The ''Hafthohlladung'' (German, lit. "adhesive hollow charge"), also known as the "''Panzerknacker''" ("tank breaker", an analogy to "safe cracker"), was a magnetically adhered,
shaped charge anti-tank grenade used by
German forces in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and was sometimes described as a
mine.
Details
The ''Hafthohlladung'' was primarily used by ''
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
'' tank killer squads. Designed with three magnets at the base, each with a pair of poles creating a strong magnetic field across their gap, an infantryman could attach it to an enemy's tank no matter the angle of the surface. As the blast axis should be flush and perpendicular to the plane of the armour at the point of placement, and armed by pulling the igniter on the rear of the mine, the degree of a tank's sloped armour was irrelevant for the device's penetration. However, since this required direct placement on an enemy tank by an infantryman, using the device was very dangerous, since the deploying infantryman placing it on an enemy fighting vehicle would be highly vulnerable to enemy fire.
The ''Hafthohlladung'' device was very effective against armour, able to penetrate 140 mm of
rolled homogeneous armour
Rolled homogeneous armour (RHA) is a type of vehicle armour made of a single steel composition hot-rolled to improve its material characteristics, as opposed to layered or cemented armour. Its first common application was in tanks. After World W ...
(RHA). The H3 (3 kilogram) and H3.5 (3.5 kilogram) models are easily distinguishable; the H3 is
conical, while the H3.5 is bottle-shaped.
Specifications
*Weight: 3 kg (H3 version) or 3.5 kg (H3.5 version)
*First issued: November 1942
*Penetration: At 0°, 140 mm of
RHA or 508 mm (20") of concrete
*Fuse: Friction ignited, 4.5 second delay, later 7.5 seconds in May 1943
*Number produced: 553,900
*Declared obsolete: May 1944 in favour of the ''
Panzerfaust'', but remaining stockpiles used until exhausted
See also
*
Limpet mine
A limpet mine is a type of naval mine attached to a target by magnets. It is so named because of its superficial similarity to the shape of the limpet, a type of sea snail that clings tightly to rocks or other hard surfaces.
A swimmer or diver m ...
, the anti-ship nautical "precursor" to the Hafthohlladung ordnance
* ''
Zimmerit'', plaster-like coating system applied on German combat vehicles to defeat any similar Allied magnetically adhered anti-tank ordnance
References
German Hand and Rifle Grenades{{WWIIGermanInfWeapons
World War II infantry weapons of Germany
Anti-tank grenades
Grenades of Germany
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1942