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An anti-tank rifle is a rifle designed for shooting at tanks.
The first anti-tank rifle was designed by Germany in World War I in response to the first tanks. The large-caliber rifles were capable of penetrating early tanks' relatively thin armor and allowed infantry a better chance at stopping them.
During the World War II anti-tank rifles were effective against early light tanks, like German Panzer Is and Panzer IIs, but later as armor became thicker on newer tanks the anti-tank role soon required much more powerful weapons. Anti-tank rifles were were replaced by small, hand-held rocket and grenade launchers using rocket-propelled grenades like Bazooka and Panzerfaust.
The weapon is the conceptual forbear to modern anti-tank weapons wielded by modern infantry, and both large-caliber sniper rifles and anti-material rifles owe some part of their design heritage to it.
Examples
Some examples of anti-tank rifles include:
- WWI
- WWII
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