Luftfaust A – The first Manpad
The first model of the Luftfaust was made by HASA. The Hugo Schneider AG (HASAG) from Leipzig had experience with recoilless weapon systems like the Panzerfaust and Panzerschreck. The Panzerschreck was based on the American Bazooka captured in North Africa. The Panzerfaust was a unique weapon for its time with a hollow charge warhead, it was easy to use and had a devastating punch on armored vehicles. In contrast to the hand held anti-tank weapons made for the infantry, the Wehrmacht lacked a sufficient hand held anti-air defence system. In a time where air superiority was in allied hands and ground attack aircraft had a devastating effect on the German infantry units, gunfire was the only answer they could muster.
The first known manpad was made in 1944, the company responsible for the development was the HASAG firm. This development was made possible by the technical experience with the Rheinmetall-Borsig Smoke Cylinder 65 (RZ65) and the 54 Panzerschreck rocket anti-tank rifle. The RZ65 air-to-air missiles was produced into all kinds of variant and uses like a onboard rocket for German fighter aircraft – the Orkan air to air missile. The Luftfaust A of Fliegerfaust A, fired four 2-centimeter rocket-propelled projectiles, each weighing 90 grams They were launched from a bundle of four tubes, which the shooter fired upwards from his shoulder. The rocket projectiles reached a maximum speed of 380 m/s. Tests showed that there was insufficient coverage of the hit circle and too much dispersion. It was therefore decided to increase the number of pipes and their length resulting in the Fliegerfaust B.
Luftfaust or Fliegerfaust
The development of the device, which became known as the ”Fliegerfaust”, was entrusted to a defense company that had already designed a portable, disposable anti-tank weapon, the Panzerfaust. The unofficial name was based on this weapon and the weapon was referred to as the “Luftfaust” and later as the “Fliegerfaust”. Psychologically, comparisons were made with the Panzerfaust, which was certainly intended to strengthen the morale of the soldiers. However, the technical principle of the ”Fliegerfaust” corresponded more closely to that of the ”Panzerschreck”, the German bazooka.
Surviving Luftfaust A – Surviving Fliegerfaust A
There are not many surviving models A known, which is the same with model B. There is one known to exist in the Bundeswehr Museum Military History in Dresden, Germany. It is on display next to a Fliegerfaust B and a 20 mm spin stabilized rocket. Another Fliegerfaust A is on display in the War Museum Overloon in the Netherlands. It is shown with multiple 20 mm rockets.
The Lusftfaust A – or Fliegerfaust A on the photos above was found in Grillenburg, Saxony.
