The Panzerfaust was a German, infantry anti-tank weapon of the Second World War. The main rationale for developing this single-shot weapon was to enable the German infantry to knock out enemy armored vehicles, specially Soviet tanks, at close range, without the need for calling in artillery barrage or fighter aircraft. The Panzerfaust consisted of a disposable preloaded launching tube and an anti-tank warhead that pierced in through steel armor by melting the impact point. It was carried and operated by a single soldier, for it was light and small. It was capable of perforating up to 200mm of armor, and destroying any World War II tank, including the Soviet T-34.
Just as a bullet consists of a projectile and a cartridge filled with powder, the launching tube of the panzerfaust could be compared to a cartridge and the warhead to a projectile, but with the difference that this anti-tank projectile contained a shaped charge which melted the steel at the point impact. The Panzerfaust was manufactured between 1943 and 1945 in different variants: Panzerfaust 30, 60, 100, 150, and 250. Around 6,000,000 units of this anti-tank weapon came out of the German factories. It was 1meter-long and weighed only 6.25 kg (Panzerfaust 60). It was also used by the Volkstruppen, or people militia, which were recruited by the end of the war, during the Battle of Berlin.
[...] use of basic weapons such as the Karabiner 98k rifle, Volkssturmgewehr 1-5 automatic rifle, and the Panzerfaust. Because of continuous fighting and weapon shortages, weapon training was often very minimal. Since [...]