PzB M.SS.41

PzB M.SS.41 anti-tank rifle.

PzB M.SS.41 anti-tank rifle.

 The antitank rifle, generally known as PzB M.SS.41, was developed in Czechoslovakia, at CZ factory in Brno. During the German occupation of Czechoslovakia small numbers of these antitank rifles were manufactured for Waffen SS. This rare weapon bears the distinction of being the first small arm of bullpup (bull-pup) layout ever to be used by any military force (rifles of bullpup layout were experimentally built even before the WW1, but none reached service before M.SS.41). In terms of combat effectiveness this rifle was similar to German PzB-38 and PzB-39 antitank rifles, although it was more compact and had faster rate of fire due to magazine feed. Like mentioned weapons, PzB M.SS.41 antitank rifle became obsolete by 1942.

The PzB M.SS.41 antitank rifle is a manually operated, bolt action weapon. Unlike most other rifles, it has a stationary breech and sliding barrel, which is allowed to rotate and move forward and backward inside the stock / cradle. To open the breech, shooter first has to unlock the barrel from the breech by rotating barrel counter-clockwise; this is done by turning the pistol grip, which is attached to the barrel, right and up. Once barrel is unlocked from stationary breech, it can be pulled forward by pushing the pistol grip to the front. If the spent case is present in the gun, it remains stationary against the breech, held by extractor. Once the barrel is fully forward, the spent case is free to fall out of the gun. Barrel then is pulled rearward, and upon this movement it picks up the fresh cartridge from the box magazine, which is attached to the stationary stock / cradle at the angle. Once the barrel is in its rearmost position, enclosing the fresh round in the chamber, it can be locked to the breech by turning the pistol grip down. Now the rifle is ready to be fired. This unusual construction allows for extremely compact action, making the rifle very short, compared to other weapons of similar characteristics, but of conventional design. The PzB M.SS.41 antitank rifle was equipped with non-adjustable iron sights, mounted on folding bases and zeroed for 500 meters. To reduce the felt recoil, a muzzle brake was installed on the barrel and a soft shoulder pad was attached to the shoulder stock. Rifle was normally fired from integral folding bipod.