A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) is a shoulder-fired rocket weapon that launches rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier, and are frequently used as anti-tank weapons. These warheads are affixed to a rocket motor which propels the RPG towards the target and they are stabilized in flight with fins. Some types of RPG are reloadable with new rocket-propelled grenades, while others are single-use. RPGs are generally loaded from the front.
The Bazooka is a man-portable recoilless anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the "stovepipe", the innovative Bazooka was among the first generation of rocket-propelled anti-tank weapons used in infantry combat. Featuring a solid-propellant rocket for propulsion, it allowed for high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) shaped charge warheads to be delivered against armored vehicles, machine gun nests, and fortified bunkers at ranges beyond that of a standard thrown grenade or mine. The universally applied nickname arose from the weapon's M1 variant's vague resemblance to the musical instrument called a bazooka invented and popularized by 1930s American comedian Bob Burns.
The Panzerkampfwagen IV, commonly known as the Panzer IV, is a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161.
High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) is the effect of a shaped charge explosive that uses the Munroe effect to penetrate heavy armor. The warhead functions by having an explosive charge collapse a metal liner inside the warhead into a high-velocity shaped charge jet; this is capable of penetrating armor steel to a depth of seven or more times the diameter of the charge. The shaped charge jet armor penetration effect is purely kinetic in nature; the round has no explosive or incendiary effect on the armor.
Panzerschreck was the popular name for the Raketenpanzerbüchse 54, an 88 mm reusable anti-tank rocket launcher developed by Nazi Germany in World War II. Another earlier, official name was Ofenrohr.
Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus is a German World War II super-heavy tank completed in July of 1944. It is the heaviest fully enclosed armored fighting vehicle ever built. Five were ordered, but only two hulls and one turret were completed, the turret being attached before the testing grounds were captured by advancing Soviet military forces.
The Panther tank, officially Panzerkampfwagen V Panther with ordnance inventory designation: Sd.Kfz. 171, is a German medium tank of World War II. It was used in most European theatres of World War II from mid-1943 to the end of the war in May 1945.
The Jagdtiger is a German casemate-type heavy tank destroyer (Jagdpanzer) of World War II. It was built upon the slightly lengthened chassis of a Tiger II. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 186.
Elefant was a heavy tank destroyer used by German Panzerjäger during World War II. Ninety-one units were built in 1943 under the name Ferdinand using VK 45.01 (P) tank hulls which had been produced for the Tiger I tank before the competing Henschel design had been selected.
The RPG-7 is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket launcher. The RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and are now manufactured by the Russian company Bazalt. The weapon has the GRAU index 6G3.
In anti-tank warfare, an anti-tank mine is a type of land mine designed to damage or destroy vehicles including tanks and armored fighting vehicles.
The Sd.Kfz. 124 Wespe, also known as Leichte Feldhaubitze 18/2 auf Fahrgestell Panzerkampfwagen II (Sf.), is a German self-propelled gun developed and used during the Second World War. It was based on a modified Panzer II chassis.
Military vehicles are commonly armoured to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets, shells, rockets, and missiles, protecting the personnel inside from enemy fire. Such vehicles include armoured fighting vehicles like tanks, aircraft, and ships.
Nazi Germany developed numerous tank designs used in World War II. In addition to domestic designs, Germany also used various captured and foreign-built tanks.
A limpet mine is a type of naval mine attached to a target by magnets. It is so named because of its superficial similarity to the shape of the limpet, a type of sea snail that clings tightly to rocks or other hard surfaces.
Armour with two or more plates spaced a distance apart falls under the category of spaced armour. Spaced armour can be sloped or unsloped. When sloped, it reduces the penetrating power of bullets and solid shot, as after penetrating each plate projectiles tend to tumble, deflect, deform, or disintegrate; spaced armour that is not sloped is generally designed to provide protection from explosive projectiles, which detonate before reaching the primary armour. Spaced armour is used on military vehicles such as tanks and combat bulldozers. In a less common application, it is used in some spacecraft that use Whipple shields.
The Sd.Kfz. 10 was a German half-track that saw widespread use in World War II. Its main role was as a prime mover for small towed guns, such as the 2 cm Flak 30, the 7.5 cm leIG, or the 3.7 cm Pak 36 anti-tank gun. It could carry eight troops in addition to towing a gun or trailer.
The Hafthohlladung, also known as the "Panzerknacker", was a magnetically adhered, shaped charge anti-tank grenade used by German forces in World War II, and was sometimes described as a mine.
The 10.5 cm K gepanzerte Selbstfahrlafette, also known as the Panzer Selbstfahrlafette IV Ausf. A was a prototype self-propelled gun used by Nazi Germany during World War II. Although it was originally designed as a Schartenbrecher for use against the French Maginot Line defences, following the defeat of France in 1940, it was evaluated for use as a tank destroyer on the Eastern Front.
The Tiger I was a German heavy tank of World War II that began operational duty in 1942 in Africa and in the Soviet Union, usually in independent heavy tank battalions. It gave the German Army its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted the 8.8 cm (3.5 in) KwK 36 gun. 1,347 were built between August 1942 and August 1944. After August 1944, production of the Tiger I was phased out in favour of the Tiger II.
