Panzer stab 43

The Panzer stab 43 was a German anti-tank mine, together with the Hohl-Sprung mine 4672 it was the first mine to combine a shaped charge warhead with a tilt rod fuze. The mine was developed during the Second World War. The mine consisted of a wine glass shaped metal main body mounted on a wooden post, with a tilt rod holding arm projecting to one side. It used a 125 mm diameter warhead with 1.6 kg of explosive, and a combination pressure/tilt fuze.

At a stand-off distance of about half a meter the main charge could penetrate up to 100 millimeter of armour. Testing conducted by the German army indicated that the mine stood a 65 to 68 percent chance of knocking out a tank.

The mine entered service in 1943, and around 25,000 were produced before production was terminated in late 1943 or early 1944 due to "jealousies within Army departments" [cite book|title=The History of Landmines|author=Mike Croll|publisher=Leo Cooper|year=1998|isbn=0850526280] .

pecifications

* Height of mine body (excluding wooden post): 0.35 m
* Weight: 3 kg approx
* Explosive content: 0.8 kg

References

* [http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Waffen/minen.htm List of German Second World War land mines at lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de]
* [http://tewton.narod.ru/mines-3/pz-sta-mi-43.html Инженерные боеприпасы]