Weapons · Germany · 1940-1944
Panzerbüchse 39
anti-tank rifle
A single-shot, bolt-action anti-tank rifle firing a high-velocity 7.92x94mm round, the PzB 39 was an improved, lighter successor to the PzB 38 and equipped German infantry from the invasion of Poland onward. It could penetrate the thin armor of early-war tanks and armored cars but was rendered increasingly ineffective as Allied and Soviet tank armor thickened through the war. From 1942 many surviving rifles were converted into the Granatbüchse 39, a shortened grenade launcher, extending their usefulness after they had ceased to be viable anti-tank weapons.
| caliber | 7.92x94mm |
|---|---|
| weight | 12.6 kg |
| penetration | ~25 mm at 300 m |
| produced | ~39,200 |
Eastern Front, Western Europe, Mediterranean and North Africa
