Quote:
Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b
Antitank rifles are a World War 1 idea; but by the time they were developed and fielded, they were already obsolete, and most were withdrawn quickly. Exceptions included the M-2 series, which were developed into heavy machineguns; the KPV, ditto; and several Russian and Finnish antitank rifles, which were primarily used as antimateriel and heavy sniper rifles. They never really filled their intended role as antitank weapons.
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At Kursk the USSR fielded enormous amounts of AT rifle teams, which made the environment very deadly. They spent their time banging away at vision blocks and episcopes, and after over run they simply turned around and banged away at engine ventilators.
The nasty part about them was that they were near invisible to the tankers. The panzergrenadiers hated them as they'd get you through a stone wall or embankment, and they could stop a half track dead. German tank commanders usually conned their vehicles in an open hatch, which was a dangerous proposition with all the 14.5mm flying around.
It's a strange twist of fate that the 14.5mm round went from an AT rifle into a heavy machine gun round and then found its way back into what is essentially an AT rifle in Hungary. But, if you look at it, the Browning 12.7mm round was derived from a WW1 German AT rifle round, so its actually traditional! As to adoption, the M-82 Barrett heavy sniper rifle was avoided for a long time as it's actually illegal to use them on individuals, but when the US decided to circumvent the rule everyone else hastily got their own. Now they're well nigh universal. I can't see why they'd be considered inhuman personally, at least it's usually quick with something around 12.7mm.