Anti - tank rifle An anti - tank rifle is a rifle designed to penetrate the armour of vehicles , particularly tank s . The usefulness of rifles for this purpose ran from the introduction of tanks in World War I and until the Korean War . While medium and heavy tank armour became too thick to be penetrated by rigid projectiles from rifles that could be carried by a single soldier , anti - tank rifles continued to be used against other targets , though recoill rifle s and rocket - propelled grenade s such as the bazooka were also introduced for infantry close - layer defense against tanks . Anti - materiel rifle s of today , such as the Barrett M82 , are a development of the Second World War technology . History . The tug of war between armour and projectiles had been developing for a long while among naval vessels , since the advent of the Ironclad . It wasn ' t until soldiers met armored vehicles that the conflict of infantry firearms and armour began . The introduction of armoured cars and tanks resulted in the development of the first anti - tank weapons , among the first of which were high - powered rifles . These had appeared in the 19th century for big - game hunting . The anti - tank rifle followed the same route : a large bullet with a high velocity and the ability to penetrate armour . World War I . The first tanks , beginning with the British Mark I launched against the German trenches in World War I , were nearly impregnable to ordinary rifle fire . Most armoured cars were similarly invulnerable , but troops rarely faced armoured cars , as they could not navigate the landscape of trench warfare very well . Though tanks and armoured cars were vulnerable to artillery , mortars , and grenades , infantry was at a significant disadvantage when facing armoured fighting vehicle s since they had no effective direct fire weapon , with the exception of the ubiquitous trench mortar , improvised on the spot . In the direct fire mode , this weapon was manhandled by German infantry over the front of a trench wall and fired at low angles by eye at approaching enemy vehicles . Though somewhat effective , these actions were obviously very hazardous to any desperate mortar crew for a number of reasons . The first attempt at boosting penetrating power was the so - called ' reversed bullet ' . This used the same cartridge and bullet as the regular round , but the bullet was reversed and an increased propelling charge was used . The next development was a special armour - piercing bullet , the K bullet ( in German " Patrone SmK Kurz 7 . 92 mm " ) , which could also be fired from the regular infantry rifle . It had an increased propelling charge and a steel core bullet . This had about a 30 % chance of penetrating the 8 mm armour of contemporary tanks if it struck the armour at a perpendicular angle . Both types had their specific advantages and disadvantages : for example , the K bullet was more expensive to produce and therefore was generally only issued to snipers and other advanced marksmen who could use it more effectively ; the ordinary infantryman had to make do with reversed bullets , which were far less effective and had to be used in closer proximity to the target ( and , therefore , other anti - tank weapons such as grenades , mortars , or artillery were preferred ) . In addition , both types of round damaged the rifles due to the higher propellant load and the resulting higher muzzle velocities and pressures : firstly , service life of the rifle barrel was decreased significantly because of the increased wear . Secondly , the higher pressure created in the chamber could jam the bolt , leading to the extractor claw failing to extract the cartridge and only breaking off the cartridge rim , leaving it stuck in the chamber . The strain of firing the increased charge could also burst the chamber of weaker and older rifles , at best destroying the rifle and at worst injuring or killing the rifleman . For these reasons , the K bullet and reversed bullet were not popular with the troops . Nevertheless , it gave the infantry a chance to stop a tank in an emergency , or at least injure or kill some of the crew if a bullet penetrated . Even as the rounds were introduced , tanks were being designed and built with thicker armour rendering these rounds largely ineffective , though they remained in use against the older designs and armoured cars . The first purposely - designed infantry anti - tank rifle was designed by Germany . This Mauser 1918 T - Gewehr large - calibre rifle was capable of penetrating the armour of the newer generations of tanks and allowed a chance at stopping them . However , other techniques were still preferred . The high recoil of the rifle was very hard on the firer , sometimes breaking the collar bone or dislocating the shoulder . Although the rifle was unique to its role , it was a development of the Mauser rifles and high - powered British sporting rifles that had preceded it . The 13 . 2x92mm ( 0 . 538 in ) cartridge was not unusual either , some 0 . 50 in firearms having been fielded in land warfare with the relatively new and more powerful ( as compared to black powder ) smokeless powders of the era . During World War I , a half - inch high velocity round was being developed in the US at the same time for use against aircraft . It would be used with the Browning - designed . 50 calibre machine gun . This round was based on current US . 30 - 06 calibre infantry ammunition . When word of the German anti - tank shell spread , there was some debate as to if it should be copied and used as a base for the new machine gun cartridge . However , after some analysis , the German ammunition was ruled out , as its performance was inferior to the modified Springfield . 30 - 06 round and was semi - rimmed , making it difficult to feed into an automatic weapon . The Browning M2 . 50 cal machine gun would , however , go on to function as an anti - armour machine gun . World War II . At the start of World War II , only some European nations had an anti - tank rifle based on a high - velocity , large - calibre round , such as the British Boys anti - tank Rifle . The first combat use of anti - tank rifles took place during the Invasion of Poland of 1939 . The Wz . 35 anti - tank rifle was extensively used by most Polish units . The Wz . 35 with 7 . 92 mm anti - tank rifle ammunition was a very effective weapon against all German tanks of the period ( the Panzer I , II and III , as well as the Czech - made LT - 35 and LT - 38 ) . At up to 400 meters , it could destroy all lightly armored vehicles . It could penetrate 15 mm of armor , sloped at 30° at 300 m distance , or 33 mm of armor at 100 m . Later , as armour became thicker on newer models , the effectiveness of a man - portable rifle lessened . This was particularly true in Malaya , where the light Japanese tanks specially configured for jungle conflict rode roughshod over British forces amply supplied with the Boys anti - tank rifle . At first small cannons up to 20mm calibre were used , but the anti - tank role soon required more powerful weapons which were based on the application of chemical energy in the form of the shaped charge anti - tank rifle grenade . To these were added rocket launcher s , recoilless rifle s such as the Panzerfaust and rocket - propelled grenade s and , the bazooka . Some anti - tank rifles , like the Finnish L - 39 , were still used by snipers to harass the enemy , like firing phosphorus bullets at tanks ' open hatches , or to smoke an enemy sniper out of his position . Korean War . The Soviet PTRS - 41 and PTRD of World War II vintage were used by North Korean and Chinese forces during the Korean War as they lacked more modern infantry anti - tank weapons . Anti - tank rifles . Some examples of anti - tank rifles include : Cold War . Although retaining many of the technical characteristics of the anti - tank rifles , the Cold War era weapons are now the conceptual descendants of anti - tank weapons wielded by the Second World War infantry , and both large - calibre sniper rifle s and anti - materiel rifle s owe only some part of their design heritage to them . Although no longer capable of penetrating even the side armour of the modern main battle tank s , they are capable of causing serious damage to their external fittings such as periscopes , optics , sensors and machine guns . Useful also in disabling or even destroying lesser - than - well armoured rear units and support vehicles , helicopters , low - flying UAV s and personnel .