Panzerschreck

It was made in smaller numbers than the Panzerfaust, which was a light, disposable anti-tank weapon that used a system akin to recoilless rifles.

Raketenwerfer 43 had percussion firing, whereas for the Panzerschreck an electrical priming was selected, forming standard grenade RPzB.

[6] Other munitions were developed, including drill dummy, practice live rocket with inert warhead and standard grenade with improved contact system.

[8] The earliest production model of the RPzB 54 was 164 centimetres (5 ft 5 in) long and weighed about 9.25 kilograms (20.4 lb) when empty.

Late war German tactical doctrine called for Panzerschreck and/or Panzerfaust teams to set up in staggered trenches no further than 115 metres (377 ft) apart.

Another defense was to rig metal mesh and netting around the tank, resembling the German Schürzen auxiliary plates.

Several Italian units became known as skilled anti-tank hunters and the Hungarians used the Panzerschreck extensively during Operation Spring Awakening.

A German soldier handling a RPzB. Gr. 4322 HEAT rocket used with the Panzerschreck
Soldiers of the German Großdeutschland division's Panzerfüsilier regiment prepare an ambush in the ruins of a destroyed building on the Eastern Front , 1944.
RPzB 54 operator wearing protective mask and poncho
Finnish antitank patrol armed with Panzerschreck during the Lapland War