Anti-tank rifle

Soviet PTRS anti-tank rifle in a museum

An anti-tank rifle is an anti-materiel rifle designed to penetrate the armor of armored fighting vehicles, most commonly tanks, armored personnel carriers, and infantry fighting vehicles. The term is usually used for weapons that can be carried and used by one person, but is sometimes used for larger weapons.[1] The usefulness of rifles for this purpose ran from the introduction of tanks in World War I until the Korean War. While medium and heavy tank armor became too thick to be penetrated by rigid projectiles from rifles that could be carried by a single soldier, anti-tank rifles continued to be used against other "soft" targets, though recoilless rifles and rocket-propelled grenades such as the bazooka were also introduced for infantry close-layer defense against tanks.

  1. ^ Tom Murphy (17 September 2019). "The Swiss Army's First Mass Anti-Tank Rifle The Tankbüchse (Tb) 41 24mm". Small Arms Defense Journal. A 74 kg (163 lb) "anti-tank rifle" requiring seven men to set it up.

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