Firing a .50 caliber rifle at the range last week reminded me of the the awesome power, and accuracy, of WWII anti-tank rifles.

 Firing a .50 caliber rifle at the range last week reminded me of the the awesome power, and accuracy, of WWII anti-tank rifles.  

Over the years some AFV historians have discounted the Soviet PTRD and PTRS 14.5mm anti-tank rifles and referred to them as "obsolete".  

These misleading statements could only have been made by folks who were not rifle-shooters.  

When the Panzer III and Panzer IV were up-armored with spaced armor on the mantlet and glacis plates, this effectively eliminated the AT rifles ability to penetrate those vehicles from the front.  

But the Soviet AT rifle gunners merely targeted areas they could penetrate or vital areas they could damage.  Next came the "skirt armor", thin plates specifically designed to deflect or distort the Soviet 14.5mm anti-tank rifle AP rounds.  

Skirt armor was awkward and heavy, but it did provide needed protection against the swarms of AT rifles firing at German AFVs from every conceivable angle.  Even Panthers were issued with skirt armor for their vulnerable area above the top of the tracks.  

German heavy tanks like the Tiger series could not be penetrated by Soviet AT rifles, so the Soviet gunners would shoot at their optics, drive sprockets, tracks, and worst of all--their main gun barrel. 

 An 88mm barrel with a 14.5mm hole in it creates a "toothless Tiger".  Look at the size of the drive sprocket--it makes a perfect target.

  And any disabled German tank was in grave danger from attack by Soviet close-assault anti-tank teams. 

The Soviets used their anti-tank rifles until the end of the war--they also worked well against hardened MG and sniper positions.  

In Steve Zaloga's recent book about AT rifles (from Osprey Publishing), he points out the most frustrating aspect of the weapons system:  anti-tank rifles were not designed to penetrate and demolish an enemy tank.

  They were only capable of disabling enemy AFVs. Within that limited context, the AT rifles (particularly the Soviet types) were effective--and the more accurate the shooter, the more deadly they could be.