13.2 mm Rifle Anti-Tank (Mauser)

Infobox Weapon
name= 13.2 mm Rifle Anti-Tank (Mauser)


caption= 13.2 mm Rifle Anti-Tank at the "Musée de l'Armée" in Paris
origin= German Empire
type= Anti-tank rifle
is_ranged=yes
service= 1918
used_by=
wars=
designer=
design_date=
manufacturer=Mauser
unit_cost=
production_date=
number=
variants=
weight= 18.5 kg
length= 169 cm
part_length= 98 cm
width=
height=
diameter=
crew=
cartridge= 13.2 mm
caliber=
action= bolt-action
rate=
velocity=
range= 500 m
max_range=
feed=
sights=
Muzzle velocity= 780 m/sec

The 13.2 mm Rifle Anti-Tank was a German weapon of World War I, first appearing in February 1918. It was the world's first rifle designed for the sole purpose of destroying armored targets. The Mauser Company began mass production at Oberdorf in May 1918. The first of these off the production lines were issued to specially raised anti-tank detachments. The idea of using heavy calibre and high velocity rifles as anti-tank weapons originated in Germany. In 1917 the German Army, faced with the menace of a mobile fortress, found they had no infantry weapon with which to counter the threat. Today, many rifles find their roots in the 13.2 mm Mauser. The most closely related of these is the Gepard rifle.

The anti-tank rifle can be found in several museums in places such as Fort Knox Patton Museum, KY which has two in United States, In Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres, Belgium, the Imperial War Museum in London and in some museums in France such as the Army museum at the Invalides.

External links

* [http://www.antitank.co.uk Anti-Tank Rifle History and Collecting]