Bazookas and flamethrowers

Considering that PzSchrecke and PzFäuste started appearing in force in '44, and Schürzen started before that, having it countering a weapon that had yet to be put in action and expecting it to be captured later, seems to be a bit convoluted, right?

 

I have to disagree I'm afraid ToS.
The Mesh schuerzen was actually tested at exactly the same trials as the Plate type. Perhaps surprisingly, counterintuitively even, it was found to be just as effective against 14.5 AT bullets as the plate, with the added advantage of being much lighter. The only reason it didn't initially go into production was the lack of manufacturing capability for the right size of mesh. Another one of those bottlenecks so common in German armour production.

Thanks for the info, counterintuitive (SP?) is an understatement, I've never seen a sample of the mesh but the photos make it look a lot easier to penetrate than the plates.

Guderian is the only German source I remember reading on the schuerzen motivation and he makes no mention of shaped charges just "infantry weapons" that at the time of the decison to mount the schuerzen were the 14.5 ATR and grenades not shaped charge weapons.

The Stug cupolas was 30mm just like the sides of the vehicle, this was vulnerable to the 14.5 ATR and an armour "deflector" was added in front of it from late 1943. As it would make no sense to protect the small cupola when the whole side of the vehicle was vulnerable (the rounded cupola had probably better resistance than the flat side plates) it looks like the schuerzen, that were introduced a little earlier, had fixed that vulnerability.

 

TOS. the idea with the stell mesh - and we are not talking about chicken wire - is to cause deflection of the projectile, even a tiny bit of stumble will prevent striking with the pointy, and hitting with the blunty.