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The Panzerfaust (, or , plural: Panzerfäuste) was a development family of single-shot man-portable anti-tank systems developed by Nazi Germany during World War II. The weapons were the first single-use light anti-tank weapons based on a pre-loaded disposable launch tube, a weapon configuration which is still used today (a contemporary example being the 84mm AT4).
The Panzerfaust-design consisted of a light recoilless launcher tube outfitted with a single pre-loaded high-explosive anti-tank warhead protruding from the muzzle. It was an inexpensive, easy-to-use anti-tank weapon for the common infantry man, being issued as a single unit of ammunition meant to be operated by a single soldier. Firing was done from under the arm at an upward angle as the effective firing range was barely beyond that of ( max). After use the launcher was discarded.
Development of the Panzerfaust started in 1942. The initial design was dubbed Faustpatrone ( "fist-cartridge") and was smaller than the later designs. Later dubbed Panzerfaust Klein ("tank-fist small"), it entered service in 1943, the larger design being named Panzerfaust Gross ("tank-fist big") and entering service in mid to late 1944. All types were used by Germany until the end of the war, with the design remaining in use in other countries for a number of years after the war.
Development of the Faustpatrone started in the summer of 1942 at the German company Hugo Schneider AG (HASAG) with the development of a smaller prototype called Gretchen ("little Greta") by a team headed by Doctor Heinrich Langweiler in Leipzig. The basic concept was that of a recoilless gun; in the Faustpatrone and the Panzerfaust, a propellent charge pushed the warhead out the front of the tube while the blast also exited the rear of the tube, balancing forces, and therefore there was no recoil force for the operator.
The following weapon, the Faustpatrone Klein, 30 m ("fist-cartridge small") weighed and a total length of ; its projectile had a length of . The diameter of warhead was a shaped charge of of a 50:50 mix of trinitrotoluene and tri-hexogen. The propellant was of of black powder, the metal launch tube had a length of and a diameter of (early models reportedly ). Fitted to the warhead was a wooden shaft with folded stabilizing (made of thick spring metal). These bent blades straightened into position by themselves as soon as they left the launch tube. The warhead was accelerated to a speed of , had a range of about and an armor penetration of up to of plain steel.
Soon a crude aiming device similar to the one used by the Panzerfaust was added to the design; it was fixed at a range of . Several designations of this weapon were in use, amongst which Faustpatrone 1 or Panzerfaust 30 klein; however, it was common to refer to this weapon simply as the Faustpatrone. Of the earlier model, 20,000 were ordered and the first 500 Faustpatronen were delivered by the manufacturer, HASAG, Werk Schlieben, in August 1943.
The warhead weighed and contained of a 50:50 mixture of TNT and hexogen explosives, and had armour penetration of . The Panzerfaust often had warnings written in large red letters on the upper rear end of the tube, the words usually being "Achtung. Feuerstrahl." ("Beware. Fire jet."). This was to warn soldiers to avoid the backblast area.
After firing, the tube was discarded, making the Panzerfaust the first disposable anti-tank weapon. The weapon, when correctly fired from the crook of the arm, could penetrate the armour of any armoured fighting vehicle of the period.
| Faustpatrone 30 Panzerfaust (Klein) 30m | ||||||
| Panzerfaust 30 Panzerfaust (Gross) 30m | 149 mm | 30 m/s | 30 m | 200 mm | ||
| Panzerfaust 60 | 6.8 kg | 120–134 g | 149 mm | 45 m/s | 60 m | 200 mm |
| Panzerfaust 100 | 149 mm | 60 m/s | ||||
| Panzerfaust 150 |
When used against tanks, the Panzerfaust had an impressive beyond-armour effect. Compared to the bazooka and the Panzerschreck, it made a larger hole and produced massive that killed or injured the crew, due to burns and shrapnel, and destroyed equipment. One informal test found that the Panzerfaust made an entry hole in diameter, whereas the Panzerschreck made an entry hole at least in diameter. By contrast, the bazooka made an entry hole that was only in diameter).White, Isaac D. United States vs. German Equipment: As Prepared for the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force (1997). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. p. 70. . Much of that can be attributed not only to the size of the warhead of the Panzerfaust, but also its horn-like shape, as opposed to the traditional cone-shaped warheads of rockets used in the bazooka and Panzerschreck. The design was later copied in the modern-day AT-4 anti-tank weapon, producing the same effect against modern main battle tanks.
During urban warfare in eastern Germany later in the war, about 70% of tanks destroyed were hit by Panzerfäuste or Panzerschrecks. Soviet and Western Allied tank crews modified their tanks in the field to provide some protection against Panzerfaust attacks. Defensive measures included the use of logs, sandbags, track links, and concrete and wire mesh, along with bed frames with springs (bedsprings), similar to expanded metal-type German tank sideskirts. In practice, about a meter of air gap was required to substantially reduce the penetrating capability of the warhead, so sideskirts and sandbags, along with other improvised armor, were virtually ineffective against both the Panzerschreck and Panzerfaust. Moreover, the added weight from add-on armor overburdened the vehicle's engine, transmission and suspension.
Later on, each Soviet heavy tank (IS) and assault gun (ISU-152) company was assigned a platoon of infantry in urban battles to protect them from infantry-wielded anti-tank weapons, often supported by flamethrowers. That order remained intact even during 1950s, including during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
During the last stages of the war, due to the lack of available weapons, many poorly-trained conscription, mainly elderly men and teenage Hitler Youth members, were often given a single Panzerfaust, plus any type of obsolete pistol or rifle. Some only had a Panzerfaust. That led several German generals and officers to comment sarcastically that the empty launch-tubes could then be used as clubs in hand-to-hand combat.
The Italian Social Republic (RSI) and the Government of National Unity (Hungary) also used the Panzerfaust. Several RSI army units became skilled in anti-tank warfare and the Hungarians themselves used the Panzerfaust extensively, especially during the Siege of Budapest. During this brutal siege, an arms factory, the Hungarian Manfred Weiss Steel and Metal Works, located on Csepel Island (within the city) kept up production of various light armaments and ammunition, Panzerfäuste included, all the way until the very last moment, when attacking Soviet troops seized the factory by the first days of 1945.
The US 82nd Airborne Division captured some Panzerfäuste in the Allied invasion of Sicily and later during the fighting in Normandy. Finding them more effective than their own bazookas, they held onto them and used them during the later stages of the French Campaign, even dropping with them into the Netherlands during Operation Market Garden. They captured an ammunition dump of Panzerfäuste near Nijmegen and used them through the Ardennes Offensive toward the end of the war. More Than Courage: Sicily, Naples-Foggia, Anzio, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace ..., Phil Nordyke, p. 299
The Soviet Red Army only incidentally used captured Panzerfäuste in 1944, but from the beginning of 1945, many became available and were actively used during the Soviet offensives of 1945, mostly in street fighting against buildings and protective covers. In February 1945, such use of captured Panzerfäuste was recommended in a directive by Marshal Georgy Zhukov. Similarly, they were used by the Polish People's Army. After the war, some 4,000 Panzerfäuste were adopted by the Polish Army in 1949, which designated them as PG-49.
Plans and technical materials on the Panzerfaust were supplied to the Empire of Japan to assist with their development of an effective anti-tank weapon. However, the Japanese went with a different design, the Type 4, loosely based upon the American bazooka. Examples of the American weapon were captured by the Japanese at Leyte in 1944.
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(2025). 9781782007883, Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781782007883
(2025). 963857643X, Gálos Nyomdász Kft.. 963857643X
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