Jagdfaust

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The SG 500 Jagdfaust was an experimental airborne anti-bomber recoilless rifle designed for use in the Me-163 "Komet" rocket plane by the German Luftwaffe during World War II. It was triggered by a simple photocell when the shadow of a bomber passed over the Jagdfaust-armed aircraft.

The Komet was so fast that pilots found it difficult to fire enough cannon rounds to destroy a bomber in a single pass. The Jagdfaust was developed to address this complaint. A 50mm artillery shell was mounted in a launch tube which was held in place by a pair of thin pins. Five such tubes were mounted vertically (to fire upward) in each wing root.

The launch tubes were rifled for greater stability in flight, but also served to eliminate recoil on the aircraft; when the weapon fired, the force of the launch would break the pins holding the tube in place, allowing the heavy tube to accelerate downward in opposition to the shell and eliminating any concerns for the effect of launch forces on the airframe. The Jagdfaust used a 50mm "Minengranate" shell, whose thin walls traded fragmentation for additional explosives; when detonated within an aircraft with sheet-metal skin, the skin would be blown off to devastating effect.

The entire weapon was designed for economy. Because it was intended for short range use, the shell had an aerodynamically inefficient shape that could be easily forged or stamped. Its tolerances were loose, as its long-range accuracy was not at issue. Instead of a steel driving band, the shell flared at the base and was machined to engage the rifles. The launch tube was made of soft unalloyed steel since it would not need to keep its rifling over multiple firings. The shell used a simple type of fuse instead of the more complex and expensive AZ 39 Safety Fuse. It was probably shipped preassembled and ready to install.

The weapon featured a simple form of automated trigger in which an optical photocell detected the dark silhouette of an Allied bomber replacing bright blue sky and triggered the firing of the armed Jagdfaust guns.

The weapon system is credited with one kill, that of an Allied B-17 Flying Fortress. Though initials results were promising, the war ended before it could see extensive deployment.