The development of light, man-portable, anti-tank weapons increased during the Second World War. Most were based on the Munroe effect which led to the development of the high explosive shaped charge. These weapons were called High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT). The destructive effect was reliant entirely on the kinetic energy of the explosion,rather than the ballistic speed of the round on the damage inflicted to the armour. The effect was also concentrated, and could penetrate more armour for a given amount of explosives. The first HEAT rounds were rifle grenades, but better delivery systems were soon introduced: the British PIAT was propelled by an explosive charge combined with a powerful spring, the US Bazooka and the German Panzerschreck used rockets; and the German Panzerfaust was a small recoilless gun. The HEAT warhead was retroactively used to give more power to smaller calibre weapons such as in the conversion of the otherwise limited German 37 mm PaK guns to fire a large shell (that fitted over the barrel rather than down in it) to a greater range than the Panzerschreck could manage.
After the war, research on infantry anti-tank weapons continued, with most designers focused on two primary goals; first, an anti-tank weapon that could defeat more heavily-armored postwar tanks and fighting vehicles, and second, a weapon lightweight and portable enough for infantry use.
List of Infantry Anti-Tank Weapons:
| Infantry Anti-Tank | Picture | Specifications | Country | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raytheon / Lockheed Martin FGM-148 Javelin | US | 1996 | ||
| AT-13 (Saxhorn-2) / 9K115-2 (Metis-M) | Russia | 1992 | ||
| Dynamit-Nobel Panzerfaust 3 | Germany | 1992 | ||
| RPG-29 Vampir (Vampire) | Russia | 1989 | ||
| M136 AT4 Light Anti-Armor Weapon | US | 1985 | ||
| Saab Bofors AT4-CS Light Anti-Armor Weapon | Sweden | 1985 | ||
| IMI M141 Bunker Defeat Munition (BDM) / SMAW-D | Israel | 1984 | ||
| IMI B-300 | Israel | 1980 | ||
| LRAC 89-F1 (Lance-Roquettes AntiChar de 89mm modele F1) | France | 1980 | ||
| AT-7 (Saxhorn) / 9M115 (Mongrel) | Russia | 1979 | ||
| Raytheon M47 Dragon | US | 1975 | ||
| MILAN (Anti-Tank Light Infantry Missile) | France | 1972 | ||
| AT-4 (Spigot) / 9M111 (Fagot) | Russia | 1970 | ||
| Hughes / Raytheon BGM-71 TOW | US | 1970 | ||
| M72 LAW (Light Anti-armor Weapon) | US | 1961 | ||
| RPG-7 | Russia | 1961 | ||
| RPG-2 | Russia | 1949 | ||
| Carl Gustav 84mm Recoilless Rifle | Sweden | 1948 | ||
| AT-5 (Spandrel) / 9M113 (Contest) | Russia | 1947 | ||
| Panzerfaust 30 | Germany | 1943 | ||
| Panzerfaust 60 | Germany | 1943 | ||
| Panzerschreck (Raketenpanzerbuchse) | Germany | 1943 | ||
| RPG-43 | Russia | 1943 | ||
| RPG-6 | Russia | 1943 | ||
| M1 (Bazooka) | US | 1942 | ||
| PIAT (Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank Mk I) | UK | 1942 | ||
| Degtyarev PTRD 1941 (PTRD-41) | Russia | 1941 | ||
| Simonov PTRS 1941 (PTRS-41) | Russia | 1941 | ||
| RPG-40 | Russia | 1940 | ||
| Lahti L-39 | Finland | 1939 | ||
| Panzerbuchse 39 (PzB 39) | Germany | 1939 | ||
| Panzerbuchse 38 (PzB 38) | Germany | 1938 | ||
| Boys Anti-Tank Rifle (Stanchion) | UK | 1937 | ||
| Mauser 1918 T-Gewehr | Germany | 1918 |
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