13.2 mm Rifle Anti-Tank (Mauser)

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13.2 mm Rifle Anti-Tank (Mauser)
13.2 mm Rifle Anti-Tank at the Musée de l'Armée in Paris
Type	Anti-tank rifle
Place of origin	German Empire
Service history
In service	1918
Production history
Manufacturer	Mauser
Specifications
Cartridge	13.2 mm
Action	bolt-action

The 13.2 mm Rifle Anti-Tank was a German weapon of World War I, first appearing in February 1918. It was the world's first rifle designed for the sole purpose of destroying armored targets. The Mauser Company began mass production at Oberdorf in May 1918. The first of these off the production lines were issued to specially raised anti-tank detachments. The idea of using heavy calibre and high velocity rifles as anti-tank weapons originated in Germany. In 1917 the German Army, faced with the menace of a mobile fortress, found they had no infantry weapon with which to counter the threat. Today, many rifles find their roots in the 13.2 mm Mauser. The most closely related of these is the Gepard rifle.

The anti-tank rifle can be found in several museums in places such as Fort Knox Patton Museum, KY which has two in United States, In Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres, Belgium, and in some museums in France