Raketen-Panzerbüchse 43

Infobox Weapon
name= Püppchen


caption= Püppchen at the Canadian War Museum
origin=flagcountry|Nazi Germany
type= anti-tank rocket launcher
is_ranged=yes
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service= 1943 - 1945
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number= N/A
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crew= 2
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caliber= 88 mm
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range= 350 m
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"Püppchen" (German: "Dolly") was the popular name for the "Raketen-Panzerbüchse 43" ('rocket tank rifle', abbreviated to RPzB), an 88 mm calibre reusable anti-tank rocket launcher developed by the Germans in World War II.

It was given to infantry to bolster their anti-tank capability. The weapon was fired from a small two-wheeled gun carriage which fired a rocket-propelled, fin-stabilized grenade with a shaped charge warhead. It was made in much smaller numbers than either the "Panzerschreck" , which was based on the American Bazooka or the Panzerfaust, which was a disposable recoilless rifle firing an anti-tank grenade. This is partly due to the fact that it was realized that a simple hollow tube with an ignition device was all that was needed to launch the 88mm rocket, rather than an elaborate miniature artillery piece with carriage and breech.

History

ee also

*Shoulder-launched missile weapon
*List of common World War II infantry weapons

References

External links

* http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/rocket/index.html
* http://vincesgallery.smugmug.com/gallery/1331090#62773580