Correct usage?

[G43]

Been mulling this over for a while,from original pictures I have not seen any M43 stick grenades or Panzerfaust 60s(with the later sights) being used in Normandy,but see many reenactors using them in Normandy Scenarios over the years,is it just the attitude of 'a grenades a grenade aint it?' Why spend money on incorret kit for the scenario?

The Panzerfaust was quite a rare beast in Normandy,was way more common after Normandy and all Ive seen in pictures etc are Kleins and 30s

Thoughts?

Cheers

Ian

[berlin1945]

A panzerfaust is a inexpensive, recoilless, anti-tank weapon utilized by Germany during WWII. It consists of a disposable launch tube preloaded with a anti-tank warhead. Just about every single allied tank could be destroyed by a Panzerfaust. This caused it to be a great threat to allied tank crews. There have been different versions of the Panzerfaust such as the original Panzerfaust 30 klein or the Faustpatrone. It had a length of 98.5 cm and the maximum range was 30m. Development in 1942 led to the creation of the Panzerfaust 30. It had a length of about 1m and the tube was .44mm in diameter.

The Panzerfaust 60 which was the most commen version had a range of 60m. To increase range the diameter was increased to 5 cm. It also had an improved flip up rear sight. The Panzerfaust 100 had a range of 100m, 90 grams of propellant, and a 6 cm in diameter tube. Finally the Panzerfaust 150 which is the last version made had a reinforced tube and a pointed warhead which gave more penetration. the panzerfaust 60 model was not brought into battle use until september 1944 and the first being used on the eastern front

The Panzerfaust was very widely used and was in high production. Over 6 million Panzerfausts were built, this is even more then the Panzerschreck. Panzerfaust fire caused 6% british tank loss at the Battle of Normandy, but then it rose to 34%.

Panzerfaust 30 klein ("small") or Faustpatrone
This was the original version, first delivered in August 1943 with a total weight of 3.2 kilograms (7.1 lb) and overall length of 98.5 cm (38.8 in). The "30" was indicative of the nominal maximum range of 30 m (33 yd). It had a 3.3 cm (1.3 in) diameter tube containing 54 grams (1.9 oz) of black powder propellant launching a 10 cm (3.9 in) warhead carrying 400 g (14 oz) of explosive. The projectile traveled at just 30 m (98 ft) per second and could penetrate 140 mm (5.5 in) of armor.

Panzerfaust 30
An improved version also appearing in August 1943, this version had a larger warhead for improved armor penetration, 200 mm (7.9 in), but the same range of 30 meters.

Panzerfaust 60
This was the most common version, with production starting in September 1944. It had a much more practical range of 60 m (66 yd), although with a muzzle velocity of only 45 m (148 ft) per second it would take 1.3 seconds for the warhead to reach a tank at that range. To achieve the higher velocity, the tube diameter was increased to 5 cm (2.0 in) and 134 g (4.7 oz) of propellant used. It also had an improved flip-up rear sight and trigger mechanism. The weapon now weighed 6.1 kg (13 lb). It could defeat 200 mm (7.9 in) of armor.

Panzerfaust 100
This was the final version produced in quantity, from November 1944 onwards. It had a nominal maximum range of 100 m (330 ft). 190 g (6.7 oz) of propellant launched the warhead at 60 m (200 ft) per second from a 6 cm (2.4 in) diameter tube. The sight had holes for 30, 60, 80 and 150 m (260 and 490 ft), and had luminous paint in them to make counting up to the correct one easier in the dark. This version weighed 6 kg (13 lb) and could penetrate 220 mm (8.7 in) of armor.

Panzerfaust 150
This was a major redesign of the weapon, and was deployed in limited numbers near the end of the war. The firing tube was reinforced and reusable for up to ten shots. A new pointed warhead with increased armor penetration and two-stage propellant ignition gave a higher velocity of 85 m (279 ft) per second. Production started in March 1945, two months before the end of the war.

Panzerfaust 250
Scheduled to enter production in September 1945. Similar to the 150, but with a longer tube and a handle with a trigger, similar to the RPG-2, for the user. The war ended before development had been completed

[berlin1945]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYY-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lfc8n_W9H0E

http://www.jaegerplatoon.net/OTHER_AT_WEAPONS2.htm

[Riedmuller]

nice bit of copy and pasting there, but full of mistakes who ever wrote this does not know anything about the panzerfaust!!
for instance

the sight had holes for 30, 60, 80 and 150 m

the 100m had 3 sight holes just like the 60m but marked up 50, 100 and 150 instead. also says the tube diameter was increased by 1cm to 6cm but again they used exactly the same tube as the 60m and just put a longer/larger propellant charge in. you can tell by where the screw is on the under side of the tube if its a 60m or 100m

as to the original question asked i think the above answers it most reenactors would rather spend money on Gucci kit than books and do research i have hundreds of books i use for reference the Internet can be a good tool too but as i have pointed out you cannot trust them unlike books where the author has done research and knows his subject

it seems the M43 was a rare beast then as today and i have only see a few in photos mainly from late 44 early 45 in the eastern front although i have seen a couple in use in the ardennes

as for the panzerfaust the same story again 30/klein for Normandy 60m for any scenarios after

and while we are on the subject of panzerfausts will people not use the crappy plastic chinese copies going about the trigger and sighting mechanism looks awful, well oversized and no detail they just look cheap and tacky!!

at the end of the day its up to the individual what he does if they cant be bothered it just makes us who do put the effort in look even better