Germany's Armbrust light anti-tank launcher was developed by a private company. After it proved to be accurate and dependable in trials, it was employed by the West German army.
It was used by the German army after the reunification of Germany in 1990, and is still in use today.
Shoulder-fired and disposable, the Armbrust (German for
The Cobra missile and the Mamba missile were both developed in West Germany. They are very similar to one another in design and capability.
Neither the Cobra nor the Mamba missiles require a launch rail. Once the command cable is connected to the control box, the missile can be fired from a clearing on the ground.
Both missiles are operated by
Krupps 88 was the common name for Germany's series of 8.8 centimeter anti-aircraft guns which were officially called Flak 18, Flak 36 and Flak 37.
Flak 18 entered production in 1933. Its 88mm explosive round had a muzzle velocity of 2700ft/s (820m/s) and a weight of 20.3lb (9.24kg).
Krupps 88 guns were designed to be
The German Mauser Tankgewehr was the first purpose built weapon designed for use against tanks.
The Tankgewehr was a single shot rifle, firing an armour piercing 0.512inches (13mm) tungsten alloy round coated with lead in a copper jacket.
This anti tank rifle was used in action in early 1918, its factory output peaked at 300
Developed secretly by the Germans in the 1920s, despite being subject to constraints under the treaty of Versailles, the Pak-35/36 Rheinmetall anti-tank gun fired an armor piercing round of 1.457inches (37mm) caliber at a muzzle velocity of 2,500ft/s (762m/s).
The round weighed 24oz (680g) and was capable of penetrating 2.2in (56mm) of armor at 220yards (200m).
The Pak 38 anti-tank gun was first produced in 1939. It was used as a self-propelled gun as well as an anti-tank gun.
Light alloys were used to create the gun carriage, making the Pak 38 easy to handle.
The Pak 38 had a tungsten-cored AP40 round that could penetrate 4.7inches (120mm) of armor at
In 1939, Germany began working on the development of a 75mm anti-tank gun to counter predicted increases in armor thickness. Rheinmetalls's design of the 7.5 cm Pak 40 was accepted by the Germans in 1940. Production of the Pak 40 anti-tank gun began in 1942.
The Pak 40 was essentially a larger version of the
The Pak 41 was a Gerlich gun - one of a series of anti-tank guns with tapered bores. Dr. Gerlich, a ballistics expert at Krupps, developed the tapered design of the Gerlich gun, which was unique for guns of its time.
The barrel of the Pak 41consisted of a 75 mm rifled bore that tapered
The Panzerfaust 3 anti-tank system was developed in West Germany between 1978 and 1985.
It is still being used by the German army.
Like the Armbrust, the Panzerfaust 3 anti-tank system is a recoilless weapon that uses the countermass principle. It can be fired from confined spaces, making it ideal for urban combat.
The Panzerfaust
Germany's Panzerschnellmine and Holzmine 42 mines were similar to the Tellermine.
However, the Panzerschnellmine and the Holzmine 42 had wood enclosures and therefore cost less to manufacture than the Tellermine, which was enclosed in steel.
Wood enclosures also made it harder for metal detectors to find the Holzmine 42 and the Tellermine.
The Panzerschnellmine was made up of a wooden
The Stahlwerke Becker 20mm automatic cannon was a very light anti-tank weapon that was fed from a magazine.
A few of these were used in combat in early 1918. But, they were problematic in use under combat conditions at the front line, proving difficult to handle and aim.
As an anti-tank gun they were used
The Stielgranate 42 was a hollow, finned projectile that was developed by the Germans in 1942, when shortages of tungsten made it hard for the Germans to produce AP40 ammunition for the Pak 35/36 Rheinmetall anti-tank gun.
Germany allocated all available tungsten for machine tool production.
The introduction of the Stielgranate 42 enabled the Germans