Panzerschreck Rocket

[BrodieBartfast]

This one has been lurking in the background of some of my photos for a while now. Decided to finally pull it out and take some pictures of it. A relic rocket for the Panzerschreck, properly designated the Raketenpanzerbüchse 54.

These munitions were known officially as the Raketen Panzerbüchse Granat 4322, and featured a shaped charge warhead similar in function to the more ubiquitous Panzerfaust. Rockets had an effective range of 150 to 180 metres (around 500 to 600ft) and could effectively penetrate 16cm of armour. German soldiers nicknamed the launchers 'Ofenrohr' or stovepipe, due to the enormous amount of smoke the weapon generated when fired.

This rocket fully disassembles into its four constituent parts, as shown below.



The tailfin section, showing the remains of the ignition system.



The fuze/detonator section.



B.B.

[openwire]

Marvelous! I need to find one of these for my Panzershreck.

[BrodieBartfast]

Marvelous! I need to find one of these for my Panzershreck.

Thank you, they seem to be very hard to find. It was pure luck that got me this one. There are lots of 3D printed replicas available, but they aren’t quite the same.

B.B.

[openwire]

Yeah, I'm going to print one, and there are some solid replicas here and there, but a relic one is in order.

I'm also going to modify some printed ones to actually launch, assuming the electrical system on mine is still in good working order. I figure I can have a lot of fun with model rocket motors and some chalk.

[BrodieBartfast]

Yeah, I'm going to print one, and there are some solid replicas here and there, but a relic one is in order.

I'm also going to modify some printed ones to actually launch, assuming the electrical system on mine is still in good working order. I figure I can have a lot of fun with model rocket motors and some chalk.

Yeah, that does sound like fun! I think mine is a little beyond use now (luckily, or I'd have the police knocking down my door!). I'd love a Panzerschreck to go with it, but here it'd have to be deactivated.

B.B.

[openwire]

Here the only live ones were ones registered in the 1968 amnesty, and as far as I know, all of those were Finnish imports, about 1200 or so made it into the US. I have no idea how many are on the registry. I've seen at least one live on offered for sale where the owner offered to deactivate it to make selling it easier, so I suspect some live ones over the years have gone inert. Mine was actually registered as a Panzerfaust and had to be corrected when sold.

I believe Finland sold about 1500 (almost all they had in inventory) to Interams in 1959, and about 250 of those were sold in the UK with the rest going to the US, so you might get lucky? I've also seen some good replicas for sale in the UK. I was extremely fortunate to get mine.

[BrodieBartfast]

Here the only live ones were ones registered in the 1968 amnesty, and as far as I know, all of those were Finnish imports, about 1200 or so made it into the US. I have no idea how many are on the registry. I've seen at least one live on offered for sale where the owner offered to deactivate it to make selling it easier, so I suspect some live ones over the years have gone inert. Mine was actually registered as a Panzerfaust and had to be corrected when sold.

I believe Finland sold about 1500 (almost all they had in inventory) to Interams in 1959, and about 250 of those were sold in the UK with the rest going to the US, so you might get lucky? I've also seen some good replicas for sale in the UK. I was extremely fortunate to get mine.

Replicas do exist, but I've always strived for authenticity with my collecting. A reproduction looks nice, but it has no historical or monetary value. German Panzerschrecks do turn up on the UK market occasionally, so it's just a case of being in the right place at the right time, as with most things. It'll happen one day!

An original Panzerfaust is also on my bucket list. Fired tubes are easy to find, complete ones are much rarer.

B.B.

[openwire]

I want a Panzerfaust tubes, but US law treats it as a functional weapon, and the amount of demilling I'd have to do to bring one in just isn't worth the bother.

Good luck on your quest, I never realized how satisfying it is to have an anti tank rocket launcher in the living room.

I have a Finnish manual for the shreck and faust that is just a translation of the German. I should digitize it sometime and post it.

[BrodieBartfast]

I want a Panzerfaust tubes, but US law treats it as a functional weapon, and the amount of demilling I'd have to do to bring one in just isn't worth the bother.

Good luck on your quest, I never realized how satisfying it is to have an anti tank rocket launcher in the living room.

I have a Finnish manual for the shreck and faust that is just a translation of the German. I should digitize it sometime and post it.

That's odd, considering it's essentially a length of metal pipe once it's been fired. Mind you, some US import laws are pretty crazy, particularly the cutting up of machine gun receivers. One of the few advantages of the UK market is that we can acquire WWII-era machine guns relatively easily, even if they are deactivated.

Definitely post that manual. It would be of interest to many people here.

B.B.