The Panzerfaust (lit. "armor fist" or "tank fist", plural: Panzerfäuste) is an inexpensive, single shot, recoilless German anti-tank weapon of World War II. It consists of a small, disposable pre-loaded launch tube firing a high-explosive anti-tank warhead, and was intended to be operated by a single soldier. A similar but smaller weapon was named the Faustpatrone. The Panzerfaust was in use from 1943 until the end of the war.