German Fliegerfaust Anti-Aircraft System

By Crusader1307

Translated to ''Plane Fist'', The German Fliegerfaust was one of a series of hand-held, surface to air unguided Missile Systems pioneered by The German Army during World War II. Although not 'tactically successful, The Systems were deployed late in The War (1944). It is unclear if any Models actually took down any Allied Fighters or other Air Assets. The Fliegerfaust was 52-inches in length ans weighted roughly 15-pounds. An ''A'' and ''B'' Model existed with 4 to 6 barrels. A series of 20mm projectiles were locked into a rear loading plate (which fit directly into each barrel). The weapon was trigger operated and placed over and on the shoulder of the shooter. It was envisioned that each Unit could fire 1 round per second (up to a 500-meter range), but design flaws and ammunition problems lead to 2 to 3 second delays after triggering. This time often was critical when attempting to engage a fast flying Enemy Fighter. Additionally, The Fliegerfaust suffered from misfires withouth the benefit of a ''quick clearing'' methods. Over 4 Million Units were ordered (but only 10,000 were deployed). Over 80 of these were found in the rubble of The City of Berlin in 1945 – after it's fall to The Soviet Army.