The
Panzerfaust 3 is a modern and disposable recoilless RPG anti-tank weapon developed between 1978 and 1985 and put into service by the
BundeswehrThe Bundeswehr comprises the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
in 1992. It was first ordered in 1973 to provide West German
infantryInfantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of the Combat Arms they are the backbone of armies...
with an effective weapon against contemporary Soviet armour thereby replacing West Germany's aging
PzF 44 LanzeThe PzF 44 2A1 is a disposable recoilless antitank weapon developed around 1960 and put into service by the Bundeswehr shortly thereafter. It was developed to provide West German infantry with a modern replacement for the Bazooka that they had previously used...
rocket launchers.
The Panzerfaust 3 consists of a disposable launcher tube holding the
projectileA projectile is any object propelled through space by the exertion of a force which ceases after launch. Although a thrown baseball could be considered a projectile, the word more often refers to a weapon...
and a reusable firing and sighting unit.
The
Panzerfaust 3 is a modern and disposable recoilless RPG anti-tank weapon developed between 1978 and 1985 and put into service by the
BundeswehrThe Bundeswehr comprises the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
in 1992. It was first ordered in 1973 to provide West German
infantryInfantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of the Combat Arms they are the backbone of armies...
with an effective weapon against contemporary Soviet armour thereby replacing West Germany's aging
PzF 44 LanzeThe PzF 44 2A1 is a disposable recoilless antitank weapon developed around 1960 and put into service by the Bundeswehr shortly thereafter. It was developed to provide West German infantry with a modern replacement for the Bazooka that they had previously used...
rocket launchers.
Principle
The Panzerfaust 3 consists of a disposable launcher tube holding the
projectileA projectile is any object propelled through space by the exertion of a force which ceases after launch. Although a thrown baseball could be considered a projectile, the word more often refers to a weapon...
and a reusable firing and sighting unit. The projectile consists of a shaped-charge
warheadThe term warhead refers to the explosive material and detonator that is delivered by a missile, rocket, or torpedo.- Etymology :During the early development of naval torpedoes, they could be equipped with an inert payload that was intended for use during training, test firing and exercises. This...
filled with
Amatol/SyndrilNot to be confused with the barbiturate Amytal.Amatol is a highly explosive material made from a mixture of TNT and ammonium nitrate. Amatol was used extensively during World War I and World War II...
and a shaft including the propulsion unit.
The Panzerfaust 3 can be fired from enclosed spaces since it doesn't have a significant backblast; The rear of the tube, filled with plastic granulate, minimizes the blast effect by the so-called
recoilless countermass principle. The booster propellant for the projectile in its tube is ignited by a bolt via a spring mechanism. Once ejected, the rocket motor is ignited.
As safety precautions, the built-in fuse for the warhead is released by a safety mechanism. This arms the warhead after a flight distance of approximately five meters, keeping the crew safe after firing. Once armed, the warhead can explode when it hits a solid object, or when the rocket's propellant runs out. This safeguards against live ammo staying around and causing hazards to all in the future.
The Panzerfaust 3's name dates back to the
PanzerfaustThe Panzerfaust was an inexpensive, recoilless German anti-tank weapon of World War II. It consisted of a small, disposable preloaded launch tube firing a high explosive anti-tank warhead, operated by a single soldier. The Panzerfaust remained in service in various versions until the end of the war...
used by the German
armyAn army An army An army (from Latin armata "armed (things)" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based Military of a nation. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but not its operating principle. The World War II weapon was a small recoilless gun firing a round, just like any rifle or gun. It was not a rocket launcher. The US
BazookaBazooka is the common nickname for a man-portable rocket launcher widely fielded by the US Army during World War II. Also referred to as the "Stovepipe", the innovative Bazooka was amongst the first-generation of rocket propelled anti-tank weapons used in infantry combat...
was a rocket launcher, as was its enhanced German copy, the
PanzerschreckPanzerschreck was the popular name for the Raketenpanzerbüchse , an 88 mm calibre reusable anti-tank rocket launcher developed by the Germans in World War II. Another popular nickname was Ofenrohr .It was given to infantry to bolster their anti-tank capability...
.
History
The main drawback is obviously that it has only a single shot and soldiers have to get dangerously close to penetrate heavily armoured targets. Many soldiers also found it very heavy and cumbersome, and its firing mechanism and tube tended to get damaged and jam under battlefield conditions. In addition, the rocket warhead itself was found to be ineffective against heavy armour and armour of newer types and had to be redesigned.
In consequence, the improved PzF 3-T replaced the original model in the late 1990s, introducing a dual
hollow chargeA shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Various types are used to cut and form metal, initiate nuclear weapons, and penetrate armor...
"tandem" warhead to defeat Explosive Reactive Armour. This means that the spike projecting from the warhead itself also contains an explosive charge to set off the reactive armour and free the path to the real armour for the main warhead. The latest incarnation of the Panzerfaust 3, the PzF 3-IT-600, can be fired from ranges up to 600 meters thanks to an advanced computer-assisted sighting and targeting mechanism.
As of 2005, there were two additional models in the development or testing stage, both relying on smaller and therefore lighter warheads. Those were the RGW (Rückstoßfreie Granatwaffe,
Recoilless Grenade Weapon - which would make it just like the original in name and operation.) in calibers 60 and 90 millimeters. Both new weapons are expected to help facilitate the transition in German
military doctrineMilitary doctrine is the concise expression of how military forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements.It is a guide to action, not hard and fast rules. Doctrine provides a common frame of reference across the military...
from preparation for major tank battles to urban and low-level warfare.
PzF 3
Standard model with hollow charge warhead
- Caliber: 90 mm launcher, 110 mm warhead
- Function: Primarily anti-tank weapon
- Weight:
- fire-ready weapon: 15.2 kg,
- warhead: 3.9 kg,
- spare rounds: 12.9 kg
- Length: 1200 mm
- Muzzle velocity: 160 m/s
- Highest possible speed 243 m/s
- Sights: telescope sights (can be reused)
- Maximum effective range: 400 m for stationary targets, 300 m for moving targets
- Minimum effective range: 20m
- Penetration capability: 700 mm armour, 1.6 metres concrete
- Manufacturer: Dynamit-Nobel, Germany
PzF 3-T
Standard model with dual hollow charge warhead (designed to penetrate
reactive armourReactive armour is a type of vehicle armour that reacts in some way to the impact of a weapon to reduce the damage done to the vehicle being protected. It is most effective in protecting against shaped charges and specially hardened long rod penetrators...
)
- Caliber: 90 mm launcher, 110 mm warhead
- Function: Primarily anti-tank weapon
- Weight:
- fire-ready weapon: 15.6 kg,
- warhead: 3.9 kg,
- spare rounds: 13.3 kg
- Length: 1200 mm
- Muzzle velocity: 152 m/s
- Highest possible speed 220 m/s
- Sights: telescope sights (can be reused)
- Maximum effective range: 400 m for stationary targets, 300 m for moving targets (600 m with DYNARANGE sight)
- Minimum effective range: 20m
- Penetration capability: PzF 3-T 800 mm armour
- Manufacturer: Dynamit-Nobel, Germany
PzF 3 Bunkerfaust
Designed for use against hardened
bunkerA military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks...
s.
- Caliber: 90 mm launcher, 110 mm warhead
- Function: Bunkerbuster, lightly to nonarmored vehicles, anti infantry
- Weight:
- fire-ready weapon: 15.6 kg,
- warhead: 3.9 kg,
- spare rounds: 13.3 kg
- Length: 1200 mm
- Muzzle velocity: 149 m/s
- Highest possible speed 212 m/s
- Sights: telescope sights (can be reused)
- Maximum effictive range: 300m
- Minimum effective range: 20m
- Manufacturer: Dynamit-Nobel, Germany
- penetration capacity:
- rolled homogeneous armour approximately 110 mm
- concrete 360 mm
- sandbags 1300 mm
Aiming/Firing Device
The regular firing platform has a purely optical sight, weighting 2.3 kg. All ranges listed in the article are for the optical sight. A new sight called
DYNARANGE is currently being procured as part of the German
Infantryman of the FutureInfanterist der Zukunft is the German Bundeswehr's program as part of the Future Soldier project.The IdZ or "Infanterist der Zukunft" is a modular, integrated fighting system designed to provide significant lethality, survivability, mobility, battle command, and training to the German infantryman...
project. Essentially this is a computer controlled aiming sight with range finder. It is meant to cope with the fact that some soldiers have a hard time handling the regular sight, as its scope is quite complex to the untrained eye. Also, DYNARANGE increases the weapon's effective range to 600m against moving and stationary targets. DYNARANGE is already in service with the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps.
External links