Look at this!!!

[Sgt.Steiner]

First of all I was wondering what kind of plane this is? Second , has anyone ever seen this weapon display underneath a plane before? I was doing a Panzerfaust search and went to images and found these. What do you think? Probably is the first (maybe) air to surface missle system huh?

[Larry D.]

This is the introductory paragraph to a much longer study that I wrote on these a year or two ago, and should at least give you a rough idea of what they were all about:

Panzerjägerstaffeln Bü 181


Formation and History. (Mar 45 - Apr 45)
A discussion of these last-ditch units is provided below as taken from all known sources, both contemporary and postwar. The evidence is clear that they were hastily formed at the end of March and during the first 10 days of April and then at least some of them were desperately thrown in near-suicidal attacks against Soviet armor in the Berlin area, and in one case against Allied truck columns in southwest Germany. There appears to have been little cohesion in their formation and control, so the absence of the more formal methods of tracking and corroborating the history of individual units is not possible in this case. In any event, it does not appear that all of them completed their formation or saw action; perhaps only half of them did. A clear picture is further complicated by what appears to be two separate series of these units, one designated Panzerjägerstaffeln Bü 181 and the other as Nachschlachtkommandos Bü 181. However, aside from the single primary reference on 5 April, below, and the brief mention in Dierich (p.272), the latter (Nachschlachtkommandos) are either one and the same as the Panzerjägerstaffeln, or the plan for them was cancelled before it began, or the two projects were subsequently merged.

--Larry

[Sgt.Steiner]

Thanks. Now that I know what it is, I did a search and found a few pics. Heres a color one. Thanks again. Is this the same plane they used in the "Great Escape"?

[Larry D.]

I'm not sure - I haven't seen the flick in quite awhile, although it is one of my favorites (who doesn't like Steve McQueen?).

There were 3 Bücker trainers:

Bü 131 Jungmann
Bü 133 Jungmeister
Bü 181 Bestmann

The 181 was the only one of the three with an enclosed cockpit or cabin and it was produced in much larger numbers than the others, so it's probably the one.

--Larry

[ChrisMAg2]

Thanks. Now that I know what it is, I did a search and found a few pics. Heres a color one. Thanks again. Is this the same plane they used in the "Great Escape"?

Yes, it is the same typ.

[Sgt.Steiner]

Now that I saw these pics, I was sure of it. Put the DVD in last night and there she was. "The Scrounger" and "Blythe" tried to fly across the Swiss border in that 181. Thanks again. Thats why I am greatful this forum is here........ to learn something

[redcoat]

Wasn't the max range of the panzerfaust around 100 meters
If so, it means you would have to almost ram the tank in order to hit it.
It sounds like complete madness

[ChrisMAg2]

Wasn't the max range of the panzerfaust around 100 meters
If so, it means you would have to almost ram the tank in order to hit it.
It sounds like complete madness

It might sound like madness, but still there are some reported (not confirmed) victories.

[gabriel pagliarani]

Wasn't the max range of the panzerfaust around 100 meters
If so, it means you would have to almost ram the tank in order to hit it.
It sounds like complete madness

It might sound like madness, but still there are some reported (not confirmed) victories.

A rocket with a hollow charge fitted on its tip is always a rocket with a dangerous hollow charge. The range is obviously extended by adding the speed of plane to the initial boost of the black powder charge inside the rocket.(It wasn't a real rocket with a rocket engine but the thrust was expened only in the launching tube, like Howitzer self propelled grenades) The real question is why hollow charges were not so commonly used as airborne AT weapon in WW2. They were ideal for torpedoes warhead but nobody used them in such a manner.

[Edward L. Hsiao]

Flight teachers,airborne Volksturm members,maybe those from the SS all flew these planes.

Edward L. Hsiao