The 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 (15 cm NbW 41) was a German multiple rocket launcher used in the Second World War. It served with units of the Nebeltruppen, German Chemical Corps units that had the responsibility for poison gas and smoke weapons that were also used to deliver high-explosives during the war. The name Nebelwerfer is best translated as "smoke thrower".[4]
| 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 | |
|---|---|
 A 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 launcher while reloading | |
| Type | Rocket artillery |
| Place of origin | Germany |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1941–45 |
| Used by | Germany Hungary |
| Wars | World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designed | late 1930s–1945 |
| Unit cost | 3,350 ℛ︁ℳ︁ |
| No. built | 5,283[1] |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | Empty: 510 kg (1,120 lb) Loaded: 770 kg (1,700 lb) |
| Length | 3.6 m (11 ft 10 in) |
| Barrel length | 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in) |
| Width | 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in) |
| Height | 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in)[2] |
| Crew | 5[3] |
| Caliber | 158 mm (6.22 inch) |
| Barrels | 6 |
| Carriage | Split-trail |
| Elevation | +5° to +45° |
| Traverse | 27°[2] |
| Muzzle velocity | 342 m/s (1,120 ft/s) |
| Maximum firing range | 6.9 km (4.3 mi)[2] |
Allied troops nicknamed it Screaming Mimi and Moaning Minnie due to its distinctive sound.[5]
Development
editRocket development had begun during the 1920s and reached fruition in the late-1930s. These offered the opportunity for the Nebeltruppen to deliver large quantities of poison gas or smoke simultaneously. The first weapon to be delivered to the troops was the 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 in 1940, after the Battle of France, a purpose-designed rocket with gas, smoke, and high-explosive warheads. It was fired from a six-tube launcher mounted on a towed carriage adapted from that used by the 3.7 cm PaK 36 to a range of 6,900 metres (7,500 yds), later also mounted on a halftrack as Panzerwerfer 42. Almost five and a half million 15 cm rockets and six thousand launchers were manufactured over the course of the war.[6]
Ammunition
editLike virtually all German rocket designs, 15 cm Wurfgranate 41 projectiles were spin-stabilized to increase accuracy. However, one unusual feature was that the rocket motor was in the front, the exhaust venturis being about two-thirds down the body from the nose, with the intent to optimize the blast and fragmentation effect of the rocket as the warhead would still be above the ground when it detonated. This proved to greatly complicate manufacture without much improvement and it was not copied on later rocket designs. The motor consisted of seven sticks of solid-fuel propellant and the exhaust ring had twenty-six venturis that were drilled at a 14° angle to impart spin.[6] There were high-explosive, smoke and chemical warfare rockets available. The chemical warfare rockets were stockpiled but are said to have not been used operationally. Field Rocket Equipment of the German Army 1939-45 lists Phosgene Gas and Mustard Gas as the two primary chemical agents but it does not describe how the rockets were identified with color coded rings. German and Japanese Solid-Fuel Rocket Weapons describes the color coding for the rockets but only gives cryptic codes like M/HA for the type of chemical agent it was filled with.[7] (During the First World War German mustard gas ammunition had been marked in yellow, and phosgene ammunition in green. This coding system may or may not be related to the later system used by the Wehrmacht.)
| Type | Designation | Length | Weight | Payload | Filling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Explosive | 15 cm Wurfgranate 41 Spreng | 0.979 m (3 ft 2.5 in) | 31.8[8] kg (70 lb) | 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) | TNT |
| Smoke | 15 cm Wurfgranate 41 Nebel | 1.02 m (3 ft 4 in) | 35.9 kg (79 lb) | 3.9 kg (8.5 lb) | 30/70 Pumice/Sulfur Trioxide |
| Chemical | 15 cm Wurfgranate 41 Gelbring | 1.02 m (3 ft 4 in) | ? | 3.5 L (0.77 imp gal; 0.92 U.S. gal) | M/HA |
| 15 cm Wurfgranate 41 Grünring | 1.02 m (3 ft 4 in) | ? | 2.5 L (0.55 imp gal; 0.66 U.S. gal) | HN-3 | |
| 15 cm Wurfgranate 41 Grünring/Gelbring | 1.02 m (3 ft 4 in) | ? | 2.6 L (0.57 imp gal; 0.69 U.S. gal) | H[7] |
Photo gallery
edit-
Nebelwerfer 41 rocket launcher on display at the Rock Island Arsenal museum, viewed from the front
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Nebelwerfer 41 rocket launcher, breech view
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15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 side
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Wgr. 41 projectile for the 15 cm Nbw 41 on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
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15 cm Wurfgranate 41 Spreng
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15 cm Wurfgranate 41 Spreng Schematic
Notes
edit- ^ Engelmann, p. 5
- ^ a b c Chamberlain, Peter (1975). Mortars and rockets. Gander, Terry. New York: Arco Pub. Co. pp. 36–37. ISBN 0668038179. OCLC 2067459.
- ^ Engelmann, p. 46
- ^ "Germany's Rocket and Recoilless Weapons". Intelligence Bulletin. Vol. III, no. 7. March 1945.
- ^ Bull, p. 189
- ^ a b Joachim., Engelmann (1990). German rocket launchers. West Chester, Pa.: Schiffer Pub. ISBN 0887402402. OCLC 23049230.
- ^ a b German and Japanese Solid-Fuel Rocket Weapons, pg.10-14
- ^ Bishop, Chris (2002). The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II. Sterling Publishing Company. ISBN 9781586637620.
References
edit- Baschin, J.; Block, M.; Nelson, J. & Tippmann, H. (2013). Nebel-, Panzer- und Vielfachwacher (in English and German). Vol. 30. Neumünster: Nuts & Bolts Verlag.
- Bull, Stephen (2004). Encyclopedia of Military Technology and Innovation. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 1-57356-557-1.
- Engelmann, Joachim. German Rocket Launchers in WWII. Schiffer Publishing, 1990 ISBN 0-88740-240-2
External links
edit- 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 Archived 7 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Catalog of Enemy Ordnance, 1945.