| has gloss | eng: The PzF 44 2A1 (also called Lanze or Panzerfaust) is a disposable recoilless antitank weapon developed around 1960 and put into service by the Bundeswehr shortly thereafter. It was developed to provide West German infantry with a modern replacement for the Bazooka that they had previously used. As such, it was the first German antitank rocket developed after World War II, a conflict in which German hand-held antitank weapons such as the Panzerfaust played a prominent rôle during 1944-45. The Lanze was a product of a period in which the German army was reequipped with locally-developed arms and equipment and retired the aging U.S. gear that had formed their initial arsenal. The full designation name by the German Army is Panzerfaust 44mm DM2 Ausführung 1 Lanze. |