P-Fausts in Allied Use

[101stDoc]

Anyone out there have any documented (or even clues to) use of P-Fausts by US, BritComm or other Allied forces? I know I've read about this in a few places, but I forget where...it's been awhile.

Doc

[Tony]

I think a regiment of the 101st had some PFs they captured in Holland and they used them in the Battle of the Bulge.
cheers
Tony

[JeffF.]

82nd Abn Div captured a supply of panzerfausts in Sicily which lasted until Market Garden. These were supplemented by smaller subsequent captures.

[Dima]

Hey JeffF,

so they used PFausts on DDAY?!
Thought they captured PFasusts in Normandy...

dima

[JeffF.]

The note I have is that the 82nd used them in Market Garden from a supply captured in Sicily. I'd surmise that means they used them in D-Day but don't have anything that says they directly did so. It should be noted that many U.S. units used panzerfaust recovered from the battlefield (the ones in Sicily were from a captured depot so there was a substantial number).
Jeff

[George Harper]

As I recall, the 82nd captured a large number of Panzerfausts in Normandy (several truck-loads?) and, after conducting comparitive trials against the Bazooka and Panzerschrecke, went on to use them in Market Garden. I believe Gen Gavin relates this story in his book.

The Heer did not receive the first delivery of Panzerfausts until August 1943. Too late for the Sicily campaign.

Cheers,

George.

[Dima]

yeah, George, this what i've read earlier..

[Reb]

Gen James Gavin (82 A/B) in his memoirs (On To Berlin) writes of arming and training his men with panzerfaust in France '44.

He has quite a lot to say about the failure of the US to produce a similar weapon (that worked).

cheers
Reb

[Grzesio]

A huge amount of Panzerfausts was captured by the 1st Polish Army in western Pomerania during fightings at the Pommernstellung in February-March 1945. As initial use of the launcher proved to be very effective, it was legalized by Army's command and widely used till the end of the war. According to memoires of gen. Poplawski, commander of the 1st Army, soldiers carried even 2 or 3 Panzerfausts "in their backpacks" (sic).
The Red Army made use of Panzerfausts too - there's even an official Soviet user's manual for the Pzf 100 printed in Russian in 1945.

Regards

Grzesiu