The only significant feature the weapon had in common with anti-tank rifles was a lack of elevation and traverse mechanisms—the light barrel could be easily manipulated manually.

Wheels with rubber tires could be removed, making the gun significantly lower and therefore easier to conceal; the process took 30–40 seconds.

[3][4] In the 1920s and 1930s, another German engineer, Hermann Gerlich, conducted experiments with coned-bore barrels that resulted in an experimental 7 mm anti-tank rifle with a muzzle velocity of 1,800 m/s.

Based on these works, Mauser-Werke AG developed a 28/20 mm anti-tank weapon initially designated Gerät 231 or MK.8202 in 1939–1940.

[5] In the US, reports about the sPzB 41 inspired a series of experiments with 28/20 barrels and taper bore adaptors for the 37 mm Gun M3; the work started in September 1941 and continued throughout the war, with no practical success.

[8] The sPzB 41 combined good anti-armor performance at short range (for example, at least once a shot penetrated the lower front plate of the heavy IS-1[9]) and a high rate of fire with small, lightweight (for anti-tank gun), dismantleable construction.

[citation needed] High-velocity guns with "normal" barrel construction also had a short service life, e.g. for the Soviet 57-mm ZiS-2 it was about 1,000 shots.