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8/20/2019 Almark - Field Rocket Equipment of the German Army 1939-1945
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8/20/2019 Almark - Field Rocket Equipment of the German Army 1939-1945
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©
1972, Almark Publishing Co. Ltd.
Text © T. J . Gander
ll
rights reserv
ed No
pa
rt
of this publication ma y be repr
oduc
ed. sto red in
n
relrieval system or
transmilled
by
any
means electronic
mech
a
nic
al or
by
photo co
pying
witho
ut
pr
ior
permi
ss
ion from the publishers.
First published - October 1972
ISBN 855240849 (hard cover edition)
ISBN 85524 085 7 (paper covered edition)
Printed in Great Britain by
Byron Press Ltd
.
59 Palmerston Road, Wealdstone, Middlesex
for the publishers, Almark Publishing
Co
. Ltd.,
270 Burlington Road, New Malden, Surrey KT3 4N
L
England
Introduction
TH E solid fuel rocket
is
no newcomer
to
modern warfare for its first recorded
use in battle dates back to AD 1232, but after the fall from grace of the
Congreve and Hale rockets towards the end of the nineteenth centu ry little use
was made of it until the German Army re - introduced the rocket in an offen
sive role from
1940
onwards. Actually they could have had rockets in service
during World War I, for Krupps had purchased the solid fuel rocket patents
of
the Swedish experime
nt
er Lieutenant-Colonel von Unge in 1909. While the
rockets then produced w ere extensively tested, they did
not go
into production
as they were virtually hand-made and the slow-burning black powder propel
lants then in use were prone to damage during storage and transport. This
damage manifested itself in erratic burning and general unreliabili ty. It was not
until the advent of the large grain double-based propellants after about 1935
that a storeable and reliable mass-produced rocket could be manufactured.
This book sets
out to show
how one nation, Germany, employed
the
solid fuel rocket as part of its national field armoury. As such it confines
itself to weapons used on the battlefield and only encroaches onto the anti
aircraft role when the rockets so employed were also used as
ground-to
ground w eapons. How ever, to complete the story in some cases, mention
has been made of the airborne use of some of these weapons.
The research into this subject has been considerably aided by John
Mil
som
who supplied much of the material used in this
book
, and
to whom my
thanks are due. Acknowledgements and thanks must also be made
to
R. C. Gibson,
John Wilk
e
s
Colour Sergeant Fitch
of the
Airborne Forces
Museum at Aldershot, Peter Chamberlain, the staff of the Photographic Sec
tion of the Imperial War Museum, and finally my wi fe who typed the
original manuscript. Kenneth M.
Jon
es produced the cov er art .
ONTENTS
Section
Page
1:
Deployment and Organisation
5
2: Rocket Equipment 14
3
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/lBO VE: Start
of
a r ocket barrage. The fierce smoke trail was a characteristic
and awesome accompaniment to Nebelw erfer battery fire.
F
RONT
COVER : (Top) RP
54
team at the moment of loading. (Bo ttom)
I'
ilrarroo
per
w
ith
the
ubiquitou
s Panz
erf
aus
t
This
va
ri
a
nt
is the
30
m mode
l.
BA CK COVER:
Rocket
troops
re
-Ioading a
5
cm Nebe
lw
e
rf
er 41.
4
: Deployment and
Organisation
ROCKETS were employed by the German forces in World War 2 in an attempt
to conserve the facilities available for the manufacture
of war
weapons.
A rocket and its proj ector can be made and fired
with
a large saving in
money, manufacturing facilities and training over the corresponding artillery
equipment. But it was realis
ed
from the start that the accuracy
of
the rocket
fell far below that
of
the conventional artillery shell. Where the rocket made up
for
this
was
in its
ability
to
cover large areas
with
explosive, smoke or gas in
a very short time, and rocket units were trained
to
maintain a very high rate
of
fire over short periods.
The high fire rate was utilised in beefing-up barrages and counter
barrages
though
the former was the more usual. Fixed projectors (such
as
the
Schweres Wurfgeriit
40
and 41) were also used to this end
while
the mobile
projectors were more often used for
following
up tank formation attacks, when
they usually supported the flanks . In the armoured attack the independent
Panzerwerferbatterie or Wuhrfrahmen-armed half-tracks closely
followed
the
attack and laid down supporting barrages when required, although towed
projector units sometimes carried out this task. The ability
of
the Nebelwerfer
units to lay smoke cloud screens to hide movement and dispositions was
often utilised whenever large areas had
to
be covered in a short time. The
rocket units could do the same
with
gas
but
fortunately this was not called
for
during the 1939 -
45
conflict .
T CTIC L
US S
OF
ROCKET UNITS
The ability to cover large areas with HE (high explosive), smoke or gas
had to be paid for tactically. Each rocket
when
fired left a trail of flame and
smoke (giving rise to the name Nebelwerfer -smoke thrower) and if this did
not show up the firing position, the large cloud of dust and debris stirred
up
by the rock et s exhaust c ertainly
would.
This
often
resulted in
counter
battery artillery and mortarfire being directed at the Nebelwerfer emplacements.
Later in the
war
the Russians sometimes used Katyusha rockets for this
purpose so that rocket versus rocket duels occurred. As a result of this
counter-battery work, the Nebeltruppe had to be experts in getting in and out
of action quickly.
Further down the tactical scale, rocket units were often detached to give
support to relatively small unit actions, so that a single battery sometimes gave
support to a company attack. There were also more specialised applications
such as when a 15 cm Nebelwerfer 4 battery was added to the proposed
complement of a cavalry artillery abteilung attached
to
Army Group Centre
(Russian Front) during 1943. The remainder of the abteilung was to have
been made up of recoilless 10 5 cm LG 40 guns, so the 15 cm battery would
have added a great deal of fi repower to the abteilung strength.
5
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ORGANISATION OF DIE
NEBElTRUPPEN
Up to 1940
the
main weight of the German Chemical Warfare Units was
biased towards smoke
production
for tactical screens. The units involved were
few in number and utilised the
10
cm Nebelwerfer 35 an enlarged mortar
(for details see separate section) . In 1940 this was supplemented
by
the
10
cm
Nebelwerfer 40
but
by
the
same year
the
first rocket equipments (the Schweres
Wurfgerat 40 with its 28/ 32 cm rockets) came into service after development
at Meppen and Kummersdorf.
However, during 1939 the first Nebeltruppe were amongst the German
forces invading Poland, but there was little for them to do. There were in fact
three Nebelabteilung present during that campaign. As the rocket equipments
became available a training
unit
(Le
hrabteilung)
was formed at the Nebel
truppenschule at Celie, south
of
Stettin but the first Werfer Regiment was
not formed
until
June 1940-just too late to take part in the campaign in
France,
After
that, however, the numbers
of
Werferbrigaden (each made up of
two or three Werferregimenter) increased until there were twenty in the line
and numerous other units available for special purposes such as the
Panzerwerferbatterie and Rheinbote units. A second training unit and range
was at Munster- Nord.
ESTABLISHMENTS
Basically there
were
three different types of rocket unit, of which the basic
unit
was
the Abteilung (artillery brigade) . These abteilung were joined in dif
fering
combinations
to form Werferregimenter. The three basic abteilung were
as follows.
(1) Rocket Projector Brigade Motorized). Werferabteilung [mot ]).
Normally equipped with the 15 cm Neberwerfer 41 this
formation
consisted
of a brigade staff and staff battery with
up
to three batteries (werfer
batterien), The
equipment
for
this
unit is shown separately, but the
staff
consisted of:
Brigade HQ
Reconnaissance/ observation platoon
Rangefinder section.
Maintenance unit
Ad ministrative staff
Signals staff
Anti-tank unit, armed with the 3·7 cm or later the 7·5 cm Pak.
BEL
0 W:
A battery o f
15
cm Nebelwerfer 41 s in action. No te the absence o f
p ersonnel w
ho
wo
uld
ha ve been under cover during the firing period
(2) Heavy Rocket Projector Brigade motorized}-Schwere Werferabteilung
mot)
.
These units
could
be equipped with either the
21 cm Nebelwerfer
42,
the 28/ 32 cm
Nebelwerfer
or later the 30 cm Nebelwerfer
42
or 56. A brigade
was
described as heavy if more than one battery was equipped with the
21 cm
equipment
or larger
(the
normal werferabteilung usually had only
one
21
cm battery,
if that).
Thus a Heavy Brigade
could
consist of three
21
cm
batteries or two 21
cm
batteries and one 15 cm battery.
However
, the brigade
HQ
was
often enlarged by the addition
of
an extra detachment to deal with
chemical decontamination, in addition to the normal HQ units.
(3)
Mountain
Rock
et Projector Brigade-Gebirgswerferabteilung .
Relatively few in number these
units
were normally equipped with the 10 cm
Nebe
lwerfer
35 and 40 mortars, though rocket
equipment could
be added
for
special campaigns, eg, the
1942
Caucasus campaign.
In addition to the above there were also
independent
armoured projector
companies (Panzerwerferbatterie)
which
employed the
15
cm Panzerwerfer 42
mounted on
Maultier
half-tracks, These were normally organised into two
platoons, each
with
four
projectors.
There were no established units for the Schweres Wurfgeriit
40
and 41 .
Manpower
was detailed
off
for their use whenever they were required.
It must be stressed at
this
point that the Werferregimenter and smaller
units
were not normally part of any Army divisional establishment but were
allotted
to
the various armies, corps and divisions by OKH (General Head
quarters
of
the Armies). Only the
SS
Panzer Divisions (SS 1, 2, 3,
5
9,
10
,
12)
had organic Werferabteilung (each
of 18
projectors).
To return to the Regimental level, regiments like their brigades were divided
into Werferregimenter and Schweres (heavy) Werferregimenter. The W erfer
regimenter was normally comprised
of
a Regimental HQ and HQ battery,
two
15
cm abteilung, one
21
cm abteilung and a
light
projector
column
(usually
a 15 cm
detachment)
for special purposes. A Schweres Regimenter was one
in which more than one abteilung
was
equipped with the
21 cm Nebelwerfer
42
or larger. Normal establishment
for
one of these heavy units was two 21 cm
or
28/32
cm (later
30
cm) abteilung and one
15
cm abteilung.
The
Werferabteilung
(mot) (15 em)
As
the
basic
unit of
the Nebeltruppe, the W erferabteilung needs further
explanation . Its equipment strength table is shown separately but shows that
the brigade
HQ
had a paper battery
with
the usual
HQ
staff and anti -tank
unit. There were usually three batteries, each
with
six projectors, and one
3 ·7
cm
Pak or 7·5 cm Pak anti-tank gun.
On the road each abteilung column covered a length
of 1800
metres and
took 20
minutes
to
pass one
point
. This was on a first class road
when
the
column
speed was 30 km/hr. On the autobahn the speed
could
be raised
to
40 km/ hr and lowered
to 20
km/ hr
for
second class roads
or
tracks.
In action a brigade covered a
front of
up to
1200
m,
as
each battery took
350
m
although
200
m was the more
usual- th is
reduced the
front to about
800-900 m. The inherent inaccuracy of the rocket projectile meant that
volume
of fire had to replace accuracy and the watchword
of
the Nebeltruppe was
Klotzen, Nicht Kleckern (roughly- thump,
don
t
tap ).
This was shown by
the ability
to
fire
108
rounds in
10
seconds, and 648 in
90
seconds. Such a
volume
of fire would saturate most targets and led to early reports
from
the
8/20/2019 Almark - Field Rocket Equipment of the German Army 1939-1945
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ABOVE: aultiers with
15
cm Panzerwerfer 4 projectors being prepared
for
action
during the
winter of 1944.
Note rhe discarded packkiste at the
bottom
left
of
the picture.
Russians
that the 15
cm Nebelwerfer 41 could fire 6 rockets in five
seconds
actually the firing rate
was
six in ten seconds.
It must be stressed that the establishments described above and in the
tables are for ideal situations. Even at the start
of
a campaign the manpower,
equipment
and transport figures
could
be reduced by up to a
third
as a result of
sickness, maintenance, unserviceability, etc. By 1945 manpower had become so
critical that Werferregimenter consisted of two abteilung only. Transport was
another problem area and it should
be
borne in mind
that
many of the projectors
described in
this book
were often
towed into
action by horses. However most
SS units managed to maintain a higher establishment of equipment and man
power due to the preference shown to Party formations.
In September 1944, certain of the Werferabteilung were re-designated
Volks-Werferabteilung. The term had purely political overtones in view of
the impending defence
of
the Reich, and made no differences to establishments
or role in the Nebeltruppen.
ROCKET
UNIT DESIGN TIONS
Few
records remain of the Nebeltruppen (later Werfertruppe) formations.
Listed below are the known regiments which made up the Werferbrigaden
in
1945:
Werferbrigade 1
2 Werfer Regi menter 3,
70
3
4 Werfer Regi menter 51, 52, s2
5
6
7 Werfer Regimenter 83, 84 (Normandy July '44)
8
9 Werfer Regimenter 14, 54
10
11
12
13
14
15
16 Werfer Regimenter 86, 87
17 Werfer Regimenter 88, ?
18
Werfer Regimenter 21, 22
19
20
8
Listed below are the known units which made up the larger Nebeltruppen
formations
in 1945. No priority has been given to unit seniority . The list is
not complete .
Note: s-schweres (heavy)
Stab-Staff.
Stell-Stellung (static, garrison)
(mit
21 [pz]
Bttr)-with
21
battery made up of 15cm
Panzerwerfer 42 on
Maultier
half-tracks.
WR- Werfer Regiment.
Werfer Lehr Regiment 1, 2
Wer fer Regimen t s 1
Werfer Abteilung 1 (with WR 54)
Werler Regiment s 2
Werfer Abteilung 2 (with WR 52)
Werfer Regiment s 3
Werfer Abteilung 3 (wi th WR s3)
Stab Werfer Regiment z b
V
4
Werfer Abteilung 4
Werfer Abteilung 5 (with WR 55)
Werfer Abteilung 6
Werfer Abteilung 7
(with
WR 54)
Werfer Abteilung 8
(with
WR s 2)
Stab Werfer Regiment s b
V
8
Werfer Abteilung 9
(with
WR 71)
Werfer Regiment 10
Gebirgs Werfer Abteilung
10
Werfer Abteilung 11
s Werfer Regimenter 13. 14, 15
Panzer Werfer
Bam
21
(with
WR 57)
Panzer Werfer Battr 22
(with
15 Panzer Grenadier Div)
s Werfer Regimenter 21, 22, 26
Werfer Abteilung 31
Werfer Regimenter 38. 50, 51, 52 53
Werfer Regiment 54 (mit
21
[pz] Battr)
Werfer Regiment 55, 56
s Werfer Reg iment 57 (m it 21 [pz] Battr)
Werfer Reg iment 70 (mit
21
[pz] Battr)
Werfer Regiment
71
(Tunisia '43)
Werfer Regimenter 77,79,81,83,84,86,87,88,89
Stell Werfer Regimenter 100, 101, 102, 103
Werfer Batlerien 105
113
114
151 (with WR 70)
203
208
211
224
287
(with
WR 56)
408
458
The Smoke Units that took part in
the
Invasion of Poland in September
1939
were Nebelabteilung 1, 2 and
5.
9
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- - ; o . . . ; ; ; ; , . . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - r - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
.
Rocket Projector Regiment (motorized)
Werferregimenter (mot)
UNIT
(f)
c
:J
Ol
Qi
Q)
,
c
c
0
U
Q
0 0
X
u
0
0
0
0::
1I II,Ii >I' 110 . .
2
3
10
10 3
2
3 1
11 II,IiII>'1 110 l3,lttery ..... . .. . . . .
3
12
70 70 9 6 2 13 2
1 1111. 4 .
nll l l l lry.
. . . . ... ....
3
27 105 113
10
12
6
6 31 2
I', "I, " I ' 1I II ry
3
27
105
113 10
12
6 6 31
2
l ' j i 'I' l l lt i 1IIIIIoly .
3
27
105
113
10 12
6
6
31
2
A
l l i , I I I
" 1;
I0 n ....
. .
. . . . . .
5 45
45 2
3
1111 ,, 1
..
. . . . . .. . .
... 14 101
440 464
44
47
20 4
18
109 9
Total strength 555
10
ABOVE: Top)
32
em Wurfkorper
MFL
50. Bottom) 30 em Wurfkor
pe
r Spreng.
AMMUNITION ESTABLISHMENTS
NUMBER
OF
ROUNDS)
Werferabteilung
mot)
(15 em)
Carried into action:
1728
explosive (80%)
432 smoke (20%)
ie, for each battery:
432 explosive
108 smoke
Sehwere Werferabteilung
mot) (21
em)
Carried into action: 900
HE-10
salvoes
ie, for each battery: 180
For light column: 360
Sehwere Werferabteilung
mot)
30
em)
Carried into action: 600
HE-3
salvoes
ie, for each battery: 120
For light column: 240
Sehwere Werferabteilung
mot)
(28/32 em)
Carried into action: 45028 cm
HE
150
32 cm Incendiary
Gebirgsnebelwerferabteilung 10 em Nebelwerfer
35)
Carried into action: 1899
HE
1269 Smoke
For each battery:
453 HE
303 Smoke
For light column:
540 HE
360 Smoke
11
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:;-
' '
.
~ . ~ ~ ; c ? ;
.
, : ~ ~ ; , - . : . ; . \ ~ ~ ~ : ~ ~ ~
ABOVE: (Top to Bottom 21 em Wurfgrenate 42 Spreng; 7.3
cm
Propaganda-
granare 41; 28 cm Wurfkorper Spreng (unfused) in its packkiste
.
UNIFORMS OF RO KET TROOPS
The original users were the Nebeltruppe or Smoke Troops, who were dressed
in th e infantry-style uniform used by most of the technical formations
of
th e
German Army during World War 2: the arm of service colour was a dark
red (burgundy red) and appeared on the shoulder straps and the collar patch
(as t he base colour). The forage -cap for other ranks had dark red piping on
the cuff. Camouflage smocks
wer
e occasionally worn .
The most prominent users of the Panzerfaust were the Fallschirmjager
or Paratroop Regiments. The cover
shows
an Unteroffizier (Serg ea
nt)
in
the
slyl e of dress affected by paratroopers in the Mediterranean theatre
of
war . The
Inll n camouflage smock and a canvas bandolier were peculiar
to
these troops
lilt :
former is shown as issued but this soon became bleached
to
a lighter
11
:
1 1
0. The grey-blue helmet of paratroop pattern could be covered by a loose
:; 11 I
colo
ured cover . The single
wing on
the upper arm denotes rank, and is
,,
;
,,;olly
li
n ,I rectangular patch. Other members
of
the platoon using the
c,mi ed spare rounds, often tucked into their waistbelts like the
:;111;
1
q r l l l l they a lso carried- a somewhat more dangerous practise
owing
I 111
li
llllm
sizo of th e Panze rfaust round.
12
ABOVE: A
squad
of German paratroops moves caurio usly
along
a
road
under
fire. The leading man carries a
RP
43 and has a slung rifle. His No 2. behind.
ca rries a round fer rhe RP
43
in his lefr hand, and a rifle
in
his right. This is
at Normandy, June 1944.
The Panzerfaust was issued to normal infantry units in
1944
in lieu
of
anti-tank artillery, and also
tothe
Hitler Youth and the newly-created Volksturm
(Home Guard) . The latter consisted of old men, and those unable to
fight
in the
Wehrm
ac
ht
for
medical reasons. The Panzerfaust was often issued in place
of
proper personal arms to these formations in last-ditch attempts
to
stem th e
tide of Allied armour. There w as only a token attempt at uniform in that items
of
Army, Navy and Air Force uniform (principally caps and greatcoats)
were
issued. An authorized armband for the Volksturm bore the words Deutscher
Volksturm-Wehrmacht : improvised armbands of white
with
black letters also
appeared with and without the
word
Wehrmacht . No rank appears to have
been shown- th e officers of these detachments were often Party leaders in
the first instance, until the close proximity of Allied troops caused them to
hand over their command to the Wehrmacht .
13
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2: Rocket
Equipment
The 15 cm Rocket
TH E 1 5 cm rocket was the most widely encountered and used of all the
German rocket projectiles .
It
came into widespread service during late 1941
and remained operational till the end of hostilities and even after
1945
remained
in service
with
the French forces.
The 15 cm rocket came with three basic
fi l l ings-HE,
smoke and chemical.
The chemical variant was not used operationally, but was stockpiled ready
for
use (18,600 were captured at H
Muna
5t Georgen in 1945).
The spin stabilized rocket was
of
an
advanced design and differed from
all other types in use at that
time
by having the rocket
motor
at the front
of
the shell and the
HE
or smoke payload in the base. This rather
odd
arrange
ment was brought about to make use
of the
rocket
motor
as shrapnel when
the
shell exploded . In other rocket types the motor tended to separate in one piece
on detonation and
thus
had little destructive effect. Placing the
motor
in front
of the explosive however ensured
the
fragmenta
tion
of the motor housing and
increased the weapo n s anti-personnel hazard.
The motor vented
through
26 angled venturi situated evenly in a ring
some two-thirds
of
the length down the body (see below) . Inside the
forward part of th e body were seven sticks of compresed black Diethylene
Glycol Dinitrate which made up the propelling
unit.
This was
ignited
by a
cellulose tube filled
with
black powder which ran the full length
of
the
motor. When primed by an electrical initiator placed in
anyone
of the 26
exhaust holes the
igniter
caused
the propellant to
burn at
both
ends at once
and so ensure fast and even burning which increased the motor s efficiency.
The
motor
weight totalled 14 Ibs and the rocket s velocity
was
1,120 feet/ sec.
Maximum
range
was
7,723
yards
for
HE and
7546 for
smoke.
BELOW: 75 em HE Rocket with Tp : Tropical use stencils
14
ABOVE: Inserting an ERZ
39
initiator into a rocket in a 75 em anzerw erfer 42.
(IWM-STT5705).
The payload
was
in a fibre container in the rock et s steel base. The usual
HE charge was Ib of
TNT
which
could
cause considerable blast damage.
A fuse was screwed into the base and could be either a
conventional centri
fugally armed contact fuse or a
time
delay fuse for use on fortifications . The
charge was held separate
from
the
motor
by an iron spacer
to
prevent prema
ture detonation.
The rocket was usually painted dark green or grey with identifying stencils
in white or black. Length was
36·6
inches and weight
70
Ib for
HE
and
79
Ib
for smoke.
The rockets were delivered to the troops in wooden boxes each
containing
one round and an
initiator
in a waxed cardboard tube clipped under the lid.
These initiators were
known
as the Elektrischer Randdusenzunder 39 or
ERZ 39.
LAUNCHERS
The
5 em Nebelwerfer 4
The 15 cm Nebelwerfer 4 is still perhaps
the
best known of the rocket
launchers used by the Germans and was encountered on all fronts
from
1942
onwards. Originally thought to
be
a form of mortar
it
earned the names of
Moaning Minnie
or Screaming
Mimi
from
the
Allies who learned to fear
its high rate of fire and destructive powers
throughout
the war.
Basically the Nebelwerfer
4
(or Nebelwerfer d as it was sometimes referred
to
in Allied reports) was a well designed six-barrelled
weapon
which
was
light,
mobile and relatively cheap. The six 5 inch long barrels were spaced
equally round a central axis and
mounted
on a two wheel carriage with a
split trail and a front stabiliser plate (see photographs). The barrels could be
elevated from 5
45 ° and traversed 27°
Weight when
ready
for
action was
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only 1191 Ibs so only a
light
towing vehicle was required- usually a
3-ton
truck . The carriage was adapted from that used on the 3·7 cm Pak 35
/3
6 L/45.
The barrels were 16 cm in diameter with three raised guide rails about t inch
high reducing the calibre to 15 cm. Laying was effected by use of the elevation
and traverse wh ee ls on th e left of th e piece where a dial sight was attached
under a hinged metal box cover. Loading was carried out by two numbers
of
the
four-man crew each working from one side and loading the bottom
barrels first and working upwards. The rockets were held in place by spring
clips
with
the bases projecting (see photographs). A further spring catch was
then moved over to contact the electrical initiator in one of th e venturi. After
loading the
crew retired to prepared
slit trenche
s some
10
- 15 yards away and
the
rockets were fired. The rockets were fired in a set sequence (see diagram)
by electrical impulses from a hand generator and the impulses were trans
mitted to the projector along a seven-core cable to a plug and socket on the
ebe lwe rfer
41
firin g diagram The six
barrels we re fired in th e follow ing
sequ ence: 1-4-6-3 -5-2.
0
O
BELOW: A loaded 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 capturedat Ba
nnev
i/le near Troam on
July
20, 1944. The box on the
left-hand
side contains the sigh ts IWM -B77
83)
.
ABOVE: Loading the top t
wo
rounds
into
a
15 cm
Nebelwerfer
41
.
IWM-STT5137J.
right
- hand side
of the mounting.
From
th
ere
the
pulses were fed to
the initiators
by fixed cables on the projector. The rockets were fired at 2-second intervals
and this interval had to be judged by th e firer using the rotary hand
generator-one turn
fired
one rocket
.
All
six rockets
could then
be fired and
reloaded in
90
second
s When
fired
the
rockets made a
distinct
droning
sound
and left a trail
of
smoke which gave rise to one of the Nebelwerfer
41
's tactical
limitations as these smoke trails were highly visible and attracted counter
battery artillery and mortar fire.
The
15
cm
Nebelwerf
er
41
remained
the
sta ndard
equipment of th
e
Werferabteilung throughout the war .
hemical Warfare
To complete the 15 cm details a brief mention of the projectiles intended for
chemical warfare must be mad e. The rockets used for this purpose were 40·1
inches long (same length as the smoke filled Nebelgranate) . Markings on the
nose were either a series of green
rings--each
gree n ring
acting
as a code for
7
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the f i l l ing-or
a green cross. There
were
three main fillings, two variations
of
mustard gas and one
unidentified
odourless gas, as well
as
phosgene which
was first used at Verdun in
1917.
Doubtless there were
many
other agents
available.
BEL OW:
Laying
a 75 em Nebel
werf
er 47 T
he sight being
used is
probably
an
Aushilfsrichtmittel38 (No 8 Auxiliary sight) . BOTTOM: Prepanng a 7 em
Nebelwerfer 47 for firing.
ABO
VE
T
his shot of
a
7
em
Neb
elwerfer
may
have been 'po
sed
as th e
re
is
no
cable
leadi
ng
t
the ju nction
box
on the right-hand side of the
pr
ojector Nore
ho wever the rocker's rransp0r/ tub e under the soldier's boot. (IWM-NA2628).
These
weapons were
not used
operationally partly due to the
great dislike
of
gas
by
Hitler
who was himself
gassed
during World
War I) and
many of
the
senior
Army
commanders,
but
more
particularly
to fear of retaliation
by the
Allies.
It was
well known to
the
Germans
that the
Russians were
equipped
with aircraft capable
of
spraying prussic acid over large areas, which would
require a great deal of protection and
de-contamination
activities by
the
recipients. As a result many chemical filled shells and rockets were refilled
with high
explosive
during
the latter stages of the war, but
were not always
re-colour
coded.
Chief Chemical Warfare adviser
to
the
Army High Command
OKW)
during
1945 was General Hermann Ochsner, General die Nebeltruppen.
15 em Do gerat 38
The Do-geriit designation was sometimes wrongly applied by
the
Allies to
the
Nebelwerfer
4
but in fact it applied to a projector developed for use by the
Fallschirmjiiger the German parachute arm). It fired a single 15 cm rocket and
was
designed to be
dropped by
parachute.
The main
projector
frame Schiessrinne) waS a metal
framework
some 7 to
8 feet long and 6 inches square.
t was supported
at
the forward
end
by
a
bipod
with limited elevation and traversing gear. The rear end rested on the
ground. This frame was very
lightly
constructed and weighed only 421b. Attach
ed to
it
was a dial sight, which was normally packed in a special container,
and the electrical firing mechanism and cable. The
whole
equipment was
designed
to
break down
into
containers for parachute dropping and then
quick
nnd easy assembly for use. The rocket
was then introduced
from
the forward
end
of the
frame and fired, as
with the Nebelwerfer
41,
from
a
position
under
cover some 10-15 yards distant. As there was
only
one round to be fired a simple
two -core cable
could
be used with probably a light battery
for
an electrical
sOllrce.
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ABOVE: The
15
em Nebelwerfer 41 on display at the Imperial War Mu seum
The Do-geriit does not appear to have been widely used and illustrations of
it are rare.
5 em Panzerwerfer 42
One of the major
limitations
in action of the Nebelwerfer
41
was the smoke
trail left
by
the rocket in f light. As already mentioned this attracted counter
bilttery
activity
and thus reduced the length
of
time a rocket battery could
sl i ly in action before it had
to
withdraw. To overcome this
limitation
the
1':lIm,
rw
crfer 42 was developed
to
make the
15
cm projector more mobile. It
ill v()
l
vo ci mounting
ten 15 cm barrels on
the
roof
of
a lightly armoured
IVI:llilli'lr
(Milk) truck
manufactured
by
Opel. The ten barrels were arranged in
1 '11/ lilY ,
:. r
fivll
ilnd the mounting
had a 270
0
traverse and
80
0
elevation.
1,,,,01111
11
1:,,:1
III Ito c:mi d
out
outside
the
vehicle so in use
the
vehicle fired
II 11 11
il
l II
(11",11,,,, illi
lido II I(:
cab ) and then moved off
into
cover to reload.
II ,
J\ l,
lIlli l
,1 III'
·H
'
',"e l
W:1S, to
give its full designation,
the Sd
Kfz 4/1
1'1," 1 I I
II
I I
VI' ''
~ / : l l I h ::I:IIHI:lrd commercial chassis
of
this vehicle had
1, 111
11 Id
ll
ll,, 1 Il y ' ' '1 '
1 11
i l1l1 11,\
HI: II
' ilxle wnd wheels with a
Horstmann-type
1111 I 11 1,,1 1111 1''''' '
'\111\
,, I dissimilar to that used
on
the British
)
Universal Carrier series. The original drive shaft had been shortened to drive
the
forward
track sprockets . Each track had its
own
brake controlled by two
levers on the driver's right which could be used to assist steering.
The welded armour body was
TI
inches thick and proof only against
small arms fire. Each vehicle carried one 7 ·92 mm
MG
34 or MG 42 mounted
on a pintle above the cab, and the crew of three usually carried three
9 mm SUb-machine guns with
2,000
rounds of 9 mm ammunition and 2,000
rounds of 7 ·92 mm . As well as the ten rockets loaded in the projector another
ten were carried internally. Further rounds were carried in accompanying
Munitionspanzer
Maultiers. Even with the above mentioned load the tracked
Maultier had a good cross-country performance
with
the 3·6 litre six-cylinder
engine giving a speed
of 25
mph over flat
ground
. Some 300 were ordered.
However the
Maultier
was seen
only
as a makeshift design
until
the Panzer
werfer 42
could
be mounted on the chassis of
the
Schwerer Wehrmachts
schlepper
(or
SWS). This came
into
service in late 1944. The 15 cm
Panzerwerfer was unchanged but the SWS could now carry
26
rockets
internally in addition to the ten in the projector. Overall layout was similar
to th at of the earlier Maultier, but the
all-round
performance was improved
and the overall
height
was lower (6 feet 8 inches as against 8 feet 6 inches).
The armoured version of the SWS was intended to replace the Sd Kfz 250 and
251
half-track series but the end
of
the
war
prevented this happening. It
followed
the general half-track layout but had numerous improvements in
design, especially in the track.
Some SWS
units
were encountered from late 1944 onwards. One captured
example was
found to
carry, in addition
to the full
complement
of
rockets,
two
8,8
cm Panzerschreck launchers, Panzerfauste, hand grenades, smoke grenades
and magnetic charges as well
as
the
roof-mounted
MG 42 and the crew's
side arms.
Allied intelligence reports mention the Pan
ze
rwerfer
42
being mounted on the
BELOW:
An
Allied motor cyclist examines a captured Nebelwerfer 41 in May
1943 Note the electrical cables for flfing and the internal guide rails inside the
barre/ IWM-NA2583).
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views of Maultiers carry-
I IJ cm Panzerwerfer
42
ors. Note the leading
;/1. III
he lower picture
IllI.
conine
cooling
vents
22
ABOVE: Maintenance on a
75 cm
Panzerwerfer
42.
No te the
G on
the
hull
side which is probably a battery letter.
Sd Kfz 11 / 5 Leichter
Zugkraftwagen
in
1943
.
No
pictorial evidence
of this
variant appears to survive.
After the war the
French
mounted
captured Panze rw erfer
42 projectors
on
Somua carr iers but this vehicle is beyond the scope of this book
In additon to the 15 cm projectors mentioned above, the 21 cm Nebel-
werfer
42
cou ld also be fitted with lin er rails to fir e th e 15 cm rocket. The
30 cm Raketenwerfer 56 could also
be
so adapted.
At the end of the
war
experiments were being carried
out
by Skoda and
Krupp
to
investigate fin stabilisation
of
the
15
C l1 rocket, and also the
fitting
of hollow charge exp losive heads wa s projected. One much revised 15 cm
design was being developed at Rugenwalde
as
a concrete piercing weapon
Weighing 130 kg and about 280 cm long it cou d be fired from a closed
breech tub e or from rails. Several test f irings were made but the end of the war
precluded fu rther trials.
In March
1945
it was proposed that a 12 cm rocket shou ld
be
designed
to
replace the
15
cm rocket as an
economy
meas ur
e
Existing
15
cm projectors
would be fitted with liner rails
but as
with so
ma
ny
ot
her
developments
the war ended before the project really started.
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The 2 cm Rocket
The 21 cm Wurfgrenate 42 Spreng was developed and utilised alongside the
15
cm rocket. However in appearance
it
resembled a
conventional
artillery
round as
it was
carefully streamlined by the
addition
of a false hollow nose
ogive)
which
did
away with the usual blunt nose of most German rockets.
Layout
of the rocket
was
conventional ie, the motor was at the rear and the
warhead in front, both encased in a mild steel body. The
motor was
made up
of
seven propellant sticks, each
21·67
inches long, each stick 2-46 inches in
diameter. A grid trap separated the propellant from the nozzle assembly and
between the two
was
a tinfoil sealing disc to keep out moisture. Round th e
edge of the nozzle assembly were 22 venturi angled
at
16°
from the rocket
axis
to
impart the stabilising spin in
flight.
In the centre of the
one-piece
nozzle
plate
was
a hole ready to take the ERZ 39 (Elektrische Randdusenzunder 39)
initiator . When fired electrically the ERZ 39 would ignite a
quickmatch
relay
through
the centre
of
the
motor to
the black
powder
igniter at
the front of the
body. A small spacer ring held the
igniter
separate from the
motor to
ensure
even burning . Weight of the motor was 87·75 Ib and the nozzle assembly
5 12 lb. The propellant alone weighed 40·25 lb.
The 90 Ib warhead shell contained 22-4 Ib of T T and
was
threaded onto
the
motor
body. A
point
detonating fuse with an
optional
delay
of
0 ·
10
seconds
was
screwed
into
a booster cup in the nose. Connection to the fuse
was made from the false ogive by a wooden rod .
Overall length of the rocket was 49·21 inches and
the
total weight was
241 ·3 Ibs.
Only
HE rockets appear to have been used in
this
calibre. Supplied
to the front line in shaped mild steel cage crates, they
were
painted black or
dark grey with white stencilled markings.
LAUNCHERS
The 2
em
Nebelwerfer 4
Originally intended to be an enlarged version of the six-barrelled 15 cm
Nebelwerfer
41 . The 21
cm
Nebelwerfer 42 ended up as a five-barrelled
projector. However in all other respects
it
clearly resembled the 15 cm
projector and even utilised the same 3·7 cm Pak derived carriage.
The decision to use the five-barrel layout was made because of
the
better
balance and
stability
of
the
mounting when
using
the
heavier
21
cm
ammunition.
The 4 feet 3?
inch
long barrels were spaced round a central axis and held
in position by stamped steel
plates-one
near the breech and another
half-way to the muzzle. Elevation and traverse controls were simple and actu
ated by pressed steel
wheels
on the left of the carriage. Elevation
was
from
_5 ° to 45° and traverse 12 ° either side. As on the 15 cm equipment there
was a split trail and a stabilising plate on the front of the axle. The wheels
w ere stamped steel discs with
6·00/20
pneumatic tyres.
Weight
of
the
equipment was
12
cwt 605 kg). Maximum range of the projector was 8530
OPPOSITE PAGE: A sequence showing the loading and firing of a
21
cm
Ncbelwerfer
42
TOP) Loading-notethe transp ort cages. MIDDLE) Operating
the hand generator.
BOTTOM)
Firing, there appears to be three projectors in
use
/WM-STT7339).
24
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yards (7850 metres) according
to
range tabl es but some rockets managed
to
reach 1
0,000
yards on trials in North Africa.
Loading was effected from the rear.
Wh
en loaded the rocket rear was flush
with the end of the barrel and held in position by spring-loaded catches.
Firing was normally carried
out
electrically from a p osition under cover some
10 yards
from the
projector.
connection to the
electrical
network
on
the
barrels
being made by a six-core cable via a
junction
box on the right-hand side of
the mounting. The
0 3A
initiating current came from a small hand generator.
For firing order see diagram.
During 1944-45 the firms of Krupp and Skoda were both experimenting
with fin
stabilising
of 21
cm rockets. The German surrender in May 1945 ended
these experiments. Other experiments w ere also carried out with
hollow-charge
warheads for the 21 cm rocket.
21
cm Nebelwerfer 42 fir ing diagram.
The five barrels were fired
in
the
following
sequence:
1-5-3-4-2.
1
---)
/---
)
5
I
2
\ .
. ,,--
/
l
4 )i 3
.
\ . /
' - ~ . /
BELOW
Troops
reti
re t
cover
after
loading
the rockets
int
o a
21 em Nebelwerfer42. ( lWM-MH347 .
AIRCRAFT LAUNCHERS
Although strictly outside the scope of this book, mention should be made of
the fitting of 21 cm rocket launchers to fighter aircraft in an attempt to break up
the
massive
formations
of
8th USAAF
bombers (mainly
B-17
Flying Fortresses)
which
made almost daily daylight raids over the Reich from 1942 onwards.
The defensive fir e of these format ions made interception by normal fighter
armament difficult and costly, so many possible solutions were tried out and the
21 cm
projector
came
well
out
of
experiments.
The
equipment was called the Wurfgerat 21, and fired a normal 21 cm
Wurfgrenate 42 Spreng from a single
21
cm barrel hung under the wing of
a BF 109G·6/ R4 fighter. To the crews the projector was known as the
Ofenrohr (or Dodel) (not to be confused with the 8·8 cm Panzerschrek) and
two were carried by each
fighter
, one
under
each wing. First issued
to squad
rons during mid-August 1943 they were fired from some 800 yards behir:d the
formation and proved very effective. However, th e projectors slowed down the
fighter aircraft considerably and affected th e airflow over the elevators, so
that
wh
en
long-range
escort fighters such
as
the P-47 Thunderbolt
and P-51
Mustang
came
into
use by
the USAAF the Ofenrohr was withdrawn from
use. They were used mainly by JG 1 and JG 26 , both Schlageter units,
and the period of ma xim um success was August and September 1943.
The
Fw 190A-4
/ R6
was
also
fitted
with
the WG
21,
as was the
twin
engined
Bf
11 OF-2 which
could
carry
four tubes
. A
ground attack adaptation
of
th e WG
21
w
as
tried out by Hs
129B units
on
the
Eastern Front
for
use
against tanks, but was not a success. Ju 88 ground attack units also tried
the WG 21, ?gain without success.
The
28 32
cm ockets
The first of
the
Ger'man field rockets
to
enter service, the
28/32
cm
rccket
equipments
appear
ed
in late
1940.
Compared with later rockets
they
were of
poor
ballistic shape but compensated for
the
ir relatively
short
range by
th ei
r
large payloads.
Both rockets had basically
the
same co
nstruction
a
nd
motor, and used
the
same projectors
but
the major difference5 are best described
fir
st:
The 28 em Wurfkdrper
Spr
e
ng
This
weighed
181 Ibs and contained 110 Ibs of
TNT
or amatol.
It could
be
identifi
ed
by
a 1
j-
inch
wid
)
pink
band
round the
head
of
the
projecti le.
Length
was
3 feet
11
inches.
The
32
em Wurfkdrper M L 50
This
weighed
174 Ibs and co ntained 11
gallons
of a
mobil
e brown
incendiary
liquid
made
from
a mixture of petrol and diesel oil. The
identifying
band
was
green and
yellow.
Length
was
4 feet inches. Filling was carried out
through
a
plug
behind the
swell
of
the
head .
The general appearance of the rocket can
be
seen
from th
e
photographs.
In
both
types
the
motor
was
at
th
e rear
with the la
rge
bulbous
head
containing
the proportionately
large charge. Propulsion came
from
a
14
Ib 9 oz charge of
propellant known
as
dieth
ylene
glycol dinitrate
. This substance
was
in a single
stick
with one central hole and e
ight grooves
spaced round
the outside
to
assist burning . In
this
hole and
the
grooves cellular sticks were placed
to
start
the burning
after
ignition
from
front
and rear by two separate ignitors.
Ignition was commenced
by an electrical
initiator
in
the
base. The exhaust
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gases vented
through 26
1 cm jets inclined
14
right
to impart spin to
the
rocket
in flight . Diameter of the
motor was
14 cm. For tropical use the exhaust end of
the motor
was sealed with
aluminium foil
or a mild steel plate. European
rounds
were
left
unprotected.
The fuse on
the 28
cm
was
of
the point detonating
or graze
action
type.
A safety pin
was fitted
which had
to
be removed before
firing. After
firing, two
centrifugal bolts armed the fuse. Fusing for the 32 cm rocket was similar.
Both types were
cont
ained in a wood or metal crate known as a
packkiste . They were designed to be fired from this crate and the crate also
served as storage and cnrrying containers.
Maximum
range for the
28
cm was
2337
yards and
2217
yards for the
32
cm. Minimum range
was
1019 yards.
LAUNCHERS
Simplest
of
all of
the 28
/
32
cm projectors
was the
carrying crate. Each crate had
small hinged legs on its base and these
could
be used
for
small elevation correc-
tions
after
the
front of
the
crate had been
positioned
on an earth
mound
or low
wall.
Laying
was completed
by
simply pointing the round
at its
target
. The
safety pin was then removed and the rocket fired electrically by a hand genera -
tor after the user had taken cov er some 10 15 yards away. Single rou nds used
in this way were of great assistance in demolishing strong points and bunkers
in the path of attacking
infantry
units but accuracy
was
not of a
high
order and
only
large targets could be usefully engaged. However
the
large explosive or
inc e
ndiary
charge
was
devastating in
it
s effect.
The
Schweres Wurfgerat 4 nd 4
The Schweres Wurfgeriit
40
and 4 w ere two tYP3S of the same static launching
frame
to hold four 28
or
32
cm rockets in
their
crates ready for
firing.
The
only
differences
between the
two types
wns that
the
Schweres Wurfgeriit
BEL
O
W:
Schweres Wurfger
iit
emplaced and loaded ready for the assault on
Sebastapol 1942.
ABOVE: (Top) Schweres Wurfgerat 4
0
Bo
tt
om) Schweres Wurfgeri :t 41.
40 was made of wood and weighed
115
Ib while the 4 model was metal
and weighed 243 lb. Both were simple frames with the front legs adjustable
for elevation. Four crates were laid on top and after connecting up the initi-
ators in the rocket base centres the
equipment was
ready for action. As always,
firing was
carried out
from
a position
under cover
but
the
Schweres
Wurfgeriit
was
often used in
remotely controlled
batteries to cover approaches
to
a
de-
fended position or emplaced
to
lay
down
a
rocket
barrage
during
an attack.
All four
rockets
could
not be fired at once,
but
at
2 second
intervals.
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This delay was introduced automatically by means of a device known as the
GILikzundkette 40 mV. It was in fact made up of lengths of a delay composition
in plug assemblies to each rocket. An electrical pulse from a standard hand
generator fired one rocket and the delay composition then acted as a slowmatch
to fire off the other rockets after 2 4 and then 6 seconds. The cableform ends
were identifiable by metal tags and labelled 4,0,2,6 (seconds) from left to right as
this was the correct firing order, ie, 3-1-2-4. The required firing current was
O amperes.
Laying the Wurfgeriit frames was effected by setting up the frame facing the
target and then setting the elevation angle by using a hand clinometer on the
motor body (as shown in the pl1otograph). The front of the frame was then
raised or lowered until the appropriate angle was obtained and the adjustable
frame
front
legs were locked in position. If the rockets were already on the
frame up to four men were needed to carry out this task. A range and elevation
table is shown separately.
The Schweres Wurfgerat 41 could also be used to fire 30 cm rockets from
their transport crates.
The WG
28
As the
war
in Russia progressed, it bacame appa rent that the Russian tank
forces were becoming more
powerful as
time ran out for the opposing Panzer
BELOW· A Czech officer us
ing
a hand
cl
inom eter t dete
rmi
ne the correct
elevation of a Sch weres Wurfgerat
41;
up to four men we
r
n
ded
to
ho ld
the
frame in
pl
ace before clamping .
IWM-81
5 103 .
Extract from range tables for
28/32
cm Rocket
Projectors
40
and
41
(Schwere Wurfgerat 40 und
41
28cm HE Rocket
Correction
50% zone
Range Elevation for
drift
length
breadth
m
mils mils m m
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
1925
68
92
116
140
165
192
219
248
278
311
344
379
417
460
509
569
659
698
+ 5
+ 7
+ 8
+10
+ 11
+ 13
+
15
+
17
+ 19
+21
+23
+26
+ 28
+ 31
+ 35
+ 39
+ 45
+48
-
-
-
-
-
160 20
20
60
150 20
30
50
150
30
150
40
40
50
140 40
50
30
120
50
60
10
70
0
80
80
90
0
900
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
2100
2200
_ . 0
32cm
Incendiary Rocket
78
98
118
140
162
185
208
233
259
286
314
344
375
409
447
490
540
602
800
+ 7
+ 8
+ 10
+ 12
+13
+
15
+17
+
19
+ 21
+ 23
+ 26
+28
+30
+
33
+36
+40
+
44
+49
+
60
31
-
I
-
i
170
20
170
20
170
20
170 30
180
30
180 30
180
40
40
80
170
50
160 50
60
50
140 60
70
20
110 80
100 80
9000
I
100 110
30
8/20/2019 Almark - Field Rocket Equipment of the German Army 1939-1945
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units. To try and stem the armoured flood, many airborne
weapons
were
experimented with, and amongst them
was
a
tube-launched
adaptation of the
28 cm rocket. known
as
the Werfer Gerat 28 (or WG
28)
. This launcher
was
mounted
under
the
wings of
both the
Hs 129B and an undesignated Ju 88 ,
unofficially known as the Ju 88N or Ju 88Nbwe. In both cases the WG 28
was
not
a success, probably due
to
its
drag-inducing
large frontal area and the
generally poor accuracy
of the
28 cm rocket. As a result of
the
experiments
both types of aircraft were adapted to carry the 7·5 cm Kwk 39 anti-tank gun.
Another type of aircraft that attempted to use
the
WG 28 operationally was
the
Focke-Wulf
F 190F-8. These aircraft were
flown by
·SchlachtflieJer
units
on the Eastern Front but
the
results were
not encouraging
and the units went
on to try other ·tank-busting· methods. In service with these
units
the WG 28
was referred to as the ·Werfer-Granate 28/ 32· .
BELOW: Laying a
28
/32 cm Nebelwerfer 41
. h
e mushroom shaped ob jects
on
top are u
sed
to h
old
the
ro
cke ts in p lace when t
he top
flap s hingedforwards
and
do w n f
or
transportation.
Note
the
c
ble from t
he
f i
ring
position to the
connect ion
box
and the leads to the rocket i
ni
tiator. I WM -STT5
56
0 .
ABOVE: A
28
/3
2
cm
N ebelwerfer
41
Note the
junc
tion
box
on the
near
side
The
28 32
em ebelwerfer 4
To give the 28/
32 cm
rockets more
mobility
than
that
afforded
by
the
Schweres Wurfgerat
40
and 41 the Nebelwerfer 41 was developed. This con
sisted of a two-wheeled trailer towed
into
action by a
Sd
Kfz 1
O/1-ton
half
tracked vehicle. On this trailer was mounted six open steel frames in two
superimposed rows of three. Each of the six frames was contoured to hold one
32 cm
rocket and lin er rails were provided for use with
28
cm rockets. Elevation
and traverse mechanism was provided for use by the layer
who
stood by or sat
on the left-hand mudguard and used a small dial sight fixed to the launcher
framework. These sights were covered by a hinged metal flap when not in use.
In action the launcher was held rigidly in position by
two
jacks in
front of
the
launcher rails and a small trail spade. The trail was not
spli t -a
feature which
differentiates the Nebelwerfer
41
from the similar 30 cm Raketenwerfer 56.
Traverse for the Nebelwerfer
41
was 30 °and elevation from 0
to 45
°.
Weight
was 2,460 lb . Ranges were the same as
that
for
the
Schweres Wurfgerat 40
and 41.
Firing was effected electrically. The
connection
box was on the right-hand
side of the projector. For an initiator the Steckzunder
40
was used. This was
a simple plug screwed
into
the centre
of
the rocket base . Two 13 inch long
insulated leads leading
from
it were then connected to
the
fixed electrical
circuitry on th e launcher The Steckzunder
40
was carried separately from other
ammunition in sealed cardboard cartons, each
holding 16
initiators ready
for
use. Rockets were fired in the order shown in the diagram.
The 28/ 32 cm Nebelwerfer 41 was one of the projectors used by the
Heavy Rocket Projector Battalions motorised) (Schwere Werferabteilung
(mot)
of the
SS
and
Army
divisions. They saw extensive service in Russia.
8
3 cm Nebelwerler
41
firing diagram. The
ix crad les were fired in the follow ing sequence :
2-5-1-3-4-6.
33
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ABOVE:
A Russian soldier holds a meter rule against a
28/32 cm
Nebel-
werfer
41 In
the
foreground
are two
28cm
rockets - one
unfused
and one in
its packkiste·. In
front
of he launcher are the
28 cm lin
er rads not needed for
the two visible
32 cm
rockets loaded in the launcher.
In
the
background
can
be seen a 15
cm
Nebelwerfer 41
(IWM-21024J.
The chweres Wurfrahmen 4
One
of
the lessons learned from the early campaigns
of
1939-40 was the need
for heavy support fire
for
the forward elements
of
the Panzer divisions.
At
that
time much of
the
Wehrmacht artillery was still conventional in form and towed
by horse or truck. This was too
slow
and lacked cross-country ability so
alternative means had to be found. One solution and the most
widely
used
was
the
Sturmgeschiitze series of mobile guns on a
wide
variety of tracked
chassis. The half-tracks were also involved in this new concept but they were
mainly too light
to
effectively mount the heavy weapons needed. To rectify
BELOW: A poor qualilV battlefield shot
of
an Sd Kfz
251 1
in action. This
vehicle was sometimes called SlUka zum fuss - Infantrv Stuka .
IUOVE:
An Sd
Kfz
251 /1
firing its last rocket
during
the
fighting
in Stalingrad. Note the empIV crates.
8/20/2019 Almark - Field Rocket Equipment of the German Army 1939-1945
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:.. . -
AB O
VE:
A captured Sd Kfz 251 with the SWR
40
frames clearly visible. The
swivelling pla tes and clamps are sho wn at varying angles IWM -NA 10
436
) .
this the Schweres Wurfrahmen 40 was designed by the J.Gast KG. of Berlin
Lichtenberg
during
1940 for
mounting on the
Sd Kfz 251 or 251 / 1. The end
result meant
that the
relatively
light half-track could
pack a
punch
harder
than
many
of its heavier,
co
stlier and more
complex
counterparts
(though not as
accurately) .
In it s final form the Schweres Wurfrahmen 40 or SWR 40) enabled th e
Sd Kfz 251 or more
comm
only the 251 / 1 t o carry si x
28
/
32
cm rockets
in their crates on a frame designed to carry three projectil es on each side of
the vehicle. The rockets were attached to a plate on this frame still in their
carrying crate and
they were
fired
from the
crate. Each
pivoting
plate
could
be
elevated between 5°and
45
° and a scale was provided
for
laying along with a
fixing clamp.
The rockets were
not
loaded on to the Wurfrahmen until required-otherwise
the width of the vehicle could become awkward. In transit, the six rockets were
stowed inside the vehi c le. Normally the load consisted of five 28 cm rockets
and
one 32 cm
incendiary. In action
the
vehicle was directed nose first
towards the
target
(no other
traverse c
ontrol
was
provided),
brakes
were
applied, the crates
( packkiste )
loaded, the plate elevated to the required angle
and then clamped into position . The
crew
th en retired to cover some
10
yards
distant for
firing. Extra rounds
could
be carried in
follow
- up
half-tracks
or
lorries. Once the rockets had been expended or even not required further the
Sd Kfz 251 / 1
could
still carry out its
num
erous tasks while retaining the
SWR 40 . The normal armame
nt
of
2MG
34 s was retained and in some cases
the forward
MG 34
was
replaced
by
a 2
cm KwK 30
or
KwK 38
.
S
chw
eres Wurfrahmen
40
firing
diagram. The si x c rad es w ere fired in
Ihe foll
owin
g
se
quence : 1
-2-3-4-5
-6.
36
There were two sub-types of the SWR 40 the A and B,
but
these appear
to have differed only in the
el
ectrical firing circuits on the frames, and even
then only
in
the
co
nnections
to
the
init iator. The Type A used for an
initiator
the
Steckzunder
40, as
used in the
28/32 cm Nebelwerfer
41.
However the
Type B used
the
similar
Druckknopfzunder 42
which differed
mainly
in having
press stud terminal s on the ends
of
th e leads. Like th e earlier initiator,
it
was
issued in sealed cardboard cartons
containing
16 items.
The six rockets could be fired in ten seconds. The accompanying diagram
shows the firing order.
Sd Kfz 25
half-tracks
carrying
the
SWR 40 were
widely
used in Russia,
especially
during
the sieges of Stalingrad and Leningrad.
They were
also
encountered in Tunisia, Sicily, Italy and
NW
Europe.
One other vehicle that carried the SWR 40 was th e French built Infantrie
Schlepper
UE(f)
. This was one of the small infantry carriers captured during
the 1940 campaign and held in reserve by the Wehrmacht until late 1943 when
the growing threat
of Allied
invasion in
North
France led
to the improvisation
of many types of
mobile weapons
on French cha ssis. Small numbers
of the
UE
carriers
were
adapted
to
carry
four
launchers, two on each side.
With
a
crew
of
two or three internal rocket
stowage must
have been minimal.
Aiming
and
firing methods were th e same as that described
for
the full SWR 40 . It is
not
known how many vehicles w ere converted. Weight of th e vehicle with the racks
fitted was 1 ·75 tons.
The 3 cm Rocket
Of
all
the
large field rockets, the
30 cm
rocket
was
the largest and
the
latest
to see service.
It
bene
fited
from earlier experience in
that it employed
an
enlarged
15
cm motor and its launchers
wer
e similar to, and in two cases
the same as, those employed by the 28 / 32 cm rocket.
In appearance it was much more streamlined than the clumsy-looking 28/ 32
cm family, but apart from that they were similar in concept, ie, the rocket
motor was at the rear and the proportionately large warhead w as at the front .
There the resemblance ended
for
the
30
cm
Wurfkiirper 42
Spreng
(or
Wurfkiirper
Spreng 4491)
weighed 277
Ib of which
100
Ib
was the
amatol
bursting charge. The
propellant
weight
was just
over
33
Ib which meant a
higher payload to motor w eight rati o than other German field rocket types and
this resulted in a ma x imum range of 6000 metres (6562 yards) though the
BELOW: A Wurfrahm
en 40
armed Sd Kfz
251 1 rea
dy
for
act ion. No te the
commander s stereoscopic binoculars.
8/20/2019 Almark - Field Rocket Equipment of the German Army 1939-1945
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normal fighting range was from
400
-5500 metres
(437-6015
yards) . Overall
length was a fraction over 4 feet.
The
30
cm rocket appears to have used high explosive fillings only. They
were painted black
with white
stencilled letters round the nose to denote filling
and batch number.
As already mentioned the motor was an enlarged version of the successful
15
cm motor. The motor was 22- inches long and 8- inches
wide
and contained
in a steel tube 0-43 inches thick. Seven sticks
of
Hydro-cellulosepulver made
up the propellent
which vented
through the base venturi block consisting
of
18
holes angled
12
°
42
to rotate the projectile. This venturi-block had a central
hole into
which
the initiator was permanently fixed. In the event
of
a misfire
however,
the initiator could be unscrewed and replaced by a
new
item. When
fired electrically the initiator ignited a small
gunpowder
pellet
which
in turn
ignited a celluloid tube
which
ran centrally along the motor to the maintainer.
The maintainer started the main motor charge
as
normal,
but
the maintainer
was held from the charge sticks by a wire mesh grid, introduced to prevent
damage or premature firing
of
the motor
if
the rocket was accidentally dropped
or knocked.
L UNCHERS
Like the 28 / 32 cm rocket the 30 cm rocket was issued to the
front
line in
a
wooden
carrying crate or 'packkiste'. This could also be used as a launching
rack but was
not
often so employed.
Also like the
28/32
cm series the Schweres Wurfgerat
4
was used in a
BELOW: 3 cm rockets in flight Note the re lative absence of smoke
IW
M-S
TT5572J
,
,
,
ABOVE: Camouflaging a 3 cm Nebelwerfer 42 p
ri
or to i ts use in a barrage
Th
e
end result can be
se
en in the
left
backgroun
d.
purely static or defensive role, as a launching ramp for the
30
cm projectile .
For details of the Schweres Wurfgerat
4
see the section on the 28/ 32 cm
rockets.
The 3 em Nebelwerfer 42
Following similarity
to
the 28/ 32 cm, the 30 cm Nebelwerfer
42
was an
enlarged version of
the
28 /
32
cm Nebelwerfer 42. The only real difference was
in the w elded steel projectors which were re-contoured and longer to take
the
30
cm ammunition . In addition the
two front
stabiliser jacks were
not
always
fitted. Laying, firing and firing sequence was the same
as
the 28/ 32 cm
Nebelwerfer
4
.
The 3 em Raketenwerfer 56
On
this
projector
the launching
rails remained the same
as
on the
30
cm
Nebel
werfer 42 but the carriage was adapted from the 5 cm Pak 38 anti-tank gun
carriage. This was of the split-trail type. The
two
trails were
tubular
and split
to 56 inches between
the
trails. On each trail
was
a brake lever connected by
a cable
to
the wheel. The 16·2 inches diameter wheels had solid rubber tyres
and were made up of pressed steel discs. The axle was mounted on yokes
. hinged
to
the carriage and mounted on transve
rse
leaf spring suspension. When
the trail was spread
this
leaf spring was compressed and this stabilised the
carriage.
Apart from the normal towing eye at the end of the trail arms, a second eye
was provided on the carriage under the projector frame so that other projectors
could
be
added
to
form a chain (see photograph on page 41). In the photo
graph the towing vehicle is a
Maultier
Munitionspanzer but many other
methods of towing could be used including horses.
As on other rocket projectors the sights were on the left along with the
39
8/20/2019 Almark - Field Rocket Equipment of the German Army 1939-1945
21/37
elevating from 0 °_65 °) and traverse 40 °) controls. However apart from the
normal dial sight an open fixed sight calibrated from 100-1000 metres 110
1093 yards) was also provided .
As mentioned in the section
on
the 15 cm
rocket
the 30 cm
Raketenwerfer
56 could be adapted to fire the 15 cm projectile. Liner rails could be inserted
into the 30
cm
projectors and
when
not in use, these rails were stacked and
secured onto the launcher frames (see
photographs)
.
BELOW: A
30
em N ebelwerfer
42. No
te the open box at the lef
t
ha
nd
si
de
which covers the sig
ht
s when not i n use.
40
AB OVE: Three abandoned 30 em Raketenw
er f
er 56s in front of mu
ni tion
spanzers al O
ell
e in April
1945.
On
to
p
of
the
pro
j ectors are stack
ed
the
15
em
li
ner rails. I
WM
-
BU 4
30) .
The 30
cm
Raketenwerfer
56
entered service
during 1944
and remained
in
use on all fronts until the end of hostilities.
The cm Rocket
The sharp
division of
status and establishment
between the
regular Wehrmac
ht
and units of the Waffen
55
even went down to equipment and weapon level.
Thus
it is not surprising
to discover
that although the
55 units
also used the
standard field
rocket equipments
,
they developed
and used a
different type
of
rocket for issue to their formations alone. This rocket was the 8 cm Raketen-
sprenggranate,
developed from
a projectile
originally intended
for aircraft use,
and which differed from most of the larger field rockets in being fin stabilised
instead of
spin-stabilised
.
It
has been suggested
that
this
form
of
rocket was
adopted after exp erience under bombardment from the Russian Katyusha
projectors and the resemblance
between
the 8
cm rocket
and its Russian
counterparts was close.
Actually, the diameter of the rocket was 78 mm, and the overall length was
27· 7 inches
703 mm)
. Weight was 15 Ib 3 oz . At the rear, four fins raised
the diameter to 7·875 inches 200 mm) . The propellant used was six cordite
sticks which were
electrically
primed and ignited by
two gunpowder
discs.
Exhaust gases vented through a single 20 mm base venturi. Motor weight was
10 Ib 4 54 kg). The warhead was formed
of
three perforated pellets of pressed
flake TNT weighing 11b
t
oz 610 gms) .
Arming of
the warhead
was
effected
partially by the burning propellant
which
melted a so metal disc and allowed
the
detonator
to approach a ce
ntrifugally-rele
ased striker, ready for
the
nose
impact
fuse
to
set off the warhead. Maximum range
of
the 8
cm rocket was
5796 yards 5300 m)
with
a velocity of 950 f/sec. A smoke carrying version
was
also used.
The main launchers for this rocket were the mUltiple projector
known
as
the
cm R-Veilfachwerfer which could
fire
up to
45 rockets in one salvo, and
the
single
Mantlerohr
.
Both
launchers were
of
the rail variety and resembled
current
Russian equipment. In both types the
rocket
lay on rails
supported
by four
metal studs,
two
on each side
of
the
rocket body.
41
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ABOVE: An cm Raketensprenggranate N ote the leads running from the se
to
the firing c
ir
cuit
The performance
of the
8 cm fin-stabilised rocket in action
as
opposed to
the more complex 'spinners' added further fuel to the arguments between the
SS and the Army, and in early 1944 a meeting was held in Berlin to decide
the matter. Their decision was that the
cm
rocket was superior to the 15
cm
series
but
Hitler himself overruled any change-over in production rates and
ordered large scale field trials
of
the two equipments which were never com
pleted . In retrospect
it
seems likely
that
the decision in favour
of
the 8 cm was
largely a political one in
view of
the gradual and insidious policy
of
the SS
in taking over every part
of
the war effort
of
the Third
Reich a
policy which
culminated in
SS
control
of
the
V weapon
campaign and even eventually the
Wehrmacht itself.
The 1 em Nebelwerfer
35 nd 4
The Nebelwerfer 35 and 40 are included as they constituted the first equipment
of the Chemical Warfare troops. They were
not
rocket equipments
but
large
mortars.
First issued to the Nebelabteilung in late 1935 the 10
cm
Nebelwerfer 35
was an enlarged version
of the
cm Schwere Granatenwerfer 34 mortar.
Five men formed the crew in action and the 228 Ib weight of the complete
weapon could be transported by pack-animal, two wheeled handcart or
sledge. Rate of fire
was of
the order of 12 15 rounds per minute. Range was
3025 m. In
1939
the Nebelwerfer 35 was the standard equipment
of
the
Nebelabteilung during the Polish campaign and was also issued to the
Gebirgswerferabteilung (mountain rocket projector brigades) .
The 10 cm Nebelwerfer
40
was a much heavier and more complex weapon .
It embodied a recoil mechanism
as
the projectile was loaded via a breech
block and fired by percussion as in a normal artillery piece however the
high elevation and trajectory
of
a mortar was retained, and the barrel remained
smooth bored.
Weight
was
1730
Ib which meant that the piece had
to be
towed
on its wheeled carriage, usually behind a light truck or by men across
country. Range was increased to 6225 m and the firing rate was 8 10 rounds
per minute.
AMMUNITION
The Nebelwerfer 35 and
40
both had a calibre of 10·5 cm but fired differing
ammunition- however, the Nebelwerfer 35 could fire the generally heavier
Nobolwerfer 40 rounds. A list of the various types follows:
42
10
m
Nebelwerfer 35
HE
10 cm Wurfgranate 35 Spreng
Smoke
10 cm Wurfgranate 35 Nebel
10 cm Wurfgranate 35 Nebel S
Incendiary 10 cm Wurfgranate 35 Brenn
10 m Nebelwerfer 4
HE
10
cm Wurfgranate 40 Spreng
Smoke
10 cm Wurfgranate
40
Nebel
10 cm Wurfgranate 40 Nebel S
10 cm Wurfgranate
40
wKh Nebel
Weights
varied for
a rough guide the 35 Nebel weighed 16 Ib
while
the
40 Nebel weighed 21·9 lb .
Chemical-filled rounds (other than smoke) were available but not used.
2 mm Luftfaust
By late 1944 Allied air supremacy was so overwhelming that drastic anti-air
craft measures
wer
e being contempla ted by all arms of the German forces. Some
of these measures involved anti-aircraft rockets
which
are beyond the scope
of
thi
s book,
as
they primarily concerned the anti-aircraft arms. However, one
stop-gap solution can be mentioned here,
as
it concerns a projector intended
for
issue to front-line troops who were especially troubled by the activities of
ground attack aircraft such
as
the Ilyushin
11 2
, P-47 Thunderbolt and Typhoon
or Tempest. This equipment iNas known as the Luftfaust or Fliegerfaust. In the
event the
war
ceased before it saw field service, but large numbers had been
manufactured and were ready for issue.
The equipment was designed
for
quick, simple and cheap manufacture. The
shoulder-mounted projector consisted of nine drawn
steel tubes eight
sp aced
@®@
@@@
@@@
20
mm (-79 in H. E. ROCKET PROJECTOR (LUFTFAU5T)
43
8/20/2019 Almark - Field Rocket Equipment of the German Army 1939-1945
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In a circle round one central tube. These nine tubes were held securely in
place by
four
identical stamped steel plates. Each plate had an integral sleeve
to make the structure
re
ally rigid and the
two
end plates were welded in
position
- the other
two
were
friction
fitted and held in place
by the
firing
assembly.
The nine rounds
were
pre-loaded in ready-spaced
clips
5 that
the clip could
be fitted directly into the projector. Pre-spacing of
the individual
rounds was
effected by two
further
steel plates similar but lighter, to those spacing the
tubes on the projector. Rounds were held fixed in position by wire spring
clips on the base plate of the clip while the front plate
was
'floating', so that
when the rounds were introduced
into
the projector and pushed home the
front
plate
was
pushed back
onto
the b