Initial orders called for 382,000 RPzB.54 to be produced. This order was later reduced, and by July 1944 production ceased with a total number of 289,151 delivered. The process of equipping the fighting forces with Panzerschrecks progressed quite slow, in 1943 comparably few reached frontline units. By January 1944 21,141 had been issued to combat units, while another 39,526 lay unused in the armories. Panzerschreck weapons were produced by the following companies: Enzinger Union in Pfeddersheim, Gebrüder Scheffler in Berlin, HASAG in Meuselwitz, Jäckel in Freistadt, Fa. Kronprinz in Solingen and Fa. Schricker in Fürth-Vach.

The next model was the RPzB.54/1. Changes were the reduction of tube length to now135cm (53.1 in.), which among other changes led to a reduced weight of 9.5kg (21 lb.). The ignition system was changed: the contact pin to the missile was changed to a contact ring. Also the sights were redesigned and improved. Although the weapon officially entered service at the 20th December of 1944, the first order for this new weapon wasn't given before early 1945, and of the requested 48,000 only 25,744 had actually been delivered until the end of the war. The launch tube of this last model had an expected life span of 200 shots.

The original Panzerschreck model RPzB 43 cost 70 RM (Reichsmark) per launch tube (w/o ammo) (for comparison, even the smallest pre-war AT gun, the 3.7 cm PaK 35/36 (hopelessly useless by 1944), cost 5730 RM !). 10 work hours were needed for the completion of one weapon.

Reportedly there also existed a shortened variant of the RPzB 54 with a tube length of only 107cm; this however seems unlikely and I didn't find further information on this yet. A last improvement of the sighting was the development of the so-called Deckungszielgerät ("cover aiming device") which allowed for an aiming out of concealement, therefore protecting the operator. An order of 100,000 of these was placed as late as February 1945.

Another development was the attempt to save resources by manufacturing the Panzerschreck tube out of impregnated pressed cardboard. Although the idea worked - weight was reduced by 2kg (4.4 lb) and 5.5kg (12 lb) precious metal were saved - it did not enter mass production before the war ended. There was also a special anti-aircraft munition called Fliegerschreck ("airplane terror") in development that was to be fired from the Panzerschreck. The new ammunition used a new warhead that was simply fitted to the regular Panzerschreck ammunition. The new warhead was 17.4cm long and had (naturally) a diameter of 8.8cm, it contained an explosive charge of Nitropenta that was to distribute 144 small incendiary submunitions. The new ammunition came together with a new aiming device, a simplified round bead like the ones used on AA - machineguns, that could be attached to the Panzerschreck for it's role as an AA weapon. Development of the new weapon was finished by January 1945; 500 of the new warheads were produced but none were used in the planned combat trials.

Panzerschreck Usage

To prepare the weapon for firing, the RPzB.Gr. projectile had to be inserted into the rear of the weapon. The gunner had two triggers to pull: The first trigger cocked the magnetic ignition system. The second trigger released it: a small magnetic rod was pushed into a coil winding, thereby generating (through magnetic induction) a small electrical current which was conducted via wiring to the rear of the tube where it ignited the projectile's rocket motor.

Aiming was done via a simple sighting device (see sketch at left) consisting of two metal hooks, one serving as the notch, the other one as bead with little inset bars for the different ranges of 100, 150 and 200m (RPzB.54/1). The bead part of the sight also had to be repositioned to account for the different characteristics of both the RPzB.Gr. 4322 and 4992 and the respective summer and winter versions of these ammuntions.

The backblast of the Panzerschreck was even more dangerous than that of the Panzerfaust. Therefore, as explained above, with the early model the operator had to wear a kind of fireproof poncho and a gas mask (with the filter removed) for protection against the backblasting propellant particles. As stated abvove, the propellant continued to burn for another 2m (6.5 ft) even after it had left the launch tube. Later the protective shield cured this problem. The common tactic for hunting or defending against tanks from 1944 on was the use of special anti-tank teams, so-called "Panzerzerstörergruppen" ("tank destroyer groups"), which consisted of two squads with 3 Panzerschreck each. They were to cover each other which provided some problems in deployment due to the limited range of these weapons.

The Panzerschreck was even used at night: an illuminating flare round then had to be fired behind the enemy tank in order to let the tank silhouette stand out against the bright background. The Panzerschrecks were initially less successful than Panzerfausts because Panzerschreck gunners - trusting in the impressive size of the Panzerschreck - tended to open fire at larger ranges of around 100m (330 ft.), which was also necessified by the relative cumbersomeness of the large Panzerschreck which was a hindrance when retreating into cover after the shot. Panzerfausts were easier to handle and usually shot from a distance of 30m (100 ft.) after which the soldier quite easily could get under cover again.

At early , out of 12 Panzerschreck rounds fired at a static T-34 at a range of 100m only 3 hit the target. In the same trial all of the five Panzerfausts fired at a range of 30m hit the tank - however one should keep in mind that this was a static target that did not shoot back!

Engagement Range

There is still some controversy around the range of this weapon. Sources give figures for anything from 150m to 1,000m as range: The Panzerschreck's technical data call for a theoretical engagement range of 700m (!), practical engagement ranges are usually cited with 400m for static targets and 100 to 230m for moving targets. Then again, an army report on the fighting around Posen dated March 1st 1945 emphasizes the effectiveness of the Panzerschreck and states that static targets such as AT gun and infantry emplacements had been successfully attacked at ranges up to 1000m (!). Engagement procedures called for the Panzerschreck teams to open fire against attacking (oncoming) tanks at 180-150m. Laterally moving tanks were to be attacked at a range of 120m. These later figures of course take into account the fact that fire should only be opened (and hence the chance of detection and counter fire) when a high chance of hit probability is given. Many factors influence the weapon's range, amongst these the type of ammunition used (4992 had a higher range), the temperature, size & type and speed vector of the target. A swiss instructor for the B+W Raketenrohr 58/80, a swiss license-built of the belgian Blindicide, which was a pretty straightforward post-war Panzerschreck derivative (although the Blindicide and the Raketenrohr were not direct copies of the Panzerschreck, they are fairly identical in system, handling and operational parameters; official range data: the Blindicide had sights adjustable from 100 - 400 meters, and a special sight for 700meters. Official manufacturer data for the swiss weapon were 300m vs static and 200m vs moving targets) contributed the following:

"Our regulation state a maximum range of 300 meters, but in NCO school our instructor told us to reduce it to 250 meters max for static targets and 200 for moving targets. (...) A 400m range is right on for engagement of non-moving large targets, such as buildings or pillboxes, against which AT weapons are effective. A 1000m range is reachable only through the use of a parabolic trajectory, and I imagine that more than one round was fired. (...) Parabolic-trajectory firing of the RR80 was not cited in the manual for fighting enemy infantry emplacements (I suspect the tactic went against Wehrmacht doctrine as well and was used by soldiers as an ad hoc alternative to mortar fire) but it was allowed for avalanche detachment. A sight attachment existed which allowed the gunner to properly aim the weapon this way. The engagement drill procedure were still valid with the RR80 10 years ago. We had a graphic scheme on the RR80 shield that told the gunner exactly where to aim depending on sight elevation (which had 3 settings: 150, 200 (combat), 250), target speed and windspeed. Fire was usually commanded personally by the group leader (a corporal) who had to spell out the engagement data for the teams (target designation, target distance and speed) and who had to check for correct identification by the gunners. (...) We had a minimum range of 50 meters since the RR80 round fuse didn't arm itself before 15 meters, and there must be at least 50 meters between you and the target in order to survive the engagement. An exploding tank is not the safest thing to be near to..." He also mentioned in regard to the last time he fired the Raketenrohr, in 1994, where he managed to hit all 4 assigned targets: "They were at ranges of 150 to 250 meters. They were not moving but we were under time constraint - 30 seconds to engage them all. 30 seconds is an eternity under combat conditions, but it always takes the greatest toll on the loader, since he has to load all the rounds, make sure the tube is clear, arm the weapon and clear the danger area, which extended from the rear of the tube up to 50 meters in length and 4 meters to the sides."