Panzerschreck ( "tank's dread" or "tank's bane") was the popular name for the Raketenpanzerbüchse 54 ("Rocket Anti-armor Rifle Model 54", abbreviated to RPzB 54), an 88 mm reusable anti-tank rocket launcher developed by Nazi Germany in World War II. Another earlier, official name was Ofenrohr ("stove pipe").
The Panzerschreck was designed as a lightweight infantry anti-tank weapon and was essentially an enlarged copy of the American bazooka. The weapon was shoulder-launched and fired a fin-stabilized rocket with a shaped-charge warhead. It was made in much smaller numbers than the Panzerfaust, which was a light, disposable anti-tank weapon that used a system akin to recoilless rifles.
History
thumb|left|A German soldier handling a RPzB. Gr. 4322 [[High-explosive anti-tank warhead|HEAT rocket used with the Panzerschreck]]
right|thumb|Soldiers of the German [[Panzer-Grenadier-Division Großdeutschland|Großdeutschland division's Panzerfüsilier regiment prepare an ambush in the ruins of a destroyed building on the Eastern Front, 1944.]]
thumb|right|RPzB 54 operator wearing protective mask and poncho
The Panzerschreck development was initially based on the American "bazooka", captured during the Tunisian campaign, November 1942. Other munitions were developed, including drill dummy, practice live rocket with inert warhead and standard grenade with improved contact system.
The earliest production model of the RPzB 54 was long and weighed about when empty. Unlike the rockets used in American bazookas which extinguished before leaving the tube, the RPzB rockets kept burning for about after exiting the tube. Users were instructed to wear heavy gloves, a protective poncho and a gas mask without a filter to protect them from the heat of the backblast when the weapon was fired. Improvised shields were made to protect the user and in February 1944, the RPzB 54 was fitted with an official blast shield to protect the operator which made the weapon heavier, weighing empty. Small numbers of the shortened RPzB 54/1 were later produced. It had an improved rocket, a shorter barrel, and a range increased to about . Allied armored units frequently attempted to add improvised protection to their tanks, e.g., sandbags, spare track units, logs and so on to protect against HEAT rounds. Another defense was to rig metal mesh and netting around the tank, resembling the German Schürzen auxiliary plates. In practice about 1 meter of air gap were required to substantially reduce the penetrating capability of RPzB, thus skirts and sandbags were ineffective against RPzB and Panzerfaust.
In 1944, Germany provided the Panzerschreck to Finland, which used it to great effect against Soviet armour. The Finnish name for the weapon was Panssarikauhu (literal translation of the German name).
The Italian Social Republic and Hungary also used the Panzerschreck. Several Italian units became known as skilled anti-tank hunters and the Hungarians used the Panzerschreck extensively during Operation Spring Awakening.
Performance
Penetration measured against Face-Hardened Armor (FHA), Rolled Homogeneous Armor (RHA).
{| class="wikitable"
! Testing nation
! Armor
! Angle (°)
! Penetration (mm)
|-
| Germany
| RHA
| 90
| 230
|-
| Germany
| RHA
| 60
| 160
|-
| Germany
| RHA
| 30
| 95
|-
| United States
| FHA (6" / 152 mm) + RHA (2.25" / 57 mm)
| 90
| 210
|-
| United States
| FHA
|90
| 152
|}
Users
thumb|right|Finnish antitank patrol armed with Panzerschreck during the [[Lapland War]]
- Polish Home Army (captured weapons)