Editing Panzerfaust (section)

== Combat use ==
To use the {{lang|de|Panzerfaust}}, the soldier removed the safety, tucked the tube under their arm, and aimed by aligning the target, the sight and the top of the warhead. Unlike the original American M1 60&nbsp;mm [[bazooka]] and the Germans' own heavier 88&nbsp;mm {{lang|de|[[Panzerschreck]]}} tube-type rocket launchers based on the American ordnance piece, the {{lang|de|Panzerfaust}} did not have the usual trigger. It had a pedal-like lever near the projectile that ignited the propellant when squeezed. Because of the weapon's short range, not only enemy tanks and infantry, but also pieces of the exploding vehicle, posed dangers to its operator. Consequently, the use of a {{lang|de|Panzerfaust}} required a degree of personal courage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.roncskutatas.com/node/16023|title=A Panzerfaust {{!}} A II. Világháború Hadtörténeti Portálja|website=www.roncskutatas.com|access-date=2020-02-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dererstezug.com/panzerfaust.htm |work=der Erste Zug |title=The Panzerfaust |author=David Ackerman |editor=Jonathan Bocek |access-date=2020-02-10 }}</ref> The backblast from firing went back around 2 m behind the operator.

When used against tanks, the {{lang|de|Panzerfaust}} had an impressive [[beyond-armour effect]]. Compared to the bazooka and the {{lang|de|Panzerschreck}}, it made a larger hole and produced massive [[spall]]ing that killed or injured the crew, due to burns and shrapnel, and destroyed equipment. One informal test found that the {{lang|de|Panzerfaust}} made an entry hole {{convert|2.75|in|cm|0}} in diameter, whereas the {{lang|de|Panzerschreck}} made an entry hole at least {{convert|1|in|cm|1}} in diameter. By contrast, the bazooka made an entry hole that was only {{convert|0.5|in|cm|1}} in diameter).<ref>White, Isaac D. ''United States vs. German Equipment: As Prepared for the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force'' (1997). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. p. 70. {{ISBN|978-1468068153}}.</ref> Much of that can be attributed not only to the size of the warhead of the {{lang|de|Panzerfaust}}, but also its horn-like shape, as opposed to the traditional cone-shaped warheads of rockets used in the bazooka and {{lang|de|Panzerschreck}}.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}} The design was later copied in the modern-day [[AT4|AT-4]] anti-tank weapon, producing the same effect against modern main battle tanks. <!-- Doubtful. The traditional cone layout is clearly visible on cutaway images of AT4. -->

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H28150, Deutsche Soldaten mit Panzerfäusten.jpg|thumb|right|{{lang|de|Panzerfaust}}-armed German soldiers on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]] in 1945]]

=== Germany ===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-J31391, Berlin, Volkssturm, Ausbildung.jpg|thumb|February or March 1945: {{lang|de|[[Volkssturm]]}} members being trained to use the {{lang|de|Panzerfaust}} anti-tank weapon]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1973-001-30, Volkssturm, Frau mit Panzerfaust.jpg|thumb|March 1945: A {{lang|de|Volkssturm}} soldier explaining the handling of a {{lang|de|Panzerfaust}} to a female civilian]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-J31320, Berlin, Posten beim Bau einer Straßensperre.jpg|thumb|right|{{lang|de|Volkssturm}} soldiers with {{lang|de|Panzerfäuste}} in [[Berlin]], March 1945]]

In the [[Operation Overlord|Battle of Normandy]], only 6% of British tank losses were from {{lang|de|Panzerfaust}} fire, despite the close-range combat in the thick [[bocage]] landscape. However, the threat from the {{lang|de|Panzerfaust}} forced Allied tank forces to wait for infantry support before advancing. The portion of British tanks taken out of action by {{lang|de|Panzerfäuste}} later rose to 34%, a rise probably explained by the lack of German anti-tank guns late in the war and the increased numbers of {{lang|de|Panzerfäuste}} that were available to defending German troops.<ref>
{{cite book
| last = Place
| first = Timothy Harrison
|date=October 2000
| title = Military training in the British Army, 1940–1944: From Dunkirk to D-Day
| publisher = [[Taylor & Francis|Frank Cass]]
| location = London
| series = Cass Series—Military History and Policy
| volume = 6
| chapter = Chapter 9: Armour in North-West Europe
| page = 160
| isbn = 978-0-7146-5037-1
| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=McUS0IuZ1EYC&pg=PA160
| lccn = 00031480
}}</ref>

During [[urban warfare|urban combat]] in eastern Germany later in the war, about 70% of tanks destroyed were hit by {{lang|de|Panzerfäuste}} or {{lang|de|Panzerschreck}}s. Soviet and Western Allied tank crews modified their tanks in the field to provide some protection against Panzerfaust attacks. Defensive measures included the use of logs, sandbags, track links, and concrete and wire mesh, along with bed frames with springs (bedsprings), similar to expanded metal-type [[Schürzen|German tank sideskirts]]. In practice, about a meter of [[Spaced armour#Against HEAT|air gap]] was required to substantially reduce the penetrating capability of the warhead, so sideskirts and sandbags, along with other improvised armor, were virtually ineffective against both the [[Panzerschreck]] and Panzerfaust. Moreover, the added weight from add-on armor overburdened the vehicle's engine, transmission and suspension.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Chamberlain|first=Peter|title=Anti-tank weapons|publisher=Arco|year=1974|isbn=0668036079}}{{page needed|date=February 2020}}</ref>

Later on, each Soviet heavy tank ([[IS tank family|IS]]) and assault gun ([[ISU-152]]) [[Company (military unit)|company]] was assigned a [[platoon]] of infantry in urban battles to protect them from infantry-wielded anti-tank weapons, often supported by flamethrowers. That order remained intact even during 1950s, including during the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://beszelo.c3.hu/97/11/11.htm|title=Molnár György: A szovjet hadsereg 1956-ban|website=beszelo.c3.hu|access-date=2020-02-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Laurenszky|first=Ernő|title=A forradalom fegyverei - 1956|publisher=Magyar Honvédség OKAK|year=1995|location=Budapest|language=hu}}</ref>

During the last stages of the war, due to the lack of available weapons, many poorly-trained [[conscription|conscripts]], mainly elderly men and teenage [[Hitler Youth]] members, were often given a single {{lang|de|Panzerfaust}}, plus any type of obsolete pistol or rifle. Some only had a Panzerfaust. That led several German generals and officers to comment sarcastically that the empty launch-tubes could then be used as clubs in hand-to-hand combat.

=== Other countries ===
Many {{lang|de|Panzerfäuste}} were sold to Finland, which urgently needed them, as Finnish forces did not have enough anti-tank weapons that could penetrate heavily armoured Soviet tanks like the [[T-34]] and [[IS-2]]. The Finnish experience with the weapon and its adaptability to Finnish needs was mixed, with only 4,000 of 25,000 {{lang|de|Panzerfäuste}} delivered expended in combat.<ref>
{{cite book
| last1 = Jowett
| first1 = Philip S.
| last2 = Snodgrass
| first2 = Brent (Illustrator)
| last3 = Ruggeri
| first3 = Raffaele (Illustrator)
| editor = Martin Windrow
|date=July 2006
| title = Finland at War, 1939–45
| publisher = [[Osprey Publishing]]
| location = Oxford
| page = 56
| isbn = 978-1-84176-969-1
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=p58vtOKyVy8C
| lccn = 2006286373 
}}</ref> The manual that came with the weapon upon delivery to the Finns included depictions of where to aim the weapon on the Soviet T-34 and US [[Sherman tank]] (which also saw service with Soviet troops from US Lend-Lease-supplied stocks).{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

The [[Italian Social Republic]] (RSI) and the [[Government of National Unity (Hungary)]] also used the {{lang|de|Panzerfaust}}. Several RSI army units became skilled in anti-tank warfare and the Hungarians themselves used the {{lang|de|Panzerfaust}} extensively, especially during the [[Siege of Budapest]]. During this brutal siege, an arms factory, the Hungarian Manfred Weiss Steel and Metal Works, located on [[Csepel Island]] (within the city) kept up production of various light armaments and ammunition, {{lang|de|Panzerfäuste}} included, all the way until the very last moment, when attacking Soviet troops seized the factory by the first days of 1945.

The US [[82nd Airborne Division]] captured some {{lang|de|Panzerfäuste}} in the [[Allied invasion of Sicily]] and later during the fighting in Normandy. Finding them more effective than their own bazookas, they held onto them and used them during the later stages of the French Campaign, even dropping with them into the Netherlands during [[Operation Market Garden]]. They captured an ammunition dump of {{lang|de|Panzerfäuste}} near [[Nijmegen]] and used them through the [[Ardennes Offensive]] toward the end of the war.<ref name="courage">''More Than Courage: Sicily, Naples-Foggia, Anzio, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace ...'', Phil Nordyke, p. 299</ref>

The Soviet [[Red Army]] only incidentally used captured {{lang|de|Panzerfäuste}} in 1944, but from the beginning of 1945, many became available and were actively used during the Soviet offensives of 1945, mostly in street fighting against buildings and protective covers.<ref name="perzyk1"/> In February 1945, such use of captured {{lang|de|Panzerfäuste}} was recommended in a directive by Marshal [[Georgy Zhukov]].<ref name="perzyk1"/> Similarly, they were used by the [[Polish People's Army]].<ref name=perzyk1/> After the war, some 4,000 {{lang|de|Panzerfäuste}} were adopted by the Polish Army in 1949, which designated them as PG-49.<ref name=perzyk1/>

Plans and technical materials on the Panzerfaust were supplied to the [[Empire of Japan]] to assist with their development of an effective anti-tank weapon. However, the Japanese went with a different design, the Type 4, loosely based upon the American bazooka. Examples of the American weapon were captured by the Japanese at [[Battle of Leyte|Leyte]] in 1944.<ref>{{cite book|title=Panzerfaust and Panzerschreck|author=Gordon L. Rottman|year=2014|isbn=978-1782007883|publisher=Osprey Publishing|pages=72–73}}</ref>