PzB-38, PzB-39 AntiTank Sniper Rifle

The PzB-38 AntiTank Sniper Rifle,  while nearly useless (as were most antitank rifles) against the armor of the day, was an effective long-range sniping weapon.  It was also expensive and slow to manufacture, even in the small number that were built.  The PxB-38 was thus replaced in production by the simplified PzB-39 Anti Tank Sniper Rifle.  This rifle dispensed with the recoiling barrel and semiautomatic breech, and using the pistol grip to open the breech instead of a separate handle.  Unfortunately, it was also more painful to fire, and Nazi  snipers got a hold of the earlier PzB-38 Sniper Rifle whenever possible.

PzB-38 AntiTank Sniper Rifle

During the invasion of Poland in World War 2, examples of ammunition for the Polish Wz-35 antitank rifle were captured.  This weapon fired a tungsten-cored AP round.  This round was reverse-engineered for use in the PzB-38 Sniper Rifle and PzB-39 Anti Tank Sniper Rifle.

PzB-39 Anti Tank Sniper Rifle

PzB-39 Anti Tank Sniper Rifle

The PzB-38s round combined an 8mm Mauser bullet  with a much larger 13mm cartridge shell.  The result was a small but  fairly heavy bullet  that flew at a very high velocity to achieve penetration by a principle similar to modern sabot rounds.  The bullet  used a core of armor-penetrating steel combined with a small capsule of tear gas; the tear gas portion was entirely useless, as the capsule seldom ruptured as it was supposed to, and the amount of tear gas was so tiny as to have negligible, if any, effects.  (It may be safely ignored for game purposes.)  The PzB-38 was a single-shot rifle using an operation more akin to artillery
pieces than to rifles,  with a breech block rather than a conventional bolt action.