Panzerschreck

Panzerschreck Raketenpanzerbüchse 54
The improved Raketenpanzerbüchse 54 with blast shield
Type	Anti-tank rocket launcher
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
In service	1943–1945 (Nazi Germany)[1]
Used by	See Users
Wars	World War II
Production history
Unit cost	70 ℛ︁ℳ︁
No. built	314,895[2]
Variants	RPzB 54, RPzB 54/1
Specifications
Mass	11 kg (24 lb) empty (RPzB 54) with shield
Length	164 centimetres (65 in)
Caliber	88 mm (3.5 in)
Muzzle velocity	110 m/s (360 ft/s)
Effective firing range	150 m (490 ft) RPzB 54

Panzerschreck (lit. "tank's dread" or "tank's bane") was the popular name for the Raketenpanzerbüchse 54 ("Rocket Anti-armor Rifle Model 54", abbreviated to RPzB 54), an 88 mm reusable anti-tank rocket launcher developed by Nazi Germany in World War II. Another earlier, official name was Ofenrohr ("stove pipe").^[3]

The Panzerschreck was designed as a lightweight infantry anti-tank weapon and was an enlarged copy of the American bazooka.^[4] The weapon was shoulder-launched and fired a fin-stabilized rocket with a shaped-charge warhead. It was made in smaller numbers than the Panzerfaust, which was a light, disposable anti-tank weapon that used a system akin to recoilless rifles.^[5]