The "Übungsfaust": Practice Makes Perfect

Source: Bundesarchiv

     Curiously, the books in my library that discuss the Panzerfaust (”Tank Fist”) and all of its variants leave out one variant that can be clearly seen in the photograph here. In fact, this particular image is pretty widely used in many books and articles. It depicts a Bataillonsführer (denoted by the four rank pips on the black tabs affixed to his great coat collar) of the German Volkssturm overseeing training of Volkssturm militiamen in the usage of the Panzerfaust. It is believed the location was somewhere in Berlin, spring of 1945. For the interested, the Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archives) identification code for this picture is 183-J31391. Anyone familiar with the Panzerfaust's profile will notice some peculiarities with the Panzerfaust the Volkssturmmann (Private) is holding. What he is holding is not a live Panzerfaust at all and it is what today would be termed a Übungsschießgerät, meaning Practice Shooting Device. What it was called in 1945 is not known nor is it known how many of them were actually produced. Besides this photograph, I have another photograph showing a U.S. Army soldier guarding a collection of German weapons and in the background, one of these training devices can be seen. In keeping with the naming theme for the Panzerfaust and its variants, I am going to call it the Übungsfaust (meaning Practice Fist) throughout the rest of this article. Again, there is no historical evidence this name was ever used.

     The Panzerfaust was one of the most important anti-tank weapons available to the German infantrymen. It was simple to build, cheap (costing at most 25 Reichsmarks or $22USD in 1945), and was available in large quantities and the most common variant was the Panzerfaust 60 (Pzf 60). The number referred to the effective range of the projectile, in this case 60 meters. Although the warhead looks like a rocket, the Panzerfaust is technically a recoilless rifle. Within the metal tube was an explosive charge and when triggered, the blast propelled the warhead out of the front of the tube while the rearward blast forces vented out the back of the tube canceled out any recoil. Aiming was accomplished using a flip-up sight and usage of the top mounted trigger would set off the charge. Once the warhead left the tube, four metal fins would unfurl to provide stability in flight. The Panzerfaust 60 was able to penetrate up to 200mm of armor...more than enough to defeat nearly all Allied tanks. The Panzerfaust was also a one-shot, disposable weapon. Once fired, the soldier would discard the empty tube. While it is true that the Panzerfaust deployed during World War Two could not be reloaded by soldiers in the field, the tubes could be reloaded by the manufacturers that produced Panzerfaust. Thus, if German troops held the battlefield where Panzerfaust were used (and if the situation allowed it), the tubes would be collected and sent back to the factories to be reused. In part, this was an attempt to conserve war critical materials.

     So, why was there a need for something like the Übungsfaust? Over 8 million Panzerfaust (of all variants) were built from 1942 to 1945 so surely there were plenty to spare for training. It should be mentioned that Panzerfaust were sold to other Axis countries, namely Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, Italy, and Romania. Also, around one in eight Panzerfaust were rejected by inspectors and the parts recycled and of those that were issued, around 10% were returned to the factories as defective. Finally, up to 6% of the issued Panzerfaust either misfired or failed to detonate against the target. Combine these factors, that number dwindles rapidly. As such, there can be seen a use for something like the Übungsfaust to ensure as many Panzerfaust can be put into the hands of German and allied Axis troops. 

     According to the website bergflak.com, there were at least three different types of  Übungsfaust and diagrams and plans on how to construct them were distributed via the publication series “Von der Front für die Front" (“From the Front, For the Front”). The publication can be compared to the U.S. Army's “PS Magazine” which contained bulletins on the care of equipment and tricks and tips submitted by soldiers for useful modifications, service/repair methods, and field adaptations. 

     The Übungsfaust was built using spent Panzerfaust. One might also presume that tubes rejected by the factories could also be repurposed for constructing Übungsfaust but given the intent was to have units in the field construct the Übungsfaust, the most likely source were tubes from Panzerfaust which have been discharged. The Übungsfaust permitted the trainee to get familiar with the weapon as it retained the same tube (and heft), sight, and trigger mechanism. The warhead was made of solid wood with no TNT or hexogen explosive inside. This dummy warhead allowed the trainee to practice loading the tube as in some cases, Panzerfaust were shipped without the warhead installed. Another reason for needing a warhead is that part of the aiming process required the warhead to be present. With the sight in position, the operator tucked the tube underneath the arm, peered through the sight, and aligned the range gradients by looking over the top of the warhead's widest point where a protrusion called the korn (literally front sight) was situated.

     The main modification to create the Übungsfaust consisted of inserting a circular chamber piece (with a cap) into the tube, just behind the trigger. In a live Panzerfaust, this is where the treibladung (propellant charge) would have been. To prepare the Übungsfaust, it required two 7.92x57mm Platzpatrone 33 blank cartridges. The wooden bullet was removed from the cartridge and the powder, enveloped in felt wadding, was extracted. The powder charges were placed into chamber and the chamber had a perforation in the front (facing the warhead) and a second perforation facing to the rear. The cap was then closed. An ignitor, using the existing trigger, would set off the powder in the chamber. The resultant detonation, while not as powerful as a genuine Panzerfaust, would still give the trainee some experience of what it would be like to fire the weapon but more importantly, demonstrate the backblast effects which were even more dangerous with the Panzerfaust. In fact, the backblast of a Panzerfaust 60 was lethal out to 3 meters (10 feet). Exactly how far the wooden warhead would be flung from the tube isn't known but distance wasn't the point. The warhead would be collected and assuming it wasn't too beat up, it would be reused. It is said some units would reinforce the warhead with metal bands or sheath it in iron to keep it from being damaged too rapidly.

     Of interest, the Übungsfaust wasn't the only training device for the Wehrmacht's man-portable anti-tank weapons. The other tank buster was the Raketenpanzerbüchse 54 (RPzB 54), better known as the Panzerschreck (“Tank Terror”). This was the German response to the M1 “Bazooka”. Again, documents exist which show how unserviceable RPzB 54 launchers could be modified into training devices by using a heavily cut down Karabiner 98k bolt-action rifle. To facilitate the training process, a wooden facsimile of a 88mm RPzB. Gr. 4312 rocket was fitted to the barrel end of the rifle. The rifle itself was loaded with between one to five Platzpatrone 33 blank rounds. This entire assembly was then loaded into the rear of the tube by the loader in the same fashion as a genuine rocket round. There was even a fake wire and contact so that the loader could practice preparing the rocket (which was electrically fired when the trigger was pulled). The trigger of the RPzB 54 was connected to the rifle's trigger via a rod. When the operator squeezed the trigger, the rod pushed the rifle's trigger backwards, firing off the blank round which then pushed the dummy rocket out the front of the launch tube. There was recoil due to the rifle, something which would not occur when firing a operational RPzB 54.

Bataillonsführer Ernst Tiburzy: Volkssturm-Bataillon 25/82

     On December 26, 1911, in Drosdowen, East Prussia, Ernst Tiburzy was born. Very little is known of Tiburzy's early life and in fact, even much of his early military career also remains unknown. Tiburzy, who survived World War Two, did not speak much of his service and on the extremely rare occasions he attended German veteran reunions, when asked why he went to so few, he said they were reminders of days best left forgotten. What can be pieced together is that Tiburzy was originally a member of the Sturmabteilung (SA; Storm Detachment) which was the paramilitary wing of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP; National Socialist German Workers' Party). The SA played a major role in the rise to power of the NSDAP, often using intimidation tactics and outright brute force against opposing political rivals. During the Nacht der Langen Messer (Night of the Long Knives) in 1934, the SA was turned upon by the NSDAP and SA men and leadership were executed between June 30 and July 2 which was spun by the NSDAP as preventing a coup. In reality, it was to ensure that the now Chancellor Adolf Hitler would retain his power. The SA, while it remained in existence, never regained any measure of power. That Tiburzy was a member of the SA came from a newspaper report dated April 3, 1945 that described his actions that won him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross). In the article, his rank was said to be that of SA-Sturmbannführer which was the equivalent to a U.S. Army Major.

     Tiburzy, however, did not remain active in the SA and was certainly not in it in 1945 because by 1939, most of the SA membership was called up for military service and Tiburzy was no exception. He entered the German Heer (Army) but exactly when isn't known nor is the unit(s) he served with known. What can be said is that he did serve on the Eastern Front in an infantry unit and suffered significant injuries to the point that he was no longer able to serve in the Heer. It was during this time period that Tiburzy was awarded the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse (Iron Cross 2nd. Class), the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse (Iron Cross 1st. Class), the Verwundetenabzeichen 3. Klasse (Wound Badge in Gold (3rd. Class)), and the Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen (Infantry Assault Badge). Some believe that following his convalescence, Tiburzy entered into the Regierung des Deutschen Reiches (Government of the Third Reich) in one of the many ministries, specifically the Reichsministerium für die Besetzten Ostgebiete (RMBO; Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories), and this is due to Tiburzy wearing the fur lined Einheitsfeldmütze (field cap) favored by RMBO officials, to include the large government official regulation adler (eagle) on the front of the Einheitsfeldmütze. What rank he may have held in the RMBO is unknown nor is his length of service in the RMBO known. At some time in late 1944 or even at the start of 1945, Tiburzy either was called up to serve in the Volkssturm (the national militia) or he himself enlisted. This was because the Volkssturm was made up of men 16 to 60 who were not currently in military service, had non-essential employment, were unfit, overage or even underage, and even men still recovering from war wounds. In addition, men who could not serve in the military services due to permanent injuries sustained while in service were also accepted into the Volkssturm. Thus, Tiburzy was eligible to become a part of this militia but more importantly, he was an experienced and decorated soldier who was needed to train and lead men that, for the most part, had no training at all. Because of his previous rank and service, Tiburzy was given the Volkssturm rank of Bataillonsführer and assigned to Volkssturm-Bataillon 25/82. The unit was part of the forces commanded by General Otto Lasch in the city of Königsberg which, beginning in late January to April 9, 1945, battled elements of the Russian 3rd. Belorussian Front. Initially, the Germans managed to stabilize the area around the city which allowed civilians and wounded to be evacuated and supplies to get to the city's defenders. But on April 2, 1945, the Russians commenced a four day bombardment of the city and its defenses and on April 6, 1945, the Russian 39th., 43rd., and 50th. Armies plus the 208th. Rifle Division and the 11th. Guards Army moved off their start lines to take Königsberg. Tiburzy was in the thick of the fighting and early in February, he led a contingent of Volkssturm to retake a defensive trench that Russian infantry had managed to occupy. Using grenades, he and his men managed to dislodge the Russians and Tiburzy himself destroyed two T-34 medium tanks using Panzerfaust during the assault. Some 48 hours later, another Volkssturm defensive position was overrun by Russian infantry supported by tanks. Tiburzy, on his own initiative, led Volkssturm-Bataillon 25/82 in a counterattack that threw back the Russians from their gains and the Volkssturm were able to reestablish the defensive position. During the combat, Tiburzy added another three T-34 tanks to his kill tally, again using Panzerfaust. For these actions, Tiburzy was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on February 10, 1945 and he became one of only four Volkssturm men to earn such an esteemed decoration.

     The photograph of Tiburzy is one of his most well known. He is known to have suffered an injury to his right eye as he appeared in the very last Die Deutsche Wochenschau (The German Weekly Review) newsreel, No. 755, wearing an eye patch. He is wearing the RMBO Einheitsfeldmütze as discussed above. His feldbluse is likely that worn by RMBO officers which typically had a collar that matched the color of the wool and was devoid of shoulder boards. His Bataillonsführer rank is denoted by the black collar tabs with four silver pips. Interestingly, the rank of SA-Sturmbannführer was identical except the collar tab color was red rather than black. Perhaps the reporter for the newspaper article mistook his Volkssturm rank for that of the SA. Still, his former membership in the SA is shown by his wearing two Die Dienstauszeichnung der NSDAP (NSDAP Long Service Award) ribbons, one for 10 years of service and the other for 15 years of service. Assuming Tiburzy joined the SA when he turned 18 in 1929, from February 1925 to January 1933, the time served in the NSDAP was doubled in regards to the award. Thus, by 1935, he would have had ten years and by 1940, another five years. The third ribbon, closest to the buttons, is for the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse. Around his throat is the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes while on his feldbluse pocket is his Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse, Verwundetenabzeichen, and Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen. The other award is the SA-Sportabzeichen für Kriegsverletzte (SA Sports Badge for War Wounded) which was a special version of the SA-Sportabzeichen. Only those with a validated disability could earn the SA-Sportabzeichen für Kriegsverletzte whose scored events typically excluded the physical fitness (Leibesübungen) tests of the regular SA-Sportabzeichen and had modified basic exercises (Grundübungen) and field exercises (Geländesport). Not visible in the photograph, Tiburzy wore the Volkssturm armband around the lower left sleeve of his feldbluse. Incidentally, the armband was the only uniform item within the Volkssturm that was standard across all Volkssturm units.

     What happened to Tiburzy following the fall of Königsberg isn't known nor what happened to him following the defeat of Germany. He did survive the conflict as mentioned earlier though what he did in civilian life isn't told nor if he served any time as a POW. He died in Papenburg, Germany on November 14, 2004 at the age of 92.