Panzerfaust 3
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The Panzerfaust 3 is a disposable anti-tank rocket launcher developed between 1978 and 1985 and put into service by the German army in 1992. It was first ordered in 1973 to provide West German infantry with an effective weapon against contemporary Soviet armor thereby replacing West Germany's aging Bazooka-like rocket launchers.
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[edit] Principle
The Panzerfaust 3 consists of a disposable launcher tube carrying the missile and a reusable firing and sighting unit. The projectile itself consists of a shaped-charge warhead filled with Amatol/Syndril and a shaft including the propulsion unit.
The Panzerfaust 3 can be fired from inside rooms since it doesn't have dangerous backblast. The fuel in the projectile is ignited by a bolt via a spring mechanism. Once it has been propelled out of the tube, after a flight distance of approximately five meters, the built-in fuse is released by the safety mechanism in order to arm the warhead. The warhead explodes when it hits a solid object or runs out of fuel. The Panzerfaust 3's principle dates back to the Panzerfaust used by the German Wehrmacht in World War II, although that weapon wasn't rocket-propelled but a small recoilless gun. In both cases, the grenade is triggered by a spring coil igniting the propellant (the propellant charge in case of the original Panzerfaust). By filling the rear of the tube with plastic granulate, the blast effect is minimized allowing the Panzerfaust 3 to be fired from inside closed spaces.
[edit] 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 armor and had to be redesigned.
As a consequence, in the late 1990s the improved PzF 3-T replaced the original model, introducing a dual hollow charge "tandem" warhead to defeat Explosive Reactive Armour. 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) 60 and 90, named after their caliber in millimeters. Both new weapons are expected to help facilitate the transition in German military doctrine from preparation for major tank battles to urban and low-level warfare.
[edit] Specifications
There are four different versions of the Panzerfaust 3:
[edit] PzF 3
Standard model with hollow charge warhead
- Caliber: 90 mm launcher, 110 mm warhead
- Function: 12.8 kg
- Weight: 4.0 kg (loaded)
- Length: 1200 mm
- Muzzle velocity: 165 m/s
- Sights: telescope sights (can be reused)
- Maximum effictive range: 500 m for stationary targets, 300 m for moving targets
- Penetration capability: 700 mm armor, 1.6 metres concrete
- Manufacturer: Dynamit-Nobel, Germany
[edit] PzF 3-T
Standard model with dual hollow charge warhead (designed to penetrate reactive armor)
- Penetration capability: PzF 3-T 800 mm armor
[edit] PzF 3 Bunkerfaust
Designed for use against hardened bunkers.
[edit] PzF 3 IT-600
Newest model of the Panzerfaust 3, equipped with tandem warhead and an improved firing and sighting unit called DYNARANGE. The DYNARANGE uses the advanced targeting mechanism Spa-Simrad IS-2000 to calculate weapon elevation and lead angle correction.
- Caliber: 60 mm launcher, 110 mm warhead
- Function: Primarily anti-tank weapon
- Weight: fire-ready weapon : 15.1 kg warhead : 4.3 kg
- Length: 1400 mm
- Muzzle velocity: 150 m/s
- Armament: 120 g Amatol/Syndril Warhead - hollow charge or dual (tandem) hollow charge
- Sights: telescopic sights (can be reused, can also be fitted with 4x-16x ACOG/AWA Zoom Scopes)
- Maximum effective range: up to 600 meters (static and moving targets)
- Penetration capability: 900 mm armor, ? meters concrete
[edit] Notes
The Panzerfaust 3 is distributed in a special package also including spare parts and a cleaning kit. It takes several minutes to assemble and load the launcher. Other than the launcher itself, the package contains the following items: ejector and spring, extractor, dummy extractor plug, bolt-head retaining pin, plastic cleaning rod with brass tip, bore and chamber brushes, camel's hair brush and a prismatic bore scope.
[edit] External links
