K98k Introduction | Disassembly K98k/G43 | Grenade
Rifle Codes | Waffenamt List | Manufacturer's Codes 1934-1945
The first model of an Anti-Tank rifle grenade was know as the "Gewehrpanzergranate 30", or Anti-Tank Rifle Grenade 30, which was rather unsuccessful due to its poor penetration performance.
This type was replaced by the larger "grosse Gewehrpanzergranate", or Larger Anti-Tank Rifle Grenade. This version weighed 390g, had a length of 18.5 cm and contained a shaped charge of 115g. This had the effect of improved the armor penetration to 70mm.
A development by the SS weapon's academy was the Gewehrpanzergranate 46 that had an armor penetration of 90mm. The diameter of this warhead was 4.6cm, the length of the rifled shaft was 10.2 cm, the warhead had a length of 93mm and carried a shaped charge of 150g.
Another improvement was the Gewehrpanzergranate 61 which increased penetration performance to 125mm. Warhead length was 136mm and diameter was 61mm, it carried a shaped charge of 200g; the grenade now weighed 520g. However these (Gew.Pz.Gr.46 / Gew.Pz.Gr.61) were produced in very small numbers towards the end of the war.
The Anti-Tank rifle grenade concept was the Gewehrgranate zur Panzerbekampfung or rifle grenade for fighting tanks. Its abbreviation was GGP or GG, it carried the designation GGP 40 or GG/P 40. This larger weapon's shaft was not put into rather onto the Schiessbecher as it was over-caliber even to the large caliber of the Schiessbecher. The GGP weighed 520g and had a length of 23.4 cm. The warhead had a diameter of 60mm and carried a shaped charge of 175g that enabled the GGP to penetrate 40mm of armor. As it could not achieve a spin from the Schiessbecher's rifling it had to depend on six stabilizing fins attached to the rear of it's shaft for flight stabilization.
A longer cap was later put onto the warhead that allowed for an earlier detonation of the shaped charge which increased the penetration performance to 45mm. This final production version of the GGP had a length of 29.5cm.
A final development were the Doppelschussgranaten or double shot grenade which derived their name from their characteristic of having a second amount of propellant that was ignited in the Schiessbecher which increased the range of these grenades. The first weapon of this kind weighed 520g and carried 120g of explosives in a shaped charge that enabled it to penetrate 85mm of armor. The initial speed of this projectile was 160m/s.
The next model weighed 1.1kg and carried a shaped charge of 560g that increased armor penetration to 140mm. The next bigger type weighed 1.58kg. Its shaped charge was made of 730g of explosives that made for an armor penetration of 180mm. Even this grenade with it's slow velocity of 70m/s had a range of 375m. However, at that range it deviated more than 40m longitudinally and 35m laterally which made a hit on a tank very unlikely at the maximum range.
A similar weapon series developed by the company Thomanek used an improved
shaped charge of 600g that could penetrate 270mm of armor. The rumors regarding
a supposed new heavily armored Russian tank inspired the construction of an even larger
warhead
with a diameter of 10cm that carried a shaped charge of 1.35kg. It proved
to penetrate 360mm of steel. The extra propellant used for the additional
second boost weighed 250g.