, the gun saw service throughout the war, especially in Far East theaters against Japanese tanks, which were much more lightly armored. Two years after the Q.F. 2 pdr was ordered, work was begun on the design of a heavier weapon. However, the Q.F. 6 pdr was not deployed until late in 1941. Yet it was a case of better late than never. The new weapon (which would go through four iterations, from Mk. I through Mk. IV) had a muzzle velocity of 2,700 feet per second with a 6- pound projectile, which could penetrate 2.7 inches of armor at 1,000 yards. Although still outclassed by the heaviest of German tanks, the 6 pdr could handle a wide array of Axis armor. By 1941, with the 6 pdr deployed, it was recognized that an even heavier antitank gun was required. The O.F. 17 pdr began production in August 1942 and became the standard British antitank gun by the final year of the war, 1945. The 17-pound projectile the large and heavy field gun fired was of 3-inch caliber and could penetrate more than 5 inches of armor at 1,000 yards. Even the most advanced German tanks could not stand up to it. Muzzle velocity was 2,900 feet per second. While the 17-pound gun proved to be one of the Allies' most effective antiarmor weapons, it had the disadvantage of being large, heavy, and awkward to move. At 6,444 pounds, it was almost three times the weight of the 2,471-pound 6 pdr. FRENCH ANTITANK ARTILLERY France fielded a number of 25-mm antitank guns, the first, Canon léger de 25 antichar SA-L mle 1934, was produced in 1934. This gun fired a 0.7-pound projectile through 1.57 inches of armor at 440 yards—performance that was quite inadequate against modern tanks. The Germans captured many of these guns during the Battle of France, but even they found no use for them after 1942. Much more impressive was the Canon de 47 antichar SA mle 1937. It fired a 47-mm, 3.8-pound shell through 3.15 inches of armor at 220 yards. The gun was good enough for the Germans to employ against the Allied Normandy landings (D-day) in 1944. GERMAN ANTITANK ARTILLERY German forces deployed three mainstream antitank guns, the 3.7-cm Pak 35/36, the 5-cm Pak 38, and the 7.5-cm Pak 40. In addition, relatively small numbers of innovative taper-bore guns were produced. These featured special tungsten-core projectiles, with outer flanges of much softer metal. The bore of the rifled barrel tapered, and as the shell moved out of the barrel, its flanges folded. This resulted in less loss of the gas produced by detonation and, therefore, an increase in muzzle velocity. The increased muzzle velocity, combined with the extremely dense tungsten core of the projectile, resulted in enhanced armor penetration. Pak stands for Panzerabwehrkanone, "antitank gun," and the 3.7-cm Pak 35/36, first produced in the early 1930s, soon revealed its inadequacy against the heavier tanks of World War II. Muzzle velocity was 2,495 feet per second, projectile weight was three-quarters of a pound, and armor penetration at 400 yards was a mere 1.48 inches. The 5-cm Pak 38, which went into production in 1939 and first saw service in summer 1940, figured importantly in the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Its 4.45-pound shell left the muzzle at 2,460 feet per second and could penetrate almost 4 inches of armor at 820 yards—quite effective against just about any Allied tank. The guns were produced in large quantities and in many versions, including one that was modified for antiaircraft use. On the eve of the war, in 1939, German intelligence began learning of the heavy armor planned for the new generation of Soviet tanks. Accordingly, a gun even heavier than the Pak 38 was ordered. The 7.5-cm Pak 40 began production in 1940 and started to reach eastern front troops late in 1941. It fired a 15-pound projectile at a muzzle velocity of 2,460 feet per second and could pierce 3.86 inches of armor at 2,190 yards. At 500 yards, penetration increased to some 6 inches. The versatile gun could fire a wide range of ammunition and was readily towed. The taper-bore weapons were never produced in great quantity, but their advantage was that they produced significantly increased muzzle velocities antiarmor weapons 61 that drove the tungsten-core shells through many inches of armor. The extremely light 2.8-cm sPzB 41 threw a .27-pound shell through 2.205 inches of armor at 400 yards. The 4.2-cm Pak 41 had a threequarter- pound projectile and could penetrate 2.835 inches of armor at 500 yards. The heavy 7.5-cm Pak 41 thrust a 5.5-pound round through 6.73 inches of armor at 500 yards. These were advanced weapons, but they were costly to produce. The tapered bore required engineering to extremely close tolerances, and the tungsten required for the ammunition was very scarce in wartime Germany. JAPANESE ANTITANK ARTILLERY Japan fielded only one antiarmor gun of note, the 47-mm Antitank Gun Type 1. It fired a projectile that weighed somewhat more than three pounds and could penetrate no more than two inches of armor at 1,000 yards. The limited penetration was offset somewhat by two advantages. The gun could be fired rapidly, at the rate of about 15 rounds per minute, and it was light, just 1,660 pounds. Japanese defensive doctrine during the Pacific campaign typically took little advantage of the gun's mobility. Japanese defenders usually dug these pieces into highly prepared static defenses, determined to die rather than retreat. SOVIET ANTITANK ARTILLERY The most important Soviet antitank guns were several versions of a 45-mm and a 76.2-mm piece. The M1942 45-mm gun fired a 3.151-pound projectile through 3.74 inches of armor at 330 yards, inadequate against the best German tanks. The M1942 76.2-mm gun, also called the ZiZ-2, was a highly maneuverable, relatively lightweight piece— 3,770 pounds—that fired a 16.79-pound projectile through 3.86 inches of armor at 545 yards. The gun was widely used but, again, was barely adequate against the more advanced German tanks. UNITED STATES ANTITANK ARTILLERY The two most important U.S. Army antitank guns were the 37-mm M3 and the 3-inch M5. The first, developed in the late 1930s, was inspired by the German Pak 35/36, but with armor penetration of just one inch at 1,000 yards, it was no match against German tanks. Nevertheless, its light weight—just 912 pounds—was welcome in mobile and amphibious operations, and it was sufficiently versatile to have been produced in a quantity of 18,702 by the end of the war. The heavier M5 antitank gun was introduced late in 1941, and while it proved to be a reliable weapon, it was heavy at 5,580 pounds and required a 6-by-6 truck for towing transport. It sent a 15.43- pound projectile at a muzzle velocity of 2,600 feet for armor penetration of 3.31 inches at a very impressive 2,000 yards. INFANTRY ANTITANK WEAPONS The most familiar infantry antitank weapon was the American bazooka. This weapon was so effective that the Germans imitated it in the Raketenpanzerbüchse, or RpzB 43. This widely distributed weapon electrically fired an 88-mm rocket projectile to a maximum of 164 yards and could penetrate more than 6 inches of armor. Almost twice as heavy as the bazooka, it was also much longer and could not be shoulder fired. Nevertheless, it was highly effective against Allied tanks. The Germans also fielded the Panzerfaust, or "tank devil," which was lightweight with a launching tube capable of projecting a hollow-charge grenade. Introduced in 1943, the Panzerfaust was a personal antitank weapon, operated by an individual soldier. The original model, Panzerfaust 30, had a range of about 30 meters (just over 30 yards); subsequently, a Panzerfaust 60 and Panzerfaust 100 were fielded. Over their short ranges, these weapons launched a finned grenade, which could penetrate (in later models) nearly eight inches of armor. Allied tanks were extremely vulnerable to such a weapon. The disadvantage of the Panzerfaust was that, although simple and cheap to produce, it could be used only once, and that was a major problem, as German raw materials resources dwindled after 1943. The British counterpart of the American bazooka and German Panzerfaust was the Mk. 1 PIAT (Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank). Although it resembled the bazooka and the Panzerfaust, it did 62 antiarmor weapons not use an electric charge to ignite the charge in the projectile but, rather, a spring mechanism. The weapon fired a 3-pound finned grenade a maximum of 370 yards (practical range was closer to 110 yards), which was capable of piercing even heavy German armor. Although the weapon was an effective tank killer, the British Tommies did not much like it. It was a heavy load to carry at about 37 pounds, and it required two men to operate it. Germany, Japan, and Britain fielded specially designed antitank rifles, while the United States produced antitank grenades that could be fired from the standard M1 rifle.The German rifles were all 7.92-caliber weapons, which fired armor-piercing rounds. Because these rounds could penetrate no more than an inch of armor at about 300 yards, the rifles were of very limited effectiveness against modern tanks. The Japanese Antitank Rifle Type 97 fired a 20-mm round, which could penetrate 1.18 inches of armor at 273 yards, barely sufficient to penetrate lightly armored tanks. Although the weapon was of little use against American Sherman tanks, the Japanese persisted in using it, and they even developed a grenade that could be launched from it. The British Boys Antitank Rifle fired a 13.97-mm round capable of penetrating 0.827 inches of armor at 330 yards. Long and heavy, the Boys could be carried and operated by one man, but they were most often mounted on a vehicle. Of no use against modern tanks, they were employed with success against such lightly armored vehicles as armored cars. The U.S. Army did not devote resources to developing a weapon it considered of limited effectiveness. Instead, the Antitank Rifle Grenade M9A1 was designed to be fired from the standard-issue M1 rifle. Its range was a little over 100 yards, and its hollow-charge warhead had an impressive fourinch armor-piercing potential. The versatile grenade could also be launched from an M1 carbine using an M8 launcher attachment. The British Grenade, Hand, Antitank, No. 75, more familiarly known as the Hawkins Grenade, could be thrown or laid as a mine to be detonated by the weight of a tank's treads. This grenade was intended to disable the treads. The Grenade, Hand, Antitank, No 74 (ST) was better known as a sticky bomb because it was coated with an adhesive that stuck to the side of the tank when thrown. The drawback of this weapon was obvious: The adhesive would stick to anything, including the hand or glove of the would-be thrower. The Soviets developed the RPG, the most successful of which was the RPG 1943. Despite the initials, which commonly denote rifle-propelled grenade, the RPG 1943 was hand thrown. What made it reasonably effective on lightly armored tanks was a fabric tail that deployed as the grenade was hurled. This tail ensured that the warhead end of the grenade would strike the target, thereby directing the blast toward—and, hopefully, through—the armor plate. The Soviet RPG 1943 was inspired by the German Panzerwurfmine, an antiarmor hand grenade that incorporated four canvas fins that unfolded when the weapon was properly hurled. The fins stabilized the flight of the grenade and directed its hollow-charge warhead directly toward the target. A surprisingly powerful weapon, it was capable of penetrating most Allied armor plating. Infantrymen devised and improvised other, less conventional, antitank weapons. The best known of these is the Molotov cocktail, named after Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and first used during the Spanish Civil War in 1936–39. The weapon, readily improvised, consisted of a glass bottle filled with gasoline (or other combustible liquid). An oil-soaked rag was tied around the bottle's neck, and, just before the bottle was thrown, the rag would be ignited; it would act as the fuse that touched off the gasoline when the bottle burst against its target. Of little effect against armor plate, the Molotov cocktail could be quite deadly if aimed at any openings in the tank, such as vision slits or engine louvers. Japanese infantry troops sometimes made kamikaze attacks against Allied tanks. They would load a backpack with about 20 pounds of high explosive to create a satchel charge. As the target tank approached, the soldier, backpack on his back, would dive under the tank and simultaneously pull a lanyard that would ignite a short timeantiarmor weapons 63 delay fuse. As the tank rolled over the soldier, the backpack would ignite, destroying both the tank and the attacker. In a somewhat more humane version of this type of attack, the Soviets experimented with affixing a satchel charge to the back of a dog. A wooden rod projected from the top of the dog's back pack. The dog would be sent toward an approaching tank, which, when it rolled over the dog, would push the projecting rod. The rod was attached to an ignition device, which detonated the explosives—to the detriment of the tank as well as the dog. This antitank method was rarely used.