A view of German soldiers with a captured Polish Wz. 35 anti-tank rifle 1939
The Model 35 anti-tank rifle (Karabin przeciwpancerny wzór 35, abbreviated "kb ppanc wz. 35") was a Polish 7.9 mm anti-tank rifle used by the Polish Army during the 1939 invasion of Poland.
The weapon was initially a top secret project of the Polish Army, and was also known by various codenames. Until mobilization in 1939, the combat-ready rifles were held in closed crates marked: "Do not open! Surveillance equipment!". Another of the rifle's cover names was "Uruguay" (Polish: Urugwaj, hence Ur), the country to which the "surveillance equipment" was supposedly being exported.
After the fall of Poland, the German army captured large numbers of this rifle and renamed it "Panzerbüchse 35 (polnisch)" (abbreviated "PzB 35(p)"). The Italian army later received 800 of the captured weapons, renaming them "fucile controcarro 35(P)." Both names translate roughly as "anti-tank rifle model 1935 (Polish)."
A view of German soldiers with a captured Polish Wz. 35 anti-tank rifle 1939
The Model 35 anti-tank rifle (Karabin przeciwpancerny wzór 35, abbreviated "kb ppanc wz. 35") was a Polish 7.9 mm anti-tank rifle used by the Polish Army during the 1939 invasion of Poland.
The weapon was initially a top secret project of the Polish Army, and was also known by various codenames. Until mobilization in 1939, the combat-ready rifles were held in closed crates marked: "Do not open! Surveillance equipment!". Another of the rifle's cover names was "Uruguay" (Polish: Urugwaj, hence Ur), the country to which the "surveillance equipment" was supposedly being exported.
After the fall of Poland, the German army captured large numbers of this rifle and renamed it "Panzerbüchse 35 (polnisch)" (abbreviated "PzB 35(p)"). The Italian army later received 800 of the captured weapons, renaming them "fucile controcarro 35(P)." Both names translate roughly as "anti-tank rifle model 1935 (Polish)."