Another one from my mate. This one has sound too. Wow! http://www.flurl.com/uploaded/Panzerfausts_17011.html
Great stuff! You posted it just as some friends and I were discussing the 'faust. Triggered by this site's bizarre picture of some mounted onto a 'BU-181' (??) light aircraft. It's near the bottom of the page. http://www.worldwar2aces.com/panzerfaust.htm
Great stuff! You posted it just as some friends and I were discussing the 'faust. Triggered by this site's bizarre picture of some mounted onto a 'BU-181' (??) light aircraft. It's near the bottom of the page. http://www.worldwar2aces.com/panzerfaust.htm That's strange. How would you aim it acurately? A small plane like that could be brought down easily with a machine gun. It has a max speed of 133 mph and is lightweight. A small caliber rifle would go all the way through that plane. Seems like a dubious weapon. I wouldn't want to fly it in combat.
Who would? One mate suggested that the vanes on the nose might be for aiming it. It'd be released at a very low level though. There are stories out there of an American Pilot who attached bazookas to his light aircraft and actually achieved armour kills with it. Dunno how much credence that deserves but it might be worth looking into.
Who would? One mate suggested that the vanes on the nose might be for aiming it. It'd be released at a very low level though. There are stories out there of an American Pilot who attached bazookas to his light aircraft and actually achieved armour kills with it. Dunno how much credence that deserves but it might be worth looking into. You've been reading your back issues of Warlord and Battle comics ain't cher?
It didn't work jim if you read the caption: "This BU-181 was transformed into an anti-tank role with a pair of panzerfausts mounted on each wing. This experiment was quickly discontinued." Anyway interesting video Owen (I have seen it before) but it is still interesting to see how far the German's were going in the last months of the war to stop the advancing Allies.
Panzerfausts under the wings?? Hmm! Sounds really really weird alright. But then 1945 in Germany wasnt the most logical of places!!
As I have fallen in love with the IWM photo collection here some interesting panzerfaust photos. BU 3197 Description: A soldier from 11th Armoured Division guards two youthful German prisoners and a haul of 'panzerfaust' anti-tank weapons, 7 April 1945. The Germans were part of a bicycle-mounted tank-hunting unit. BU 3204 Description: Soldiers from 11th Armoured Division examine 'panzerfaust' anti-tank weapons fitted to a bicycle, 7 April 1945. The Germans were using bicycle-mounted tank-hunting units in this area. Just reading in Taurus Pursuant that 11th Armd Div found these tank hunting teams a real nusiance in early 1945. They were confined to the roads mainly and one man with a panzerfaust could hold up the advance very easily. 11th Armd found it annoying that a beautifully crafted tank could be destroyed by something that resembled a child's toy and very cheap to produce. From the German point of view a good return, one soldier, one panzerfaust to destroy one enemy tank.
As I have fallen in love with the IWM photo collection I had noticed that you had fallen in love with the IWM photo collection. (great Isn't it.) There were German pushbikes that were official issue items converted from civvy stock with purpose made stowage boxes within the frame and clever attachments for quite a lot of Panzerfausts, was chatting to a bloke at a show who'd collected a few, he called 'em 'Waffenrads' and his looked a bit like this: . from here but with half a dozen fausts tucked about (can't find my pics). More Pushbikes in German Service. Modern Variant.
Just read of some post-war reconstruction by the Soviets at Kummersdorf proving ground. There's a picture of an entire metal roof-frame on a warehouse being built from Panzerfaust tubes welded together as there were so many lying around. Also some intriguing stuff on very late war fragmentation bomb trials for the Panzerfaust-heavy Volksturm, concrete & wooden heads etc.
Strange that the Nazi regime did not think to mobilise women for the war effort except those who accounted for their share of dirty work in the the hell hole of Ravensbrueck and suchlike. When all was lost,German woman were to be thrown into the front line. Hitler liked his woman of the Third Reich to know their place and even reduced their domestic toil by the use of female forced labour in the home
Some interesting figures on 'faust production here: http://www.geocities.com/Augusta/8172/panzerfaust4.htm "over 7.4 million in army use" Quite a high level of failure/rejection too if the figures are right.
A great night shot of a Soviet soldier firing a Panzerfaust. English Russia » World War 2 Photos by Dmitri Bal’termants
1. Russia '44 2. Italy. - First lieutenant with tank fight badges (" Special badge for overpowering of tank combat cars by Einzelkämpfer"). April '44 3. Ukraine. - Soldier in the snow installs warhead onto Panzerfaust. Dec '43.
When the war head was fired a nice set of fins deployed at the read of the war head to provide balance and accuracy. In terms of what it could penetrate it was ahead of our own stuff. From "German Army Handbook 1939-1945" by J Lucas (Sutton).
