World War II Database

Country of Origin	Germany
Type	Anti-Tank Rifle
Caliber	7.920 mm
Capacity	1 round
Length	1.620 m
Barrel Length	1.085 m
Weight	12.400 kg
Rate of Fire	10 rounds/min
Muzzle Velocity	1,210 m/s

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe Panzerbüchse 39 anti-tank rifles were built by the Gustloff-Werke in Suhl, Thuringia in central Germany. They share similar performance capabilities as their PzB 38 predecessors, except that the loading mechanism had been improved to decrease the time necessary to extract spent cartridges. Once the design became available, the entire PzB 38 production lines began to be converted to produce the new PzB 39 design, which was completed in 1940. 568 were built in 1939 and were used in the invasion of Poland. By the time Germany invaded Russia, 25,298 of them were in service with the German Army. Production ceased in Nov 1941; by that time, a total of 39,232 PzB 39 anti-tank rifles were built. Starting in 1942, they were modified with shorter barrels and rifle grenade launching attachments, thus giving them a new role after they were found to be incapable to penetrate the armor of newer tanks; these modified weapons were designated Granatbüchse Modell 39 (Grenade Rifle Model 39).

Source: Wikipedia. ww2dbase

Last Major Revision: Sep 2008

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