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.
