- Faustpatrone
The Faustpatrone (literally 'fist cartridge') was a German
anti-tank weapon of earlyWorld War II and a forerunner of the laterPanzerfaust .Much smaller in physical appearance, the Faustpatrone was actually heavier than the better known Panzerfaust. Development of the Faustpatrone started in the summer of
1942 at the German company HASAG with the development of the smaller forerunner-prototype called "Gretchen" ("Little Gretel") by a team headed by Dr. Heinrich Langweiler inLeipzig . The basic concept was that of arecoilless gun ; neither the "Faustpatrone" nor its successor the "Panzerfaust" wererocket s.The following first weapon model of the Panzerfaust-family, the so-called "Faustpatrone klein, 30m" ("Small Fist-Cartridge") had a total weight of 3.2 kg (7.1 lb) and a total length of 98.5 cm (38¾ in); its projectile had a length of 36 cm (14¼ in) and a
warhead diameter of 10 cm (4 in); it carried ashaped charge of 400 g (14 oz) of a 50:50 mix of TNT and tri-hexogen . Thepropellant consisted of 54 g (1.9 oz or 830 grains) ofblack powder , the metal launch tube had a length of 80 cm (31½ in) and a diameter of 3.3 cm (1.3 in) (early models reportedly 2.8 cm (1.1 in)). Fitted to the warhead was a wooden shaft with folded stabilizingfin s (made of 0.25 mm (0.01 in) thick spring metal). These bent blades straightened into position by themselves as soon as they left the launch tube. The warhead was accelerated to a speed of 28 m/s (92 ft/s), had a range of about 30 m (100 ft) and anarmor penetration of up to 140 mm (5½ in) of plain steel. Soon a crude aiming device similar to the one used by thePanzerfaust was added to the design; it was fixed at a range of 30 m (100 ft).Other designations of this weapon were "Faustpatrone 1" or "Panzerfaust 30 klein"; however, it was common to refer to this weapon simply as the Faustpatrone. Twenty thousand were ordered and the first 500 Faustpatronen were delivered by the manufacturer, HASAG Hugo Schneider AG, Werk Schlieben, in August 1943. Two main problems had already surfaced much earlier in the weapon's trials. First, the original model did not have a sighting device. Second, due to the odd shape of the warhead (see pictures) it tended to ricochet off or explode with less effect on sloped armor, especially on the Russian
T-34 . Since these problems surfaced already early in testing, the development and production of its successor, the Panzerfaust 30, had already begun by the time of the first deliveries. Still, the small and simple Faustpatrone klein was kept in production well into 1945.External links
* [http://www.geocities.com/Augusta/8172/panzerfaust2.htm Faustpatrone & Panzerfaust]
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