Aircraft Rockets of World War II

[David]

Aircraft Rockets of World War II

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Germany

German interest in rocketry started in 1937, but it was the army that made the greatest strides in early free flight rocket development. By April 1940 the German army had it's first rocket artillery piece in production, the Nebelwerfer 41, and soon followed through with a number of advances in both size and range of rockets. The Luftwaffe, content with it's 20mm cannons and precision dive-bombers, didn't see much of a use for rockets. Some rockets such as the RZ-65 were used in trials, but never entered wide-spread use. This wasn't because the Luftwaffe didn't want new weapons, but instead because they were already developing much more advanced systems such as wire-guided bombs and air-to-air missiles. Unfortunately, those projects weren't as far along as they would have hopped, and a low tech solution was needed. Although German aircraft rocket use was not as proliferate or advanced as their Allied counterparts early in the war, the gap was very quickly closed and even surpassed by the war's end. After witnessing the effects of rocket-armed Typhoons and Thunderbolts, Germany did what was to become routine during the war: analyze enemy technology, and make it bigger and better. Drawing from their own research into man-portable rocket systems, Germany soon developed a series of anti-tank rockets called "Panzerschreck", named after the army counterpart. This was followed by the improved "Panzerblitz" series, which culminated in mating the revolutionary R4/M rocket motor with the ingenious Panzershreck warhead. The result was an air-to-ground rocket that could destroy almost any tank found on the battlefield - and from long range. Meanwhile, high explosive warheads were being fitted with rocket motors, from the 280mm Wgr.28/31 to the slim 55mm R4/M. It was in the R4/M that Germany had a potentially war-winning weapon. Sacrificing size for speed, the R4/M was smaller than most British and American designs, but traveled much faster and still packed a nasty punch. When equipping the new Me.262 fighter, experienced pilots in units such as JV.44 and JV.7 shot down enemy bombers by the hundreds per month. If that isn't a testament to the durability of the R4/M design, consider this: Of all the rockets displayed below, the R4/M is the only one who's development line still serves today - in the form of the American Zuni.

R4/M "Orkan" (High Explosive Rocket)

The R4/M, short for "Rakete 4kg. Minenkopfwere", was probably the best general purpose rocket of the war. Unlike their Allied counterparts, German scientists felt that slender and faster was preferable to a larger and slower. The result was a rocket perfect for knocking down heavy bombers in a single shot, and dynamic enough to use a variety of special warheads. Mounted on a wooden plate under each wing, drag was minimal. The R4/M had a folding fin and the same ballistics of the 30mm cannon when fired at 600 meters range, so the Revi gunsight was used for aiming. Historical excerpt: When JG.7 was moved to a forward base close to Prague in the spring of 45 they were asked to do Ground attack missions against Soviet motor transport columns. The regular R4M warhead was replaced by the armor piercing Panzerschreck head and the Me 262's went on a rampage destroying 100's of Soviet vehicles the last 2 months of the war. The R4M traveled at 900 kph at maximum speed, propelled by Diglykol, and armed with 520 grams of Hexogen explosive. It was detonated by the Az.Rz.2 contact fuse. The most popular tactic for R4/M use was to salvo all rockets at the tightly packed bomber groups outside the range of their defensive guns. By the time the rockets reached their target, they had dispersed into a large box-like pattern that made it very hard to miss the dense pockets of bombers. Approximately 12,000 rockets were produced, and they were used in combat in middle 1944 by elite squadrons, and by regular Luftwaffe units by March 1945.

Diameter Length Total Weight Warhead Explosive Velocity Range 55mm 812mm 3.85 kg 0.815 kg 0.52 kg 525 m/s 1100 m

Panzerschreck I (High Explosive Anti-Tank Rocket)

The Panzerschreck I was an anti-tank rocket system that combined three panzerschreck launchers onto a special housing which could be mounted on an ETC 50 or ETC 70 bomb rack. It fired the same RPzB.Gr.4992 rocket used by the army, which could penetrate up to 160mm - 220mm of armor depending on impact angle. The attacking aircraft needed to slow down to 490 kph in order to fire the rocket, and the range was very limited. Because of these two factors, the Luftwaffe soon found itself looking for a replacement.

Diameter Length Total Weight Warhead Explosive Velocity Range 88mm 705mm 6.54 kg 2.1 kg 1.03 kg 135 m/s 135 m

Panzerschreck 2 (High Explosive Anti-Tank Rocket)

The Panzerschreck II, sometimes also referred to as the Panzerblitz I, improved the velocity of the old Panzerschreck I by using an improved rocket motor. Unfortunately, aircraft still had to reduce speed and get very close to their intended targets in order to guarantee a kill. Despite this, the Panzerchreck II were delivered to combat units on the Eastern Front in October 1944. The Panzerschreck II rockets could be fired in pairs or all at once. It was typical of an aircraft to carry sets of 6 or 8 launch tubes on each mounting.

Diameter Length Total Weight Warhead Explosive Velocity Range 88mm 705mm 6.54 kg 2.1 kg 1.03 kg 374 m/s 200 m

R4/M HL Panzerblitz 2 (High Explosive Anti-Tank Rocket)

This creation was the result of mating the very successful Panzerschreck warhead to the motor of the already proven R4/M rocket. The result was a dramatic improvement in range and accuracy, but most importantly, no longer required the aircraft to slow down. The rocket launcher was a flat wooden sheet, which reduced drag, and mounted six or seven rockets each. Penetration was still 160mm - 220mm, depending on impact angle. This rocket system was used by Luftwaffe attack aircraft from December 1944 onwards.

Diameter Length Total Weight Warhead Explosive Velocity Range 88mm 815mm 5.37 kg 2.1 0.89 kg 369 m/s 1200 m

Panzerblitz 3 (High Explosive Rocket)

The Panzerblitz III was the next step in the Panzerblitz series. The launcher remained the same, but the rocket was designed to accommodate a number of different warheads, including the 75mm HI.Gr.43 HEAT and 210mm Wurfgranate. A new R4/M motor was used to increase velocity, but carried less propellant and range was slightly decreased. These rockets were never used in combat operations.

Diameter Length Total Weight Warhead Explosive Velocity Range 55mm 955mm 13.1 kg ? kg 6.30 kg 569 m/s 900 m

Wurfgranate 28/32 (High Explosive Rocket)

This early rocket launcher was a 280mm Wurfgranate rocket mounted under the wing of an aircraft via a special box-like launch rack. Although it was used in combat, it was quickly ruled as inadequate due to it's highly curved flight path that made it nearly impossible to hit specific targets, such as tanks, airplanes, and bunkers. Like the ground based launcher from which this system was adapted, a 320mm rocket could also be fitted to the same launch rail.

28cm Wurfkörper Spr. (High Explosive Rocket)

Diameter Length Total Weight Warhead Explosive Velocity Range 280mm 1190mm 84.7 kg 61 kg 45.4 kg 145 m/s 1925 m

32cm Wurfkörper M F1 50 (Incindiary Rocket)

Diameter Length Total Weight Warhead Explosive Velocity Range 320mm 1300mm 79 kg 55.8 kg 41.5 kg 152 m/s 2200 m

Wurfgranate 21 (High Explosive Rocket)

Due to the failure of the Wgr.28/32, this new weapon was designed with a smaller rocket launched from it's original Nebelwerfer 42 tube. The rocket was still inaccurate, so it was modified to be used by special fighters for attacks against the giant American bomber formations. Unlike the box-frame launcher of the Wgr.28/32, the 1720 kilogram Nebelwerfer tube created a lot of drag and was not liked by fighter pilots. The rocket was fitted with a time fuse that would detonate the warhead 600 - 1200 meters from launch, resulting in a lethal kill zone around 25 meters wide. In this capacity it was still ineffective, but when it worked, the results were often dramatic. Historical excerpt: During an early attack sortie in July 1943, a Wgr.21 rocket exploded directly beneath one B-17, causing it to swing into first one and then another aircraft in the formation, resulting in the destruction of all three aircraft with just one shot! This weapon was first used in combat on August 17, 1943, during the infamous Schweinfurt raid.

Diameter Length Total Weight Warhead Explosive Velocity Range 214mm 1177mm 112.5 kg 40.8 kg 10.17 kg 315 m/s 1200 m

Rheinmetall-Borsig RZ 65 (High Explosive Rocket)

The RZ-65 rocket was carried under German aircraft from the autumn of 1942 onwards. The rockets were loaded in short tubes that could be carried in any variety of configurations, from a single row of four to a double row of twelve. The RZ-65 suffered from poor accuracy and didn't pack enough punch - barely more than the standard 20mm used at the time. The RZ-65 was modified to carry armor piercing ammunition and was used by the Fw.190A-3/U2 against light Russian armor, which it proved successful. It was never used in large numbers, but was useful as a prototype for future developments.

Diameter Length Total Weight Warhead Explosive Velocity Range 73mm 262mm 2.78 kg 0.685 kg 0.19 kg 260 m/s 250 m

Rheinmetall-Borsig RZ 73 (High Explosive Rocket)

The RZ-73 was an upgraded RZ-65 with better speed, range, and equipped with either high explosive or the Pz.Gr.41 hardened core warhead. Accuracy improved, and this rocket proved useful against both soft targets and medium tanks, although it was never widely used in the anti-tank role due to Germany's loss of tungsten supplies in 1943. The high explosive version served until the end of the war, but was generally replaced by the R4/M when they were available.

Diameter Length Total Weight Warhead Explosive Velocity Range 73mm 330mm 3.167 kg 0.583 kg 0.28 kg 360 m/s 400 m