Anti-tank rifle

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PTRS
anti-tank rifle in a museum

An anti-tank rifle is an

armored personnel carriers, and infantry fighting vehicles. The term is usually used for weapons that can be carried and used by one person, but is sometimes used for larger weapons.[1] The usefulness of rifles for this purpose ran from the introduction of tanks in World War I until the Korean War. While medium and heavy tank armor became too thick to be penetrated by rigid projectiles from rifles that could be carried by a single soldier, anti-tank rifles continued to be used against other "soft" targets, though recoilless rifles and rocket-propelled grenades such as the bazooka
were also introduced for infantry close-layer defense against tanks.

History

The tug of war between armour and projectiles had been developing for a long while among naval vessels, since the advent of the

anti-tank weapons, among the first of which were high-powered rifles. These had appeared in the 19th century for big-game hunting
. The anti-tank rifle followed the same route: a large bullet with a high velocity and the ability to penetrate armour.

World War I

Mauser 1918 T-Gewehr
13.2 x 92 mm anti-tank rifle at the Musée de l'Armée in Paris.

The first tanks, beginning with the British

armoured cars were similarly protected, but troops rarely faced armoured cars, as they could not navigate the landscape of trench warfare very well. Though tanks and armoured cars were vulnerable to artillery, mortars, and grenades, infantry was at a significant disadvantage when facing armoured fighting vehicles since they had no effective direct fire weapon, with the exception of the ubiquitous trench mortar, improvised on the spot. In the direct fire mode, this weapon was manhandled by German infantry over the front of a trench wall and fired at low angles by eye at approaching enemy vehicles. Though somewhat effective, these actions were obviously very hazardous to any desperate mortar crew as their exposure could attract enemy fire.[2]

The first attempt at boosting penetrating power was the so-called 'reversed bullet'. This used the same cartridge and bullet as the regular round, but the bullet was "reversed" and an increased propelling charge was used. The next development was a special armour-piercing bullet, the K bullet (in German Patrone SmK Kurz 7.92 mm), which could also be fired from the regular infantry rifle. It had an increased propelling charge and a steel core bullet. This had about a 30% chance of penetrating the 8 mm armour of contemporary tanks if it struck the armour at a perpendicular angle.

Both types had their specific advantages and disadvantages: for example, the K bullet was more expensive to produce and therefore was generally only issued to snipers and other advanced marksmen who could use it more effectively; the ordinary infantryman had to make do with reversed bullets, which were far less effective and had to be used in closer proximity to the target. In addition, both types of round damaged the rifles due to the higher propellant load and the resulting higher muzzle velocities and pressures: firstly, service life of the rifle barrel was decreased significantly because of the increased wear. Secondly, the higher pressure created in the chamber could jam the bolt, leading to the extractor claw failing to extract the cartridge and only breaking off the cartridge rim, leaving it stuck in the chamber. The strain of firing the increased charge could also burst the chamber of weaker and older rifles, at best destroying the rifle and at worst injuring or killing the rifleman. For these reasons, the K bullet and reversed bullet were not popular with the troops. Nevertheless, it gave the infantry a chance to stop a tank in an emergency, or at least injure or kill some of the crew if a bullet penetrated.

Even as the rounds were introduced, tanks were being designed and built with thicker armour rendering these rounds largely ineffective, though they remained in use against the older designs and armoured cars. Hence, a purpose-built weapon was required to counter the newer tanks.

The first purposely-designed infantry

collar bone
or dislocating the shoulder. Although the rifle was unique to its role, it was a development of the Mauser rifles and high-powered British sporting rifles that had preceded it. The 13.2 x 92 mm (0.52 in) cartridge was not unusual either, as some 0.50-inch firearms had already been fielded in land warfare with the relatively new and more powerful (as compared to black powder) smokeless powders of the era.

At the same time, in the US, a half-inch high velocity round was being developed for use against aircraft. It would be used with the

M2 .50 cal machine gun
would go on to function as an anti-armour machine gun.

World War II

Polish Army during the Invasion of Poland
(September 1939).

At the start of World War II, only some European nations had an anti-tank rifle based on a high-velocity, large-calibre round, such as the British

LT-38).[3]
At up to 400 m (1,300 ft), it could destroy all lightly armoured vehicles. It could penetrate 15 mm (0.59 in) of armour, sloped at 30° at 300 m (980 ft) distance, or 33 mm (1.3 in) of armour at 100 m (330 ft).

Later, as armour became thicker on newer models, the effectiveness of a man-portable rifle lessened. This was particularly true in

Bordkanone BK 3,7 autocannon, mounted in twin gun pods against Soviet armour on the Eastern Front. Some anti-tank rifles, like the Finnish L-39
, were still used by snipers to harass the enemy, like firing phosphorus bullets at tanks' open hatches, or to smoke an enemy sniper out of his position.

Korean War

The Soviet

PTRD of World War II vintage were used by North Korean and Chinese forces during the Korean War
as they lacked more modern infantry anti-tank weapons.

Cold War and modern day

Although retaining many of the technical characteristics of the anti-tank rifles, the Cold War era weapons are only conceptual descendants of anti-tank weapons wielded by the Second World War infantry, and both large-calibre sniper rifles and anti-materiel rifles owe only some part of their design heritage to them.

Although no longer capable of penetrating even the side armour of modern

UAVs
and personnel.

Selected anti-tank rifles

Some examples of anti-tank rifles include:

World War I

World War II

See also

References

  1. ^ Tom Murphy (17 September 2019). "The Swiss Army's First Mass Anti-Tank Rifle The Tankbüchse (Tb) 41 24mm". Small Arms Defense Journal. A 74 kg (163 lb) "anti-tank rifle" requiring seven men to set it up.
  2. ISBN 978-0-7153-6909-8
  3. ISBN 83-85001-69-7
    . Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  4. ^ Aleksandrov, Evgeny (December 2008). "«Ручная пушка» RT-20" ["Hand cannon" RT-20] (PDF). Kalashnikov (in Russian). pp. 38–42.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anti-tank rifles.
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