8cm Raketen-Vielfachwerfer

History of 8cm Multiple Rocket Launchers

The simplicity of the Soviet 82mm M-8 Katyusha rocket line impressed (and painfully) the Germans, who called it the "8cm Multiple Rocket Launcher" (translated as "80 mm multiple rockets ") launchers") developed. ). The German army conducted extensive testing of battlefield missiles before the war and found them to be really useless in the early campaigns until their involvement in the Eastern Front and the invasion of the Soviet Union ( June 1941) brought the country to a further impasse. The result of this work was several rocket launcher systems - some mounted on vehicles - designed to demonstrate physical and psychological effectiveness against the enemy through indirect fire. Copy Katyusha The system naturally "fired back" at the Germans - as was the practice on all sides during the war - and respected to some extent the Soviet Union's simplicity and ease of use and friendly mass production quality.[/p ]

Other German battlefield missiles of the "Nebelwerfer" ("smoke mortar") design relied on a finless missile projectile that imparted spin stability through a complex internal arrangement - multiple venturi jet exhausts imparted spin action. The nose cone is hollow and the detonation load is mounted further back - designed to detonate on the ground on impact.

This internal arrangement made mass production difficult and ultimately really limited the availability of these powerful weapon systems to the Germans. However, the Soviet approach was entirely focused on rapid mass production.

So copying Katyusha's design was a logical thing to do: the Germans took an 82mm rocket and backed it up with a 24-track assembly. The missile retains the fin stabilization method, which helps improve ballistic accuracy.

These rockets have proven to be much faster when mass-produced in the required quantities, and the launch track components use a simple metal mesh design. The launcher is then attached to the half-track for self-propelled and mobile battlefield capabilities - like the Soviet truck-centric Katyusha launcher.

Despite this new approach to German combat missile launchers, military factories were already busy producing other much-needed war equipment. As a result, the Waffen SS had to organize other means of manufacture, which in turn led to limited production and limited battlefield availability until the end of the war (although the actual total number of rocket multiple launchers is still largely unknown).

Some of the launchers are known to be mounted on the rear of the SdKfz 4 "Maultier" half-track - the German "Maultier" of World War II. The vehicles were also equipped with other German rocket launchers, including the 10-tube 15 cm (150 mm) Nebelwerfer type (known as the "SdKfz 4/1 Panzerwerfer").

Other platforms for German launchers turned into old captured French half-tracks acquired during the 1940 French invasion.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

24 x 82 mm rocket; reload depends on ammunition supply vehicle.

Changes