The Panzerwurfkörper 42 was a

HEAT In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is ...

grenade that was developed by

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and used by the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The Panzerwurfkörper 42 was designed to be fired from a ''Leuchtpistole'' or

flare gun A flare gun, also known as a Very pistol or signal pistol, is a large-bore handgun that discharges flares, blanks and smoke. The flare gun is typically used to produce a distress signal. Types The most common type of flare gun is a Very (s ...

in English.

Design

The Panzerwurfkörper 42 was an anti-tank grenade that could be fired from the

Leuchtpistole 34 The Leuchtpistole 34 or flare gun in English was introduced into German service before World War II and served throughout World War II. Design The Leuchtpistole 34 was a single shot, break action, smoothbore, flare gun designed and produced by ...

Leuchtpistole 42 The Leuchtpistole 42 or flare gun in English was introduced into German service in 1943 and served throughout World War II. Design The Leuchtpistole 42 was a single shot, break action, smoothbore, flare gun that was a successor to the earlier ...

, or Sturmpistole giving German troops a small and lightweight anti-tank weapon for engaging enemy armor from close range which could not be engaged satisfactorily by infantry weapons or artillery without endangering friendly troops. The Panzerwurfkörper 42's layout was similar to the Wurfkorper 361 its primary components were a nose cap, internal steel cone, steel upper body, steel stem, rifled driving band, explosive filling, and a graze fuze. The Leuchtpistole was a

break action Break action is a type of firearm action in which the barrel or barrels are hinged much like a door and rotate perpendicularly to the bore axis to expose the breech and allow loading and unloading of cartridges. A separate operation may be requir ...

gun and a rifled brass or aluminum

shell casing A cartridge or a round is a type of pre-assembled firearm ammunition packaging a projectile ( bullet, shot, or slug), a propellant substance (usually either smokeless powder or black powder) and an ignition device ( primer) within a metall ...

containing propellant was first pushed into the breech of the gun. Next, the grenade and the stem was inserted into the muzzle of the gun and the driving band screwed into the rifling of the shell casing. The gun was then closed and the hammer cocked for firing. When the gun fired the stem and grenade were forced from the barrel. Upon hitting the target the graze fuze in the base of the grenade ignited the explosive filling which collapsed the internal steel cone to create a superplastic high-velocity jet to punch through enemy armor. Since HEAT weapons rely on chemical energy to penetrate enemy armor the low velocity of the grenade did not adversely affect penetration. A downside of the Panzerwurfkörper 42 was its short range of and could only penetrate of RHA.

Gallery

File:Flare pistol, U-505, World War II - Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago) - DSC06765.JPG, Leuchtpistole 34. File:Leuchtpistole IMG 1728.JPG, Leuchtpistole 42. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-698-0038-25A, Russland, Waffenvorführung (cropped).jpg, A Sturmpistole

References

{{WWIIGermanInfWeapons Grenades of Germany Grenade launchers Rifle grenades World War II weapons of Germany Military equipment introduced from 1940 to 1944