The Panzerfaust 3 ( or 'tank fist') is a modern semi-disposable recoilless
anti-tank
Anti-tank warfare refers to the military strategies, tactics, and weapon systems designed to counter and destroy enemy armored vehicles, particularly tanks. It originated during World War I following the first deployment of tanks in 1916, and ...
weapon, which was developed between 1978 and 1985 and first entered service with the
Bundeswehr
The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...
in 1987 (although they did not officially adopt it until 1992). It was first ordered in 1973 to provide West German
infantry
Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
with an effective weapon against contemporary
Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
armor, thereby replacing West Germany's aging
PzF 44 Light Lanze launchers and the heavy
Carl Gustaf 84 mm anti-tank recoilless rifle manufactured in Sweden.
The Panzerfaust 3 is operated by at least 11 countries and has seen combat in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
and
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
.
History
The Panzerfaust 3's name dates back to the
Panzerfaust
The (, or , plural: ) was a development family of single-shot man-portable anti-tank systems developed by Nazi Germany during World War II. The weapons were the first single-use light anti-tank weapons based on a pre-loaded disposable laun ...
used by the German
army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, which consisted of a small, disposable preloaded launch tube firing a
high-explosive anti-tank
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 ...
(HEAT) warhead, operated by one soldier.
The introduction of reactive and active armors on combat vehicles of the then
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...
countries started a development in the technology of the ability of the warheads, the effective range and the optical sights of anti-tank recoilless rifles were therefore improved substantially. Despite these technological improvements, the primary role of the recoilless firing system as the most effective weapon against armored tanks, at a distance up to , remained the most important to infantrymen until the late 1990s.
After the formation of the Bundeswehr in 1956, one task of all troop formations was "fighting armored vehicles and tanks". The Bundeswehr at the time was equipped with the aging
Panzerfaust 44 and the heavy
Carl Gustaf 84 mm recoilless rifle. These infantry weapon systems equipped with an armor-piercing shaped charge warhead would have fought not only tanks but also machine gun nests, anti-tank positions, bunkers or field positions, etc. in open terrain. During the 1970s, new conceptional and tactical considerations were made in order to balance the constantly progressing development in tank technology.
Timetable
In 1979,
Dynamit Nobel
Dynamit Nobel AG is a German chemical and weapons company whose headquarters is in Troisdorf, Germany. It was founded in 1865 by Alfred Nobel.
Creation
After the death of his younger brother Emil Oskar Nobel, Emil in an 1864 nitroglycerin expl ...
AG received a development order. The first troop test began in 1986, and in 1992 the Panzerfaust 3 was officially introduced. The improved PzF 3-T replaced the original model in the late 1990s. This introduced a dual hollow charge "tandem" warhead to defeat
explosive reactive armor
Reactive armour is a type of vehicle armour used in protecting vehicles, especially modern tanks, against shaped charges and hardened kinetic energy penetrators. The most common type is ''explosive reactive armour'' (ERA), but variants includ ...
. This means that the spike projecting from the warhead also contains an explosive charge to set off reactive armor and free the path to the main armor for the secondary warhead. The latest incarnation of the Panzerfaust 3, the PzF 3-IT-600, can be fired from ranges up to thanks to an advanced computer-assisted sighting and targeting mechanism.
As of 2005, there were two more models in the development or testing stage, both relying on smaller, and therefore lighter, warheads. These were the Rückstoßfreie Granatwaffe RGW (''Recoilless Grenade Weapon'') in
calibres . Both new weapons are expected to help facilitate the transition in German
military doctrine
Military doctrine is the expression of how military forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. A military doctrine outlines what military means should be used, how forces should be structured, where forces shou ...
from preparation for major tank battles to urban and low-level warfare.
Principle
The Panzerfaust 3 series of launchers is a compact, lightweight, shoulder-fired, unguided antitank weapon series. It consists of a disposable canister with a warhead and reusable firing and sighting device. The DM12 and DM12A1 projectile consists of a shaped-charge warhead and is filled with
Octol 7030. The tandem DM22 warheads are made of PBX octogene (c. 95% β-HMX) including the propulsion unit. The penetration performance of the Panzerfaust 3 is due to the shaped charge principle and the quick response of the percussion fuse; the effect on the target does not depend on the impact velocity.
The Panzerfaust 3 is light enough to be carried and fired by one person. However, earlier variants were described as being excessively cumbersome and uncomfortable. Furthermore, the firing mechanism was prone to jamming. It can be fired from enclosed spaces since it does not have a significant backblast. The rear of the tube, filled with plastic granulate, minimizes the blast effect by the so-called ''recoilless countermass principle''.
The booster propellant for the projectile in its tube is ignited by a bolt via a spring mechanism. Once ejected from the launcher, the projectile coasts a safe distance and then the rocket motor is ignited, boosting it to its maximum speed, after which it coasts until impact. The gunner carries at least two rounds, while the assistant grenadier carries another three rounds.
The ergonomic design of the controls, such as handles, launcher, barrel shape and optical sight, is a predefined standard. All controls are easy to handle in all shooting positions (lying, kneeling, or standing).
After the weapon is fired, the firing mechanism with the attached optical sight is removed and the barrel thrown away, the firing mechanism is reusable. The effective combat range of the Panzerfaust 3 is from against moving targets and up to against static ones. An optical sight with line pattern fixed to the reusable firing mechanism enables it to engage moving or static targets. To ensure night combat ability, a night-vision device or residual light amplifier can be set up in front of the optical sight.

As a safety precaution, the built-in fuse for the warhead is released by a safety mechanism. This arms the warhead after a flight distance of approximately . Once armed, the warhead detonates on impact or when the propellant is exhausted, thus safeguarding against future
unexploded ordnance
Unexploded ordnance (UXO, sometimes abbreviated as UO) and unexploded bombs (UXBs) are explosive weapons (bombs, shell (projectile), shells, grenades, land mines, naval mines, cluster munition, and other Ammunition, munitions) that did not e ...
hazards.
Further development
A new sight called ''Dynarange'' is currently being procured as part of the German
Infantryman of the Future project. Essentially, this is a computer controlled aiming sight with range finder. It is meant to cope with the fact that some soldiers have had difficulties with the regular sight, as its scope is quite complex to the untrained eye. It would increase the weapon's effective range to against moving and stationary targets. Dynarange is already in service with the
Royal Netherlands Marine Corps
The Royal Netherlands Marine Corps () is the elite naval infantry corps of the Royal Netherlands Navy, one of the four Armed Forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The marines trace their origins to the establishment of the on 10 Decembe ...
and the Dutch Army.
Variants
Data
* :
** Original system with HEAT grenade (nose probe for penetration).
** Optical day sight limits range to moving, stationary.
* :
** Upgrade with 3-T tandem HEAT grenade and original day sight.
** It is effective against targets to moving, stationary.
** Night sight is optional.
* :
** Upgrade adds the IS2000 computer laser day sight with range of out to for moving targets.
** Advanced tripod mount with a SIRA sensor package uses acoustic detection and IR sensor triggering.
** It uses the Simrad KN250 series II night sight.
** Acquisition-to-firing time is 3–4 seconds
* Panzerfaust 3-IT600:
** Ability upgrade adds more recent 3-IT grenade which penetrates armor (equals vs armor behind ERA).
** Pzf-3-LR/RS, PzF-N version available.
** Pzf-3-LR uses semi-active laser homing (SAL-H) system and requires a laser guidance unit and SAL-H grenade.
*** Range: ; armor penetration: .
** Pzf-N designed to compete for UK NLAW.
* :
** Light-weight launcher weighing less than
Specifications
PzF 3
Standard anti-tank version with
hollow charge warhead
A warhead is the section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket (weapon), rocket, torpedo, or bomb.
Classification
Types of warheads include:
*E ...
.
* Calibre:
** launcher:
** warhead:
* Weight:
** fire-ready weapon:
** warhead:
** spare rounds:
* Length:
* Muzzle velocity:
* Highest possible speed:
* Sights: telescope sights (can be reused)
* Maximum effective range:
** Stationary targets:
** Moving targets:
* Minimum effective range:
* Penetration ability:
**
Rolled homogeneous armour
Rolled homogeneous armour (RHA) is a type of vehicle armour made of a single steel composition hot-rolled to improve its material characteristics, as opposed to layered or cemented armour. Its first common application was in tanks. After World W ...
(RHA):
**
Concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...
:
PzF 3-IT
Improved anti-tank version with
tandem hollow charge warhead (designed to penetrate
reactive armour
Reactive armour is a type of vehicle armour used in protecting vehicles, especially modern tanks, against shaped charges and hardened kinetic energy penetrators. The most common type is ''explosive reactive armour'' (ERA), but variants include ...
)
* Calibre:
** launcher:
** warhead:
* Weight:
** fire-ready weapon:
** warhead:
** spare rounds:
* Length:
* Muzzle velocity:
* Highest possible speed:
* Sights: telescope sights (can be reused)
* Maximum effective range:
** Stationary targets:
** Moving targets: ( with DYNARANGE sight)
* Minimum effective range:
* Penetration ability:
** RHA:
PzF 3 Bunkerfaust
Designed for use against hardened
bunker
A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...
s, lightly armored vehicles &
soft targets
* Calibre:
** launcher:
** warhead:
* Weight:
** fire-ready weapon:
** warhead:
** spare rounds:
* Length:
* Muzzle velocity:
* Highest possible speed:
* Sights: telescope sights (can be reused)
* Maximum effective range:
* Minimum effective range:
* Manufacturer: Dynamit-Nobel, Germany
* Penetration capacity:
** RHA:
** Concrete:
** Sandbags:
Ammunition
* PzF 3:
** HEAT-125, HEAT-90, HESH, MZ-110 (Multipurpose-Frag), Illumination, IR Smoke, Smoke. Flight range: ; Penetration: +
** 3LW-HESH, 3LWD Multipurpose PZF-3 (110mm HEAT-original rd), BASTEG Bunker Busters. Flight range: ; Penetration: +
* PzF 3-IT:
** Pzf-N (Tandem HEAT). Flight range: ; Penetration: +
** Pzf-3-LR (Tandem SAL-H). Flight range: ; Penetration: +
** Other munitions as noted above.
Operators

*
*
[Jones, Richard D. ''Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010''. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). .]
*
** –
Peshmerga
The Peshmerga () are the internal security forces of Kurdistan Region. According to the Constitution of Iraq, regional governments are responsible for "the establishment and organization of the internal security forces for the region such as p ...
400 launchers and 5,000 rockets
* 2,000 launchers with 17,000 rockets delivered since middle '90s; 7,100 Panzerfaust 3-T (PZF3-T) delivered in 2007
*
*
* : 1,700 Panzerfaust 3 rockets and 181 launchers.
*
*
* : Supplied by Germany and the Netherlands during
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
.
See also
*
*
*
*
*
References
External links
*
{{Current German infantry weapons
Anti-tank rockets
Cold War anti-tank rockets of Germany
Post–Cold War weapons of Germany
Military equipment introduced in the 1980s
Weapons of Germany