![tank buster barrel tank buster barrel](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NQ_A0jqRLMg/R4vHq2Y7RXI/AAAAAAAAABQ/zrvVVsZYCOY/s320/R%26K+064.jpg)
The small caliber, high velocity anti-tank gun was used as a weapon of opportunity by the German Army early in World War II. 39 however was substantially lighter, less elaborate in construction and produced in much larger numbers than its predecessor the P.z.B. 38 had similar characteristics both were single shot designs and fired the same ammunition. 39 was conceived to fulfill the requirement. A less complex anti-tank weapon was needed, and the Panzerbüchse 39 or P.z.B. 38 was considered far too complex and expensive.
![tank buster barrel tank buster barrel](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gkAEoSCMkO8/VqEy8EeA5QI/AAAAAAABV_o/J3p2Go0VRVQ/s400/60930740-63c0-4238-8d6e-7d63093e4fc0.jpg)
The operator would then simply place a fresh round into the chamber and the weapon was ready to fire. Upon firing, the barrel would recoil along a short slide, camming open the breach, and automatically ejecting the spent cartridge case. 38 used a sliding breechblock in place of a conventional bolt. 38 was designed by Bauer and built by the Havelerk and Gustloff Werk factories from 1939 to 1940. The cartridge used was essentially a necked down version of the earlier 13x92SR Mauser cartridge used in the 1918 tank gun. The weapon relied on a small, high-velocity 7.92x94mm armor-piercing projectile to defeat armor. After World War I ended there was little research and development done with anti-tank weapons until the 1930s.ĭuring the early stages of World War II the Germans developed the Panzerbüchse P.z.B. Although moderately successful for its intended task, the weapon was quite heavy at 35 pounds and had substantial recoil. The Mauser firm built approximately 16,000 of the weapons. This bolt-action weapon looked like an oversized version of the standard German service rifle. The weapon was fielded only nine months after the first British tank appeared. One of the first German anti-tank weapons was the caliber 13x92SR Mauser 1918 Tank Gewehr, or T.u.F. It was only natural for the Germans to react by immediately beginning development a weapon to defeat them. In 1916 the first British armored vehicles called tanks, were fielded against the German Army during World War I on the Western Front. Small Caliber Tank Buster: The 7.92 Panzerbüchse P.z.B.