Quote:
Originally Posted by Legbreaker
Antitank rifles were obsolete even before they were issued. The reference to them being used against periscopes etc comes from the early stages of WWII (as early as the invasion of Poland in 1939) when it was found the projectiles simply bounced off armour that was virtually little more than tin foil.
The only hope was if the gunner managed to slot a shot through a vision slit, damage a track or burr the turrent so that it caught on the hull.
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The first one was issued to the German Imperial Army in 1918 and they remained fairly efficient up to the mid-1930's. You are right about what you say on Poland but that was due to the poor quality of the German AT-rifle (light and using reinforced 7.92mm ammo). The poles also used a few but their model was directly derived from the German 1918 model.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Legbreaker
All in all they were heavy, with a huge recoil (the British .55 Boys had a well earned reputation for causing spinal injury), ineffective and extremely unpopular with the soldiers.
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Right again but when the .55 Boys started to be issued in numbers, the German tanks front armor had reached 50mm of strong alloy (nothing in common with the panzer I and II of poland). Panzer 38(t) already had a 38mm frontal armor.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Legbreaker
They did though eventually develop (in idea rather than design) into the antimaterial rifles HQ mentions, a role in which these high calibre and long ranged weapons excel (although I'd still prefer to hit the target with something possessing a warhead).
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Actually that came fast. The soviets had been issued large number of AT rifles that were fairly light, used 14.5mm ammo and were very simple designs (single bullet chamber). Of course, by 1941 they couldn't do much against tanks (even panzer II armor had grow to 35mm) but they were used by sniper units with great success, almost early version of the Garretts and Hecates (yes the Soviets invented the high penetration sniper rifle). However, this was dropped after WW2 for some obscure reasons and reintroduced by the US (someone must have gone through the well made intelligence reports of WW2
).
The japanese 20mm rifle is interesting, however, as it was almost a portable Anti tank gun.
The situation changed again in 1943 when Germany started to develop high velocity AT tank gun that could penetrate thick armor while being small and manuverable (28mm and 50mm AT guns). The problem came from the tungsten used in the ammo as it was expensive and in short supply. In addition, the greatest weapon of WW2 had been invented: the Bazooka.
