Anti-Tank Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

PTRD 41: The Simple Soviet Antitank Rifle of WWII

May 25, 2018 Ian McCollum 46

The Soviet Union had originally eschewed the use of large numbers of antitank rifles, anticipating that any potential combat use of them would be largely against tanks impervious to AT rifle cartridges. However, when […]

PIAT: Britain’s Answer to the Anti-Tank Rifle Problem

November 25, 2017 Ian McCollum 81

The British began World War Two with the Boys antitank rifle, but like all antitank rifles it rather quickly became obsolete. The replacement for it was adopted in 1942 as the PIAT – Projector, Infantry, […]

Solothurn S18-1000: The Pinnacle of Anti-Tank Rifles

October 13, 2017 Ian McCollum 41

Among all the antitank rifles developed between the World Wars, the highest quality and most sophisticated was the Solothurn S18-1000. It fires the 20x138B cartridge which was also used in the Finnish Lahti L-39 and […]

Kurdish Zagros and Şer Anti-Materiel Rifles

October 4, 2017 Ian McCollum 27

Thanks to correspondent Ed Nash (he gave me permission to use his name after I had recorded the video), I have a number of really interesting photos and video clips of YPG (Kurdish) locally-produced anti-materiel […]

Prototype Winchester WW1 .50 Cal Antitank Rifle

July 5, 2017 Ian McCollum 16

With the advent of the tank in World War One, antitank rifles became a priority for many countries, to provide infantry with some weapon to counter the new armored threat. The best known example of […]

The Model SS41 – A Czech Bullpup Anti-Tank Rifle for the SS

June 23, 2017 Ian McCollum 59

The SS41 was a bullpup, bolt action antitank rifle manufactured in small numbers by CZ for the SS. contrary to common assumption, the SS were not a part of the standard German military arms procurement […]

Could a Tankgewehr Really Take Out a British MkIV Tank?

May 6, 2017 Ian McCollum 40

The Tankgewehr antitank rifle was developed by the Mauser company and adopted by the Imperial German military as an emergency measure to counter the introduction of tanks to the WW1 battlefield. The question is, did […]

Carl Gustav m/42: A 20mm Recoilless Antitank Rifle

April 21, 2017 Ian McCollum 38

The Swedish Pansarvärnsgevär fm/42 made by the Carl Gustav company was an interesting early hybrid antitank weapon – a recoilless rifle firing solid armor-piercing projectiles. It used a 20x180mm case, propelling the 108g (1650gr) bullet […]

Belgian 1862 Wall Gun (Video)

November 25, 2016 Ian McCollum 19

Wall guns are the philosophical predecessor to today’s anti-material rifles – large-caliber, high power rifles heavy enough that they cannot be fired from the shoulder realistically. Traditionally, they were used for defending walls or ramparts, […]

Julia: Shooting a 20mm Lahti L39

September 12, 2016 Ian McCollum 76

The Lahti L39 was the Finnish answer to the need for an anti-tank rifle, developed just before the Winter War. The rifle was created by noted Finnish designed Aimo Lahti, who had pressed for it […]